Former ED of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) G. Mahalingam addressed the students of Great Lakes Institute of Management. It is a premier B School in India in its 7th Annual Great Lakes – Union Bank Finance.
G Mahalingam was outlining the effects of global financial crisis after 2009. He spoke about the various dilemmas faced by the emerging market economies, “Managing growth and inflation has been the biggest challenge to the central banks of all the emerging markets; not to forget the over-valuation and under-valuation of currency adding to the task.
Mr. Mahalingam pointed out that the question ‘why common people still choose Bank fixed deposits over bonds’ which have excellent liquidity has still no definite answer. He suggested that experts should create more awareness in this area.
Great Lakes Founder, Dean and Chairman Dr. Bala V Balachandran said that the finance conference this year was aimed at bringing together some of the best minds from policy making, mutual funds and industry. This was to help the students analyze, debate and discuss the effective policy making process to aid wealth maximization of a larger section of the society.
Start Saving Early
Kalpen Parekh, Joint President, DSP BlackRock MF advised the students on the importance of starting to save early. Parekh asserted, “The narrative today is to show the consumers high returns and lure them into unwanted investment plans. This is partly consumers’ fault too as people are unwilling to take calculated risks. Also, small capital and a long tenure never hurts.
‘Make equities work for the commoner’
On the other hand, Mr. Nitesh Ranjan, Chief Investor Relations Officer, Union Bank of India emphasised on making equities work for the commoner. “Even today, a local Bank, real estate agent or a gold jewelry shop are more accessible than an equities expert. The sheer number of choices alone when it comes to equities can startle a commoner and this is where experts should focus on creating awareness,” he said.
