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Market Infrastructure Institutions at GIFT IFSC
Recognised stock exchanges (NSE IFSC + India INX), clearing corporations (NICCL + ICCL IFSC) and depositories (IIDI + NSDL International Depository IFSC). The SEBI (SECC) Regulations 2018 are disapplied within the IFSC perimeter (Reg 73). Trading hours up to 23h 30m per day; min twice-daily settlement. Monthly turnover crossed USD 96 bn in December 2025 (GIFT Nifty franchise relocated from SGX on 3 Jul 2023).
Capital Markets & MIIs — The Practitioner's Booklet
A treatise-grade working reference on the licensing, capital, conduct-of-business and tax framework for Capital Markets & MIIs at GIFT IFSC — every conclusion anchored in verbatim statutory and regulatory text.
The case for Capital Markets & MIIs — before the rulebook.
GIFT IFSC competes head-on with Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius — on tax, on currency, and on access to India. Here is what actually moves the decision, before the regulatory detail below.
A 20-year tax holiday
100% deduction on business income for any 20 consecutive years in a 25-year block under Section 147 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (Finance Act 2026), then a 15% concessional rate. MAT capped at 9%.
US-dollar, offshore by law
An IFSC unit is treated as a person resident outside India under FEMA — raise, hold and transact in USD / EUR / GBP, with full foreign-currency freedom and no rupee-conversion drag.
100% foreign & NRI capital
Foreign and NRI investors can hold up to 100% — without the aggregate ownership caps that constrain comparable onshore vehicles.
An on-ramp to India
Unlike a purely offshore hub, GIFT IFSC sits on Indian soil and aligns with national policy — an offshore base that is also a door into one of the world's largest growth markets.
Zero STT, CTT & stamp duty
IFSC-exchange transactions are free of Securities and Commodity Transaction Tax and stamp duty; services rendered by IFSC units are zero-rated for GST.
One regulator, India's rule of law
A single unified regulator (IFSCA) under the IFSCA Act 2019, an independent judiciary, and a treaty-anchored legal order — certainty, not just headline rates.
The opportunity is real, but every benefit carries a condition — and that is where counsel at the threshold earns its place.
The framework — at a glance
MII Eligibility & Comparison Tool
Map a proposed Market Infrastructure Institution to its IFSCA registration pathway, minimum net worth, ownership cap, governance composition, and SEBI 2018 mainland comparator.
IFSCA (Market Infrastructure Institutions) Regulations 2021 (Notification IFSCA/2021-22/GN/REG011 dated 12 April 2021, consolidated to 1 November 2024). Indicative only — not legal advice.
Related reading
- Booklet XIX — Market Infrastructure Institutions at GIFT IFSC (PDF, May 2026) · Full Firm handbook.
- Capital Market Intermediaries (Booklet XII) · Trading members, clearing members, depository participants regulated under the parallel IFSCA (CMI) Regulations 2025.
- Bullion Exchange / IIBX (Booklet XV) · IIDI also operates as the bullion depository for the IIBX ecosystem.
- Listing & Capital Raising · Issuer-side framework for listing on NSE IFSC / India INX.
- Resources page · IFSCA MII Regulations 2021; SEBI mainland frameworks; SGX-NSE Connect documentation.