- Why in news
- On 23 October 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 30th meeting of the FSDC in New Delhi. It reviewed financial sector cyber resilience, noted the Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy and discussed tokenisation and unclaimed assets.
- What it is
- The Financial Stability and Development Council is the apex forum for inter-regulatory coordination in India's financial sector. It was set up in 2010 by an executive decision, not by a statute. It deals with financial stability, financial sector development and inter-regulatory coordination.
- Chair
- The Union Finance Minister chairs the FSDC. Its members include heads of the financial regulators and senior Finance Ministry officials.
- Sub-Committee
- An FSDC Sub-Committee is chaired by the RBI Governor. It reports on its activities and on action taken on past decisions.
- Cyber strategy
- The Council took note of the Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy, prepared by an Inter-Ministerial Group of regulators and cybersecurity agencies.
- Unclaimed assets
- The Finance Minister urged faster refund of unclaimed assets such as bank deposits, dividends, shares, insurance and pension funds.
- Meeting frequency
- The Minister asked that FSDC meetings be held more often, on a fixed schedule.
- Legal basis
- The FSDC was set up in 2010 by government decision and has no statutory backing.
Don’t confuse with FSDC vs FSDC Sub-Committee: The FSDC is chaired by the Finance Minister. Its Sub-Committee is chaired by the RBI Governor.
Don’t confuse with FSDC vs Financial Stability Report: The FSDC is a coordination body. The Financial Stability Report is a half-yearly RBI publication.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Gives one forum to coordinate across regulators such as RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA.
- Helps the government respond jointly to macro-financial and cyber risks.
Problems
- It has no statutory powers, so its decisions depend on regulators' cooperation.
- Meetings have been irregular, which the Minister herself flagged.
Way forward
- Hold meetings on a predefined schedule and track decisions taken.
- Strengthen inter-regulatory coordination, including on cyber security.
Put in your answer
Cyber strategy: The Financial Sector Cyber Security Strategy shows coordinated work on financial sector cyber resilience.
Your Money, Your Right: A district-level campaign to refund unclaimed financial assets to rightful owners, noted by the FSDC.
- 2015Mains GS2 · Q16Discuss the need for autonomous regulatory institutions, recent experiences.
- 2013Mains GS2 · Q8Justify merging SEBI and IRDA due to product overlap.
- 2016Prelims Q56Which statements about FSDC are correct? Tests its composition and mandate.
- 2016Prelims Q75Which body prepares the Global Financial Stability Report?
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Non-statutory apex council worth a card; 30th meeting adopted cyber security strategy. Statutory-body questions are only 7 of 327 in Prelims.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.