H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, delivered Central Bank of India’s “Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala Memorial Lecture”

H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, delivered lecture at a scintillating ceremony organized by Central Bank of India at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. We are reproducing here the Press Release issued by the Bank.

PRESS RELEASE 

H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, delivered Central Bank of India’s “Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala Memorial Lecture” In a scintillating ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi Central Bank of India launched its Sir Sorabji Pochkhanwala Memorial Lecture Series in the honor of its founder Sir Sorabji Pochkhanwala – father of Indian Banking System. The Bank has initiated this annual lecture series in its pre-centenary year through out the country. Shri S Sridhar, Chairman & Managing Director of the Bank while welcoming the guests informed how a person from a moderate family took this marathon task of carving a true Swadeshi Bank which is fully owned and managed by Indians. Shri Pochkhanawala was a man of a audacious vision and he conceived this idea of a swadeshi bank with conviction and strive hard to make it live. When he died he was held as a India’s Banking CZAR. While extending his warm welcome to H E Kamalesh Sharma & Dr Krishnamurthy he told that we are fortunate that the first lecture in this annual series is being kicked off by two of India’s tallest sons who have done our country proud. He also spoke at length about the Bank’s alliance with commonwealth and informed that the COSMEC-CBI joint initiative of the Youth Enterprise Financing Facility was announced and it has since been launched in the country. He informed that Central Bank of India & Commonwealth have a common vision viz Partnering with a purpose for a sustainable future.

H E Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary General, who was the chief guest of the function, paid rich tribute to Sir Pochkhanwala for having utmost courage, vision and entrepreneurship in establishing a truly swadeshi Bank. Shri Sharma spoke about the emerging new global order in virtually non-polar world. He spoke at length about the role of Commonwealth and summarized with the quote of Shri Sridath Ramphal that Commonwealth cannot negotiate for world but can help the world to negotiate a new & just global order.

Delivering his presidential address Sri V Krishnamurthy, Chairman, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, spoke in detail about the role being played by Central Bank of India in collaboration with Commonwealth. He applauded the role of Central Bank of India and its Chairman Shri S Sridhar in forging this alliance.

Shri Ramnath Pradeep, Executive Director of the Bank gave vote of thanks who conveyed his sincere thanks to the dignitaries on the dais and the audience for their sparing valuable time to grace the function. While paying his tribute to the founder of the Bank he told that plant sown by him has flourished in a gigantic tree – Central Bank of India providing fruits to countless people, industries directly and indirectly, giving active support to the socio-economic growth of the people of India.

The function was attended of cross section of society including Bureaucrats of Government of India, representatives of various Industries, Bankers, representative of print, audio and visual media and ex – staff of the Bank. Bank has also invited the family members of Sir Pochkhanawala on this occasion.