1. Seminar on Investor Education at Jodhpur on 24^th February 2001
2. Seminar on Investor Education at Calcutta on 10^th February 2001
3. Seminar on Investor Education at Jaipur on 12^th December 2000

Rajeev Modi of CUTS, in his welcome note, said, it is essential for the investors to maintain pace with the developments taking place such as rapid integration of information technology in capital markets. He added that the aim of the investor forum is to educate the investors about their rights, the protection available under various statutes and their obligations.

Deepak Saxena, Program Officer of CUTS, gave a brief introduction of the background and the activities of the organisation and the timely initiative taken by CUTS in generating awareness among investors, particularly small investors. 

Jai Singh Kothari, Financial Analyst & Director, Rajasthan Patrika Ltd., in his keynote address, emphasised the need of investor education in the fast changing scenario of the capital market. He said successful investors will be those who identify and follow the winners in the new economy. 

Kothari pointed out that in this era of globalisation, the Indian economy is being transformed from an agro base to industry orientation. Therefore, it is advisable to first understand the fundamental principles before one gets into the capital market. Increasingly, knowledge based industries will play a significant role in the new economy. 
He said agro based economy had the elements of stability while liberalisation and globalisation based economy will have the elements of instability and, under such circumstances, success can be ensured only when one can identify stability factors in the unstable economy. 

He cited the example of the United States of America where during the nineteenth century 98 percent of the population was dependent on agriculture. This figure was gradually reduced to 60 percent due to industrialisation of the economy in the next century. By 1950, the agricultural component in the economy was reduced to 45 percent. Presently it is just 2 percent. This means 98 percent of the economy is dependent upon service and technology based sectors. 

Kothari explained that the present Indian economic situation is same as the American economic situation in the nineteenth century. Within a span of a decade, the percentage of agriculture sector reduced from 70 to 65 percent in the year 2000. By 2007, this figure is going to be 55 percent. 

What is important for the investors is that they should be able to identify industries that are growing at a faster rate. This requires constant analysis and expertise to analyse the financial indicators. The financial services sector would gain momentum and the services of the financial analysts will increasingly play an important role in view of the rapid changes in the new economy. 

Globalisation and liberalisation would eventually lead to a more transparent way of working in the corporate sector. Again citing the example of USA, where promoters on an average own only 22 percent of the equity capital, he said corporate management is professional. Consequently, good performance of the corporate sector is reflected in better results. 
The new economy also encourages expenditure. As compared to the savings rate of 22 percent in the case of India, the US has 95 percent negative savings rate – meaning thereby that they spend more than their earnings. Capitalisation of the Indian share market has increased substantially. Two crore investors are associated with the share market and it is not possible to predict their intentions. 

Kothari said that the share market is the barometer of the economy. Due to globalisation of the economy, the extent of investment in the international property would also increase substantially.

The other speakers in the meeting were Bansidhar Purohit, a senior advocate,  and Liyakat Ali of Upbhokta Margdarshan Samiti, Jodhpur. 

Bansidhar Purohit threw light on the various government investment schemes. The legal aspects of the schemes were highlighted for the benefit of the investors. He appealed to the investors to be vigilant and informed about the provisions of the consumer forums.

S. M. Mathur, Secretary, CUTS, proposed a vote of thanks and appreciated the expert comments from the learned speakers.    

Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), Calcutta office, in association with the
Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal, organised a seminar on “Investor
Education on Capital Markets” on February 10, 2001 at Salt Lake Stadium, Calcutta.

This event was a part of the activities taken place at National Consumer Convention organised jointly by The Consumer Coordination Council, New Delhi and Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal. More than 500 consumer representatives from all over the country were present at the National Consumer Convention, 2001 as delegates. They represented consumer groups active at various levels, from grassroots to international.  More than 50 participants took part in this interactive session, which discussed various issues of investor protection and impart basic knowledge on financial investment. 

Mr. Narayan Jain, Director, Indiaallifo.com Ltd, Calcutta chaired the Workshop, while 
Mr. Dulal Chanda, Regional Manager, Securities & Exchange Board of India, Eastern
Region, and Mr. Tapas Dutta, Executive Director, Calcutta Stock Exchange were 
speakers. Mr. Bipul Chatterjee, Associate Director of CUTS moderated the discussions.

Bipul Chatterjee started the event by introducing the speakers to the participants and 
provided a background for organising this Workshop.

Narain Jain made the opening remarks stating the need to organise ‘investor education’ 
workshops for the benefit of common investors, particularly the small ones.

Dulal Chanda spoke about the steps that an investor needs to make before taking any
investment decisions. Giving examples of various initiatives taken by SEBI, in simple 
language, he explained the difficulties that common investors are facing today and what 
are the steps required for overcoming them? He also spoke about the initiatives taken by 
SEBI towards educating common investors, and expressed that he would be happy to take part in ‘investor education’ workshops in future. 

Mr. Dutta also dealt with the problems that investors were facing vis-a-vis dealing with shares etc and the steps that the Calcutta Stock Exchange had taken in mitigating them. He expressed his willingness to associate with ‘investor education’ workshops and to extend all possible help that may be required for organising such workshops in small towns and other places of the Eastern region of the country. 

The participants raised issues relating to problems that they were facing with respect to 
their investments. Most of these issues pertaining to vanishing companies, and non-
banking financial institutions. The speakers clarified the points raised and suggested 
suitable way outs. 

Bipul Chatterjee expressed thanks to the speakers and the participants for taking part in 
this important and timely initiative taken by CUTS, and to SEBI for making it possible 
with its support. 

Finally, Narain Jain put forward the following suggestions for further action: