The chairman of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, Arjun Sengupta, strongly advocated a wider participation of farmers in the commodity trading platform for better price realisation for their produce. He emphasised the urgent need for more inclusive economic development involving the multitude of currently marginalised sections.
Sengupta, while inaugurating the NCDEX Institute of Commodity Markets & Research (NICR), promoted by the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX), emphasised the need for orderly and reliable development of the commodity markets. He stressed the need for broadening and deepening of the futures market to improve its efficacy as a genuine price discovery and hedging mechanism. On the occasion of its launch, NICR organised a day long National Workshop on Commodity Research. Over 40 leading institutes from across the country participated in the workshop.
According to the NCDEX press release, Sengupta wanted the Institute to sponsor research on the impact of price behaviour, overt or covert impact of futures trading on inflationary pressures.
He said that research effort must support participation of investors by evaluating risk management practices and internationally accepted hedging strategies in the Indian context. He also launched the web site of the Institute.