The Plenary Session 1 was held on 17th December, 2019 and the topic of discussion was :-

FINTECH: FUTURE OF BFSI SECTOR

Dr. Hory Sankar Mukherjee, the moderator for this session started off the discussion by stating that the Government of India has started various social welfare schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Jan Suraksha, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), etc. He went on to say that implementation of all these schemes in a country like India would be efficient and effective provided new technologies are used. Using technology will lead to greater transparency, plug in the leakages and ultimately benefit the end customer. He also threw light on the various new digital payment platforms being used and how it is changing the BFSI ecosystem. Due to this ‘disruption’ brought in by the payments platforms, the banks are day by day losing their significance. However, the positive side of this so called disruption is the convenience of the people at large. Cybersecurity was another topic which was discussed by the moderator and emphasized that there are still plenty of challenges which needs to be addressed in this sector.

Speaker, Mr. Hrishikesh Deshmukh spoke about the Mutual Fund Industry and how the mutual fund managers are way behind in embracing new technology. He further reiterated that if they continue to do so, the Mutual Fund Industry will be dead in 10 years. However, Exchange Traded Fund managers have been embracing new technology and has become the new norm. He highlighted the case of ‘Zerodha’ which has an innovative business model based on advanced technology. Due to these factors, it has become the largest broker in India. He stressed upon the fact that the insurance sector is still at a very nascent stage in India and more penetration is required especially in the rural sector. In order to achieve high penetration into the rural market, the insurance sector can take help of Robo Advisory. Robo Advisory is one of the disruptive technologies and many investors are already using this technology and are being benefitted immensely in terms of returns on investment. Robo advisory is also being used by many fund managers for managing the portfolio of their clients and also helping them build a portfolio in sync with their short term and long term requirements.

Speaker, Dr. Vishaal Baulkaran spoke that gender biases are being eliminated using technology. New disruptive technologies are also being put to good use and people at large are getting benefitted. He stressed the importance to embrace new technologies such as Robo Advisory for future investment planning such as Children Education, Tax planning among others and various fintech companies have already implemented such type of advisory. Big data, Analytics and Artificial intelligence are used by fintech companies nowadays to integrate data.

Speaker, Dr. Pawan Jain spoke that the Government is supporting new and upcoming technologies by way of financial support and tax breaks. Every organization has to develop and design products keeping into mind the customer requirements and providing them with various options and convenience which is possible only through the use of technology. In the BFSI industry, Goldman Sachs has revolutionized the corporate and retail banking sector with branchless banking. State of Wyoming in US, is the only state which is tracking and developing Blockchain Technology. People need to also trust new technologies in order to embrace and use them. Data security is very important to win the trust of the people at large and for this decentralization of storage of data is very critical. He also advised students to learn about new upcoming technologies to stay abreast with the latest of the happenings and innovations in the technology domain. He also reminded of the fact that nowadays there is rise in the misuse of technology like that of spreading fake news, personal data of individuals being stolen as in the recent case of Cambridge Analytica. Many Countries such as Australia and the Scandinavian Countries are trying to develop various data protection laws in order to instill a level of confidence among people.

The Plenary Session 2 was held on 17th December, 2019 and the topic of discussion was :-

SUSTAINIBILITY AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH: MOVING TOWARDS HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Rajendra Khandekar who was the moderator for this session, started the panel discussion and set the stage for further elaboration on the topic. He told the audience that solving customers’ problems should not only be the objective of business organizations but the solutions to these problems should consider its sustainability. Products and services designed have to consider its sustainability and bear in mind of the fact that it is made available to all people. More of environment friendly designed products and services have to be created and for this technology and innovation lies at the core. He went on to quote few examples such as presence of micro-plastics in our food, biological ecosystem and others which is causing a great danger not only to mankind but the ecosystem as well. Inclusiveness is also very important for any society. In the United Nations charter for Inclusive Growth, the 17th goal is to create partnerships for which public policy plays a crucial role. He mentioned Starbucks in his speech as an example of a sustainable organization which promotes inclusive growth.

Speaker, Dr. Sebastian Stoermer elaborated how inclusiveness and diversity is important in his country Germany. Inclusiveness is the key to running a company in a responsible way. Companies have now started recruiting from Tier 2 cities as well to have a more inclusive workforce. German companies have a certain degree of glass ceiling regarding this but it is changing rapidly. The overall tendency of an organization should always aim to align work life balance, integrate foreign and local labors and promote cross fertilization between these groups, integration of foreign students among others. The overall purpose is to promote inclusiveness among all sections of the society and break the barrier that exists. Companies must realize the fact that the performance level of all its employees cannot be the same but a level playing field must be designed and implemented by the company so that none are deprived and everybody is treated equally. This in turn affects the decision making process of the company and ultimately leads to more knowledge creation, innovation, increased revenues and overall performance for the company and its stakeholders.

Speaker, Mr. SC Kalia spoke about the sense of inclusive and sustainable growth that comes from within rather than being forced upon by the Government. Sustainable growth with inclusiveness is required for society to prosper. Although the Government of India has made it mandatory for all public companies to contribute 2 percent of their profits for Corporate Social Responsibility purposes, rather than being forced by the Government it should be in the DNA of every organization. He reiterated that Yes Bank was built on 6 pillars out of which more emphasis is always given on responsible banking and endeavor to always be a good corporate citizen. An illustration of this being Yes Bank was the first Indian Bank to issue Green Infrastructure Bond which is listed on Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

Speaker, Mr. Debasish Mallick told that it may be difficult for many companies to accept sustainability since it involves large capital investment, companies should think long term and instead calculate how much profits they would be able to make in the long run. The profits made long term clearly would outweigh the short term impact financially. For embracing sustainability, there needs to be a change in mindset of the people, people need to come out of their comfort zone, change their lifestyle and attitude.

It is very important to leave behind a greener planet for our future generations. Inclusiveness is important for any country to emphasize upon to bring people out of poverty.

Speaker, Dr. Sundar Narsimhan spoke about how sustainable growth and economic growth goes hand to hand with our neighbor, China being a live example. According to him, nowadays, companies have to be more conscious and choosy about the products they sell or the services they offer in terms of whether they are harming the environment in doing so. Profits at the cost of harming the environment should not be accepted now. Water conservation is another focus area which all companies are striving to achieve to maintain the ecological balance.

The Plenary Session 3 was held on 18th December, 2019 and the topic of discussion was:-

TECHNOLOGY: ITS IMPACT ON ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Mr. Naresh Kumar Pinisetti, moderator for the session highlighted that technology today knows no bounds. Gone are the days when a smartphone or a fast network or the megapixels of a camera would hold one’s breath. Today technological disruptions are shaping the world to be more reactive. The world is talking about talking about AI, Machine learning, Analytics, Data science, Automation, Robotics, Internet of Things, Drones and UAVs, cryptocurrencies giving a boost to verticals such as agriculture, Construction, Management, Medicine, Education and even psychology to name a few.

Mr. Suman Bose spoke about some of the mega trends that will impact the economy in terms of technology. He spoke about India progressing with the world technologically, being one of the youngest countries, it has been imbibing technology at a great pace. He also spoke about the flip side of the story- The digital divide, i.e., form the monetary haves and have nots, we are treading towards the digital haves and have nots.

Ms. Aditi Sud spoke on the changes taking place in the hospitality sector, Ms. Sud spoke about the continuous transformation-that does revolve around adoption of new tech, but also its adaption. Technological/digital platforms are adapting and diversifying as can be seen with the case of Paytm and Google. There has been a mega trend of platform emergence and amalgamation. Today if one wants to scale up their business, they need to adopt and adapt to digital payment ecosystem.

Ms. Jacqueline Mundkur spoke about the retail industry and the fact that it might have a different trajectory in India V/s the West, i.e., in India the physical aspect of retail will continue, while individuals might compare online they still prefer buying from physical stores. The size of those stores might shrink, but relevance will continue to exist. A smart marketer will look for opportunities, as orgs we need to meet customer needs. When creating a project one needs to keep in mind that they are working on the same to solve a customer problem.

Dr. Pawan Jain spoke that there is where we need to introspect and ask - is that the kind of village we want? There will be more tech and that is inevitable, it’s the usage of tech that we need to take care of. Weapons are being created and deployed by AI today; when it comes to fake news, it’s not tech spreading it, its humans that are making use of tech to spread it. Therefore, it’s not technology, it’s us as a human who need to decide how to make use of what is available and what is going to be available in the near future.

The Plenary Session 4 was held on 18th December, 2019 and the topic of discussion was:-

INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: DRIVERS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Dr. Kishore Kulkarni, moderator for the session spoke about how the consumers have become increasingly habituated to look for and want what’s new, best, fastest, more convenient, or more fashionable, and to tire of products much more quickly. In such a fast-moving world just being different is not enough. The mantra to be a leader in the market today has changed from just being the best to being the best consistently.

Mr. Abhishek Ranjan spoke about digital technology being the new form of democracy that has an equal access all. He believes that the pillars of digital technology are social media, mobility, AI, Cloud. All of this has created an environment where individuals have access to great content. There are so many examples of start-ups right from Byjus to khan academy that revolve around direct benefit transfer to their consumers- we need more stories like theirs and create value for customers. He stressed on the importance of sustainable growth via measures like carbon foot printing and committing to a carbon goal.

