By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: A three-day International Conference on “Interest-free Institutional Mechanism (Banking, Finance and Insurance) for Promoting Investment” is being organized from June 3 to 5 at University of Kashmir in Srinagar.
The International Conference is being held under the joint aegis of New Delhi based Institute of Objective Studies, (IOS) and the Department of Business and Financial Studies, University of Kashmir, Srinagar.
On the opening day on June 3 the inaugural session will be held from 4.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. wherein Mr. K. Rahman Khan, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, will deliver the inaugural address. Dr. Ausaf Ahmad, former Head, Special Assignment, Islamic Development Bank, (IDB), Jeddah, shall give the keynote address while the special address on the occasion, will be delivered by Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, Chairman of IOS. The introductory remarks about the IOS shall be given by Prof. Z. M. Khan, secretary general of IOS.
After the inaugural session total six technical sessions shall be held–four on June 4 and two on June 5. The topics that will be discussed on the conference at different sessions by the experts, intellectuals and academicians include “Philosophical Foundations and World View of Islamic and Finance”, “Developing an Interest Free Economy: Legal and Regulatory Challenges”, “Interest-Free Financing in India: Evolving an Appropriate Framework”, “Interest Free Non-banking Financial Institutions and their Regulation” and “Developing an Institutional Structure for Islamic Financial Markets.”
It may be stated here that interest based conventional market mechanism is being widely criticized for promoting speculationary tendencies believed to have brought strife and suffering in many mature economies of the world. Moreover, this system is being criticized to have failed to ensure equitable distribution of wealth and social welfare leading to an alarmingly widening gap between the rich and the poor. The recent financial crisis caused by sub-prime lending in the United States which finally triggered the global economic meltdown has forced the economists and financial experts to rethink about the veracity of the existing financial system.
There are many who believe that the existing financial system provides a scope for manipulation, exploitation and above all has failed to result in inclusive growth.
Given this scenario, the critics of the existing financial system have started showing eagerness and inclination towards the Islamic or Shari’ah based Financial System as a viable alternative to the new global financial order. The Interest Free Finance & Banking as a basic contour of the Islamic Financial System focuses on transparency, cooperative ventures, shared risk and ethical investing having a strong potential to attract Muslim and Non-Muslim investors alike. India is a fast growing economy in the world.
Its adoption of Interest Free Banking system would offer a great opportunity to attract substantial investments from counties in the West Asian Region.To facilitate this, there is need for revamping the present regulatory framework to make it more flexible and suitable for creating a scope for having interest free banking and financial system in the country.
This conference is expected to have distinguished scholars on the subject area both from India and abroad and is aimed at achieving the following objectives: To discuss and share the research experiences about the various aspects of Islamic Financial System; to discuss and deliberate upon the co-existence of Islamic & the Existing Institutional Financial System; to discuss the operationalization of the Interest-Free Institutional Financial Mechanism; and to highlight the legal and operational problems expected to be encountered by the interest-free financial system in the country.([email protected])