The Interactive Session was addressed by Shri Vibhor Tandon, Regional Head & Shri Deepesh Shrivastava, Product Specialist, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd.

Shri Vibhor Tandon, Regional Head Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. remarked that Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited operates as an independent, de-mutualized association that facilitates online trading, clearing, and settlement operations of commodities futures transactions in India. The company focuses on offering futures trading in commodities from various market segments, including bullion, energy, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oils and oil seeds, cereals, pulses, plantations, spices, plastics, and fibers. The company has strategic alliances with international exchanges to introduce new types of futures contracts in India, such as contracts based on ocean freight rates, in anticipation of changes in government regulations permitting the trading of intangibles. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Shri Deepesh Srivastava Product Specialist, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd explained that Metals and Energy segments are the key contributors to our success and these have enabled us to become the 6th largest exchange within 6 years of commencement of our operations. We have decided to provide special status to metals and energy segments, for the year 2010, with an aim to move up further in the global chart. Prices of MCX in Gold, Silver, Copper, Nickel, Zinc as well as Crude Oil have become reference points for the spot market and have become a basis for decision making for the participants. This price has become a benchmark price since India has a significant share of trade in metal and energy segments giving India its rightful place as a “Price Setter."

The Speech of His Excellency,Shri M. K. Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal at the Function organized by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce to present The Prabha Khaitan Puraskar To Smt. Shanu Lahiri 22 June, 2010

I am happy to be amidst you this evening for the Prabha Khaitan Puraskar presentation function organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.

I commend the Prabha Khaintan Foundation for initiating an award of this nature reflecting the great vision of the late Prabha Khaitan. It reflects a keen interest in ensuring the betterment of society, by inspiring others to emulate those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement and secured an award of this nature.

It is at the same time evident that the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce has not lost any of the pioneering zeal displayed by the original 200 traders of Kolkata who set up the Chamber way back in 1830. These pioneers had demonstrated there was more to existence than the mere pursuit of economic and trade interests. This helped enlarge the horizons of many an individual which in turn has benefited society at large.

The Prabha Khaitan Puraskar has a special place in the honours list of achievements by women. It has today become a hallmark of distinction for women in India in different fields, and it is fitting that the award for 2008, being conferred today, should go to Smt. Shanu Lahiri. I feel privileged to be asked to present the award to such a luminary as Smt. Lahiri. My warm congratulations to her.

Smt. Shanu Lahiri is a multifaceted personality. Her chosen field is fine arts – essentially the visual arts – in which she has few equals. She has earned many a distinction in addition to being conferred the D.Litt. by Rabindra Bharati University. For more than half a Century, beginning with the President of India’s Award for the First Prize in Oils, at the Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition in Delhi in 1950, to the Lifetime Achievement Award conferred by Achin Patua, Kolkata in 2005, she has been a dominant figure in the world of visual arts.

Smt. Lahiri has vastly enriched the Indian ethos, both by her personal contribution in her chosen field, and by becoming an inspiration for generations of women in our country. I can go on and on in this fashion, but I think Smt Lahiri’s achievements hardly need any mention to a knowledgeable Kolkata audience of this kind. All I would like to say is that I am sure that future generations would be grateful for her personal contribution for it has vastly enlarged the canvas of fine arts and also made people aware of the genius of Indian womanhood.

There is, however, more to Smt. Lahiri’s genius than her contribution to the world of fine arts. As I just mentioned, hers is a multifaceted personality where art and life have become intertwined, laced with humanity. Smt. Lahiri has been active on gender issues at one level and in the upliftment of the less privileged sections of society on the other. The first is as important as the latter. Mainstreaming of women’s empowerment is central to human development.

Many of our leaders, over the years, have voiced their concerns about the condition of women. Our first Prime Minister had said, “You can tell the condition of the nation by looking at the status of women.” Our current Prime Minister recently remarked, “While we have shown improvement over the years, progress has been much slower than what we would have liked.”

