NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on Tuesday to discuss the state of economy, budget proposals and to prepare a roadmap for India’s recovery for the next financial year amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The council also stressed on the need for the government and all regulators to maintain continuous vigil on the financial conditions that could expose the country to financial vulnerabilities in the medium and long term.
“The meeting reviewed the major macroeconomic developments and Financial Stability issues (global and domestic) with special reference to vulnerability related issues,” a finance ministry statement said.
The FSDC is an apex level forum created by the Centre to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism for maintaining financial stability and enhance inter-regulatory coordination while promoting financial sector development in the country.
It includes officials from the Finance Ministry and heads of financial sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, IRDAI) and is chaired by the Finance Minister.
Discussions were also held on further measures which may be required to be taken to ensure consistent support of the financial sector for achieving faster real economic growth and achieving the overall macroeconomic targets, while continuing to maintain financial stability.
“The FSDC also discussed the challenges involved in the smooth transition of London Interbank Offer Rate (LIBOR) based contracts and noted that a multipronged strategy involving relevant stakeholder institutions and departments is required in this regard,” the statement added.
This was second FSDC meeting held after the Covid-19 outbreak in the country. Last time, the meeting was held in May soon after the Centre announced the Rs 21 lakh crore stimulus package.