Finance Minister to review state of economy at FSDC meeting on September 15

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the state of the economy amid global and domestic challenges at a meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), scheduled on September 15.

The 26th meeting of the high-level panel to be held in Mumbai will be attended by all financial sectoral regulators, including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, sources said.

The FSDC is the apex body of sectoral regulators, headed by the Union Finance Minister.

The meeting will review the current global and domestic economic situation and financial stability issues, including those concerning banking and NBFCs, according to the sources.

The council would also discuss measures required for further development of the financial sector and to achieve inclusive economic growth with macroeconomic stability, they said.

As per the RBI estimate, the country’s GDP is expected to witness a growth of 7.2% in the current financial year amid elevated retail inflation at 6.7%.

The focus of both the government and RBI is to tame inflation, which has remained above the RBI’s tolerance level of 6% since January this year. Besides, the falling rupee hovering around 80 per dollar is adding pressure to inflation.

U.S. Fed’s decision likely to hurt rupee

The recent pronouncement of Fed chairman Jerome Powell to brace for more large interest rate hikes in coming months to rein in inflation will have implications for other currencies of the world, including the rupee.

The FSDC meeting will also review activities undertaken by the FSDC Sub-Committee chaired by the RBI Governor and the action taken by members on the past decisions of FSDC.

The last meeting of FSDC was held in February after the presentation of the Budget 2022-23.

Besides RBI Governor, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman Madhabi Puri Buch, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) Chairman Debasish Panda, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) Chairman Ravi Mital and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay will attend the meeting.

The sources said the FSDC meeting will also be attended by Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, and other top officials of the Finance Ministry