The Economic Times Best BFSI Brands 2018 held at The Sahara Star, Mumbai, saw luminaries from the banking, financial services and insurance sector discussing various aspects to bring in a paradigm shift in the BFSI sector. The event also saw the unveiling of “The Economic Times Best BFSI Brands Coffee Table Book” and felicitation of select brands to acknowledge their contribution to the BFSI industry.
The summit commenced with opening remarks from R. Amalorpavanthan, Deputy Managing Director, National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) stating, “There has been a major thrust on infrastructure. We are looking to promote smaller markets and link then to larger market and this is a major challenge. With markets widely spread across the country, connectivity becomes very important. Even though it is very challenging we have an ambitious target of doubling the farmer’s income by 2022”
Expressing his views for the evening, Deepak Lamba, President – Times Strategic Solutions, said, “We are grateful to the BFSI trailblazers who have gathered here today for the larger good of the financial community. The aim of the summit was to highlight ideas behind revamping and reshaping the Indian BFSI industry and bringing it at par with global standards to cement India’s position as one of the fastest growing economies, BFSI being at the crux and heart of this growth story.”
Chief guest Dr. Ranjit Patil, Minister of State Home (Urban) Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Law & Judiciary, Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra said, “As we march forward under the leadership of our Prime Minister, we have launched schemes like the Jandhan Yojana. 30 crore accounts were launched in the first six months of this government tenure. To achieve equitable distribution of wealth, BFSI sector plays a vital role.”
Moving on to a panel discussion on riding the wave of structural changes in the BFSI sector, Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, L&T Mutual Fund said, “The ever growing technology has proven to be very beneficial. Awareness levels about savings and investments are growing at a rapid speed in India. It has got a lot to do with the financial literacy which has increased in the last few years.” Moving forward, Ankur Kharbanda, CEO – West Zone at Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company said, “The healthcare insurance industry is growing by 20% CAGR in the last 10 years. India consumes Rs. 7 lakh Cr in healthcare insurance. Healthcare insurance has been used as a health financing product”. The session was moderated by Kalpesh Mehta, Partner, Deloitte and also saw interactive inputs from Rakesh Jain, CEO, Reliance General Insurance.
The gala evening was concluded by the unveiling of the Economic Times Best BFSI Brands Coffee Table book. The felicitation of the brands was done by the Chief guest Dr. Ranjit Patil, Minister of State Home (Urban) Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Law & Judiciary, Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra.