Gandhinagar:Government has formed a task force to expedite clearances for banks and financial institutions looking to set up operations at the GIFT City near here, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said today.

Meanwhile, GIFT City said the business transactions at the centre have already crossed the USD 1-billion-mark.

The Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, who is the chairman of the task force, said the objective is to attract maximum investments into the GIFT City ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January.

“Our target is to make GIFT City fully operational ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit so that it can be inaugurated on January 9 or 10.

“This task force has been created to solve all the problems faced by the prospective investors as well as regulators. We want to clear all the hurdles before the summit,” Meghwal told reporters.

The Vibrant Gujarat Summit is scheduled to take place during January 10-13.

The minister was at the GIFT City to inaugurate New India Assurance’s first office at the centre, making this the first such IFSC insurance office.

The minister said so far seven banks have set up their branches in the centre and his ministry is in talks with 14 other banks to start their operations.

“These 14 banks are currently doing their businesses in financial centres in Dubai and Singapore. We want these banks to shift their business here. The Reserve Bank has also assured that it will take a liberal view to make it easier for these banks to get licences,” said Meghwal.

“I have had a meeting with Sebi and RBI to clear the hurdles and I will be meeting them again on November 15,” he added.

GIFT City Managing Director Ajay Pandey said the centre has already done transactions worth USD 1 billion.

“I feel proud to announce that business transactions at the IFSC have already crossed the USD 1 billion mark and we expect the volume to grow by leaps and bounds,” Pandey said.

Banks like SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, Federal Bank and IndusInd Bank are operating IFSC banking units at the centre.

PTI