The Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020, held on the 4th, 5th and 6th of February was a huge success attracting a footfall of 6000+ people across the 3 days of the Summit. It comprised of enriching speaker sessions, engaging workshops and compelling competitions to ensure that there was something in store for everyone.
The Summit was kickstarted with Mr Parameswaran Iyer, the leader of the Swachh Bharat Mission, and Ms. Yasmin Ali Haque, the India Country Head of UNICEF, discussing the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and the road ahead, much to the delight of the swarm of students who had gathered to listen to these distinguished luminaries. Mr. Anand Narasimhan, a news anchor with Network 18, moderated the panel and ensured that the important questions of the public at large were addressed. This was followed by a discussion by none other than Mr. Neeraj Kapoor, former Delhi Police Commissioner and Ms. Sunetra Chaudhary, a journalist at NDTV on the prison system in India, explaining its working and suggesting possible reforms that need to be brought about.
With the Budget having been announced just a few days prior, the next panel included Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal and Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg, both of whom received extensive praise from a fully packed hall. The Principal Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance and the former Economic Affairs Secretary, highlighted the positives and negatives of the budget and suggested how things could have been done in a better manner, a discussion that was imperative following the Budget’s release.
Every now and then, one could see that there was a buzz about the small eco-games that had been set up by the Economics Society, SRCC, and there remained a never ending queue to get photos clicked with the EcoSoc TV. Simultaneously, research organisations like Beast, IGTS, Lexquest, ADR and ICRIER carried out workshops, free of cost, ensuring maximum learning for students coming from different colleges and universities. They touched upon various topics like game theory and political funding, widening the knowledge base of these students. The first day of the Summit saw a perfect end with prominent lawyers Mr. Prashant Bhushan and Mr. Salman Khurshid, the latter also being the former Union Minister, talking about the flaws in India’s judicial system including, but not restricted to, the appointment of judges and the associated nepotism, and called for urgent reforms in the sector.
The Media Partners for the Summit ensured that the Summit was able to reach students all across the country. Both Business Standard and The Statesman put out advertisements in their newspapers while the Tak App streamed the event live on its app. The title sponsor, GuruQ, a tutoring platform that connects students with the best quality teachers, brought SRES to the scale at which it operated.
“Relive and recapture the joy of entrepreneurship in India.” Hindol Sengupta, a historian, started the second day of the Summit with a bang by talking to students about the startup culture that India needs to introduce in order to cater to the needs of the hour. This was followed by the much awaited session by Mr. P. Chidambaram on the state of the economy. The delegates were full of excitement and were loaded with questions for the former Finance Minister, who suggested the broadening of poor-centric policies like MGNREGA and PM Kisan to revive slagging demand.
The Summit also hosted a panel from TVF, a streaming platform to lighten the mood before a fierce battle of words took place between spokespersons of BJP, AAP and Congress on Rajdeep Sardesai’s show which aired on India Today. Tempers went flaring as they discussed their respective parties agendas in the run up to the Delhi elections.
The delegates were extremely enthusiastic throughout the course of the Summit, always on the hunt for opportunities to get pictures clicked with their favourite luminaries and personalities. They participated with great enthusiasm and were grateful for an opportunity like this. The Summit’s gifting partners Shahnaz Hussain, Rangoli Designer Studio and P-Tal provided the speakers with the best quality products as a token of appreciation.
The third day saw the culmination of the rigorous knowledge-driven competitions that had been carried out in partnership with organisations like the World Bank, Paytm, Carnegie and many more. This resulted in some minor hiccups, some flawless presentations and some bursts of joy, but in the end, everyone went home learning something or the other.
All in all, the event was extremely successful, attracting a lot of positive feedback from teachers and students, alike. The Summit was a wholesome and worthwhile experience for the delegates, exposing them to new perspectives and promoting student discourse on relevant topics – an objective that The Economics Society of SRCC had strived to achieve.
The Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020 
Share
