The workshop on treasury operations was followed by the panel discussion.The panel comprised of eminent personalities from across the diverse length of Indian banking industry brainstorm over the challenges facing contemporary banking scenario in India.
The theme for the discussion was “Banking 2009: Survival of the fittest”
Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Chief Economic Adivsor, Government of India flagged off the discussion with thought provoking reflections on the current state and future potential of the ‘India Growth Story’. He said, “India is living in exciting times. The GDP growth rate of 8% is all set to catapult Indian standard of living by 74%. Financial sector is the pivotal matchmaker which has to intermediate effectively for this scenario to materialize.”
Mr. Vinod Rai, Special Secretary, Banking and Finance Division, Ministry of Finance stressed on the need for banks themselves to be goal-driven rather than function at the mercy of bureaucracy. He said, “Banks should be left unshackled, unbounded and allowed to grow”.
Mr. Suresh Sethi, Country Head, Transaction Banking Group, YES Bank described India’s growing position among BRIC countries, crediting the rapid emergence of India’s banking sector to conducive policy and regulatory framework.
Ms. Sonu Bhasin, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management, UTI Bank gave incisive insights into the commoditization of the banking sector. She stressed on the integration of young talented people and a strong knowledge quotient to lead India’s banks into the risk-ridden volatile future.
Dr. J.S.Juneja, Member, Governing Body and Senior Advisor, WASME broadened the scope of the discussion by including the challenges faced by and the role of the SME sector in “Banking 2009 scenario”. He threw light on the imperative need for the SME sectors growth in order to sustain the India Growth story and the role of strong financial support system in the same.
Mr. B.N. Mittal, Chief General Manager – Corporate, Punjab National Bank lent a public sector perspective in the discussion. Mr. Krishna Kumar, Senior General Manger – Corporate, ICICI Bank focused on the varied risks confronting banks as well as the need to tap rural India to lend more credence to the current base of the banking sector.
Mr. Suresh Nanda, Regional CEO, North and East, ING Vysya Bank threw light on the critical role of technology in the rapidly changing banking sector.
Mr. Vinod Rai, Secretary of State, Min. of Finance addresses the panel and the gathering
The panel discussion was a huge learning experience for the participants in the audience, which comprised of business school students from across the country. They came to know the viewpoints of the stalwarts in the banking industry who would guide the growth of the sector in 2009.
The daylong event culminated with a paper presentation contest. The contest witnessed participation from business schools all over the country. Of the entries received, 6 teams from IIM-A, IIM-C, IIM-I, MDI and FMS were short listed to make the final presentation. The contest was won by Parthasarthy Sinha and Sonal Singh from IIM-A and the joint runners-up were Rahul Gupta and Sanchita Binwal from FMS and Sandeep Kumar and Vivek Chopra from IIM-I.
The Finsoc, the Finance Society at FMS, successfully organized the entire event.