The Economic Times successfully concluded the inaugural edition of the BFSI Innovation Tribe Awards & Summit at Hotel Sahara Star today. The day long event was based on the theme of “Disrupt, Develop, Demonstrate”. The conference was designed and crafted to bring innovation and banking leaders on one platform to discuss and deliberate the future amidst the current challenges and pressing issues of all time. With an eclectic mix of panel discussions, keynotes, fireside chats, case studies, inclusive session and felicitations, the conference offered something for all audiences.

The conference witnessed power packed panels and was an apt platform for networking and experiencing live interviews & global stories.The forum gave insight into new technologies and sparked conversations that made it possible to gain insight into the evolving marketplace.

The esteemed panel of speakers includedManoj Adlakha, CEO, American Express; Rakesh Singh, CEO, Aditya Birla Finance; Sanjaya Gupta, MD, PNB Housing Finance; Suresh Sethi, CEO, India Post Payments Bank; Surojit Shome, CEO, DBS Bank;Suniti Nanda, Fintech Officer, Maharashtra Government; Balsingh Rajput, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell, Maharashtra Police; MadhivananBalakrishnan, CTDO, ICICI Bank; Rajeev Ahuja, Executive Director, RBL Bank; MukulSachan, Co-Founder, Lendingkraft; RajnishKhare, Head Digital – Banking, HDFC Bank; JitendraMahapatra, AVP & Head – Digital & Payments Analytics, Axis Bank; Puneet Kumar, Senior Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank; MrutunjayMahapatra, DMD & CIO, State Bank of India; Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank; Papia Sengupta, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda; Devendra Kumar Vyas, CEO, Srei Equipment Finance; Nanda Sambrani, Head – ERCG, Reliance General Insurance; Rahul Chari, Founder & CTO, PhonePe; Sangram Singh, CEO, Freecharge; Ketan Patel, CEO, CASHe; Vivek Gupta, Country Head, R3; Raman Aggarwal, Chairman, FIDC; Y. S. Chakravarti, ED & COO, Shriram City Union Finance; Adv. PuneetBhasin, Cyber Law Expert – Proprietor/Founder Cyberjure Legal Consulting, AmitGodhekar, VP – Cyber Security MotilalOswal Financial Services; Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Banking Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank;RatnaPawan, Security Risk HSBC Operations & Technologies, S.Sridharan, VP – CISO, NCDEX, Sanjay Sharma, MD Ayefin; and Sridhar Sidhu, Head – Enterprise Information Security Service & Regulatory Compliance Risk Services Groups Wells Fargo.

Sharing his thoughts at the summit Shri Deepak Vasant Kesarkar, Maharashtra’s Minister Of State-Finance, Rural Development, Government of India said,“Technology must always be used for the betterment of society. We cannot think about just urban India. Rural India, which comprises 80% of India’s land area, can use technology across farming, agricultural areas, horticulture and much more.For instance, connecting farmers in rural areas with consumers in urban areas will see both profit, and that is when technology will be at its most useful. We are looking to use technology to improve the lives of Indians across rural and urban India.”

Speaking on the occasion, Ms.Suniti Nanda, Fintech officer, Maharashtra Government said,“When people are creating FinTech solutions, but we’re not adopting them, there is a problem to be addressed. It’s very easy to say that thisis an issue with the startups, but these are excuses and we need to see what the issue is and fix it.If you look at the number of startups shutting shop on a daily basis, it’s not a good sign. If we want to see India as a global innovator, we need to do more. That’s why the government of Maharashtra has created a FinTech policy earlier this year.”

Mr.MrutyunjayMahapatra, DMD, SBI offered his thoughts, saying, “When you reimagine digital,you reimagine with quick wins.Innovation happens in 4 ways, namely incremental,survival,catch-up and platform innovation.Reimagining digital with the Plug & Play approach is really important.Be passionate, process oriented and force the right partnerships.”

Speaking at the Summit, Mr. Deepak Sharma, Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We all are increasingly realising that we are in a consumer business.We cannot be in business if we do not keep consumer choices first.Equal importance is how financial service embraces empathy, and how we relocate consumer behaviour.”

Commenting during a session, Ms.Papia Sengupta, Executive Director,Bank of Baroda said, “Customer satisfaction cannot be underestimated.Do I have a common market place where I can get everything? Experience has to be standard across omni-channels.We do not need to reinvent thewheel again and again.The future is going to be all about it.”

Adding his thoughts on analytics in banking,Goutam Chatterjee, Principal adviser, Dept. of Statistics & Information Management, RBI said, “In banking, the analytical data is centrally stored.We are working towards a system that will allow users to bring their own data, collectively analyse it and hence be able to find the solutions and realise the value of analytics.”

Speaking ahead of the Summit, Deepak Lamba, President - Times Strategic Solutions, opined, “We are thrilled and happy at the fruitful completion of the event.Our networking sessions and the ever-popular gala reception ensured that audiences were able to expand their connections and discuss business opportunities at length.”

The evening also saw a host of companies receiving Innotribe awards in categories of Tech, BFSI &Startup.Companies receiving these awards included BankBazaar in Tech, State Bank Of India in BFSI ,Instoried in Startup to name a few.

Collaboration, cooperation, deliberation, and innovation is a must for sustaining the disruptive discourse of technology in BFSI Sector. The Economic Times BFSI Innovation Tribe Awards & Summit provided a unique opportunity and platform for the industry ecosystem to converge and chart the path of future growth.