In BL on Campus ’ latest contest, ‘If I were Finance Minister…’, students were asked what they would do, if they were the Finance Minister, to propel rural and urban growth, while tackling unemployment.
BL on Campus received a number of high-level, well researched, and thought-through submissions from top institutes such as XLRI, LIBA, XIMB, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, Great Lakes Institute of Management and IMI New Delhi, among others.
Rohan Chinchwadkar, Assistant Professor (Finance & Accounting area), IIM Trichy, judged the entries and chose Suyash Somani of XIMB (Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar) as the winner. “The article rightly points out that this Budget is unique in a way because it was preceded by two of the most disruptive economic decisions in India’s history: demonetisation and GST implementation,” said Chinchwadkar of the winning entry, adding, “The winner’s Budget is balanced and practical.”
He chose Prasanth Ganesan from LIBA (Loyola Institute of Business Administration) as first runner-up, reasoning: “The author understands that the Budget is an income-expenditure exercise and not a platform to announce economic reforms in all major areas of the economy.”
Saurabh Mathur, XLRI was the second runner-up. “His Budget rightly recognises the economic and political imperatives for the Finance Minister to focus on the rural and agricultural economy in the upcoming Budget. It mentions key challenges, such as the pressure on farm and non-farm wages, farmer suicides, and their impact on the recent State Assembly elections,” said Chinchwadkar.