Financia 2015

Financia is an annual event organised by the Finance Club at DSIMS (FinDS). It is aimed at bringing eminent persons from Industry and Academia together for discussion on a topic of current interest. Financia 2015 was held on January 24, 2015 at the DSIMS auditorium.

Financial innovation refers to any new development in a financial system that enhances the allocational efficiency of the financial intermediation process and improves the operational efficiency of the financial system by reducing the cost and risk of transactions in the primary and secondary markets in which financial instruments are traded. The last twenty five years have witnessed acceleration in the process of financial innovation. This has been spurred largely by increased volatility of exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices and an increase in the pace of tax and regulatory change.

With the above background, the theme for Financia 2015 was set as “Financial Innovation in Emerging Markets”.?

The event began with an opening address by Dr. Sarita Vichore, Area Head, Finance who set the tone for the panel discussion. Next, Dr. C. Babu, Director, DSIMS spoke on the need for financial innovation. This was followed by a Key Note Address by Paritosh Basu, Professor, NMIMS. Immediately after, the inaugural edition of the Case Study Booklet was launched. Later, it was time for panel discussion. The panel members were:?

1. Dr. Paritosh Basu, Professor, NMIMS
2. Mr. Vikram Sheth, MD, IB, Religare Capital Markets
3. Mr. J. N. Gupta, ex-ED, SEBI
4. Ms. Kunda Jadhav, India Head, Barclays Operations
5. Mr. Sanjay Karnatak, CIO, Tata-AIG
6. Mr. Laxmikant Gupta, Head, Risk Management, ICICI Ventures
7. Ms. Sonali Tipre, Director, Margin’s view Consultancy

The panel had an interesting and lively discussion moderated by Dr. Kiran Karande. The topics argued and deliberated upon included financial innovation in developed vs emerging markets, urban vs rural markets, growth and development, disruption, regulatory and legal aspects and financial inclusion among others.

After conclusion of the panel discussion, prizes were awarded for Mock Stock, FinQ and Case Study competition which were organised as a part of Financia 2015. Mock Stock is an inter – college stock investment competition with participation by around 250 students from more than 60 colleges. The software for the competition was provided by ICICI Direct. FinQ is an online quiz on finance with around 200 students participating from more than 60 colleges. The Case Study competition on Financial Innovation had around 60 participants from more than 20 colleges with six being short listed for presentation and viva. The programme concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Prof. Nehal Joshipura.

Financia 2015 was a resounding success with excellent participation by faculty, staff and students of DSIMS as well as persons from industry and other colleges.