Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar hosted Finomics, its annual finance conclave, at the Mirador, Mumbai, on August 16. Finomics is the flagship event in the finance domain, organised by X-Fin, the finance association of XIMB.
It aims to bridge the gap between industry and academia by getting industry stalwarts and alumni to share their widespread knowledge to help students understand the nuances of finance. The session was attended by eminent industry leaders, alumni, faculty members and students.
The conclave was conducted over two sessions. The topic for the morning session was “India as an investment destination”. Amod Khanorkar, the moderator and an alumnus of XIMB, kick-started the discussion, talking about the need for India to capitalise on the opportunities created by the current slowdown in China and a stable government in India.
Sanjay Tripathy, Senior EVP at HDFC Life, was the first speaker. He spoke about the macroeconomic edge India has, while calling for the better utilisation of resources and proper execution as two primary concerns of the economy.
The second speaker, Prashant Prabhakaran, Executive Director and President-Retail Banking at India Infoline Ltd, spoke of the opportunity lost by India in the last six years, but reiterated India’s attractiveness as an investment destination. The last speaker for the session, Anup Bagchi, MD and CEO of ICICI Securities Ltd, gave a historical perspective of India as an investment destination and the need for corrective policies in land acquisition, IPR protection and labour laws.
This was followed with the announcement of the winners of Financius, the article-writing competition, and the unveiling of Finshastra, the annual business magazine of X-Fin. The session concluded with a vote of thanks by the coordinator of X-Fin, Prerna Goel.
The agenda for the afternoon session was “Impact of board composition on the financial performance of a firm”. DV Ramana, Professor at XIMB, moderated the event. Joseph Bosco, Director at Caramel Knowledge Ventures, highlighted the need for directors of a sufficient calibre, and the responsibility of independent directors towards an organisation.
The second speaker, Hemant Upadhyay, Managing Consultant at Hay Group, stressed the importance of diversity on the board and its positive effect on the quality of corporate governance. The final speaker, Suresh Raina, Managing Partner at Hunt Partners India, underlined the challenges faced by an independent director of a company.
The session concluded with Prof Banikanta Mishra launching an MS, Finance, a new course at XUB. The course aims to create super specialists with over a thousand hours of study in finance and related subjects. It will be a two-year course with the option of completing one year at globally reputed Fordham University, in the US. The course will also offer scholarships for economically weak but brilliant students.
The conclave provided an opportunity for students to interact with industry stalwarts and learn from their experiences. It was part of a series of conclaves on a range of subjects to be held over the coming week in Bhubaneshwar. BusinessLine on Campus is the online news media partner for the XIMB conclave series.