Global research foundation for corporate governance

The first international conference of the Global Research Foundation for Corporate Governance (GRFCG) was held on the September 07-08, 2019 at India International Centre (IIC), Max Muller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. The theme of the conference was Corporate Governance: Issues, Challenges and Changing paradigms.The inaugural session was presided by a panel of distinguished academicians from India and abroad and also had the presence of some top-rated professionals from India.

Shri Amarjeet Singh (Executive Director, SEBI) presided as Chief Guest during the inaugural session. The event started with lighting of the ceremonial lamp and felicitation of Guests which was followed by the welcome address by Prof. J. P. Sharma, the Conference Chair and Chairman of the Global Research Foundation for Corporate Governance (GRFCG). Prof. Sharma highlighted the rationale and objectives for the establishment of GRFCG to the audience and complemented his team for making the first international conference a grand success. He also thanked all the distinguished panel speakers for their presence in the event and congratulated all the paper presenters for making it to the first international conference of GRFCG.

The welcome address by the Chairman Prof. J P Sharma was followed by a keynote address by Prof. Mahendra P Lama, a senior professor in the School of International Studies, JNU, a founding Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Sikkim, and Economic Advisor to Sikkim Govt. He addressed the audience on ‘Corporate Governance: Highland perspectives’ emphasizing mainly upon the corporate governance models which are practiced in countries like China, Japan, U.K. etc. and what can India learn from them. He also highlighted the case of Darjeeling tea emphasizing the plight of the workers working in tea gardens earning just Rs. 130 per day whereas the corporates managing these tea gardens earning crores of rupees. Before concluding his address he also remarked the following statement and requested the audience to delve a critical thinking on this narrative. He remarked, “India is a tiger. The tiger is inside the cage. The cage is open but the tiger does not want to come out of the cage”.

Prof. Lama’s keynote address was followed by the address of the Chief Guest of the event, Shri Amarjeet Singh, Executive Director, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). The Chief Guest firstly complemented the GRFCG for organizing the first international conference in such an apt theme, i.e. Corporate Governance: Issues, Changes and highlighted his observation on the corporate governance aspect for the perspective of the regulatory authorities and the challenges that SEBI has to deal with managing all such complexities. He remarked that the root cause of most of the debacles that the world has witnessed during the last two decades was misconduct and misgovernance both at the individual level and collectively at the firm level. Further, he also highlighted that the fundamental issues of conduct and governance have not been sufficiently addressed by the well intention reforms over the last two decades and it continues to be a challenge for regulators.

Thereafter, another keynote speaker Prof. A D Amar from Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University addressed the audience. He addressed the gathering on the theme ‘Corporate Governance and Regulation in Trump’s America’. He deliberated on the current dispensation of Trump’s Government on the growth trajectory and governance model of the corporates in USA. He critically discussed the concept of regulation from the US perspective and highlighted the recent wave of corporate regulation which began after the year 2000, i.e. technology bubble burst. Prof. Amar discourse was followed by another keynote address by Prof. Till Talaulicar (from Germany), Chairman, International Corporate Governance Society. Prof. Till in his address underscored the importance of corporate governance for stability of economies across the world and the role played by the international corporate governance society in this regard. He accentuated four avenues to deal with the complexities related to corporate governance. These avenues include broadening our perspective, deepening our existing knowledge, consolidating whet we know what risk is and dealing with new challenges. These four avenues need to be thoroughly understood for dealing with corporate governance issues at contemporary times.

The keynote address was followed by the address of Guest of Honor, CS Ranjeet Pandey, President of Institute of Companies Secretaries of India. CS Pandey complemented the Chairperson of GRFCG for establishing the foundation on corporate governance and indirectly helping the ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India) as both the vision and the mission of the ICSI is directly related to strengthening corporate governance. He stoutly asserted that sustainable development should be the goal of every corporate and ended with a note, ‘planet, people and profit.

Finally, the inaugural session ended with the vote of thanks by Shri Nesar Ahmed, Secretary General of GRFCG. Shri Ahmed thanked all the distinguished panel speakers who graced the occasion despite their busy schedule and complemented the efforts of the Chairman of GRFCG Prof Sharma for organizing the conference in such an organized manner. He also thanked all the paper presenters for contributing their papers for the conference and taking part in the conference from different states and different countries.

The inaugural session was followed by a lunch break of forty-five minutes which was immediately followed by paper presentation in three parallel sessions. The research papers were categorized under 7 sub themes, i.e. corporate governance across countries, corporate governance and board, corporate governance in digital era, corporate governance and changing business environment, regulatory framework and reporting, CSR and sustainability, contemporary issues in finance, marketing & HRM. The paper presentation continued till 5:30 P.M. on day one of the conference. The paper presentation continued on the 2nd day as well. Over 100 research papers were presented during the two days of conference from across the world. The conference committee designated three papers accepted to the conference as GRFCG Best Papers and awarded a cash prize of Rs. 10,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 3,000 along with a citation to the winners.

The valedictory session of the event started at around 3: 15 pm on September 07, 2019. Prof. R D Sharma, Former Vice Chancellor of Jammu University presided over the valedictory session as the Chief Guest. Prof. R D Sharma in his valedictory speech highlighted about the university culture sharing his experiences as Vice Chancellor of the University of Jammu and Kashmir. He asserted that the conduct of the management, their clarity, confidence and commitment is very important to handle the university system. Prof. R D Sharma was followed by Keynote Speaker Prof R K Mishra (Director, Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad) who once again complemented the Chairperson J P Sharma for establishing the GRFCG. His opening remark clearly suggested that the fate of the youngsters depends upon the university and the university system should create powerful corporate houses. Further, he also made a special mention of Mahatma Gandhi, Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya as some of the greatest individuals with the highest level of ethics which the present generation must underscore to be successful corporates.

The address of Prof R K Mishra was followed by Prof. Harivansh Charurvedi, Director, Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Nodia, Dr. Maria Cristina Mina R. from Edinburgh Napier University School of Business. All the speakers furthered the dialogue of corporate governance and its future prospects. Lastly, the vote of thanks was given by Prof. Rattan Sharma, Principal Director, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies. Prof. Sharma congratulated the winners of best paper award and congratulated all the paper presenters for participating in the conference. He also complemented the entire team of GRFCG for having organized the first international conference on such an apt theme with so much professionalism.

The conference was co-sponsored by Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) and Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Nodia (BIMTECH). The Institute of Company Secretaries of India and Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS) were the knowledge partners of the event.