Financial reforms in India started in 1991. The beneficiaries were the capital markets, the banking sector, mutual funds, and insurance sectors. The reforms resulted in the more efficient allocation of resources and in fuelling economic growth. With the growth of the economy, the financial system became ever more important as a facilitator of economic growth.

The capital market reforms have led to growth in investment banking, brokerage, and mutual funds. The Sensex has quadrupled over the last decade. The average daily turnover at the BSE in the last five years has trebled to touch Rs. 43.8 billion in January 2007. The market capitalization of the Indian stock market has reached 91.5% of GDP in January 2007, which is comparable with the stock markets in the developed world. The number of FIIs has risen to over a thousand. During 2006-07, over Rs.1.6 trillion has been mobilized in the primary market. On an average, six initial public offerings (IPOs) are being introduced every month, each mobilizing an average of Rs. 46 billion. This unprecedented rise has led to the growth of several domestic investment bankers such as SBI Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, and AK Capital and broking houses such as ICICI Securities, Karvy, Motilal Oswal, India Infoline, etc.

The mutual funds industry too has seen its assets base grow by four times since 1993 to touch Rs.2.8 trillion in January 2007. The Boston Consulting Group expects the total assets managed by all mutual fund companies including international funds, banks, and pension funds to grow more than seven-fold from the current Rs. 7.5 trillion to Rs. 57.6 trillion by 2015.

The IRDA Act, 1999 and the creation of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority in 2000 threw open the Indian insurance sector to private players. These policy initiatives resulted in the entry of several private players either alone or in association with foreign insurers such as Reliance, ICICI Prudential, Bajaj Allianz, ING Vysya, Tata AIG, and ICICI Lombard. The entry of these players has resulted in increased penetration and healthy competition. With premium collection in India being quite low at 3% of GDP, there is a huge potential for growth. In 2006-07, the life insurance segment is estimated to have achieved a phenomenal growth of 145% in premium collection from its new policies. The non-life segment has experienced a growth of 24% in gross premium.

Managers in the financial sector would be required to put in place extensive distribution networks without losing cost efficiencies, deal with sudden regulatory changes, cope with talent crunch, etc. Such a demanding environment calls for a new breed of professionals who are fully equipped to understand customer needs and provide innovative and customized solutions. They would also be required to effectively manage human resources, who are critical for the growth of the industry.

The Master of Financial Services Management Program introduces students to the opportunities and challenges in this dynamic sector.