Adapting India's Financial Sector to a Globalizing World

October 31 – November 2, 2002

Goa, India

Organized by The World Bank in partnership with ICRIER, National Institute of Bank Management and Invest India Economic Foundation.

 

Overview

 

Day 1:

 

Opening Session

Day 2

 

Financial Sector Policy: Lessons from Cross-Country Experience

 

New Directions in Financial Sector Policy

 

Banking Policy

 

Finance: A View from the Firms

Day 3

 

Improving Access to Finance

 

Regulation of firms

 

Looking ahead in regulation and supervision

 

Pensions

 

Closing Session

 

 

Presentations and Speeches

 

DAY 1, OCTOBER 31

Opening Session

The opening session examines key issues and challenges in financial sector reform in India. The focus is on the challenge of strengthening the efficiency of India's financial sector so that it can provide a wider range of financial services at lower costs to a larger number of Indians, and the challenge of how to maximize efficiency and the gains from openness, while maintaining stability.

 

Session Chair: Ashok Lahiri, Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance

17.30 Welcome Remarks (25kb doc)

Michael Carter, Country Director, India, The World Bank

17.45 Keynote Address 

Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President, South Asia Region, The World Bank

 

18.15 Special Address (188kb ppt)

Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

18.45 Conference Background and Agenda (24kb doc)

Marilou Uy, Director, Financial Sector Operations and Policy Department, Finance Vice-Presidency, The World Bank

 

 

DAY 2, NOVEMBER 1

Financial Sector Policy: Lessons from Cross-Country Experience

 

This session compares cross-country experiences with financial sector reform, drawing lessons for India. The country/region presentations addresses questions concerning the contents, pace and sequencing of financial reforms, with a focus on how to achieve financial liberalization and greater efficiency while minimizing the risk of instability.

 

Session Chair:  Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

 

09.00 Financial sector reform: Evaluating the Indian Experience

Montek S. Ahluwalia, Director, Operations Evaluation, IMF

09.20 The Eastern European Experience (15kb ppt)

Lajos Bokros, Director, Financial Advisory Services, Europe and Central Asia Vice-Presidency, The World Bank (and formerly, Minister of Finance, Hungary)

09.40 The Korean Experience (152kb ppt)

Jang - Yung Lee, Senior Counselor to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy, Government of the Republic of Korea

 

10:00 Fiscal Adjustment, Financial Intermediation and Capital Account Convertibility (96kb ppt)

Suman Bery, Director General, NCAER

Comments

10.20 Shankar Acharya, Acting Director & Reserve Bank Professor, ICRIER
10.30 Roberto Zagha, Sr. Advisor, South Asia Vice-Presidency, The World Bank

 

New Directions in Financial Sector Policy in India

This session provides a forward looking analysis on financial sector policy in India.

 

Session Chair: C. M. Vasudev, World Bank Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka

Papers / Presentations

11.20 New Directions in Financial Sector Policy in India

Ajay Shah, Consultant, Ministry of Finance, Government of India   & Raghuram Rajan, Professor, University of Chicago

 

Comments

 

11.40 Rajiv Lall, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, New York
11.50 Jim Gordon, Senior Resident Representative, IMF

12.00 Q&A / Discussion

Banking Policy

The session seeks to assess the extent of banking sector distress in India, and examine the policy, regulatory, supervisory and legal measures available to address the problem and improve the performance of India's banks.

Session Chair: Ashok Lahiri, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India

14.00 How Distressed is India's Banking System ? (303kb ppt)

Priya Basu, Senior Financial Economist, South Asia Finance and Private Sector development, The World Bank

 

14.20 Improving the Governance of PSU banks (48kb pdf)

R. H. Patil, Chairman, Clearing Corporation of India

 

14.40 Issues in the Regulation and Supervision of Banks (108 kb pdf)

Asish Saha, Director, NIBM
T. S. Ravishankar, Profesor, NIBM

 

15.00 Improving the Performance of India's Banks (197 kb pdf)

Jim Hanson, Senior Advisor, Financial Sector Operations and Policy Department, The World Bank

 

Comments

 

15.20 Nachiket Mor, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd.
15.30 Deena Khatkhate, Former Assistant Director, MAE, IMF
15:40 A. Prasad, Advisor to the Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

 

15.50 Q&A / Discussion

 

Finance: A view from the firms

This session explores, from the perspective of Indian firms, the key issues and challenges related to financing. It examines questions related to how firms in India finance themselves (standard corporate finance questions – domestic vs. foreign financing, debt versus equity, banking vs. securities), how financing changes as we move from larger to smaller firms, and the financing constraints faced by India's small and medium enterprises, which are potentially an important engine of economic growth.

