On Friday, November 4th, XLRI Jamshedpur, one of the premier B-schools in the country played host to some of the biggest names in corporate India when it held its annual Finance Conclave, Gnosis 2011 in Mumbai. The Conclave focused on the role that Private Equity has to play in our country’s growing economy and was titled ‘Investing in India’s Future – The Role of Private Equity’.
The Private Equity sector is tipped for tremendous growth in the immediate future, and speaking about these exciting possibilities were some of the most experienced stalwarts of the industry. The Conclave featured personalities like Mr. Shankar Narayan, MD, Carlyle India; Ms. Rupa Vora, CFO, IDFC; Mr. Subir Nag, Director, ICICI Venure; Mr. Nainesh Jaisingh, Standard Chartered PE; Mr. Siva Shankar, Director, Citibank VC; Mr. Jacob Mathew, MD, Mape Advisory; Mr. Pramod Ahuja, Partner, Tata Capital; Mr. Srinivasan Bharatam, Managing Partner, Milestone Religare Investment Advisors.
Each of these is an expert in his or her own right, and they shared their ideas and opinions, formed over years of consistent achievement in the field, with professionals from the industry, Investors, Media, the student community, and the public at large. The Conclave was aimed at addressing existing dilemmas and even perhaps generating new ones that would point towards the future state of the sector and its influence on the Indian economy, and it more than lived up to its billing.
Speaking at the Conclave, Mr. Shankar Narayan, MD, Carlyle India, explained how the PE firm create value for its investee company, by giving it an access to global network, better corporate governance, risk management etc. Another Speaker, Ms. Rupa Vora, CFO, IDFC presented how the value is created and derived in PE.
Mr. Nainesh Jaisingh, MD, Standard Chartered PE, stressed on the growing significance of India as a target for investors over the last decade, with perceptions about the country among investors having changed at a rapid pace.
After the keynote speeches, the event organizers, Finance Association at XLRI (FINAX) took the opportunity to outline its plans to help further nurture the sustained student interest in the Finance domain at XLRI. Thereafter, Professors Sabyasachi Sengupta and Uday Damodaran, who were representing the XLRI finance faculty at the event, extended an invitation to the audience for lunch.
Post lunch, the esteemed panel gathered at the venue engaged in a wonderful discussion on the topic “Outlook of Private Equity in India” bringing forth various insights about the current scenario of the industry in India. They also discussed the opportunities and challenges of dealing with varied stakeholders, ranging from promoter groups to retail investors.
"We wanted to play an active role in the growth of the social entrepreneurial sector. Conference was one way to facilitate this growth," said Prof. Madhukar Shukla. 
