COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown have impacted every sector of the economy, and the financial sector is no exception. Capital markets have felt the impact with trading volumes falling, stock prices and Indexes crashing, a major mutual fund house shutting six of its debt schemes, investor sentiment plummeting, etc.
Shree Damodar College and Metropolitan Stock Exchange Investor Protection Fund Trust, Mumbai jointly organized a National Webinar on the theme “The Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Investments and the Indian Capital Market” on 22nd of May, 2020, with the intention of creating awareness and enhancing knowledge on the same. The webinar was screened live from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. through Zoom Video conferencing, Google Meet and the College YouTube Channel. The Webinar received an overwhelming response from all over the country; 558 participants registered and One participant each from Saudi Arabia and Zambia also attended.
The webinar began with an introduction by Asst. Prof. Ms. Swati Bhat. Principal, Dr. Prita D. Mallya welcomed the participants and gave an overview of the webinar. She described in brief, the emergence, existence and future of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Indian economy and the relevance to gain understanding about the impact on investments and the Indian capital market.
The webinar was organized in three sessions. The first session was themed “SEBI and the Securities Market”. Mr. Arun Panigrahi, Manager, Investor Awareness Division, Office of Investor Assistance and Education, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Mumbai, was the speaker for the session. The speaker was introduced by Asst. Prof. Ms. CinolaVaz. Mr. Panigrahi started the session by highlighting the present situation of the Indian economy and the Indian stock market through brief key statistics. He introduced SEBI by focusing on the measures taken by SEBI to enhance the efficacy of the Indian capital market. Mr. Arun Panigrahi explained the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian capital market and the steps taken by SEBI to minimize the impact of COVID-19 crisis. He also mentioned about the online grievance redressal mechanism set up by SEBI, named as, SCORES (SEBI COmplaintsREdressal System) during the COVID-19 crisis. Mr. Panigrahi put forth several tips in the form of Do’s and Don’ts of investing in the securities market. He concluded the session by explaining in brief, the variousl investor education initiatives undertaken by SEBI.
The next session was “Impact of COVID-19 on Investment and Capital Markets”. Mr. B. M. Khaja Mohideen, Assistant Vice-President, Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited, Mumbai, was the speaker for the session. The speaker was introduced by Asst. Prof. Ms. Lizia Gomes. Mr. Mohideen initiated the session by welcoming the deviation from traditional to online conduct of awareness and education initiatives for investors and the general public. He explained in detail the impact of the lockdown on the Indian capital market and businesses. He highlighted key aspects like India’s gold demand situation, RBI announcements during lockdown, etc. Mr. Mohideen explained SEBI announcements regarding lockdown for market intermediaries and Government announcements on FDI. He highlighted the several positive signs of revival of the Indian capital market and concluded the session by elaborating on how to plan investments during the COVID-19 crisis.
The third and the last session was “Role and Responsibilities of Depositories”. Ms. Candelina Rodrigues, Assistant Manager, National Securities and Depository Limited, Mumbai, was the speaker for the session. The speaker was introduced by Asst. Prof. Mr. Mayuresh Adsul. Ms. Rodrigues initiated the session by mentioning an article that dealt with the history of numerous uncertain events; black swans, that have led to human disruptions and COVID-19 is one such black swan. Since there were many students amongst the participants, she focused her presentation on how to start investing in the capital market by explaining the features and benefits of Demat Account and services of Depository Participants. She also mentioned about the Basic Services Demat Account and NSDL Consolidated Accounts Statement. Ms. Candelina presented several essential tips on how to be a prudent investor. She ended the session by explaining the various investor centric e-services and e-newsletters of NSDL.
There were several questions from participants on all the three online platforms where it was screened live. Select questions were put forward to all the speakers for discussion. The speakers answered all the questions very effectively. The question and answer session was hosted by Asst. Prof. Mr. MayureshAdsul.
Asst. Prof. Ms. Snehal Alve proposed the vote of thanks. The webinar was compered by Asst. Prof. Ms. Swati Bhat. The webinar was supported by prompt and expert assistance from the technical staff of the College – Mr. Punarva Prabhu Dessai and Ms. Venisa D’Costa, and excellent coordination from Mr. Sanjay Nunes, Senior Executive, Metropolitan Stock Exchange Investor Protection Fund Trust, Mumbai. The e-certificates were instantly provided through online mode to all the participants of the webinar. The participants provided very positive and motivating feedback about the webinar.