Empowerment of women can be achieved only if their economic and social status is improved. The involvement and contribution of personalities like Smt. Shanu Lahiri will provide a tremendous impetus to the adoption of social and economic policies that ensure the proper development of women. It is only when there is clear vision, and people like Smt. Shanu Lahiri are in the forefront of such a movement, that obstacles to the path of women’s emancipation can be removed. I, therefore, commend the achievements and the determination of Smt. Shanu Lahiri in this area.

It is true, no doubt, that there has been a great deal of interest of late in improving the lot of women in our country. The process, however, needs to be further galvanized. Many evil practices continue to prevail, and while the Government has passed many laws to empower women, a lot more remains to be done. State and Central Governments by themselves cannot achieve the desired objective. Civil society and NGOs must act as watchdogs and ensure proper implementation of the laws and regulations so that gender empowerment becomes a reality. It is only when we have several more Shanu Lahiris becoming involved that we can expect the goal to be reached.

Over and above gender empowerment issues, Smt. Shanu Lahiri has also displayed a keen sense of social commitment. She has been actively involved in mobilizing street children into painting the walls of Kolkata. By doing so, she has provided an opportunity to children to not only give expression to their creative talent, but given them a sense of dignity which is often lacking as far as the underprivileged are concerned. As has often been said, Smt. Shanu Lahiri, remains the voice of the city’s conscience.

In conclusion, by honouring Smt. Shanu Lahiri today, we are only fulfilling what Swami Vivekananda had enjoined upon us, viz., “That country and that nation which doesn’t respect women will never become great now and nor will ever in future”.

I once again congratulate the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce for demonstrating vision in honouring someone like Smt. Shanu Lahiri.

Once again, my congratulations to Smt. Shanu Lahiri.

Thank you.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Mr. Sanjay Mark Wadvani, Hon’ble British Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata.

British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India Mr. Sanjay Wadvani, said the new government in UK, led by Prime Minister David Cameron, is keen to enhance partnership with India. UK has identified sectors like manufacturing, infrastructure, information and communication technology (ICT), telecom, life science, financial services, agri-business, retail and creative industries as priority sectors for expanding ties. In the East, the UK is focusing on areas like mining, cleaner coal technologies, renewable energy, water and waste management, ICT, infrastructure, healthcare and education.

Mr. Wadvani said, “UK can be more adventurous in eastern India and take calculated risks as companies are open to export beyond the European Union and North America. But the government and businesses here needs to reach out to such companies to bring investment and business ties in the region. There is a shared responsibility in this regard”.

The Deputy High Commissioner further announced that Britain is primarily focusing on coal mining. “UK has huge strengths in the coal value chain, namely prospecting, exploration, mine planning and designing, geological assessment of coal deposits, underground and open cast coal mining equipment, rock mechanics and coal washing”. A cleaner coal technology is another area where Eastern India stands to benefit. The UK government under Prime Minister David Cameron has leveraged opportunities in Eastern India. The British government plans to introduce a number of companies to assist mining and power companies in Eastern India.

While UK emerged as fourth largest investor in India in the year 2009-10, India came to be counted as the second largest foreign investor in London, after the United States of America. In 2008-09, India had a hundred and eight investment projects into the UK. “The UK is, by far, the most popular business destination in Europe for Indian companies. It is a recognized leader in the field of innovation and creativity and is the fifth largest economy in the world”.

Mr. Wadvani said the UK is streamlining its visa processing facility in India, which is expected to reduce the waiting period for the British visa from the present 15 days to 10 days. The new system is slated to be implemented within two weeks. In 2009, there were more than 4.25 lakh UK visa applications from India. Over a million visitors travel between India and UK every year. UK’s visa system was completely revamped 18 months back.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Prof. Saugata Roy, Hon’ble Minister of State for Urban Development, Government of India.

Prof. Saugata Roy, said that allocations to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) may increase three folds to Rs.3,000 crore in the next Union Budget with the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) expected to get into full swing in 2010-11.The scheme has been formulated for slum-dwellers on the lines of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and is aimed at making India slum-free in a few years. An Expert Committee, appointed by HUPA and headed by Mr. Deepak Parekh to formulate draft guidelines of RAY, will submit its recommendations by this calendar year-end. The Centre has decided to give property rights to slum-dwellers in the new units and the redevelopment of the slums was likely to be taken up in one city at a time rather than focusing on specific slums.

