RELEASE OF NIBM'S FLAGSHIP PUBLICATION 'IBFR 2022' BY THE HONOURABLE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF RBI

The annual Conference on Money, Banking and Finance was conducted on August 25, 2023 at the NIBM campus wherein the keynote address was given by Dr. Michael D. Patra, Deputy Governor - RBI. The main theme of his speech was climate risk and the hidden opportunity for the banking and finance sector to play a crucial role not only in mitigating this impending catastrophe, but also transform the nature of future economic growth.

Climate change is a rapidly emerging area of policy interest in the RBI. Back in 2007, the central bank advised banks to put in place board approved plans of action towards helping the cause of sustainable development. In 2015, the RBI specified loans for generation of renewable energy and public utilities that used non-conventional energy, as part of its priority sector lending (PSL) policy to incentivise the development of green energy sources. More recently, the RBI has taken initiatives aimed at understanding the implications of climate change for India’s financial sector for an informed climate-related policy, and the financing of green projects. The consensus is hence coalescing to the position that central banks are uniquely placed to address climate change since they can play a critical role in the promotion of green/sustainable finance through a mix of developmental and prudential regulatory policies, which was lucidly explained by Dr. Patra and his team of researchers (Dr. Harendra Behera, Ms. Soumasree Tewari, Dr. Ranjeeta Mishra and Dr. Samir Ranjan Behera) from RBI, with the aid of charts, diagrams and video clips that were both captivating and thought-provoking.

The keynote address was the perfect precursor to the unveiling of the much-awaited India Banking and Finance Report (IBFR) 2022 at the hands of the Honourable Deputy Governor along with the editors of the report; Prof. Partha Ray, Prof. Arindam Bandyopadhyay and Prof. Sanjay Basu. The yearly industry report which gives a panoramic view of the Indian banking and finance sector has been primarily written by the NIBM faculty covering deep and diverse topics ranging from INR settlements to CBDC, 'loan melas' to green finance, business strategy to bank profitability, and people risk management to systemic risk assessment. Recent challenges to banks and NBFCs, which emanate from domestic and global developments, have also been examined. A section-wise analysis of the report was given by Prof. Sanjay Basu with the aid of a scholarly presentation that summarised the salient points of each chapter for the benefit of the audience.

The highlight of the post-lunch session was a power-packed discussion on current global macroeconomic and banking challenges encompassing CBDC vs fiat currency, GDP vs HDP, AI vs surplus labour, growth stagnation vs Goldilocks economy and various such topical juxtapositions. The panelists were an eclectic mix of leading economists from academia (Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Director - IIM Udaipur; Prof. Subrata Sarkar, IGIDR) and the banking industry (Shri. Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist - Bank of Baroda; Shri. Saugata Bhattacharya, Senior Vice President - Axis Bank), who keenly debated and deliberated upon the erudite and ingenious points raised by the moderator, Prof. Partha Ray, Director - NIBM. The audience was not only fully engaged till the end, but also enriched and enlightened by the deep insights delivered with a hearty dose of humour by all the esteemed panel members. The event reached its grand finale with a vote of thanks by Prof. Arindam Bandyopadhyay, Dean (Academic Programme) - NIBM.

Dr. Michael Patra, Deputy Governor - RBI, delivering the keynote address of the Conference on Money, Banking and Finance; (L to R) Prof. Sanjay Basu, Prof. Partha Ray and Prof. Arindam Bandyopadhyay.

Release of the India Banking and Finance Report (IBFR) 2022 by Dr. Michael Patra, Deputy Governor - RBI (third from left) along with the editors of the report; (L to R) Prof. Sanjay Basu, Prof. Partha Ray and Prof. Arindam Bandyopadhyay.

Prof. Sanjay Basu giving a presentation on IBFR 2022.

Prof. Partha Ray, Director - NIBM (centre), setting the panel discussion in motion; (L to R) Prof. Arindam Bandyopadhyay, Dean (Academic Programme) - NIBM, Shri. Saugata Bhattacharya, Senior Vice President - Axis Bank, Prof. Subrata Sarkar, Professor - IGIDR, Prof. Ashok Banerjee, Director - IIM Udaipur, Shri. Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist - Bank of Baroda and Prof. Sanjay Basu, Editor (Prajnan) - NIBM.