SUMMIT REPORT
SHRI RAM ECONOMICS
SUMMIT2020 THE ECONOMICS SOCIETY, SHRI RAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE
By Jacob Walker
BIGGER. BOLDER. BETTER. C O N T E N T S F E B 2 0 2 0
3 THE SWACHCH BHARAT MISSION Parameswaran Iyer & Yasmin Ali Haque 23 STATE OF INDIAN 6 JAIL ECONOMICS ECONOMY Neeraj Kumar & P. Chidambaram Sunetra Choudhury 9 BUDGET 2020-21 25 THE KEY TO SUCCESS Shiv Khera Sanjeev Sanyal & Subhash Chandra Garg 27 LIFE OF A CIVIL 12 FREE MARKETS & SERVANT LIBERAL ECONOMICS Anil Swarup Parth Shah & Rajeev Gowda 29 TWITTER SESSION 15 THE LALLANTOP Mahima Kaul, Aparajita Bharti, SHOW Anshul Tewari & Tamseel Hussain Rahul Pandita & Saurabh YOUTUBE : THE NEW Dwivedi 32 SILVER SCREEN 18 POLITICS, LAW & The Viral Fever CONSTITUION ART & CULTURE Salman Khurshid & 34 Prashant Bushan Sonal Mansingh
21 STARTUPS OF 36 CAMPUS FACE OFF BHARAT Rajdeep Sardesai Hindol Sengupta 38 DEVELOPMENTAL ECONOMICS Jean Dreze S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
PARAMESWARAN IYER & YASMIN ALI HAQUE THE SWACHH BHARAT MISSION
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Changing behaviours, forever As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit, The Economics Society, SRCC, was honoured to host a panel discussion on the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Moderated by Mr. Anand Narsimhan, the panel Mr. Parameshwaram Iyer, Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, and Ms. Yasmin Ali Haque, the UNICEF Representative in India.
Mr. Iyer began by presenting the book edited by him, The Swachh Bharat Revolution: The Four Pillars of India's Transformation. He then went on to describe the journey that SBM has traversed over five years since its launch, and the way it is being looked upon in the future as well. Intended to be a revolutionary behavioural change in the way people approach basic hygiene, Mr Iyer described the Swachh Bharat Movement as a revolution. He said, “It became one of India's largest and most successful behavioural change programmes because of the success it eventually met with even and especially in rural India". People started to identify and attach themselves with the program, providing the spirit of a 'Jan Andolan'. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
However, the journey wasn’t easy. Mr. Iyer mentioned that one of the biggest hurdles that they encountered was the belief among the people that faeces were impure. This was a significant reason why people in villages were unwilling to have toilets in their houses, leading women to urinate or defecate in the open during unsafe hours at night, making it a major reason for rural rapes as well.
One of the biggest focus points of the SBM has been to tackle the problem of open defecation and popularising the use of toilets in villages and rural areas for the same. Initially, increase in access and penetration into rural India was quite slow, with there being only 38% coverage for latrines in India. Under the SBM, the Prime Minister set the deadline date of 2nd October 2019, by which the goals of the movement were to be attained, including the creation of an Open Defecation Free (ODF) India. A major contributing factor to SBM's success, as highlighted by Mr. Iyer was the support of the state and the administration towards the These were referred to as the four 'S' of problems to be dealt scheme, both in terms of interest as well as finances. The with viz. Scale, Speed, Stigma, and Sustainability, and the reason being that convincing the authorities in power that solutions to these were referred to as the ABCDEF of tackling these schemes deserve to be prioritized, was a major open defecation. roadblock in bringing about any micro-level social change. The measures included: Alignment - Establishing a Mr. Iyer then went on to enumerate the primary problems congruence of goals, Believing - creating a team that believed that had not been addressed prior to the launch of the SBM. that the goal could be achieved, comprising a large youth These included the scale of the problem of open defecation, presence and cooperation from district political levels, the speed required to address the issue, the stigma around Communication - engaging with key stakeholders at political, problems relating to untreated waste, and the sustainability administrative and local levels, Democratisation - tackling of solutions like encouraging people to use toilets so as to problems at the grass root level, Evaluation - ensuring third ensure that they did not slip back. person evaluation to maintain credibility, and Following Through - keeping up with sustainability measures to prevent people from slipping back to open defecation practices.
Mr. Iyer also explained the various tools used to popularise the campaign in both urban and rural India, such as advertising campaigns with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, the initiative of appointing 'swachhagrahis' (local representatives) who were tasked to convert other villagers, extensive use of recall value by targeting people through periodic text messages, entering into partnerships with NGOs, community based groups, media and international organisations, and the 'Swachchta Hi Seva' campaign entailing students to write letters to the Prime Minister on this issue.
The impacts of the campaign have been extensive and evident. It has saved lives of children vulnerable to diarrhoea, saved money in families by reducing potential health hazards from open defecation, and contributed to facilitating a S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
significant decline in incidents of sexual violence against often been implemented hand in hand, such as in states like women and girls. The efforts started under the SBM are being Rajasthan, water supply had been offered as an incentive to followed up through measures such as Geo-tagging toilets, villages to set up toilets. Ms Yasmin also outlined the major third party evaluations and verification to ensure that ODF major problems faced by the Jal Jeevan Mission, including free areas remain so. pumping of water from sources other than groundwater, ensuring good quality and the cost of procuring clean water. An allocation of 994 cores has been made in the Union Budget for the next phase of SBM, which will focus on solid Overall, the session was very informative and offered insight and liquid waste management in villages, and on continuing into the manner in which one of the most significant the journey towards ODF. behavioural change programmes ever implemented in India was conceived and executed. Mr. Iyer and Ms. Yasmin The next topic of discussion featured another important concluded the discussion on a positive note by highlighting scheme launched by the government, the Jal Jeevan Mission, the need for continuing the 'Swachhata' consciousness by whose goal is to make drinking water accessible to every ensuring that adults serve as role models for their children household. The panel spoke of how logically, this is the next and communities as a whole, encouraging the role of children step after the SBM, because to continue the fight against in communicating the need to take cognizance of the open defecation, it is essential to ensure proper water supply problems in our world and working towards solutions for the that can keep toilets functioning. In fact, both schemes have same. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
NEERAJ KUMAR & SUNETRA CHOUDHURY JAIL ECONOMICS
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Power within prisons Under the ‘Shri Ram Economics Summit’ organised by the Economics Society, SRCC, between 4th and 6th February, Mr. Neeraj Kumar, Former Commissioner of Delhi Police and Mrs. Sunetra Choudhury, National Editor, Hindustan Times, engaged in a panel discussion on the topic ‘Jail Economics’.
Ms. Sunetra started the discussion by informing the audience, much to their shock, that the prisoners who are incarcerated for more than 10 years are actually the ones running the entire prison system. Their work ranges all the way from getting the new inmates acquainted with the working of the prisons, to acting as the first line of security, in case a fight breaks out.
Anything and everything is available in a jail, said Ms. Sunetra. iPhones, LCD TVs and cigarettes were some of the examples given by her. The only catch here is that the inmates have to pay multiple times the actual amount to buy it. She then talked about how the Chandra brothers, Unitech promoters who were jailed for alleged S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
The next topic of discussion was the inequalities prevalent in the Indian prison system.
Ms. Sunetra talked about how there is rarely any rich person who has been hanged in the history of the Indian Judicial System. She then shared with the audience the ‘Vidya Jain murder case’ where the husband hired two contract assassins to kill his wife. In her opinion, the husband was as guilty as the contract killers but he escaped by virtue of wealth power and spent only a few years in prison, whereas the two assailants were sent to the gallows.
