A one-day Seminar of Government and Police Officials in the Regulation of Unauthorised Elements of Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFCs) and Unincorporated Bodies (UIBs) in Mizoram was held at I&PR Conference Hall today. The seminar was jointly organised by the Government of Mizoram (Finance Department) and the Reserve Bank of India (Department of Non-Banking Supervision), and Pu Van Hela Pachuau, the Chief Secretary of Mizoram, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.

In his inaugural speech, the Chief Secretary said that Mizoram is a transit route for several illegal activities, and apart from money laundering, several smuggling of different kinds such as drugs, weapons, human trafficking and so on are currently prevalent throughout the State and he also mentioned that  the Government has not done enough due to several problems which needs to be addressed carefully.

Regarding the functioning of illegal NBFCs and UIBs, the Chief Secretary said that the problem has been going on since the early 1980s and even though we have been victimised by these fake Companies all the time, still we have not learned our lessons and due to our carelessness and gullibility we have lost so much money. He also said that 21 such Financial Institutions are still active and most of them are located in Zarkawt area. He also mentioned that most of them are already in trouble and another sad feature is that those Companies from outside Mizoram are helped by the Mizos themselves to set up their base in Mizoram.

The Chief secretary also said that due to our greediness and gullibility we always wanted to make quick money and taking advantage of this, when these Companies made such attractive offers we did not care to verify its authenticity and the terms and conditions, we are easy prey to these bad elements. He also admitted that even though we have certain rules and Acts to take care of this we have not really implemented them properly to stop these activities and urged the Police, Excise and other concerned departments and agencies to take more active role and reorganise themselves, if necessary.

The Chief secretary also mentioned the need to educate and create awareness about this issue and urged the I&PR department to take steps in this regard.

The Chief secretary also said that Banks in Mizoram suffered alot due to these activities and is a matter of grave concern, and asked the officials to act swiftly by saying that criminal action against these Companies can be taken under the law.

By summarizing the challenges ahead the Chief secretary expressed his wish to make the Seminar a fruitful one to make Mizoram a clean State.

The Seminar was chaired by Pu Lalmalsawma, IAS, Finance Secretary and he said that the Seminar was the first of its kind in Mizoram and expressed his hope of utilising the seminar in creating awareness among the masses.

The Seminar was divided into two Sessions and in the Morning Session, Shri PN Murthi, AGM (DNBS) and Ms. Rama Narang, Asst. Manager (DNBS) gave a powerpoint presentation on 'an overview of the Regulatory Functions of Reserve bank of India over NBFCs and UIBs'. Pu Joseph Lalchhuana MPS, SP (CID Crime) also gave a status report on the presence and activities of NBFCs, UIBs and other unlawful elements in Mizoram.

In the Afternoon Session, Shri L.Sharma, Asst. manager, RBI (Issue Department) presented a paper on "Highlights on the Indian Currency Notes, Counterfeit and fake currency notes" which is followed by a lively interactive session where all the participants enthusiastically participated. The Seminar concluded in the evening with a vote of thanks from Pu Lalthansanga, secretary, Finance Department.