As noted from the Secretariat report, a number of regulatory changes and legislative amendments are awaiting enactment and a Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission has been set up to rewrite and streamline the financial sector laws, rules and regulations by 2013. We would like to know the interface between the legislation enactment proposed by the Minister of Finance and the work of the Commission.
Reply: Through a resolution dated 24 March 2011, the Government set up the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) with a view to rewriting and harmonizing the financial sector legislation, rules and regulations to address the contemporaneous requirements of the financial sector.
The Commission will make its recommendations within 24 months of the date of the resolution. It is chaired by Supreme Court Justice (Retd.) B. N. Srikrishna, and has ten members with expertise in the fields of finance, economics, law and other relevant fields.
The FSLRC can call for such information and take such evidence as it may consider necessary from various sources including Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and State Governments. The Commission will also engage with the inter regulatory body the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) as a part of this exercise.
The apex level FSDC was set up by the Government on 30 December 2010 with a view to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability and enhancing inter regulatory coordination. The Chairman of the Council is the Finance Minister of India and its members include:
Financial sector regulatory organizations: the heads of the financial sector regulatory authorities – Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), Pension Funds Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA);