It was a weekend the men in suits and women in silks did not mind giving up to applaud some in their fraternity being toasted and feted for their success by the finance minister. On Saturday, the skies eased up the showers and the high tide spottings by the large crowd outside the Taj Mahal Palace gave up place to spotting the who’s who of the corporate world stepping in to attend the Fe India’s Best Banks Awards.
The tone for the evening was set by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Dressed in a brown bandhgala, the minister’s first visit to India’s financial capital after presenting the Budget was the perfect occasion to provide an endorsement of the way the Indian banking sector had handled the global economic crisis of the century. Listening in rapt attention to him were Ashok Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra, the doyen of Indian banking industry, Deepak Parekh, chairman, HDFC, Mukesh Ambani, chairman, Reliance Industries, K V Kamath, ICICI Bank’s non executive chairman, the phalanx of winners of the coveted banking awards, other bankers, corporate chiefs, the members of the jury which had chosen the award and other distinguished guests.
As the clock neared six, they had stepped in to the Crystal Room of the Taj Mahal Palace that had been transformed into a classic convention centre. Greetings and handshakes were exchanged as corporates, bankers and others strode up to greet each other.
Amongst the first to arrive was Naina Lal Kidwai, general manager and country head, HSBC- India, Neeraj Swaroop, regional chief executive, CEO, India and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank and S S Kohli, chairman and MD, Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. The grand Crystal Room soon filled up with the country’s best brains in business and banking. So great was the rush that some even left personal belongings such as a bag or even a handkerchief to occupy vantage seats as they went across the hall to meet acquaintances and friends. The hall was packed, with some guests trooping in later but determined not to miss out on an evening that has become a must on Mumbai’s corporate calendar.
The evening began with the Editor in chief of The Express Group Shekhar Gupta, welcoming the audience to share the journey of the Indian banking industry along with the Fe Best Banks Awards, now in its tenth year. He noted the rapid strides Indian banks had made and the role the government played in giving direction to the sector, in a year when banking was the butt of jokes in countries like the US.
Tumultuous applause greeted the award winners as they stepped on the stage to receive the awards in 13 categories of banking from the finance minister. Each banks’ journey was played out on the screens as an audiovisual experience-it was magical. The most stirring moments were reserved for the last, as OP Bhatt received the award for the Fe Best Banks Banker of the year, and Harish Engineer, executive director of HDFC Bank on behalf of Aditya Puri who was travelling, the award for the Innovative Banker of the year. But these too were eclipsed as KV Kamath stepped onto the stage to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. It was a shining moment when fellow traveller, Deepak Parekh, went up on the stage to say, “Kamath is the most worthy person to get the award.” Parekh recalled that Kamath was the founder of many financial products in India, including leasing.
The function ended with a panel discussion, `Lessons from the turmoil – New challenges in profitability and growth’.