Centre to amend FCRA: Sudarsan

Chennai, Nov 3 (UNI) The Centre will soon bring in amendments to the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act 1952 (FCRA) to bring the provisions in tune with the present market scenario and also to strengthen and restructure the Forward Markets Commission (FMC).

The Bill to amend the Act had already been tabled in Parliament and it would be taken up for discussion and passed in the enusing winter session or in the next session, FMC Chairman S Sudarsan told reporters here today.

Observing that the present Act was not conducive to regulate the markets which had opened up and new exchanges have come into being, he said the proposed amendments to FCRA was aimed at making FMC an autonomous body, like SEBI, to regulate the commodities market in a more stringent manner.

At present the FMC was functioning as a department of the Government. "Once the amendments are made, FMC would function as an independent regulator and would be empowered to collect transaction costs and levy fines'', he said.

He said options trading and participation of mutual funds could be allowed in commodities market once the FCRA was amended as it would fuel market growth.

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