The event began with a lighting of the lamp ceremony and a welcome address by Dr. B.S. Sahay in his capacity as the Director of IMT, Ghaziabad. This was followed by the keynote address by Mr. P.H.Ravikumar, MD & CEO – NCDEX. Mr. Ravikumar also released the journal ‘Comquest’ commemorating the event which contains contemporary articles in the field of commodity derivatives written by Business School students and faculty along with contributions from the industry.
The first session focused on introducing ‘commodity futures and their challenges and prospects’ to the audience. Mr. D.K.Aggarwal, Director – SMC Commodities started the session by presenting before the audience the benefits that commodities offer as an investment class vis-à-vis equity markets. He put forth the arguments on lower transaction costs in this space along with the safety levels of having a minimum intrinsic value. Mr. Sanjay Kaul, Director & CEO – National Institute of Commodity Markets and Research further spoke extensively on the topic by bringing out the relevance of commodity trading as enablers of investment. He also spoke at length about evolution of commodity futures in the country and role of futures market in proper risk allocation and long-term price determination. This was followed by a talk by Mr. Sunil Baijal – MD, Futures First on trading as a profession and its relevance to today’s manager’s vis-à-vis other professions.
The second session focused on perspectives related to contemporary scenario of commodity markets in the country and issues related to it. Mr. Rajesh Jain, Vice President & Head (R&D;) at SMC Comtrade Pvt. Ltd. started the session speaking on the topic of ‘Evergreen Rules of Commodity Trading’ where he shared his views on safe investing and the importance of understanding the market before getting into a particular trade. This was followed by a talk by Mr. Jayant Manglik, Head – Religare Commodities on hedging strategies in commodities markets. Mr. S.K.Jindal, MD – Jindal Exports took the stage after this to speak on various hedging strategies adopted by business community and how commodity exchanges play a vital role in helping them achieve their business objectives. The session concluded with Mr. Gaurav Arora, Head – Jaypee Commodities taking the stage to speak about commodity trading and its impact on inflation.
The third session dealt with the topic of ‘Reforms in Commodity Futures’. First to speak on the topic was Ms. Sanvali Kaushik, VP & Head – South & West Zone, NCDEX. She spoke on the topic of startup reforms and India’s strategic disadvantage of being a price taker in mimic contracts. She also spoke at length about the challenges facing commodity markets in India in the wake of regulatory constraints on flow of capital outside of the border in the commodities investment space. Soon after her enlightening dialogue, Mr. Vijay Sardana, Executive Director – Centre for International Trade in Agriculture and Agri-based products took the stage and spoke about market perspective on reforms with a specific focus on wheat crop in India.
The event came to a conclusion with Faculty Co-ordinator for the organizing team, Dr. Parvinder Arora from IMT, Ghaziabad acknowledging the participation from various members of industry and academia.
The event, organized by Fin-Niche, the Finance Club of IMT Ghaziabad was well attended by industry and academia alike. From the student community, reputed Business Schools including Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD), Management Developnment Institute, Gurgaon (MDI), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) were represented at the venue. The principal sponsor for the event was SMC Investment Solutions with Co-sponsorship coming from Forward Markets Commission (FMC).