Reforms architects do the honours

Four original architects of financial sector reforms - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Committee C Rangarajan - trooped into the country's financial capital today.

The occasion was inauguration of the capital market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) new headquarters, Sebi Bhavan.

On the dais, Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy - who also had played a key role in opening up the economy after the country experienced the worst ever balance of payment crisis in 1991 - joined them.

The corporate and the financial worlds were present in full strength at the Bandra-Kurla Complex today where all roads met, literally, to witness the spectacle. And, there were regulators of all hues.

Host Sebi Chairman M Damodaran was on the dais welcoming the quartet, his former colleagues GN Bajpai and DR Mehta looked on from the front row.

RBI governor Reddy was flanked by his two deputy governors - V Leeladhar and Shyamla Gopinath.

Kumarmangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group, Yogi Deveshwar of ITC, Rahul Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, Anand Mahindra of Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashwin Dani of Asian Paints, AM Naik of Larsen & Toubro, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, Ravi Ruia of Essar and R Krishnakumar of Tata Sons, among others, were present on the occasion.

The investment banking community was there in full strength, including Nimesh Kampani and Uday Kotak. Commercial bankers' list included chiefs of all Mumbai-based public sector banks, including State Bank of India Chairman O P Bhatt.

The chiefs of other banks headquartered in south such as Canara Bank and Federal Bank, too, were there. From the private sector HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri and ICICI Bank DMD Kalpana Morparia were present there.

Managing director of the NSE Ravi Narain, chief executive officer of the Bombay Stock Exchange Rajnikant Patel, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman D Swaroop and chairman of Association of Mutual Funds of India A P Kurien and a host of fund managers lapped up every word of Singh on reforms on investments.