Manthan Day 1 Highlights: Against all odds, India is moving ahead with growth, says FM Sitharaman

Business Standard Manthan updates: Catch all the latest developments from the summit here

8:09 PM

More discussions lined up for Day 2 of Business Standard's annual summit 'Manthan'

On Day 2 of Business Standard's annual summit 'Manthan', experts will be diving deep into India’s semiconductor ambitions, the future of jobs, and the investment landscape. There will be a fireside chat with Sunil Vachani, co-founder and executive chairman, Dixon Technologies at 11:40 am. Ajai Chowdhry, Co-founder, HCL will be speaking on 'Reimagining India’s Semiconductor Play' at 12:30 pm. Further, Samir Arora, Founder & Group CIO, Helios Capital will be speaking on 'Navigating the Investment Landscape in 2025' at 2:15 pm. Stay tuned as Business Standard brings live coverage and expert analysis from the event.

7:53 PM

Need technology and data analytics to pick up on irregularities: Pandey

Highlighting the increasing need of technology and data analytics in auditing, Pandey said, "There are 7,000 companies under the NFRA. Do I need to audit all these companies? Do I need to audit the audits of all these companies? The answer is no. We should be using technology and data analytics to pick up on irregularities."

7:52 PM

Would like to see that I pass the least number of disciplinary actions: Pandey

Talking about disciplinary actions of NFRA, Chairman Pandey said, " Ideally, I would like to pass the least number of disciplinary orders. We have to be non-adversarial."

7:50 PM

Of course actions should be taken timely: Pandey on delay in NFRA's disciplinary actions

"Yes, there has been delay in some cases. The NFRA was established in 2018. Initially, we had to hire people.. and then Covid struck.. so, I would say NFRA actually started working on scale in 2022. Since then, we have been taking quick actions," Pandey on delay in NFRA's disciplinary actions on auditing violators.

7:42 PM

No common global standards: Pandey on G20 discussing ESG global standards

"A lot of companies would like to be ESG compliant, but there is no common global standard for ESG as of now. So, how do you compare? This is still being debated at the global level. Whenever these norms are laid out, we should be ready to adopt them," Pandey said.

7:40 PM

Technology is the answer for every development, specially in terms of audit: Ajay Bhushan Pandey

Ajay Bhushan Pandey highlighted that in case of income tax, seven crores returns are filed, but only 2 lakh are scrutinised. He added that technology could be the answer in the field of audit and accounting.

7:37 PM

Must try to have a non-adversarial disciplinary system: Ajay Bhushan Pandey

"We have started conducting inspections and we have seen that if we conduct just one inspection in one firm, we see improvement in 100 firms and that improves investor trust," Pandey said. He further said, "If you look at the regulation part, the over regulation has been highlighted across various sectors And government has discussed on how to reduce over regulation."

7:35 PM

If you compare the audits now to a few years ago, the auditing has improved: Ajay Bhushan Pandey

"If you compare the audits now to a few years ago, the auditing has improved. I must commend auditing firms. We are seeing vast improvement and that is a great sign," Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

7:30 PM

GDP needs to grow at 9%, for this we need investment, and so trust in financial reporting is required: Pandey

Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Chairperson, NFRA said, "When we want to become a Viksit Bharat, for that we need to grow and our GDP needs to grow at 9%. For that we need huge amounts of investment. How will people trust our figures if we don't have a standard financial reporting and auditing system?"

7:25 PM

Huge amount of public interest involved in auditing: Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Chairperson, NFRA

Citing as one of the reasons behind setting up of National Financial Regulatory Authority, its chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that a huge amount of public interest involved in the process of auditing. Highlighting a case in the US he said, a question was raised by people, "Who audits the auditor?"

7:19 PM

Need a change in GFR, so that failures in research can be handled: Samir V Kamat

Samir V Kamat said that there is a need to change in GFR so that failures in research and development can be handled. He pointed that current GFR doesn't have a place for failures.

7:13 PM

Decision making process in defence has been transparent, but painfully slow: Admiral (retd) R Hari Kumar

Admiral (retd) R Hari Kumar said that decision making process in defence sector has been made more transparent, but is painfully slow.

7:06 PM

Need a more unified approach with a "whole-of-nation" mindset: Samir V Kamat

Talking about the role of private and public sector compnaines in defence sector, Samir V Kamat said, "We need a more unified approach. We must address issues with a "whole-of-nation" mindset to tackle challenges effectively for the country's benefit."

7:03 PM

Current accusation process too long by year end, we will have a much faster process: Samir V Kamat

Samir V Kamat said, "Our current accusation process is too long. It takes too long to place an order. By this year end, we will have a much faster acquisition process." Regarding level playing field, he said, "Whenever we choose our production partners, we treat PSU and private sectors equally. We are partnering with all large companies in India today."

6:55 PM

We can have a bank especially dedicated to defence sector: Admiral (retd) R Hari Kumar

Admiral (retd) R Hari Kumar said, "Many SMEs have approached me seeking assistance, particularly in terms of financing. We've discussed creating a specialized "defense bank," similar to banks for housing or infrastructure, as traditional banks struggle to understand the nuances of defense procurement. The approval cycle is slow, often rendering technology outdated before it's even approved. This issue has been raised at the highest levels, and in December 2023, the Finance Minister chaired a meeting. While she was not keen on establishing a new bank, she tasked the CP to facilitate support for SMEs, with Mr. Ami Beloved from Maharashtra taking the lead."