NCAER, IEPFA organise workshop on investor education and protection in collab with MDI Gurgaon

Experts from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), School of Management of Financial Institutions (SoMFI), MDI Gurgaon shared information and provided guidance on the knowledge and skills to needed to protect against such crimes.

The workshop witnessed the participation of experst from financial sector specialist, former banking regulator, capital market and 2 commercial banking.

In his inaugural address, Prof Arvind Sahay, Director, MDI Gurgaon, stressed on such initiatives to enhance the financial education among youth.

Dr CS Mohapatra, IEPF Chair Professor at NCAER, stressed on the critical need for financial planning, understanding the risks and opportunities of investing, as also the elements of being a responsible investor. While hailing the increasing pace of digitalization, he called for strict vigilance in an era marked by information overload and unsolicited financial advice.

He cited the investor protection measures that government and regulators had put in place, including the Online Dispute Resolution Portal (ODR) of SEBI, UDGAM Portal of RBI for unclaimed deposits, the DPDP ACT to protect data privacy and the activities of IEPFA on recovery of unclaimed shares, dividends, matured deposits/debentures to investors.

In her address, Prof. Leena A. Kaushal, Faculty-in-charge, SoMFI, MDI Gurgaon, stated that real-world knowledge and skills are crucial for every youth.

Prof Sahay lauded the first ever collaborative effort between IEPFA, NCAER, and MDI, as he emphasized the value of such partnerships in driving impactful educational programmes to empower young investors.

Dr Mohapatra stressed on sustained and synergized investor education efforts at a heightened level with modernised curriculum that adequately addresses the up-to-date protection systems in place including the fraud prevention measures taken by regulators and government. Updated investor knowledge, sustained confidence and trust in the financial markets on the one hand and expanding the retail investor base with a broad-based approach with an inclusive strategy will go a long way in moving fast towards a Viksit Bharat, he stated.

The panel discussants --Gaurav Kapoor, VP and Region Head, National Stock Exchange of India; Shailendra Nath Jha, Former DGM and Deputy Ombudsman, RBI; and Ms Shifali Jain, Senior VP & Group Head, Institutional Business, Axis Bank 4 delved into various aspects of financial education, digital advancements, and investor protection.

Gaurav Kapoor pointed out that financial literacy is at the root of empowering investors in the capital market which has become even more crucial in this fast-changing digitalised world. The youth of today need to develop sound financial habits at an early age and invest in products suitable to their age, income and risk profile, he said.

Shifali Jain highlighted that the digital payment infrastructure has helped in furthering financial inclusivity in the country. She also emphasized the critical aspect of inclusion of bridging the gender gap and efforts or interventions required to improve female financial literacy.

Shailendra Nath Jha stated that cyber frauds can be minimised by having a better digital hygiene and awareness about the different modus operandi being used by the fraudsters to defraud the vulnerable people.