The panel discussion was followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience. When asked about there being a system of capitalism prevalent in the Indian Prison System, Mr. Kumar expressed that one doesn’t get all the luxuries that one enjoys in the outer world but there are certain things that the wealthy upper class manage to get by hiring good lawyers that a poor criminal cannot. According to him, mismanagement and siphoning off funds, had their own it is extremely rare to see someone from the upper echelons personal room, supply of packaged water, own beds and a of society get sentenced to a 20 year or more. Responding to personal kitchen. the same question, Ms. Sunetra talked about how the lawyers
Throwing stuff over the walls is one of the most common of the Sahara Chief Subroto Roy convinced the Supreme ways of getting things into a prison, according to Mr. Kumar. Court to allow Roy to carry out negotiations to sell-off his Adding to this, Sir said that there were people who specialise luxury hotels in New York and London from his prison cell. in throwing things over the wall. It was surprising to hear Roy was thus given a special air-conditioned cell, which had that such a simple practice could be used to get things inside Wi-Fi and video-conferencing facilities, and he was provided a prison, clearly showing the severe inefficiencies plaguing the system. This practice is observed not just in India but all over the world. The other way is to smuggle things inside using the help of the prison staff.
Mr. Kumar then informed the audience that a large number of inmates have no visitors and that this section of inmates feel extremely depressed and lonely. This nudged Sir to start ‘Sparsh’, an initiative under which an inmate’s family is informed about the incarceration of their family member. In some of these cases, the inmate’s family is even given monetary help, train tickets and accommodation facilities, all funded through the Prison Welfare Fund, to help them get in contact with the inmates. Continuing the discussion, Ms. Sunetra informed the audience that some of the inmates spend multiple years in prison just because the inmate’s family is not aware that they are imprisoned and so they aren’t able to bail them out, even for an amount which sometimes is as low as Rs. 500.
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 with two laptops, two desktops, a cell-phone and landline end up getting hanged. The session was informative and phones too. offered insight into the economic workings of jail and how the system is misused by people in power. During the Q&A session, there was a question on capital punishment and the extent to which it should be used. “A The major takeaway from the discussion was that the whole large number of criminals who are abroad are not willing to point of being in jail is the feeling of losing one’s dignity and come to India because of the fear of capital punishment”, said privacy. The feeling of constantly being watched. Ms. Sunetra Mr. Kumar. In his personal opinion, some heinous crimes summed up the discussion by stating, “Jail Economics is all deserve capital punishments but he stressed on the point about the inmates paying a price for their dignity and that only the poor people who commit such heinous crimes privacy”. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
SANJEEV SANYAL & SUBHASH CHANDRA GARG
BUDGET 2020-21
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Ideal Economics The Economics Society of Shri Ram College of Commerce was honoured to host the former Finance Secretary of India, Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg alongside Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal, a Shri Ram alum and the current Principal Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance to discuss the recently launched Budget for 2020-2021.
When asked about his thoughts on the new budget, Mr. Sanyal remarked that people are not particularly happy with the government’s methods of dealing with the economic slowdown. In solidarity, Mr. Garg also acknowledged the current economic slowdown and attributed much of it to the problem that exists on the demand side. While the new budgetary policy provides new avenues to explore, like increase in foreign investment limit and bilateral netting, the impact of such moves is still hard to predict.
Mr. Sanjeev remarked that in spite of this budget increasing the fiscal deficit, it will solely be a consequence of accounting for revenue slowdown and not fiscal boosting. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
On the positive side, he asserted the absence of inflation with respect to even the onion prices going down, foreign exchange reserves being at an all-time high and the narrowing current deficit, it will solely be a consequence of accounting for revenue slowdown and not fiscal boosting. On the positive side, he asserted the absence of inflation with respect to even the onion prices going down, foreign exchange reserves being at an all-time high and the narrowing current deficit. Additionally, he said that the banking system of the country looks healthier as well, with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code bringing the money back. To sum up these observations, Mr. Sanyal established that the economy has bottomed out and the natural process of acceleration should kick-start it back once again.
Introduction of Bilateral Netting in the market system brings in two advantages. Firstly, it frees a lot of capital to be used and allocated in a better manner elsewhere. Secondly, it develops a new market called the market for Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) which, in turn, facilitates liquid corporate debt Firstly, he talked about the government’s instrument being an market. This helps India to be listed on Global Bond Indices, important indicator of macroeconomic condition of the as a bond to be eligible for listing must be freely available but economy. Secondly, he reinforced the government's role as a India has capital control on its internal debt market. provider of public goods. Thirdly, the importance it holds in terms of future growth projections and lastly, on the idea of Mr. Garg carefully asserted the areas wherein government this government assuming a rather redistributive role in budget has a material effect in status quo. terms of taking care of the poor.
