Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

Events on Second Day of Confluence 2008 Center Around Unifying Theme "Wheel of Fortune"

Mr. Arvind Sharma agreed with the other panelists and provided relevant examples to drive home the point that perception of a country, a political party, or a corporation can play a significant role in wealth creation. He said, "Wealth exists in the minds and hearts of human beings."

Mr. Bhushan Punani said that inspite of the progress made by the country on many fronts, the benefits have not reached a large section of our population. He felt that the remedy includes an equitable distribution of wealth, affordable educational opportunities and healthcare to all along with focus on micro-credit. He recommended that a strong political will, focus on humanity, and investment in human capital, is the need of the hour. Mr. Punani stated, "Do away with charity, aim for equality, equity, equal opportunity and social justice."

Events

One of the major events slotted on second day of the event was TATA Think Tank, a uniquely structured team debate event. Six teams from IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi and SP Jain Mumbai participated in this invitational event. The motions for the debating teams were the past and potential business decisions by the TATA Group, which were colourfully worded to generate sharp reactions from the participants.

The first round of debating was between three teams each. The topics of discussion were 'Ginger takes away from the taste of Taj' and 'This is the right time to grow TATA Capital'. Teams from IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode and FMS Delhi qualified for the final round, the topic for which was 'TATA group should cut down the recruitments from B-schools considering the current economic and financial scenario'.

Arijit Ganguly, Kaustubh Bhatnagar and Vivek Mandhata from IIM Kozhikode went on to bag the first position while Sudeep Kashyap, Peeyush Garg and Srividhya from IIM Ahmedabad secured the second place.

Judges for the event were Mr. Rahul Krishna and Mr. Darius Merchant from TATA Administrative Services. Students were judged on the qualities of originality, manner of speaking and presentation, and in the strength of their rebuttals and answering during the cross-questioning phase.

The day also saw the initial briefing of the strategic planning contest "Nestle Munching Forward" being presented by eminent personalities from Nestle. Mr. Balan Kannan, Regional Manager, Sales, Western India, Nestle Ltd., the person behind the launch of ‘Polo’ in India and the conception of ‘Munch’, gave an insight on how Nestle as a company manages the cutting edge in reaching out the last mile to its consumers.

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* Contributed by -
Pratik Ved,
Secretary - Media Cell,
IIMA Confluence 2008,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

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