Pointing out that there is an urgent need to protect the poor and gullible investors from dubious deposit schemes, operated by unscrupulous entities, the Finance Minister today said that a draft bill to curtail the menace of illicit deposit schemes has been placed in the public domain and will be introduced in parliament shortly after its finalisation. This Act will be amended in consultation with various stakeholders, as part of our 'Clean India' agenda, he added.

Dealing with the markets, the Finance Minister proposed that high net worth NBFCs can also now participate in IPOs just like the banks and insurance companies. Jaitley said he proposed to allow systemically important NBFCs regulated by RBI and above a certain net worth, to be categorised as Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) by SEBI at par with the banks and insurance companies, making them eligible for participation in IPOs with specifically earmarked allocations. This will strengthen the IPO market and channelize more investments, he added.