The Event:
IIM Indore celebrated its Sixth Foundation Day on October 3rd 2005, Dr. S. P. Parashar delivered a stirring address, emphasizing on the youth and dynamism of IIM Indore, while maintaining that it was essential to look to improve and update the mission and vision that the institute had started out with. IIM Indore now has a two-year full time Post-Graduate Program, an eighteen month Executive Post-Graduate Program and is about to launch a full fledged Fellow Program in Management. Management Development Programs and in-company training programs are also conducted on a regular basis.
Mr. Baba Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge and Chairman Board of Governors, IIM Indore, then introduced Dr. Rakesh Mohan, the Chief Guest.
Chief Guests Address:
Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India was the Chief Guest for the occasion. He spoke about the correspondence between economic reforms and Corporate Sector Performance in India. Dr. Mohan started informally by interacting with the audience, in a very simple, down to earth manner that contrasts starkly with his immense experience and knowledge.
Topic of the Lecture: Economic Reforms
He took the audience through three phases of the post-reform period, starting with the initial growth in the 1990s, followed by the deceleration in the late 90’s, and the remarkable recovering we have witnessed since 2002. During the course of his lecture, Dr. Mohan discussed aspects like Industrial De-Regulation, Liberalisation, Tax Policy, Monetary Policy, the Financial Sector Strengthening and the Capital Market.
He carried the audience through a brief narrative on the measures that had been implemented over the years, such as industrial de-regulation, elimination of Capital Licensing, the removal of MRTP and several others. The impact of these could be seen almost immediately as the GDP rose sharply, and a large number of new companies were initiated.
Dr. Mohan’s Advice to Companies of Today: Dr. Mohan stated that the economic slowdown in the late 1990s was a temporary setback, and companies would do well not to get too dejected when things were not too rosy, and also not to get over-excited when things were going well.
He also mentioned the Capital Market reforms that had been put into place that allowed companies to launch public issues without too much trouble, and without permission from the CCI (Capital Controller of India). The Establishment of SEBI and the permission given to FIIs to invest in the capital markets were major steps forward.
Outlook for the Future: At this stage Dr. Mohan injected a note of caution into the discourse, as he said that he did not see enough evidence of increasing investments by the corporate sector without which the current growth would be unsustainable. He said that companies should plan ahead with respect to world companies and economies.
He ended on an upbeat note, by saying that the economic reforms that have been implemented post Liberalisation have been very successful, as can be seen by their impact on the performance of the corporate sector.
An informative afternoon with one of the heavyweights of the economic arena.