Shanti EkambaramDy MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank, says for me, financial independence, financial literacy, financial planning, and actually participating in the nuances of financial life or ecosystem is very important and that is the message I want to give to all women. I have seen a sea change in the last decade. Women, apart from being financially independent, have also started to understand financial literacy and financial investment, but we have a long way to go.”
Our theme this year is to inspire inclusivity. What does inclusion mean to you and what are you doing at Kotak Mahindra Bank to ensure inclusive growth.
Shanti Ekambaram: It is very topical because tomorrow is International Women’s Day. At Kotak, we have always worked on the issue of diversity for more than about a decade now, even before it became affirmative action at the corporate level and at the policy level. What’s important about inspiring inclusion is really the culture first. The environment must be conducive to the fact that diversity is important, balance is important and people are sensitive as well as believe in it.
So, our first thing is to really work on the people, mindset, flow and make sure that we make sure that the diversity quotient goes up. Second, it is very important to support our women as they go through their lives. We have created some groundbreaking policies for the new mother, including allowances until the child is a certain age, day services that we offer to both the father and the mother to single parents, flexibility in working hours, which I think is a lot. organizations offer.
Connection after 7:30 for women to work late, specifically with full security and checks, etc. So, some women-oriented policies have been created to ensure that we create this culture of inclusiveness and sensitivity. In addition to that, learning, career prospects, equity, equality, leadership inputs, creating circles of support whenever the woman needs, is something we have been working on. There is still a lot of work to be done, but this is a journey and when we look anywhere in the world or in India, most organizations are struggling with this. It’s just that different people are at different points in the journey.I want you to send a message to all women. I think the first step starts with financial independence. How important is it for women today to earn their own money? Shanti Ekambaram: It is extremely important. Financial independence has three parts to it. First, be financially independent, which means you can work in an office, you can be an entrepreneur, you can provide services, but make money.
Second, understand and get into the details of what you can do with your money. Wealth is created not only by earning, but by what you can do with the money. Most women prefer to leave it to their father, husband, brother, son, whatever. But I think the joy is really understanding the nuances of financial investment and planning and actually investing your money. Then, keep learning and see the joy of risk management, how to balance a portfolio, how to grow your wealth? So, for me, all of these – financial independence, financial literacy, financial planning, and actually being involved in the nuances of financial life or ecosystem is very important and that’s the message I want to give to all women. I have seen a sea change in the last decade. I think women, apart from being financially independent, have also started to understand financial literacy and financial investment, but we have a long way to go.
The Reserve Bank Governor spoke to ET Now on a host of topics and talked about how the elephant in the room, which is inflation, has really gone for a walk, but can come back anytime and he was very confident when it came to the overall. growth trajectory of the country as well, comparing it to a Tejas train. How do you look at the overall inflation dynamics in the country and how do you see the GDP growth and where we are at.
Shanti Ekambaram: I will start with growth and move to inflation. The latest growth rates that were announced surprised everyone. We were very clear that the economy was on an upward trend and I really have to compliment the Reserve Bank of India and of course the government for ensuring an environment and providing sufficient liquidity to ensure growth.
We have seen consistent growth. It started with urban consumption and massive urban consumption after COVID. It has now moved to where you have seen that consumption is stable and while services are still very buoyant and you have started to see the start of an investment cycle. Government has done most of the spending, but I think you’re starting to see the effects of private investment capital, which has almost started.
So, the economy is on a good track, on a good keel, and growth looks very strong as we enter FY25. The one area that was a little weak was the rural part of it, but we’re starting to see some signs of it. The challenge is really the impact of climate uncertainty and the variability that you’ve seen over the last 18 months, and that’s what leads me straight into inflation.
If you look at the core inflation, if you look at some of the main principles of inflation, they have been steadily coming down, but food inflation is the one that plays the variability and that depends entirely on climate, whether it is drought, floods, and delayed monsoon or whatever So, I think inflation has steadily declined. It seems almost under control. The policies that have been arranged more or less work in the system, but there are two or three uncertainties. One, geopolitical tensions that can affect business and thus we are still dependent on oil in terms of importing inflation. Second, food inflation, which really depends on the cycles of weather and whether there is likely to be any impact and a continued stable environment. So, I think we are almost on a downward path. Some more risks could come, but I think the central bank is watching it like a hawk, acting ahead of time, being very active, so I’m very hopeful that we’ll get there (4:34).
Of course, the governor has been very active and so has the RBI, but just to put it in context, Mr. Uday Kotak recently said that too many regulatory barriers could hamper growth rate and there are recent issues with the active oversight that the RBI has. was doing What is your view on the level of supervision and the active vigilance that RBI has maintained on the financial sector?
Shanti Ekambaram: It should be noted that the financial sector is very deeply and closely connected to the real sector. The real sector has seen growth and stability that we have never seen before. So, from its perspective, the regulator is actually proactive rather than reactive, which has historically been the case and that needs to be appreciated and recognized.
Let’s take two or three things. The first is really the call out on the unsecured loans. The central bank has seen that various segments, banks, NBFCs, digital players, etc, are heating up and the idea is to increase capital on these loans or else it is just to say, guys, it is going too far, put more capital, be it. aware of the risks so that the system does not go into stress.
Everything is very different from in the past, when the system would go into stress and then you would intervene. Similarly, some of the corporate actions that have been taken. It really has to do with gaps or identity, gaps in customer issues, as well as gaps in the entire governance process. The regulator is more active, acts ahead of time, and we have to be in step with regulation. It is very important to have balanced regulation, but it is only proactive steps.