Whether governments should only focus on welfare or take the additional onus of growth is a question many economists try to answer through their research analyses. The former Finance Secretary believes that with limited resources at the disposal of the government, much of economic growth should be left for the private sector. On that idea, he believes that the current deficit targeted at 4.5% is already very high and should not be stretched upwards further.
The concerns about the new budget resonated with the general public as well, much of which came into the spotlight when the floor was opened for questions from the audience. One of the questions talked about marketisation of public services in recent times which is uncharacteristic for a welfare state like India. Our esteemed panel laid special emphasis on ensuring that there is a clear demarcation that exists between marketisation and social welfare, and the former should not necessarily be assumed to be against the latter. Even in the most privatised economies, the central government provides public goods like defence.
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However, both were of the opinion that legacy public sector As concluding remarks, members of the panel strongly institutions like Air India should be privatised. When asked asserted that the Government of India is unapologetic about about the possible existence of a distorted larger savings wealth creation. The same can be understood by going situation in the economy, the panel mutually expressed their through the Economic Survey for the financial year 2019- dislike towards too many taxation slabs created by this 20which talks about the prosperity achieved through wealth budget. While incentives like a two lakh rupees deduction on creation at length. Whether this will actually be able to housing loans will motivate people to buy their own houses materialise into larger economic gains for India is something and deal with the larger saving situation, the existence of economists around the world are keeping an eye on because eleven taxation slabs can be assumed to be only temporary; for what it is worth, Nobel laureates Banerjee and Duflo were it is, at best, a short-term measure to generate demand and right to believe that we live in challenging times. In times like solve the problems that currently haunt this economy. A these, there are no straitjacket solutions to our problems young student seemed concerned about the overseas transfer of funds being taxed again in the country of the recipient. Mr. Garg clarified that there is no double counting in the way NRIs are taxed because in principle, it is only incomes that are taxable. To add to that, the panel referred to citation of only reliable government documents as opposed to digital media.
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 PARTH SHAH & RAJEEV GOWDA FREE MARKETS AND LIBERAL ECONOMICS
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Keeping markets free
As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit this year, there were many panel discussions based on contemporary socio-economic issues and one such intriguing panel discussion, led by Dr. Parth Shah, President of the Centre for Civil Society and Mr. Rajeev Gowda, Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha revolved around ‘Free Markets and Liberal Economics’. Both the speakers fervently expressed their views on the importance of free markets to foster competition and growth in an economy, and the need to embrace the concept of liberal economics in a world where the structural hegemon, that is the US is adopting protectionist policies.
The panelists commenced the discussion by articulating their interpretation of free markets. Dr. Shah described free markets as the freedom to earn an honest living and expressed his discontent over the fact that farmers, vendors, and tribal communities are deprived of a free market and are under constant threat from the government. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Adding to what Dr. Shah said, Mr. Gowda further elaborated on the farmer distress in India and conceded that there exist certain complications in free and liberal markets. To quote Mr. Gowda,, “Globally, countries are trying to sell goods to each other, thus rapidly moving towards globalization. Free markets result in more welfare outcomes, wealth creation and retention.”
On the question of political ideologies of different political parties moving towards or away from economic liberalism, Dr. Shah drew an analogy between political democracy and economic markets, where producers are leaders and consumers are voters, thereby making the point that political and economic markets are very similar. Hence, a party which is far right on the political spectrum promotes import substitution that aligns with its protectionist agenda or conservative policies, while the other liberal fronts However, Mr. Shah and Mr. Gowda thought otherwise and advocate for free trade. In other words, a party’s economic cited the US as the closest example of a free market, which policies align with its political ideology. On the contrary, Mr. has successfully managed to establish its supremacy over the Gowda expressed that the underlying thrust of the Indian world economy by following the capitalist model with economy is towards liberalism, despite different political minimal government intervention. Mr. Gowda said, “The US ideologies leading the executive. However, he expressed his has enough space for spurring innovations in the economy concern over the adoption of protectionist measures by and that is the primary idea of a free market. It has abundant leading players like the US and their detrimental impact on resources and sufficient capital that further boost innovation the growth of allied economies in particular, and the global and promote technological advancements, and are economy in general. imperative to foster growth in an economy”. Another idea advocated by the supporters of the free market, is the The concept of free and liberal markets is perceived as a existence of competition. On this note, Mr. Gowda said that utopian concept by many because the idea of a market the US model of economy has proven that it supports operating without government interventions seems competition between enterprises, in order to ensure impossible. efficiency in the economy. The breaking up of AT&T is one of the examples of the US’s opposition to monopoly power.
The popular argument against free markets is that basic necessities, such as education and healthcare, require government intervention to be distributed equally among people. As a result, many believe that the idea of quality education and good healthcare services cannot align with the concept of free markets. However, the panelists argued against the popular notion and said that in the ‘Index of Economic Freedom’ countries such as Singapore, Norway, New Zealand etc. lead the pack, and these countries have prospered through freely functioning market mechanisms. Contrary to the general opinion, Dr. Shah said, “One does not have to be anti-market to emerge as a welfare state, as economic freedom that is granted by free and liberal markets is the foundation of bringing greater prosperity to a country”. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Mr. Shah further added that even the People’s Republic of In other words, in order to enhance economic liberalism China saw economic expansion from 1978 after they had there has to be a greater participation of people in the moved away from a system of central planning and economy. Considering democracy already exists in India, government control. On the question of the emergence of economic liberalism can be achieved at a faster pace. On that more right wing thinkers in today’s world, both the speakers point, Dr. Shah said that the regulatory system does not allow spoke of Friedrich Hayek, the globally renowned economist farmers, street vendors and tribal communities to have free who contributed immensely to classical liberalism. Mr. access to markets and thus, government regulations must be Gowda said that Hayek’s writings are relevant today in India reduced. He suggested that the private sector must be since he also wrote in the backdrop of fascism and heavy allowed to exist freely in order to induce competition and government control. The panelists agreed on the point that efficiency in the economy. He further added that in lieu of only economic liberalism can steer economies to greater running schools itself, the government should ensure that heights as history is evidence that government control has schools are run well by the private sector as the latter has a led economies to a situation of crises. greater incentive to provide quality services in return for profits. On the question of India being able to accommodate both economic liberalism and political democracy in the long run, Overall, the panel discussion was very enriching and Mr. Gowda said, “India has moved in the direction of creating interesting, and both the speakers engaged with the audience various market spaces and is particularly giving impetus to on a few important questions revolving around free markets. the startup culture. Bangalore is rapidly emerging as the The panelists supported the idea of a free and liberal market startup capital of India”. He further added that even though and eloquently expressed their views and opinions on the there are market distortions that pose hindrance for free same. markets, there is a need to provide the kind of education that enables people to set up their own businesses. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 THE LALLANTOP SHOW
OUR MOON HAS BLOOD CLOTS
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
What went wrong
As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit, The Economics Society, SRCC, was immensely delighted to host a book discussion on India’s bestseller “Our Moon had Blood Clots”, authored by Indian writer and journalist, Mr. Rahul Pandita. Mr. Saurabh Dwivedi, the moderator and anchor of the famous TV program The Lallantop Show, was invited to lead the discussion as part of his show. Mr. Dwivedi caught the audience’s attention from the moment he set foot on stage with his humorous exuberance. The discussion was divided into two parts - It began with a discourse between Mr. Dwivedi and Mr. Pandita, followed by an interactive Q&A session from the audience.
Mr. Pandita’s volume elucidates a deeply personal and powerful memoir on the unforgettable chapter in the story of Kashmir, when the Kashmiri Pandit community was exterminated in a violent ethnic cleansing backed by Islamist militants. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
In his memoir, Mr. Pandita has recorded even the tiniest details of what he, along with his family, went through during the days leading to and after the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits.
