IGPC, Indian Banks’ Association partnership becomes highlight of 4th Annual Conference on Gold and Gold Markets

Continuing with its efforts to offer cutting edge applied research on the Gold Industry in India, the India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) organised its 4^th Annual Conference on Gold and Gold Markets on February 5 and 6 in a virtual format.

One of the main highlights of this year’s conference is a collaboration between IGPC and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to reach out to member banks and plan a joint workshop on bullion banking. The partnershiphas come in the backdrop of the International Bullion Exchange (IBE) that is becoming a reality;banks have a crucial role and need to be at the forefrontdriving its success. There will be a great need to educate the banks for a new trading or importing system and align the products, SOPs and system upgrades. The advent of IBE will also offer multiple opportunities for the banks to expand their bullion business operations.

The first session of the proposed series of knowledge sessions between IGPC and IBA is planned a month after the conference. The workshop would be an apt platform to discuss various products in bullion banking, risk management, profitability and overall business plan for banks in India.

Speaking about the conference, Prof Arvind Sahay, Chairperson, IGPC said,

“It is 50 years since the breakdown of Brettonwoods agreement. The pandemic revealed how fragile the political and financial systems are globally. It has reinforced the case for gold as an asset class. This conference is conceptualised and designed to advance the cause of gold research in India and bring together academics, practitioners, and policy makers on a common platform to discuss issues and share the latest research related to gold.  Also, this year’s edition is important because we forged a partnership with the IBA. The primary objective of IBA is to promote and develop in India sound and progressive banking principles, and practices, and to contribute to the development of bullion banking.We are looking forward to a fruitful association with them”.

One of the core activities of IGPC@IIMA has been to engage with industry players, the government and policymakers about the role of gold in the financial architecture and gem and jewellery industry.Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has emerged as the voice of the Indian banking industry. The partnership between the two organisations will to lead to positive developments in the gold market.

The IGPC conference is one of the only platforms in the country that brings together academia and industry on a single platform to discuss gold. It includes research papers, policy, white papers, and case studies on gold presented by academicians, policy experts, students, and experts from industry. It also sees deliberations on gold policy, market structure, and international markets developments with industry leaders and policymakers.

The two-day session has been seeing a host of eminent dignitaries from the industry and academia. This year we have Prof Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA, Mr Injeti Srinivas, Chairman, IFSCA, Mr David Tait, CEO, World Gold Council,  Mr Rajaraman K., Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,  Mr Sunil Mehta, CEO, Indian Banks’ Association & former Chairman & MD, Punjab National Bank, Mr Surinder Pal Singh, Jt Secretary, DEA, and many others.

The conference focuses on a varied range of topics related to the industry that have spun off incisive dialogues around critical issues to reshape the gold industry. Both the days are covering a host of topics, some of the academic papers to highlight are:

Central Bank Reserves and Sovereign Credit Risk- this study looks into the role of gold reserves in protecting the sovereign credit risk.

Is Gold Investment Decision Of The Indian Investors being Impacted By Hyperbolic Discounting Bias During The Pandemic Period?- This study explores the impact of behavioral factors on investment decision in gold investment funds during the pandemic situation.

The Growth Of Gold Loan Market In India: A Case Study Of Kerala, Gold – Just Another Commodity Or A Unique Asset Class-This study looks into the macro economic implications of a growing gold loan market in India, goes to look into any correlation with flow of remittances and gold loan market growth in Kerala.

Using gold to cope – and coping with obligations to gift gold – in the time of Covid-19–

This research looks into the relationship between gold ownership and the ability to withstand the economic shock.

We also have discussions on responsible sourcing of gold, Gold Monetisation Scheme and practices in the jewellery manufacturing industry regarding HR practices.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service