Best & brightest at BFSI Summit: India's biggest finance event returns

From October 29 to October 31, the summit will feature keynotes, fireside chats, and panels on policy, digital banking, insurance, and AI in finance

Come October 29, India’s largest financial sector event – the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit – will return in a bigger form. The three-day summit is being held at the Jio World Convention Centre, in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex. The summit will bring together more than 120 distinguished speakers and panellists, including topnotch policymakers, regulators, bankers, chief executives, economists, specialists and fintech innovators.

 

The event, from October 29 to October 31, will feature keynote addresses, fireside chats, and high-powered panel discussions exploring the most critical developments shaping India’s financial landscape, from monetary policy and inflation management to the evolution of digital banking, insurance penetration, and the future of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance.

 

 

This year’s edition will host some of the most influential figures in the financial world, including Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey; Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) Chairman Ajay Seth; Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman S Ramann; Department of Financial Services’ Secretary M Nagaraju; Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran; Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governors T Rabi Sankar and Poonam Gupta; State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman C S Setty; veteran banker and non-executive Chairman of Jio Financial Services K V Kamath; former whole-time member of Sebi Ananth Narayan G, and Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO of Salesforce, India.

 

The proceedings will open on October 29 with the summit’s inauguration by SBI Chairman Setty, followed by a conversation with M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, which will set the tone of the summit. This will be followed by a fireside chat with Setty.

 

The fireside conversation with Poonam Gupta will be the first interaction she will have with a media house since she took charge as Deputy Governor of RBI in charge of monetary policy in May.

 

Rabi Sankar, on October 30, will headline a fireside chat on “AI and Technology in Banking”, discussing how digital innovation and cyber resilience are reshaping India’s banking architecture.

 

The conversations come at a critical juncture for the economy when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.50 per cent for two consecutive meetings, signalling a cautious, “dovish pause” as it watches incoming data. The committee has also revised down its FY26 inflation projection to about 2.6 per cent, reflecting the disinflationary impact of recent GST rationalisation and easing food-price trends. At the same time the central bank and several economists continue to flag upside risks from external tariff shocks and trade restrictions. Some commentators warn that core or food inflationary pressures could still prove sticky, which tempers any rush to move to a sustained ‘accommodative’ stance despite softer headline prints.

 

A major highlight of this year’s event will be the session on India’s Inflation Target Framework where former members of the RBI’s MPC will discuss the framework’s roadmap for the next 10 years. The Flexible Inflation Targeting is due for review by March 2026, and RBI has invited comments on the aspects which need to be reviewed.

 

Nageswaran will deliver a keynote address outlining India’s macroeconomic outlook amid shifting global dynamics followed by a conversation, while Sebi Chairman Pandey will share his insights on the evolving capital markets landscape and the regulator’s priorities for deepening investor participation.

 

Pandey leads Sebi’s initiatives to strengthen investor trust by curbing misleading social media content and fraudulent market activity. He has also led awareness and investor education campaigns, working with market infrastructure institutions to promote safe and informed participation. These include measures such as verified UPI handles for registered intermediaries, the ‘Sebi Check’ facility to authenticate market players, and the ‘Sebi vs Scam’ outreach to warn investors against fraudsters.

 

The insurance and the financial sector will be keenly awaiting comments from Ajay Seth who took charge as the Chairman of Irdai last month. Given the recent developments around GST rate rationalisation, Bima Sugam initiatives, his comments will provide a roadmap for the sector for the next few years.

 

The three-day summit will also feature thematic discussions by heads of foreign banks, public and private banks, and Life & General insurance companies, besides on important issues including NBFC transformation, insurance reforms, fintech innovation, wealth management, bank business models, and microfinance sector challenges. Sessions on Unified Payments Interface, cybersecurity, cryptocurrencies, GIFT City, and the future of AI in financial services will explore how technology continues to redefine competition and consumer trust in the BFSI ecosystem.

 

While heads of leading private equity firms will discuss the opportunities and challenges in terms of deploying capital, CEOs of some of India’s leading mutual fund houses will debate on how soon the industry can double its assets under management.

 

Likewise, while chief investment officers from leading fund houses will share their views on the recent muted returns and the likely outlook, three prominent market stalwarts — Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley, Mark Matthews of Julius Baer, and Shankar Sharma of GQuants — will discuss the likely road for markets. A fireside chat with Lalit Keshre, cofounder and CEO of India’s leading stock broker Groww, will provide insights on the increasing penetration and growing investor appetite.