The School of Competition Law and Market Regulation, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs has successfully conducted “Refresher Course: Digital Economy Dilemma & Other Competition Law Challenges” between 28th September to 30th September 2020. The theme of the Course was Competition Law Enforcement and the challenges faced by Competition agencies due to digitization. A total of thirty officers of Competition Commission of India have attended the training program.

The Experts engaged for delivering session included Mr. Dirk Van Erps, Adviser to the Deputy Director General for Antitrust and Cartels, DG Competition, European Commission; Dr. Thibault Schrepel, Faculty Affiliate at Stanford University’s CodeX Center; Dr. Cristina Caffarra, Vice President, Head of European Competition Practice, Charles River Associates; Dr. Eyad Maher Dabbah, Professor of Competition Law and Policy, Queen Mary university of London; and Dr. Marek Martyniszyn, Senior Lecturer in Law, Queen's University Belfast.

The training was successfully convened and moderated by Dr. Abha Yadav, Associate Professor, School of Competition Law and Market Regulation, IICA.

School of Finance, organised Master Class on “Monetary Policy and Commercial Banking” for participants of IICA Valuation Certificate Program (IVCP) on September 26, 2020. Prof Vaidya Nathan from ISB discussed about various tools of monetary policies including the adjustment of the interest rates, purchase or sale of government securities and changing the amount of cash circulating in the economy. He also covered in details the concept of quantity theory of money and quantitative easing during session. The effect of monetary policies on commercial banking services, especially during Covid-19 pandemic, was also discussed during the session. The participants appreciated the Master Class and enjoyed the interaction with the expert faculty.

The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) concluded Two Days Online Familiarization Program for Independent & Women Directors on Boards on 24-25 September 2020.

Program, organized by School of Corporate Governance & Public Policy, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs had 68 Independent Directors from 51 Companies (PSUs & Private Companies) participated in the Program.

IICA Familiarization programme for Independent Directors was designed keeping in mind the unique training requirements and challenges of newly appointed Independent Directors on Boards.

Program, delivered by a mix of faculty from IICA and Industry Experts made it more experiential and interactive; had two International corporate governance experts engaged in separate sessions of the program.

The pedagogy of the program based on classroom sessions, experiential learning, case studies and evidence based learning helped those seeking answers to the challenging questions and aspects.

The Centre for MSME, IICA has successfully conducted 12th edition of Online Capacity Building Programme on “Procurement (Bidding Procedures based on General Financial Rules (GFR), GeM & E-Procurement) and Contract Management: Challenges in Implementation” on 14-26 September, 2020. The programme was designed to provide intensive training to the purchasing & supply managers, procurement managers, project managers, commercial managers, contract managers, Finance Officers and supply controllers of the Central Public Sector undertakings to provide insights on major issues like intricacies in Public Procurement, Enhancing efficiency of Public and Private sector through effective supply chain management, evolving trends in public procurement, e-procurement, Government guidelines & policies, regulatory issues and its practical aspects as well.

The programme organized by the IICA through its Centre for MSME witnessed engaged participation from 54 Professionals (Regional Head, Sr. General Manager, General Manager, Chief Manager, Senior Manager, Deputy Manager, Manager, Asst. Manager, DGM, AGM, EE, AO) involved in public procurement from major Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) / Organizations / Offices under various Ministries of Govt. of India. The 15 participants from Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. informed that they have to deal with various Govt. tenders and attended this training to learn important factors for bid preparation and understand the procurement process of Public sector Organizations and Govt. Departments tenders.

The capacity building programme started with opening remarks by Mr. Rajesh Batra, Head-Centre for MSME, IICA and Lead Programme Faculty on 14th September, 2020. The Programme was directed by Mr. Rajesh Batra, Head, Centre for MSME & IP&CC.

The programme was concluded on 26th September, 2020 with closing session & remarks presided by Mr. Rajesh Batra, Head-Centre for MSME, IICA.

Rajesh Batra, Head-Centre for MSME/ IP&C, IICA accepted invitation to deliver one hour session on “Role of MSMEs & their Contribution in Indian Economy” as Expert Speaker on 1st day of the Two Day International Trade and IPR Conference 2020, scheduled on 15th- 16th September, 2020 from the organizers of the said conference namely Tamil Nadu Technology Development and Promotion Center (TNTDPC), an autonomous society of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); and Intellectual’s Society of Entrepreneurship and Research Development (ISERDIndia).

The conference focused on the role of Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Government of India in jointly working with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in order to promote the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for MSME’s and other small ventures with an equal importance being given to relevance of IPR in India.

The session started with the introductory remarks by *The Moderator - Mr. Amit Kumar Patel, Registered Indian Patent Agent / IP Law Practitioner. He briefed participants about the credentials of Speaker – Mr. Rajesh Batra.

Mr. Rajesh Batra, as Expert Speaker through his presentation decoded the MSME sector and unlocked the potential and contribution of MSME SECTOR in Indian Economy which covered the various important aspects as reproduced below:

•   Assessment of MSME Landscape & Make in India
•   Key Concerns & Challenges for MSMEs
•   Effect of Changed Economic Climate (COVID Fallouts) for MSMEs
•   Existing Enabling Environment for Growth of MSMEs
•   Recent Announcements in light of Covid – 19
•   Ease of Doing Business in India for growth of MSME’s
•   Potential Interventions in Enabling Infrastructure, Liquidity & Risk Management
•   Implementation Plan for SME’s – Navigating Post Covid – 19 World

The virtual conference was attended by 185 delegates mainly from Research and Academia. The session was followed by Q&A from Participants and Mr. Rajesh Batra as Subject Expert and Speaker addressed each question that came to him to the satisfaction of each delegate.

IICA in association with IoD, Delhi jointly organized Independent Director’s Dialogue Series on September 10, 2020 titled “Building Corporate Governance Competencies in the Boardroom through Independent Directors”. The program aimed to orient Independent Directors (IDs) on various skill sets they should possess and enhance the quality of functioning of corporate boards in India.

Lt. Gen. J. S. Ahluwalia, in his welcome address, stated that Independent Directors are the real guardians, custodians & gatekeepers of Corporate Governance and maintains the interest of various stakeholders of a company. However, a caution needs to be exercised by Independent Directors on retaining their independence level.

Dr. Sameer Sharma, Director General and CEO, IICA in his speech expressed that the Independent Directors need to demonstrate high levels of competencies and professionalism while discharging their roles. In view of this, IICA has instituted an Independent Directors (ID) Databank with the basic purpose to infuse professionalism among the independent Directors. With an aim to achieve various components of professionalism, he summarized … “IDs are a group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards, possess specialized knowledge and skills which it derives from research, training & education of highest standards and applying these skills in the interest of all”.

This initiative is conceptualised under the ongoing CDM project being implemented by Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs with Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. TheCOVID-19 has changed the training / learning system dramatically, with the distinctive rise of e-learning where-by training is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. IICA laid emphasison rolling out of the capacity building programmes under CDM through intensive webinar serieson digital platform, so that officers /employees of MCA and its attached offices can utilize thisopportunity from remote locations.

In the above context, with a view to providing a tremendous learning opportunity to theparticipants and help them learn latest trends in Information Technology & Systems especiallyData Analysis, Data Analytic Thinking, Data Science and Innovation etc., that will ensurereadiness of the officials working in MCA and its attached offices to visualise data accurately andin a timely manner and work on real-life industry grade projects, Indian Institute ofCorporate Affairs (IICA) through its Centre for MSME conducted Capacity Building Programon “Data Management & Analytics” through Intensive Webinar series on digital platformunder CDM Project” during 1-11 September, 2020 (2 Weeks - 8 Webinars)