Humane Economic Forum (HEF) organised its second annual research group workshop at Bangalore on 5th and 6th July 2013. Around 25 participants from all over the nation were selected on the basis of a criterion that includes telephonic interview and pre-workshop assignment.

It is to be noted that the HEF is a national level forum initiated by SIO for students who are interested in economics, banking and finance and want to contribute to the society in this field. It is a platform for students, youth and professionals to share their thoughts, research works in this field.

On the first day, Dr. Nejatullah Siddiqi, Chief Advisor of HEF spoke on the topic “Islamic Economics and Finance, Past, Present and a way to the Future – A few pictures from the album of my academic life”. He explained the objectives of the Islamic Economics and said that Islam can play a key role in solving the economic problems of humanity if it is presented in an effective way.

The talk was followed by a presentation by Dr. Palath on the topic “From Communism to Globalisation – A Study of Islam Vs Modern Economic Thoughts” in which, he briefly introduced various modern economic thoughts such as communism, socialism, capitalism and shed light on the distinction the Islamic Economic System (IES) has above them. He also highlighted the basic and unique features of IES and urged the participants to have an in-depth study of both the modern economics and Islamic economics.

Mr. Shameel Sajjad addressed the students on the topic “Developed Economies of Post Global Financial Meltdown: Is it the end of Capitalism- A case study”. He explained the factors that lead to the Global Financial Meltdown and the economic issues that emerged during post-crisis period. He highlighted that how IES would have prevented the global financial meltdown.

In Indian perspective, Dr. Waquar Anwar shared his analysis of the “Indian Economic Policies since 1991”. He listed out the major policy shifts of Indian Economic Policies since 1991. He also shared the impacts of these policy shifts on the economy, overall growth, sector growth and the components of the human development index.

Later, Mr. Raheem Shariq, Executive Board Member of HEF, shared his views on Research Work: Pros & Cons. He introduced various modern research methodologies and technological tools.

The first day concluded with a practical exercise ‘Policy Drafting’ in which the participants were asked to draft the policies and make a Common Minimum Program (CMP) to solve the major economic issues of India such as Poverty, Unemployment, Microfinance Crisis, Rural Development etc followed by expert comments.

On the second day, Dr. Shariq Nisar shared his research and work experiences in the field of Islamic Finance in India. He also detailed a brief history of Islamic Finance Developments in India. His lecture was followed by a talk of Mr. H. Abdur Raqeeb, National Advisor of HEF who spoke on, “Islamic Banking in India: Myth or Reality”. He shared information on the developments of Islamic banking at global level. He said that Islamic Finance has nothing to do with religion and that it carries a potential ability to solve the problems of all the human beings and not just Muslim society.

The session continued with a technical lecture by Mr. M H Khatkhatey who spoke on “Legal & Technical Hurdles for Islamic Banking in India”. He critically analyzed the Legal and technical hurdles for Islamic banking in India in the light of Banking Regulation Act of 1949. On the basis of his experiences and the technical knowledge, he said that hurdles such as inability to accept deposit from public based on profits, prohibition of trading, CRR, SLR, etc, can be dealt easily. He using various numerical examples showed how these issues can be solved by using alternative methods.

The workshop concluded with the address of Mr. Ashfaq Sharief, National President of SIO, who appreciated the enthusiasm of students for research work and congratulated the HEF for organizing such an important workshop. In his concluding address, he said that as human beings it is our responsibility to present solutions to the economic problems of humanity through extensive research work. “Moreover, as a citizen of India, it is our duty to contribute to the well-being of our fellow citizens and to the economic development of our nation”, he said.

Mr. S M Wasiullah, National Co-ordinator of HEF, Mr. Ashfaq Ahmed, Camp Organizer were also present on the occasion.