NCP's Sharad Pawar questions PM Modi for choosing Gandhinagar over Mumbai for IFSC centre

Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising apprehensions on the Central government's decision to establish the proposed International Finance Service Centre (IFSC) authority in Gandhinagar instead of the financial capital of India, Mumbai. 

Taking to Twitter, Pawar posted the letter and made a series of tweets putting forward his views over the issue:

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Pawar, citing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, said that inspite of Maharashtra's immense contribution to government securities (G-sec), the decision of establishing IFSC in Gujarat is "egregious, erroneous and unwarranted" and it will also be perceived as a move to shift financial institutions and business houses away from Maharashtra and will create unnecessary political disturbances.

"The data published by the Reserve Bank of India, on April 23, states that the Indian banking sector has deposits to the tune of Rs 145,00,000 crore and the share of Maharashtra alone in the said deposits is 22.8 percent followed by Delhi (10 percent), Uttar Pradesh (7.8 percent), Karnataka (7.2 percent) and Gujarat (5.4 percent) as per the reserve requirements, every bank has to maintain SLR at 18 percent of its deposits, in the form of G-sec. Through this G-sec the Central government receives funds to the tune of Rs 26,00,000 crore. Out of such funds Rs 5,95,000 crore is received from Maharashtra alone as against Gujarat's contribution of Rs 1,40,000 crore," the letter read.

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Pawar said the move will be perceived as shifting the financial institutions and business houses away from Maharashtra causing political disturbance, adding that it will not only cause financial damage to the country, but will also discredit the importance of Mumbai.

The NCP Supremo concluded his tweets by stating, "I expect Hon. @PMOIndia  to take a rational, judicious decision keeping aside the state politics and consider it as an issue of utmost national importance."