The Minister added that having implemented the bus rapid transport system (BRTS) successfully in Ahmedabad and Indore, the Centre is keen on extending the facility in other States. The BRTS provides smooth transit for the city buses by segregating them from other vehicles on the road. The West Bengal Government had submitted a proposal to the Centre for implementing BRTS from Garia to EM Bypass but the proposal was returned for technical amendments. He was of opinion that the BRTS could also be implemented on the Barrackpore Trunk Road in Kolkata.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Dr. C. Rangarajan Hon’ble Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

Dr. C. Rangarajan remarked that the economy should grow by 8-9% for a longer period and the pattern of growth should guarantee poverty reduction and generate employment. The country lags in social sector parameters and thus the government should primarily focus on areas like health and education. In his address, the senior economist has outlined two basic medium term challenges that the country is facing now – the falling agricultural production growth and the need for finding ways to generate more electricity.

“It was envisaged that a 4% agricultural growth per annum is necessary for food security and poverty alleviation. There is a need for improved research and dissemination of the scientific knowledge to farmers,” he said, adding that the country needs to overcome the problems related to land acquisition for power generation companies.

He feels the government should release more food stocks through public distribution system (PDS) to rein in spiraling food prices. The country, typically, carries a PDS stock of 25.66 million tones of rice and 16.8 million tones of wheat. The senior economist and former RBI governor expects food prices to see a reversal of the current spiraling trend by the second half of 2010-11, as he anticipates a good Rabi season harvest. According to him food inflation showed some signs of moderation and marginally fell to 17.81% for the week to February 27 from 18.87% earlier. This was largely on account of a modest decline in prices of foodgrain like rice and cereals. The general inflation (wholesale price index) was at 8.56% in January. The Reserve Bank of India has endorsed Central Statistical Organisation’s (CSO) prediction of 7.2% growth for 2009-2010.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Dr. Abhijit Sen, Chairman, Sanlam Mutual Fund Trust Company & Former President, Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Shri Sanjay Bhattacharya, Senior Chartered Accountant & Shri Pawan Kumar Agrawal, Senior Chartered Accountant.

Dr. Abhijit Sen in his speech remarked that reduction in fiscal deficit is only marginal. The index of industrial production is declining and there is alarming rise in government borrowing. In the present scenario, the private players will be crowded out. Divestment is not properly mentioned in the budget. The only silver lining is this is the last year of Unit 64 scheme. Gold is spiraling, so is cost of living. There is 60% enhancement in customs duty on gold and this is burdensome for the middle & poor class. He said that the government has plethora of projects. The actual allocation for the projects is not more than 20%, the remaining 80% are eaten up in the overhead costs. According to him, capitalization of banks is not needed. This is done either because of loan waiver or there might be pressure of priority sector lending. Our past experience is private sector banks failed miserably.

Shri Sanjay Bhattacharya stated that the Budget has taken reforms in personal income tax a step forward by reducing the tax liability and compliance for the salaried, professionals and small businessmen. The budget has raised the threshold for mandatory auditing of accounts for professionals and small businessmen by 50% to Rs. 15 lakh and Rs. 60 lakh respectively. A new saral form will make filing of tax returns easier and increased computerisation will help reduce physical interface between the taxpayers and the department. On Corporate front, while it is proposed to reduce surcharge from 10% to 7.5% on domestic companies, which would result in lowering of gross rate of DDT, etc, MAT rate has been increased from 15% to 18%. Hiking the MAT rate is undesirable, especially as small companies too bear the burden.

Shri Pawan Kumar Agrawal pointed out that the Government has reiterated that by April 2011 it would bring in the Direct Tax Code as well as GST. This will simplify taxation as well as widen the tax net considerably. The budget has hinted that the GST rate will be 10%. GST will definitely remove cascading effect, which VAT has failed to do. Under GST, Central Excise will be vatable. GST will bring down MAT.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Shri Rajesh Jain, FCA, Renowned Financial & Management Consultant, Author & Public Speaker.

