Sovereign funds under the lens

The Indian Government is concerned about the growing interest of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the country. The Finance Ministry is now monitoring such inflows. A senior bureaucrat told BT: “We are now planning to evolve a policy to regulate sovereign wealth fund investments in the country.”

SWFs are pools of money derived from a country’s reserves, which are set aside for investment purposes.

Funding comes from the central bank’s reserves. North Block is now worried about the government of a particular country acquiring control of strategic sectors in India. Says the official: “There are justified national security concerns. Even the US and other OECD countries are trying to work out ‘rules of conduct’ for SWFs.”

— Rishi Joshi