The government is considering introducing Islamic banking in the country. The Ministry of Finance recently asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reconsider such a possibility.

The RBI formed a committee to look into the matter after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Malaysia in 2010, when Singh indicated that the government was open to the idea of a banking system that could address the long-standing concerns of the business section of a minority community.

Experts believe that in order to tap the immense investment potential of the oil-rich Middle East, it was in India’s interest to introduce Islamic banking.

An official of the National Committee on Islamic Banking told Gulf News: “It will provide the opportunity to bring a large section of the Muslim population into the mainstream. It is a sophisticated banking and finance structure based on moral and social values and is compatible with modern-day financing needs.”