Starting with the discussion, Mr. Pandita recalled a typical childhood phase in a Kashmir ‘so beautiful’ that, according to his grandfather, even the Gods would envy the Kashmiris. There were communal riots most often, where temples would be targeted, but overall, there was peace. There were subtle signs of the upcoming massacre - sly comments on the futility of Pandits building their home in the valley, celebrations when Pakistan would win cricket matches against India, passionate discourse on pro-independence in every corner, slaughtering of cows during Janmashtami and the general air of hostility towards the Hindus whenever laws for their benefit were passed. room house that his father had built with his provident fund and his wife’s jewelry. Pandita’s mother, with a knife in one On 19th January, 1990, everything changed. Pandita’s locality hand and his younger sister in the other, were ready to give was surrounded by muslim localites and three-four mosques their lives to save their dignity. were at its edge. Thousands gathered and started shouting slogans against the Indian Constitution and the Kashmiri Now when Mr. Pandita recalled it, he felt that the worst part Pandits. One particular slogan that was engraved in Pandita’s of all of this was that it was never covered by any media mind as he quoted was “Kashmir banawon Pakistan, Bataw house. As a result, the entire Kashmir was in denial mode varaie, Batneiw saan” meaning “We will turn Kashmir into a about the exodus even today. Pandita said, “They refuse to Pakistan without Kashmiri Pandit men, but with their accept that something horrendous happened to Kashmiri women”. Cries of “La Sharqia la gharbia, Islamia! Islamia!” Pandits in the 1990s. What is even worse is that their story (East or West, Islam is the best) and “Kashmir banega has been insulted numerous times by journalists who believe Pakistan”, among many others, filled the air, frightening a 14 that whatever happened was the work of Pakistani militants, year old Pandita to death lying in his fathers’ arms in his 22 but the truth is that it was the work of ordinary Kashmiris”. Their pain is normalised by saying that such militancy happens from time to time and people are forced to leave their homes behind, and so their story is not unique.
Pandita also said that the actual death toll was in thousands as compared to the down-sized official figure of 700-800 that continued to be stated. It was a genocide. A holocaust of hopes of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. 3.5 lakhs pundits had to leave everything behind and flee to save their lives. But Mr. Pandita claimed that his story was not the narration of how they left Kashmir; rather it was about being unable to return home. It wasn’t the loss of material goods but the burden of carrying those memories and that constant feeling of homelessness that haunted them. Their entire fight was about saving their dignity, about the humiliation of having to leave their homes and living in exile in their own country. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
He revealed how when his peers were going to school, and, more importantly, the failure of the Indian state, which making friends, playing video games and wearing new shirts, allowed the xenophobia in the state to grow and nurture, his family waited outside a Jagmohan’s house among others creating a sceznophrenix environment where people began to get free ‘kambals’; how they had to sleep on the doubting their own identity. Powerful echoes of “Dhoodh newspapers in freezing cold January winters; and how mango kheer denge, Kashmir mango cheer denge” were unwelcome and unwanted they felt when they reached floated but no real stringent actions were actually taken to Jammu. Their only solace was in other Kashmiri Pandits and prevent the macabre. their heart-wrenching stories. He was astounded how, even after 30 years, he often dreamt of being back in Kashmir and Towards the end of the discussion, Mr. Pandita expressed how precisely he remembered the layout and details of his how he felt enraged over his neighbours and his friends for home. not saving the minorities on that fateful night. It was this chapter of his life that inspired him to become a journalist Pandita also recalled the pain of his mother and along with and tell their story to the world. The untold story was hers, the pain of all grown-ups who lost everything in an age extremely important not only because it spoke of Pandita's where all they seek is stability and consistency. They didn’t family alone or their sufferings, which perhaps was even know where their next meal would come from. It was minuscule as compared to some of their fellow Pandits but exceedingly hard for them. because it kills many fake and forged stories that had been circulated to cover the reality. Mr. Dwivedi, who had read the Mr. Pandita also elucidated on the importance of learning the book, urged the audience to read it too. origin of the slogans that people shout when they protest. And in the backdrop of the current protest culture, it is all Mr. Pandita and Mr. Dwivedi had an engaging and insightful the more important than ever. Sir remarked that today’s talk and the former’s experience kept the audience at the youth cries out slogans of “Azaadi” but rarely anyone ever edge of their seats throughout the show. knows its true meaning. According to Sir, the two biggest reasons behind that dark episode in the Indian history was the rapid Islamization following the death of Sheikh Abdullah, which made the Hindus weak against the majority muslim population; S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
SALMAN KHURSHID & PRASHANT BHUSHAN
POLITICS, LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Safeguarding the constitution As part of the 8th edition of Shri Ram Economics Summit (SRES), the Economics Society of Shri Ram College of Commerce organized a panel discussion on ‘The Constitution and Legal Reforms’, hosting Mr. Salman Khurshid, a senior politician, lawyer and an eminent author; and Mr. Prashant Bhushan, a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and an activist, on 4th of February, 2020.
The discussion began with both the panelists sharing their views on safeguarding the Constitution in times of turbulence. Mr. Bhushan began by saying that the present situation is that of communal hatred, and there exists a lot of social unrest and disruption of peace. In times of unrest, it is necessary to recall constitutional values of justice and equality. For India to sustain and grow peacefully, it is necessary that the Constitution is held as the supreme institution, even above the Government. While explaining his viewpoint, Mr. Bhushan referred to a famous quote by Charles Dickens, and said that while this is the ‘worst of times’, this is also the ‘best of times’. He cited peaceful protests as the S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 right way to oppose the wholesale onslaught of constitutional are various countries that rely on the referendum system and values; being highly necessary in preserving the essence of believe in the supreme power of their citizens. He believes democracy. that a good law is one that manifests people’s needs and opinions. He also feels that the Government should be Mr. Khurshid was of the opinion that during times of stress responsible and answerable to ensure a fair political system. and disturbance, we must adhere to the Constitutional values. We must learn various aspects of the Constitution and After this, they were requested to share their opinions on inculcate it in our living. ‘judicial review’ and the delays associated with it. Mr. Khurshid,while conceding the existence of heavy load, Next, there was a brief discussion on how a democratically- believed the courts should ensure a faster resolution of elected Government with a huge public mandate should be highly pressing issues. Mr. Bhushan said that currently, there questioned and opposed. To this, Mr. Bhushan replied that exists huge influence of the Government over the judiciary. there must exist an efficient system of ‘checks and balances’ Thus, it no longer remains an independent institution. Also, so that there is no misuse of power. Even if the government inaction of courts in cases like that of JMI and AMU, is highly has an absolute majority, it has no right to violate the basic worrying. The courts need to act much more swiftly. structure of the Constitution. Citing an example, he said that Nowadays, people are losing confidence in the judicial system CAA is discriminatory on the basis of religious and national and it is not able to uphold Constitutional values. grounds, and therefore, it falls foul on part of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on any When asked about political interference, Mr. Bhushan said ground. So, even a democratically-elected Government that there exists tremendous interference of politicians in should be questioned and protested against. Mr. Khurshid the judiciary. Several CJIs have been influenced by the said that there is always some democratic discussion and Government. Mr. Khurshid added to it by saying that there is action going on across the country. No Government has the a huge problem and lack of clear idea about how the political right to go against the public and distort democracy. There interference can be minimized. Experiments such as an 'in- house' system have been tried to improve transparency, yet they haven’t been very successful. Moving from a collegium system to a more committee-based system where people from different political spheres would take decisions could be a way, but his ‘views are quite tentative on it’.
Talking about the existence of dynasticism and other issues related to the selection of judges, Mr. Khurshid said that dynasticism exists in all spheres of life. There is no comprehensive solution to this. Yet, social mobility and will of the people might reduce this to some extent. Mr. Bhushan, on the other hand, stated a few comprehensive solutions to deal with this problem. Amongst the major problems related to the selection of judges is the non-existence of a full time body to audit their performance , besides the lack of a set criteria for the selection of judges. So firstly, there is a need for a full time body for the appointment of judges, as the one that exists in Britain. And secondly, the attributes of selection need to be laid down clearly.
