KIIT School of Management (KSOM) hosted its 17th National Finance Konclave. This year’s theme, “Digital Finance and Inclusive Growth: Redefining India’s Economic Future,” explored the growing role of digital finance, fintech innovation, and technology-driven financial systems in advancing inclusive and sustainable economic growth across India.

The inaugural session commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by esteemed dignitaries, setting the stage for the day’s deliberations. Prof. K K Ray, Convenor, set the context by highlighting India’s rapid digital finance transformation and emphasized the need to balance innovation with inclusion, digital literacy, cybersecurity, and consumer protection. Prof. Kumar Mohanty, Director, KIIT School of Management, in his welcome address, underscored KIIT’s strong industry-academia interface and the growing significance of FinTech, digital finance, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship.

Prof. Saranjit Singh, Vice Chancellor, KIIT Deemed to be University in his address, talked about

India’s transformation through the JAM Trinity – Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile numbers that has strengthened financial accessibility and inclusion. He stressed that technology must remain a means to an end; with its true impact measured by how effectively it reaches rural communities, small entrepreneurs and the informal sector. He called upon students to champion inclusive digitisation and develop solutions that are accessible and affordable.

Prof. Arvind Tripathy, Dean, KIIT School of Management in his Vote of Thanks, highlighted emerging opportunities at the intersection of finance, technology, and talent, stressing stronger academia-industry collaboration.

Mr. Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of IvyCap Ventures Advisors Pvt. Ltd. delivered the Keynote Address. He stressed that the next phase of financial inclusion must move beyond bank accounts and digital payments towards productive capital, skills, entrepreneurship, market access, ownership and wealth creation. Highlighting Odisha’s growing start-up and innovation ecosystem, he cited successful ventures such as OYO, IG Drones, FarEye, CureBay and Datums, and praised Hon’ble Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta’s vision in building KIIT and KISS as models of inclusive development.

The inaugural session was followed by a panel discussion delving deeper into the theme “Financial Markets and Digital Finance: Towards a Sustainable Economic Future,” which brought together distinguished finance and BFSI leaders to deliberate on the evolving financial landscape and its implications for India’s economic growth. Drawing on their extensive industry experience, the panelists shared insights on how digital finance, AI and emerging technologies are transforming financial markets, while highlighting their role in financial inclusion, access to capital, cost efficiency and informed decision-making. The discussion also addressed critical challenges around cybersecurity, fraud, privacy, trust and regulation, emphasising the need for human oversight, robust digital infrastructure and responsible innovation. The panel further underscored the importance of India evolving from a technology consumer to a creator and exporter, with AI and human intelligence working together to drive inclusive, secure and sustainable economic growth.

The second half featured interactive workshops with senior Finance professionals, exploring key dimensions of India’s evolving financial ecosystem. The workshops were on topics like The Future of Finance: Digital Payments, FinTech and Beyond; Firm value creation through M&A; The Role of Debt Markets in Financing India’s Development Future; Cross-Border Financial Integration and Economic Resilience and Digital Public Infrastructure.

The conclave provided participants with industry-led perspectives while reflecting KSOM’s focus on experiential learning, industry engagement, and developing future-ready Finance professionals.