The School of Contemporary Knowledge Systems (CKS) in collaboration with Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi, New Delhi, successfully hosted an International Conference on New Horizons in Commerce, Finance and Economics on 16 and 17 February 2023 at the Prajna Pratishthanam facility of CVV in Kochi. The presence of dignitaries, an impressive line-up of scholars from across India and abroad and an array of carefully selected, well-researched and well-presented papers on the subject, all came together at this conference. The conference was marked for ten online and three offline paper presentation tracks/sessions, two invited talks and two-panel discussions.
The two-day event offered opportunities for participants to interact with academicians, scholars, and experts from various parts of India and abroad, and stimulated ideas on developing a sustainable society and empowering stakeholders. The two days comprised incisive and insightful discussions on emerging topics in Commerce Finance and Economics. The views expressed and explored on this platform by the resource persons and paper presenters gave the audience food for rethinking ideas which we cling to in our day-to-day life.
A total of 152 papers were received, out of which 101 papers were presented—76 papers were presented in the online mode and 25 papers were presented offline. The online and offline presentations were evaluated by renowned professors from the following institutes and universities:
- Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi
- Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi
- Kurukshetra University, Haryana
- Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Ernakulam
- Central University, Assam
- Pataliputra State University, Patna, Bihar
- North-eastern Hill University, Meghalaya
- Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
- Chinmaya Vishwa Vidyapeeth, Ernakulam
The conference began with a prayer followed by a welcome address by Dr. Ambily A. S. (Head, School of CKS). The Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of CVV, Prof. Ajay Kapoor delivered the presidential address. He highlighted the importance of intellectual agility in today’s scenario and shared probing ideas of Indian trade and business some 2000 years ago to the present age.
Prof. Simrit Kaur, Principal, Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi, inaugurated the Conference by lighting the lamp. In her inaugural address, she talked about the relevance of inclusive and sustainable growth. She also mentioned the relevance of big data in forecasting and business decision-making. Dr Rahul Sharma (Registrar, CVV) and Dr. Sunitha Grandhee (Dean of Academics, CVV) felicitated the gathering.
The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Manjula R. Iyer, Conference Coordinator. She highlighted the support of Shri Ram College of Commerce, especially Prof. Simrit Kaur, the Principal of SRCC, Prof. Suman Bhakri – the IQAC Coordinator of SRCC, and Mrs. Varda Sardana, Asst. Professor SRCC in the organisation of the conference.
The first technical session began with a talk by Prof. K. Narayanan, Professor and Head of the Department of Economics, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, on the topic “Regional Diversity of Development in India”. He talked about the reasons for the disparity in growth among different states in India and the feasible solutions for it.
The first panel discussion was on ‘Indian Economic Models’. Prof Simrit Kaur, Principal, SRCC, New Delhi and Prof. Prasanna Kumar, Associate Professor of Economics, Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu were the panellists while Mr. Pratheep Kumar, Assistant Professor, CVV, moderated the session. The panellists emphasised the Keynesian Model of Economics and how it is important for India to sustain economic growth. The interaction session too was very informative for the participants. In the Technical session post-lunch, papers were presented both in online and offline modes.
To build camaraderie and encourage informal discussions, a sunset cruise through the backwaters of Cochin was arranged for all the participants of the conference and the officials from CVV, which ended with an onboard dinner.
Day 2 began with an online invited talk by Shri. Sriram Balasubramanian, Economist, Author and Senior Research Officer, IMF, Washington DC, USA, on “Kautilyanomics”. He depicted the present-day need for the application of Kautilya Concepts for the well-being of people and the advancement of society.
This was followed by a vibrant panel discussion on ‘Growth Prospects in Economics, Commerce and Management’. Dr. Surya Prakash Pati, Associate Professor in Management, IIM Kozhikode, Kerala, Prof. Santhosh Kumar, Professor in Finance, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Kochi and Dr. Surya Prakash, Associate Professor in Commerce, SRCC, New Delhi, were the panellists. The session was moderated by Dr. Vinod R R ( Assistant Professor and Director for Training, Internship and Placement, CVV). Each of the panellists elaborated on their domain perspectives. Dr. Surya Prakash spoke about the emerging areas in marketing, Prof. Santhosh Kumar spoke about new horizons in Finance and Prof. Surya Prakash Pati discussed the new horizons in Human Resource Management and Organization Behaviour. Further discussions also led to the skill sets that are required for youth to be adaptable to the future workforce. The panel discussion concluded that skills do matter but being sensitive to the outside world with respect to data, predictive analytics and people is critical.