Banking Regulation Act, 1949 — back to Table of Contents
Section 51A. Powers of Reserve Bank not to apply to International Financial Services Centre
Notwithstanding any other law in force, the powers the Reserve Bank exercises under this Act do not extend to an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) set up under section 18(1) of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005.
Instead, those powers — insofar as they concern the regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions permitted in an IFSC — are exercised by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), established under section 4(1) of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
In short, this carves IFSCs (such as GIFT City) out of the RBI’s regulatory perimeter under the Banking Regulation Act and hands that regulatory role to the dedicated unified IFSC regulator instead.
Note: This section was inserted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
