IIM Lucknow’s Annual Leadership Summit- SAMVIT

Nov. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Press Release
29th November, 2010

IIM Lucknow’s Annual Leadership Summit- SAMVIT witnesses the best of the corporate world and policymakers

Theme focuses on “Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects”

IIM Lucknow organised SAMVIT, a two day Annual Leadership Summit. Dr. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor Reserve Bank of India unveiled the theme for Samvit on “Financial Regulation & Development in India: Challenges & Prospects”.

The very best of the corporate world and policymakers thrashed out ideas that could lay down the growth platform for the country in the years to come. The main event for this year’s Samvit was “The Leader’s Panel Discussion”. Over the years, Samvit has signified the homecoming of some of the biggest corporate leaders in India for the panel discussion at IIM Lucknow.

This year the institute played host to noted bankers and industry stalwarts – Mr. Atul Khosla, Country Head, Oliver Wyman, Mr. Vikas Vasal, Executive Director, KPMG, Mr Sanjiv Bhasin, CEO, DBS Bank and Mr. Suresh Senapaty, CFO, Wipro Ltd. – for the panel discussion. Mr. Amitabha Ghosh, former RBI Governor was also present to express his views on the challenges and prospects of the current regulatory environment.

In the run up to the main event, the first day of Samvit saw some exhilarating events being organised on campus. The students also got a feeler of the finance world through “Stratagem – The national level Mergers & Acquisitions Competition”. The unique event allowed the students to delve deep into financial concepts and exercise their wisdom at real time scenarios. “Finquizitive – The finance quiz” had the participants by their breath till the end. The highlight of the first day was the finance workshop conducted by Mr. Vaidya Nathan, a certified trainer who works in close association with brands such as JP Morgan Chase, Citibank and Deutsche Bank.

During the Leader's Panel Discussion, Mr. Amitabha Ghosh, Former Governor, RBI, commended the role of RBI in formulating policies for the economic well-being of the economy, but was also critical about the scale and efficacy with which these policies are being implemented. He was of the opinion that instead of government bodies formulating policies, an environment of discipline wherein all the financial players have a set of "Self Regulations", a practice that once incorporated at the top level would percolate to the lower levels and ensure overall economic health.

Mr Sanjiv Bhasin, CEO, DBS Bank, quipped that regulations might be something that might not go down too well with a few, but the regulation is of immense importance in the current volatile macroeconomic environment. He said that for regulations to achieve their true purpose they should be relevant to the market. Elucidating his stance he mentioned that these regulations have a widespread impact on common people, so the regulators have to be very cautious while laying down norms.

Mr. Suresh Senapaty, CFO, Wipro Ltd., delivered a spirited speech in which he talked about the various phases of economic reforms and the importance such reforms hold for the future. He said that with limited or no social safety cover, the policy makers should come up with policies that mitigate any risks that might emerge in the capital or the debt market. Pressing on the importance of a deeper secondary debt market, Mr. Senapaty spoke about an environment of confidence in which all segments of the society can prosper.

Mr. Atul Khosla, Country Head, Oliver Wyman, delved into the topic of inclusive growth. He stressed upon the enhancement of risk coverage in public as well as private markets. Mr. Khosla said that overall consumer protection should be at the apex of any policy initiative.

Mr. Vikas Vasal, Executive Director, KPMG, pointed out that the focus of economic activities have shifted from the west to the east. In the new light, it is important to device strategies to tap the massive growth potential that India has. Commending the core Indian values of prudency, Mr. Vasal said that it is due to these virtues that we largely went unscathed in the worst economic crisis after the Great Depression.

The discussion was followed by a Q&A session in which the students and faculty of the institute probed the leaders on a variety of topics concerning the financial sector. Samvit - 2010 drew to a close with the event Consilium - The policymaking event, in which two member teams presented their views on fiscal and monetary policy.

The two day extravaganzas saw teams from other institutes such as MDI and IIM Indore come down to the campus and participate in the various events organized as a part of Samvit. Speaking about the event, Ayush a first student said, "The event has been a revelation of sorts to the students at the campus. Not only have we been treated to a host of competitions, but also we have gained insights into the current and future economic conditions of the country".