Jignesh Shah : A Man of Grit and Determination

It’s been three years that NSEL payment crisis shook the corporate world, but the issue remains at the center of the multi-agency probe and web of legal actions. The vindictive approach and the misuse of the power by the investigative agencies have only made the crisis complex and life tougher for Shah.

Jignesh Shah, who set up 63 moons technologies Ltd (formerly known as Financial Technologies India Limited (FTIL) in 1988, launched a series of stock exchanges under its guidance in the previous decade, including MCX, a multi-commodity bourse which has developed as India’s only listed exchange. (It was set up in 2002 and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, or BSE, in 2012.) As 63 moons, the holding company which also provides financial markets software to brokers and other market participants became successful, Shah’s determinations took him beyond Indian shores. In the space of a few years, he set up exchanges in Singapore, Bahrain, Dubai (UAE), Mauritius and Botswana as well as a financial market content provider, TickerPlant. And soon he became an exchange visionary in the world of exchange and trading.

The story of Shah’s life is one fable that has inspired many new generation entrepreneurs to follow his footsteps. Jignesh shah started his career working for Bombay Stock Exchange as an assistant manager and reached a noteworthy milestone when he incorporated Financial Technologies Company in the summer of 1988. Shah’s success has been credited to his smart observations to spot gaps and commitment to transform the exchange operations in India. He preferred to take the road less traveled, and started the company with an aim of automation in finance. He realized the potential of finance automation and made a substantial contribution to “Make in India” initiative, long before it became famous.

Since its commencement, both Jignesh Shah and his company have exceeded to be giants and redefined all standards in the trading industry. But success comes for those who fail first but never give up. Shah has been one strong-minded entrepreneur who mortgaged his house to commence his company which is now the face of Indian Exchange Markets. He has and he will continue to reshape the markets with his innovation.

His featuring as the ‘Young Global Leader of 2007’ attests his significant role in economic and social development in India as well the global financial market.

Hope the truth prevails!

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Jignesh Shah - A First Generation Entrepreneur

Despite the recent crisis that has jolted Jignesh Shah-led 63 moons, nobody can take away the fact that this visionary conceptualized and established one of the finest exchanges, nationally and internationally. A man known who’s been the epitome of far-sighted vision and business acumen, Jignesh Shah initiated India into the international exchange arena at a time when Make in India was not even conceptualized.

The platforms of international stature he created, such as Multi Commodities Exchange and Financial Technologies, date as far back as 1988. While 63 moons powered firms with complex exchange software when Internet was just strengthening its grip, MCX was the first listed commodities exchange to be launched in India.

For a man with humble roots, the way to the top was fueled by hardships and persistence. It amazes many how the man who once mortgaged his house to fund his first venture eventually figured in the Forbes list of Billionaires at an age of just 47.

But Shah is much more than new ventures and profits. He started the concept of Gramin Suvidha Kendras in order to make farming in India economically sustainable. The initiative has not just won several awards; it has also created a million new jobs in the economy. And, Jignesh Shah’s companies are examples how growth should be inclusive and from within! He has made Indian financial markets a recognized system on the global map.

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Need of the hour is to make Corporate Affairs Ministry “Fit & Proper”

An able and effective Corporate Affairs Ministry can redefine the country’s growth trajectory. Corporate sector forms the backbone of a capitalist economy. Therefore, a dedicated regulatory body, like Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in India, is a prerequisite to efficient corporate governance.

As a governance epithet, the above fits the bill perfectly. However, when a government goes out of the way to justify corporate decisions overriding its own laws, the dread of executive tyranny gets invoked, as in the NSEL case. What’s absolutely shocking is the merger order of the defunct NSEL with 63 moons passed by the MCA on grounds that it is in larger public interest. So what would you consider a larger public interest – 63,000 shareholders who are objecting the merger or 13,000 so-called investors who have supposedly lost their money?

There is no way the merger works as a solution. One, it’s an unrighteous burden of Rs 5,600 crore on around 63,000 shareholders who pinned their hopes on the company that gave India its prized commodity exchange MCX and was the first of its kind to perpetuate commodity software in India.

Two, the merger breaches all known tenets of limited liability which risks India’s hold on its FDI channels as foreign investors, who’ve realized the prospect of growth in India, definitely do not see this positively.

Three, it’s becoming clear with SEBI investigations making a head way that colluding brokers at NSEL could pull it off by way of recourses like client code modification, channelizing black money, false assurances and much more, which puts serious questions on our regulatory radar.

As a lot of months have already been consumed by investigations headed nowhere and executive mishandling; now is the time for MCA to redeem itself as India’s corporate regulatory body with the ability to invoke rational decisions that actually stem from ‘public interest’ and not the other way round. Will the Government able to take a decision which is in actual interest of the public (in this case, the 63,000 shareholders) or will it bend to the unwarranted pressure to make an example out of a company that has not been accountable to the law?

For more information check 63 Moons.

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