In the third of a series of the online, agenda-setting debates organised by The Indian Express and the Financial Times, the financial sector leaders and regulators will discuss whether the banking sector and capital markets have sufficient capacity to support a sustained economic recovery. To kick off the event — Banking and Finance: The Key to India’s Recovery — Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will join in a conversation with P Vaidyanathan Iyer, Executive Editor (National Affairs), The Indian Express, and Amy Kazmin, South Asia Bureau Chief, Financial Times.

This will be followed by special interviews with Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Nick Shalek, General Partner, Ribbit Capital. The day-long event will also feature panel discussions by some of the brightest and the most influential leaders. A healthy banking sector and supportive capital markets are critical for growth, but banks remain weighed down by a large non-performing loan burden.

The government’s latest reforms, including plans to privatise two state banks, may help boost stability and allow the sector to take full advantage of the boom in digital transactions and the advances in fintech. But implementation of the key reforms and execution of the privatisation pipeline remains key to sustain the growth momentum.

To debate these issues, financial sector leaders — Jaspal Bindra, Chairman, Centrum Group, Ashu Suyash, Managing Director and CEO, CRISIL, V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank — will participate in a panel discussion, moderated by Sandeep Singh, Associate Editor, The Indian Express. The booming stock markets are aiding the India story, as companies plan to raise a record.

Rs 1 lakh crore from equity markets in calendar year 2021. A panel discussion will be held on issue of whether Indian markets can continue to support the recovery. Anita George, Executive Vice President and Deputy Head, CDPQ Global, Rashesh Shah, Chairman, Edelweiss Group, Yerlan Syzdykov, Global Head of Emerging Markets, Amundi Asset Management will participate in this discussion, moderated by Benjamin Parkin, Mumbai Correspondent, Financial Times.

This event is part of the series of webinars on ‘India’s Place in the Post-Pandemic World’. The discussions are being held in the backdrop of latest data record 20.1 per cent GDP growth rate in April-June on a low base of sharp contraction in the economy previous year. Looking ahead, the increasing pace of vaccination is expected to open up economic activity.