: The Union Bank Centre for Banking Excellence at Great Lakes Institute of Management, a leading management institute, founded by Prof. Bala V Balachandran, hosted the second conference on financial inclusion at their sprawling green campus at Manamai, here today. Dr. Y.V. Reddy, inaugurated the conference and delivered the key note address. Mr. S. C. Kalia, Executive Director, Union Bank of India delivered the presidential address.
The second Financial Inclusion Conference’s theme for the panel discussion this year was – “Microfinance: Panacea for Financial Inclusion? If so, how to get there?”. The speakers Dr. D.S.K. Rao from Micro Credit Summit; Dr. Mudit Kapoor from ISB, Hyderabad; Mr. Vivek Kulkarni from Brickwork India Pvt. Ltd. and Dr. Bappaditya Mukhopadhyay from IDF discussed the various issues around financial Inclusion, and in particular focused on Microfinance. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Subhashis Gangopadhyay from IDF and University of Gothenburg.
Speaking on the occasion Prof. Bala V. Balachandran, Founder & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management defined Financial Inclusion as "the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost.” An index of financial inclusion places India, at the 50th rank with more than 60% of the population not having bank accounts. The committee under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan made a number of recommendations and they are under various stages of implementation.
Prof. S. K. Shanthi, Chair Professor – UBCBE & Professor of Economics, Great Lakes Institute of Management, who is spearheading this initiative, said on the occasion, “Micro finance has the potential to provide access to credit and other financial services to the poor on a regular basis and contribute towards reducing poverty and make the growth process a more inclusive one.”
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