Shri Rajesh Jain explained that in order to last longer over the scale of time, you have to keep changing with it. Nothing lasts. No advantage continues. People will often resist change because they are comfortable with how things are, right now. If the rate of change outside your organization is greater than the rate of change inside your organization, the end is in sight. It’s not so much that we’re afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear… it’s like being between trapezes. ….. There’s nothing to hold on to

He added that when you’re through changing, you’re through. Change is what keeps us fresh and innovative. Change is what keeps us from getting stale. Change is what keeps us young. The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order. He reminded the famous saying of Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”. The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out. He reiterated the words of Thomas Jefferson – “In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in other matters, swim with the current.” Be happy with what you have, never with what you are.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Shri V. Vasanthan, Banking Ombudsman for West Bengal & Sikkim, RBI.

Mr Vasanthan observed that there has been an increase in awareness about the role of Banking Ombudsman in the country. “The increase in number of complaints indicates the faith customers have in our system of adjudication and the confidence that their grievances will be duly redressed”. The quality of complaints received by Ombudsman has also improved. He said, “of the 3,400 registered cases in 2008-09 only 25 per cent could be resolved to the satisfaction of customers while 75 per cent suffered quality. But this year we have been able to resolve 52 per cent of the total number of complaints received so far”.

According to Mr. V. Vasanthan, complaints pertaining to credit and debit cards account for more than one-third of the total number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsman in West Bengal and Sikkim region. The number was higher in other regions. Levying charges without the knowledge of customers, not rendering services prescribed by the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India and the RBI were the other frequent complaints received from customers. There has been 40-50 per cent increase in the number of complaints received by the Banking Ombudsman for West Bengal and Sikkim on a year-on-year basis. While 2,400 cases were registered in 2007-08, the number went up to 3,400 in 2008-09.

The Interactive Session was addressed by Shri Nilesh Shah, Deputy Managing Director, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited.

Shri Nilesh Shah remaked that at current levels, the market is trading at the higher range of its fair value at 16 times (estimated FY10 earnings). There are no big triggers for the next couple of months at least, which could affect prices significantly. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are likely to book profits before the close of the calendar.

So, we could see a lacklustre market till the start of the next calendar, when FIIs start drawing up their allocations for India. A lot will depend on how the economy develops and how corporate India manages to tackle the headwinds over the next few months. For the past nine months, liquidity has been good, interest rates were low, there was the government stimulus package, and inflation was dipping. In the coming months, the situation will reverse — you will have the government withdrawing its stimulus package, inflation rising and interest rates could firm up. It remains to be seen how companies manage to deliver in such an environment. The market has already priced in growth, better corporate governance and fiscal prudence. Any disappointment on these fronts could trigger a sharp reaction.

The market appears to be pricing in a hike in CRR as well as repo rates. Inflation has been rising, of late. So, there are concerns that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could tighten rates soon. We expect interest rates to remain stable at least till February. The government appears serious to keep the fiscal deficit under check, and this may reflect in its borrowing targets for the next year. A clear picture is likely to emerge only after the government outlines its borrowing programme in the Budget. We are positive on the infrastructure sector now that capital formation activities have resumed after a brief lull. The companies in the sector have begun getting fresh orders, and many stocks are available at good valuations. Telecom looks pretty attractive after the recent decline. Right now, the market appears to be taking a view that the ongoing tariff war could go on forever. Price war is not something unique to the telecom sector. Other sectors have seen it in the past. But there is a limit to how long that (price war) can go on. For instance, we had seen it in the detergent sector when P&G dropped prices sharply. But the price war lasted only for one-and-a-half years. Similarly, in the telecom sector, too, the price war can’t be sustained for long.

If you look at the recent public issues, all the companies are into sound businesses. Only, there issues were priced to perfection, leaving little scope for disappointment. Investors will now become cautious, and companies will have to price their issues more reasonably. Some of the smaller IPOs could be deferred. An investor should look at putting in money in upcoming issues only if he has an investment horizon of a year or more. Short-term gains look difficult for some time.