Mumbai University

The Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan, inaugurated Indian Merchant’s Chamber Pravinchandra V Gandhi Chair on Banking & Finance at the University of Mumbai today,  in the august presence of dignitaries such as Rajesh Tope, Maharashtra's Minister for Higher & Technical Education, Dr. Rajan Welukar, Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, Dilip Dandekar, President of Indian Merchants Chamber, academicians and businessmen.

The Chair was being instituted with the help of an endowment of Rs. 2 crore  donated by the Indian Merchants Chamber (IMC) and a matching contribution by Maharashtra Government.

The Chamber took the initiative to set up the Chair, following a suggestion made by Chief Minister Chavan recently , which  was wholeheartedly welcomed by Dr. Welukar. This Chair would be  established at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies,  affiliated to Mumbai University. With this, Mumbai University will now 19 Chairs dedicated to different faculties.

The Chief Minister said that late Mr Pravinchandra V Gandhi was  a guide and mentor of IMC for many decades and  was also a  leading banker. In recognition of his wide-ranging services to the society, the Government of India had conferred on him the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

Announcing a new initiative, Prithviraj  Chavan said that the Maharashtra Government  he would soon institute  a special fund in the Ministry of Higher  Education for supporting private sector initiatives in the area of higher education. He recalled his role in providing huge funds to institutes of higher studies, in his capacity as a Union Minister earlier.

Chavan said there were  many donors for promoting science and technology, but few came forward to promote humanities. In this respect  IMC donation of Rs. 2 crores to this University to undertake research into banking and finance is noteworthy., he said and urged other corporate houses to emulate this example.

Earlier, Rajesh Tope said that he was  happy to witness the signing of an MOU  between IMC and the University  of Mumbai for setting up the Chair. He said that  the the benefits of banking and other financial services were yet to reach  40 per cent  of India’s population  in remote rural areas.  “In view of this I urge the Mumbai University to focus on undertaking studies  for expanding  the banking services  to the neglected section of society,  he said.

Earlier, Ram Gandhi, Trustee of IMC, said that the Professor in charge of the  Pravinchandra V Gandhi Chair would undertake and guide research activities in the domain of banking and finance, consulting and training, in addition to providing consultancy services in the form of financial advice to enterprises engaged in the banking and finance sector. He would also guide research activities in the areas of micro-finance and community banking, micro-credit, micro-insurance, and inclusive financial systems.

Dr. Rajan Welukar said that the Chair was expected to nurture and build a vast pool of expertise in banking and financial services, which was critical in an open and efficient society for achieving inclusive growth. It would also develop standards and customized programmes for skill up-gradation of the employees at banks, insurance, and other financial services organization.  He and thanked the Chief Minister  and Indian Merchant’s Chamber for instituting this centre of excellence.