Mr. Shreenivas Kunte spoke and encouraged student managers to think whether they are ethical or not and to introspect on what they have always enjoyed doing.

Ms. Shilpa Sudame spoke on an alternate perspective, i.e., how the absorption of individuals was greater without technology, considering chores were done manually, and therefore they learnt much more than when tech swept in. She also spoke of identifying a gap and there on build on a vision for one’s idea.

Dr. Amitabh Dutta spoke on the idea of beginning innovation right from the first year of college, the same should be inculcated by universities, for instance, in Florida tech the innovation program encourages students to come up with innovative ideas that can be monetized. Dr. Amitabh also spoke of key important ‘dos’ for students and educators to excel in the world of entrepreneurship.

Mr. Amit Gupta spoke that it was innovation that has led to automation and the rise of new skill sets required for new profiles like data scientists. He believes that in this is world that is treading towards a rapid change, technology is not about the elimination of jobs, rather it is about the creation of new kinds of jobs. Therefore, we don’t need new people, we need new skills.

Valedictory Function

The valedictory function started with a welcome address by the SIMSARC team. SIMSARC’19 got an overwhelming response from the research fraternity as this year it received 207 research papers out of which only 71 were shortlisted for presentation. These research papers were reviewed and evaluated by respective session chairs and discussants. The winners were awarded in this session.

Thereafter, our director, Brig(Retd.) Dr. Rajiv Divekar delivered the welcome address. Our Director highlighted the purpose of conducting SIMSARC which is to provide a platform for the budding researchers and other scholars to showcase their talent and share with the audience their research findings. The Director thanked each and every speaker for being present at SIMSARC’19. He further elaborated that it is very clear that technology has to be embraced by one and all. The earlier we can embrace and eventually master technology, the better. The life cycle of upcoming technologies is reducing and the practicality of these technologies has to be kept in mind while developing them. Examples of upcoming technologies include data analytics, design thinking to name a few and how does one use these to their advantage is a challenge and needs to be addressed. In today’s ever-changing and dynamic world, if one has to stay relevant he / she, should constantly update and skill / re-skill themselves. Financial markets technology is going to be very important in the days to come. He also expressed that ‘Brick and Mortar’ concept will not disappear but its significance will be lost in future. The nature of jobs will change in the future and there is no possibility of being secure at a job unless one updates and re-skills themselves. He urged the audience that they need to step out of their comfort zone in order to stay relevant because technology disruption is affecting both our personal and professional lives.

Thereafter, the Director felicitated the Chief Guest for the Valedictory function, Mr. Srikanth Meenakshi, Founding Partner and Head, Platform & Technologies, PrimeInvestor.in following which a short speech was given by the Chief Guest. Mr. Meenakshi introduced himself to the audience as a Fintech Entrepreneur having started off his own venture in the year 2008-09. He narrated his experience of having visited various B - schools in India and abroad on invitation and realized that work and knowledge is more important in the long run than academic degree. He praised and congratulated all the scholars and participants of SIMSARC’19. The research papers were of high quality because the topics were very socially relevant and very much applicable to the Indian society. He requested the audience to identify their area of interest and strength and start reading the relevant research papers presented. He emphasized that building the future is totally in our hands i.e., it is we who are going to shape the future. Certainly one has to face the future and nobody can shy away from it. So being futuristic is the need of the hour. There are two options available now looking at the current scenario, first one being one has to adapt to the future and the second being one can create the future. Creating the future is what entrepreneurs do today and is a very challenging task. The key to being futuristic is possible only through innovation and product motivation. He suggested the audience who want to be entrepreneurs in the future to possess basic knowledge about accounts, marketing, operations and various rules and regulations applicable. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, a source of motivation and passion has to be there and this motivation and passion may be technology, money or others. He assured the audience that the fruit after all the hard work and effort will be sweet. During this journey many obstacles may come, but one has to overcome them. This will ensure that the future is all YOURS and YOU have to make it happen.

After the speech of the Chief Guest, a short video was played which captured the various moments and activities which had taken place throughout the 2 days of SIMSARC’19 event.

Following the video presentation, the Award Ceremony started and Dr. Arti Chandani, SIMSARC’19 conference convener announced and congratulated all the winners.

After the distribution of awards, Conference Convener, Dr. Arti Chandani delivered the vote of thanks and also announced the theme for SIMSARC’20 which will be “India: A $5 Trillion Economy”.