 

Session Chair: Arvind Virmani, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER

 

16.45 How do Firms in India Finance Themselves—Issues, Challenges and Policy Options (515 kb ppt)

Mahesh Vyas, Executive Director, CMIE

16.55 How do Firms in India Finance Themselves (100 kb ppt)

Prithvi Haldea, Managing Director, PRIME Database

 

Comments

17.05 Bharat Doshi, Executive Director, Finance&Corporate Affairs, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.
17.15 Uday Kotak, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Finance
17.35 VP Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, IFCI

17.45 Q&A / Discussion

DAY 3, NOVEMBER 2

Improving Access to Finance

The session explores selected issues in improving access to financial services in India. It examines the present levels of access to financial services in India, especially for the potentially underserved segments of the population, discuss the gaps between poor people's demand for financial services and the available supply of such services, analyze the factors that have constrained the access of poorer segments to financial services, identify alternative strategies and policy measures that would help improve access—including the role of microfinance, articulate available public policy choices to enhance availability or reduce the cost of provision of financial services, and point out practical opportunities for the expansion of access.

 

Session Chair: Marilou Uy, Director, Financial Sector Operations and Policy Department, The World Bank

 

09.00 Micro-finance in India: Issues, Challenges and policy options (100kb ppt)

K. Dinker Rao, Professor, NIBM and R. Dasgupta, Professor, NIBM

 

09.20 Improving Agricultural Commodity Marketing and Markets (92kb pdf)

Susan Thomas, Assistant Professor, IGIDR

09.30 Adapting India's Financial System to Serve the Distressed Majority (177kb ppt)

Vijay Mahajan, Managing Director, BASIX

 

Comments

09.40 VS Vyas, Chairman and Professor Emeritus, Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur
09.50 Nachiket Mor, Executive Director, ICICI Bank Ltd.

 

10.00 Q&A / Discussion

 

Regulation of Firms

The session examines key concerns related to the regulation of firms in India, including issues of information disclosure and transparency, the interface between firms and securities markets, and the role of institutional investors in enforcing corporate governance.

 

Session Chair
Ashok V. Desai, Consultant Editor, Business Standard

 

11.10 Information Disclosure (83kb pdf)

Mahesh Vyas, Executive Director, CMIE

11.30 The Interface between Firms and Securities Markets (76kb pdf)

Ravi Narain, Managing Director, National Stock Exchange of India

11.50 Role of Institutional Investors in Enforcing Corporate Governance in Firms (199kb pdf)

Y.H. Malegam, Managing Partner, S.B. Billimoria & Co.

Comments

12.10 Jayanth Varma, Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
12.20 Tom Glaessner, Lead Financial Economist, Financial Sector Operations and Policy Department, The World Bank

12.30 Q&A / Discussion

 

Looking Ahead in Regulation and Supervision

 

The session examines the main issues, concerns and challenges in the regulation, supervision and governance of India's financial sector.

 

Session Chair
S. Narayan, Finance Secretary, Government of India

 

Presentations

14.20 N. Sadasivan, Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India

 

14.40 Presentation (224kb pdf)

G.N. Bajpai, Chairman, SEBI

 

15:00 Comments
C. B. Bhave, Managing Director, NSDL

15:20 Q&A / Discussion

16:00 Summary by Session Chair

 

Pensions

In the last few years, a number of important developments have led the Government of India to re-examine its pensions policy—covering both civil service pensions and old age income security for the unorganized sector. The session discusses key issues, challenges and policy options for pension reform in India. It also includes a presentation on the Mexican experience with pension reforms, with a view to drawing lessons, if any, for India.

 

Session Chair

Suman Bery, Director General, NCAER

Ajay Shah, Consultant, Ministry of Finance

 

16.50 The Mexico Case Study (300kb pdf)
Vincente Corta, President, CONSAR

Comments

17.10 Jaimini Bhagwati, Chief Officer – Market Risk, The World Bank
17.20 Tom Glaessner, Lead Financial Economist, World Bank

17.30 Q&A / Discussion

 

Closing Session

 

Session Chair
NK Singh, Member, Planning Commission

18.30 Valedictory Address

S. Narayan, Finance Secretary, Government of India

19:00 Closing Remarks

Mieko Nishimizu, Vice President, South Asia Region, The World Bank

19:30 Vote of thanks
Michael Carter, Country Director for India, The World Bank