Next, they were asked whether seniority as a selection criteria, can act as a safeguard against political interference. To this, Mr. Bhushan replied that the process of selection is S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
totally arbitrary and there exists a lot of nepotism in it. Mr. He also called the current situation similar to the ‘age of Khurshid said that seniority is just a safeguard and it may fascism’. He stated that our only hope is in the form of not always guarantee a good choice. people who come out boldly and resist the onslaught on the Constitution and culture. He rightly said that ‘this is the After this, they were asked what they would do if they were time of despair, but this is also the time of hope’. made the law minister of the country. The irony here was that Mr. Khurshid had already been the law minister before. It was a wonderful and insightful session. Some really Yet, he mentioned his priorities. Firstly, he said he would pressing issues related to the Constitution, laws and politics make the appointment of judges more rigorous and were discussed in depth. Both the panelists had their transparent. Secondly, he would reform the processes that distinct opinions over various issues, and they laid down cause delays in justice. Finally, he would create an all India their opinions clearly and lucidly. The audience was very judicial service in order to draw best talent from lower satisfied and happy with the session. courts.
Mr. Bhushan feels that the major problems that exist in judiciary are long delays, reduced quality in terms of competence and integrity, and lack of independence. So if he were the law minister, he would set up and operationalize gram nyayalayas in order to simplify the procedure. He would also reduce delays and establish more competent judges by transparent and rational selection procedure. He would also set up an external body to examine complaints against judges. Lastly, he would increase the accountability of the judges.
The panelists were also asked about the Justice Loya case, to which Mr. Bhushan answered that there were doubts on the official manner of death. According to him, post-mortem reports didn’t show any evidence of a heart attack. There was no order of an independent investigation and the Supreme Court closed the matter arbitrarily.
Finally,there was a discussion on the autocratic rule of the Government and whether the judiciary is dying. Mr. Khurshid said that whoever is in power is ‘answerable’. But at the same time, the opposition is answerable as well. At present, there is a need to protect the fundamental values. He also said that ‘the truth must prevail’. Constitutional values must be preserved no matter what the cost is. ‘Right to disagree’ is a basic right and everyone shall have it. Mr. Bhushan said that the polity has been failing us. Other institutions like the judiciary, ECI, CVC, etc are also not performing well. Political authority is the root of these failures. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 HINDOL SENGUPTA
STARTUPS OF BHARAT
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Hidden potential Under the ‘Shri Ram Economics Summit’ organised by The Economics Society SRCC, Mr. Hindol Sengupta, the Editor at Large of Fortune India, led a session on the theme ‘Startups of Bharat’, wherein Sir talked about a variety of topics ranging from entrepreneurial energies located in India to the hidden potential of Indian startups.
Mr. Sengupta commenced the session by putting across the point that the entrepreneurial energies of India are located in rural areas and not in metropolitan cities. Distinguishing between India and Bharat, he said that India for him represents the urban areas and Bharat represents the rural areas.
Sir then shared the story of what he believes to be India’s most innovative startup, ‘Teabox’ and how it originated from Bharat, and not from India. Teabox bypasses the intermediaries to source tea-leaves from its fields to customers just days after the leaves are picked. The startup has been remarkably successful so far, providing an estimated 25 million cups of tea to 100,000 users in 75 countries since its launch. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Teabox revolutionised the supply chain, by bypassing the Rapping up the session, Mr. Hindol mentioned the one big middle-men and creating an efficient system for distribution debt that our ancestors have left us. The debt that we are all of tea-leaves through its e-commerce platform. This has born with. The debt for which he returned to India. It is the resulted in tea plantation owners and pickers earning 30- debt to repay the nation, the debt to leave the country in a 40% more. better place than we came in.
Sharing another startup story of ‘Naara Aaba Wines’, Mr. Sengupta talked about the fact that while we import kiwis from New Zealand, one of the best varieties of Kiwis is produced back home in Arunachal Pradesh. Naara Aaba Winery capitalised on this fact and started producing entirely organic kiwi-wine. But they soon met with a roadblock when they started looking for wine bottles. Due to Indian wine bottles being slightly suboptimal in quality than the Chinese counterpart, they had to transport the wine bottles all the way from Kolkata. This resulted in 15% of the bottles being crushed due to bad roads and poor connectivity. This, Sir believes, is also an opportunity waiting to be seized by some entrepreneurial mind of Bharat.
Delving deeper into the hidden entrepreneurial opportunities of India, