Senior financial-sector leaders gathered in Mumbai for the BFSI India Leadership Conclave 2026 to discuss India’s next decade of growth, governance and digital transformation. Discussions covered digital finance, capital markets, NBFCs, mutual funds, insurance, cybersecurity, financial inclusion and the role of trust in building a wider capital ecosystem.

BFSI Leadership Panel: Moderator Avanne Dubash with Yuichi Nishi, Deputy CEO, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance; Krishnamoorthy Rao, MD & CEO, Generali Central Insurance; Rakesh Valecha, Senior Director & Head of Core Analytical Group, India Ratings | File Photo

Mumbai: Senior leaders from banking, NBFCs, insurance, mutual funds, capital markets, digital financial infrastructure and academia came together at the BFSI India Leadership Conclave 2026, held on 17th September at ITC Grand Central, Mumbai, to deliberate on the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of India’s financial sector.

Organised by Eternal Corporate Media, the Conclave centred on “Financing India’s Next Decade: Growth, Governance & Digital Transformation,” covering digital finance, capital markets, credit, investments, cybersecurity, financial inclusion and institutional trust.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari, Managing Director, State Bank of India, and Saurabh Kumar Tiwari, Additional Secretary (DBT Mission), Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, attended as Guests of Honour, while Ganesh Sankaran, Executive Director, IndusInd Bank, joined as Special Guest. Senior leaders from across the financial ecosystem also participated.

Opening the Conclave, Alok Ranjan Tiwari, Managing Director & CEO, Eternal Corporate Media Pvt. Ltd. and Conceptualiser & Convenor, said the initiative brought different segments of the financial sector onto one platform to exchange ideas and perspectives. Highlighting India’s shift from conventional savings towards investment and wealth creation, he said the key question was not simply how fast India grows, but how responsibly and intelligently that growth is financed.

`;

“India’s next decade is not a future we are waiting for; we are building it today. Technology, products and business models may change, but the greatest currency of financial institutions will always remain public trust,” he said.

Setting the context, Shailesh Haribhakti, Non-Executive Chairman & Independent Director on Multiple Boards, called for financial institutions to move from a product-centric approach towards an outcome-based ecosystem, with banks, insurers, technology providers and other participants working together around the customer’s ultimate economic outcome.

Guest of Honour Ashwini Kumar Tewari spoke about SBI’s transformation through business-process re-engineering, digital banking, YONO and emerging applications of artificial intelligence. He said technological transformation must remain anchored in customer protection and trust, while financial institutions also have a wider role in supporting emerging industries and MSMEs.

Saurabh Kumar Tiwari highlighted the role of the JAM Trinity-Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile-in transforming financial inclusion and public-service delivery. He said bank accounts, affordable data, Aadhaar-linked identity and mobile connectivity had helped create India’s digital financial architecture, and urged the sector to develop appropriate products for an ageing population.

Ganesh Sankaran said India was pursuing industrialisation, urbanisation, financial inclusion and digitalisation simultaneously. Highlighting banking and credit as force multipliers alongside AI, data architecture and cash-flow-based lending, he said financial institutions must move beyond “Banking India” to “Building India.”

Amisha Vora, Chairperson & Managing Director, PL Capital Group, spoke about the transformation of India’s capital markets and the growing role of retail investors in wealth creation, highlighting wider investment solutions and the need for stronger financial awareness.

Nehal Vora, Managing Director & CEO, Central Depository Services (India) Limited (CDSL), highlighted the scale of India’s demat ecosystem and said trust would remain central to capital-market development, noting rising participation from women and investors in Tier-2, Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities.

The Conclave featured four leadership panels. The NBFC panel, “Financing India’s Next Decade: The Evolving Role of NBFCs in India’s Growth Story,” featured Umesh Revankar, Executive Vice Chairman, Shriram Finance Limited; Dr. Amit Goenka, Chairman & Managing Director, Nisus Finance Services Co. Ltd.; Anuj Pandey, Chief Executive Officer, UGRO Capital Limited; and Deo Shankar Tripathi, Executive Vice Chairman, Aadhar Housing Finance Limited. The discussion examined commercial-vehicle and infrastructure finance, specialised lending, private credit, affordable housing, sustainable credit growth and wider access to finance.

The mutual fund panel, “Fueling the ₹100 Trillion AUM Dream: The Future of India’s Mutual Fund Industry,” brought together Neil Parikh, Chairman & CEO, PPFAS Asset Management Private Limited; Saurabh Nanavati, Managing Director & CEO, Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Limited; Anthony Heredia, Managing Director & CEO, Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt. Ltd.; and Sid Swaminathan, Managing Director & CEO, Jio BlackRock Asset Management Pvt. Ltd. The discussion looked beyond AUM to widening retail participation, financial literacy, long-term investor retention, simplicity in investing and international investment opportunities.

The third panel examined insurance, ratings and digital financial infrastructure. Yuichi Nishi, Deputy CEO, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company Limited, discussed diversification beyond bancassurance and combining digital access with human engagement. Krishnamoorthy Rao, Managing Director & CEO, Generali Central Insurance Company Limited, stressed insurance awareness. Rakesh Valecha, Senior Director & Head of Core Analytical Group, India Ratings & Research, highlighted future economic headwinds, while Rakesh Dosi, Chief Business & Product Officer, Protean eGov Technologies Limited, discussed India’s digital and financial architecture. The panel explored distribution, awareness, risk assessment and digital infrastructure.

The fourth panel, “The Next Decade of Indian Capital Markets: Scale, Access, Technology & Trust,” featured Vijay Chandok, Managing Director & CEO, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL); Dharmesh Mehta, Managing Director & CEO, DAM Capital Advisors Limited; Sanjiv Saraff, Director – Group Corporate Strategy, Anand Rathi Group; and Sandeep Neema, CIO – Equities, PL Asset Management. The discussion covered trust and technology, India’s data and digital infrastructure, the gap between registered and active investors, disciplined investing and aligning long-term return expectations with economic and earnings growth.

IPS Ajay Kumar Bansal, Superintendent of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Department, described cybercrime as a serious national-security and financial-system challenge. He said approximately ₹30,000 crore of cyber fraud is reported annually in India and called for stronger IT architecture, authentication, cyber resilience and government coordination.

Dr. Prasad D. Khandekar, Chief Academic Officer, MIT World Peace University, called for stronger BFSI-academia collaboration and joint knowledge centres for real-world work in fintech, algorithmic trading and process innovation, saying skilled human capital would be critical to India’s Viksit Bharat ambitions.

Concluding the deliberations, Ashish Agrawal, Director, Resurgent India Ltd., highlighted India’s transition from a predominantly credit-led system towards a wider capital ecosystem including equity, AIFs, SME exchanges, private credit and mezzanine financing. He said entrepreneurs increasingly need to choose instruments according to cost, timing and business requirements.

The Conclave was supported by UGRO Capital as Diamond Partner; PL Capital as Platinum Partner; Generali Central Insurance as Gold Partner; Capri Loans and Nisus Finance as Silver Partners; ICICI Lombard and BSE as Bronze Partners; MIT World Peace University as Academic Partner; Protean eGov Technologies as DPI Partner; Aadhar Housing Finance Limited and Resurgent India Limited as Associate Partners; and CNBC-TV18 as Telecast Partner.

The discussions concluded that India’s next phase of financial-sector growth would increasingly be shaped by the convergence of capital, technology, inclusion, governance and trust, with financial institutions playing a wider role in the journey towards Viksit Bharat.

Add As a

Trusted Source