The country?s top bankers came together in a celebratory mood on Saturday at the FE India?s Best Banks Awards which, over the years, have come to be regarded as the gold standard of recognising excellence in the banking industry. Bankers and businesspeople from across the industry applauded the achievements of their colleagues and contemporaries as Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and chief minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan did the honours. Dr PJ Nayak, MD and country head, Morgan Stanley, walked away with the Lifetime Achievement Award while Nandan Nilekani, chairman, UIDAI, was felicitated for innovation and Keki Mistry, VC and CEO, HDFC, won the Banker of the Year award.

Having blocked their diaries well in advance, bankers braved the heavy Mumbai traffic to make it to the event. They were not disappointed. The panel discussion on the impact of new banking licences was a treat; the audience listened with rapt attention as the debate grew more intense. So engaging was the discussion that all the world?s problems were forgotten, the concerns about the future of the global banking industry set aside. Bankers felt the topic on RBI?s guidelines on banking licences was well-chosen and timely. ?It was a well-rounded discussion,? observed Mastek founder Ashank Desai, an industry outsider who has been a regular at the event.?The discussion was short and to the point and I enjoyed interacting with the audience,? said Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, and one of the panelists.

Indeed, it was the perfect setting for bankers to raise a toast to the successes of their peers; acknowledging in unison the triumphs of an industry that has proved its resilience time and again and seems well-prepared to weather any global financial storm. Although the mood was one of celebration, a recurring theme of the evening was the need for inclusive growth, an aspect amply stressed upon by none other than Mukherjee. The finance minister highlighted the need to expand banks? geographic coverage so that they could reach out to the vast swathes of the country?s unbanked and under-banked population. However, in the light of the uncertain global economic climate, Mukherjee cautioned against carrying out reforms which merely sought to replicate Western banking models.

What made the evening truly memorable, though, were the little anecdotes and asides. ?In a manner of speaking, I have seen all the dark corners of the financial sector,? quipped PJ Nayak in his acceptance speech, alluding to a career that spanned stints in the finance ministry, banking as well as investment banking. Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief of the Express Group, narrated an incident that brought to the fore the finance minister?s sense of humour. Years ago, said Gupta, when Mukherjee was handed down the first draft of the Common Minimum Programme with its first two pages missing, he had quipped: ?Even Lord Brahma with Kuber in his pocket will not be able to implement this (draft).?

Staying with the inclusive agenda, Nilekani highlighted that the Aadhaar programme could help channel funds worth R3,00,000 crore, including R1,50,000 crore worth of government subsidies, through the banking system. Gupta, on the other hand, narrated a personal experience that underscored the important role banking had played in his life. ?A banker?s trust can change anybody?s life,? he said, recalling how a substantial loan from a banker when he was a young reporter earning a meager salary had significantly boosted his standard of living.

Said Joseph Massey, MD of MCX Stock Exchange: ?The new banking licence debate was interesting. The key is to ensure competition as well as innovation while giving banks the freedom to operate. What happened in the last 50 years in the banking industry should not dictate its future.?