International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

• Prelims – Economy

Context: Recently the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual assistance and cooperation in the area of sustainable finance.

About IFSCA:

• The IFSCA is a statutory authority established under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (“IFSCA Act”) with a mandate to develop and regulate the financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (‘IFSC’).
• It headquarters is at Gujarat International Finance Tech (GIFT) City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
• It is India’s maiden international financial services centre.

Composition of the Authority (9 members):

• Chairperson
• One Member each to be nominated by:
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
• Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI),
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)
• Two members to be dominated by the Central Government.
• Two other whole-time or full-time or part-time members

Services an IFSC can provide:

• Fund-raising for individuals, corporations and governments.
• Asset management and Global Treasury management
• Global tax management and cross-border tax liability optimization
• Risk management operations such as insurance and reinsurance.
• Merger and acquisition activities among Trans-national corporation

About CEEW:

• The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is one of Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions.
• The Council uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – and change – the use, reuse, and misuse of resources.
• It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality research, develops partnerships with public and private institutions, and engages with the wider public.
• In 2021, CEEW once again featured extensively across ten categories in the 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.
• The Council has also been consistently ranked among the world’s top climate change think tanks.

Source: PIB

Previous Year Question

Q.1) “Rapid Financing Instrument” and “Rapid Credit Facility” are related to the provisions of lending by which of the following:           (2022)

1. Asian Development Bank
2. International Monetary Fund
3. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
4. World Bank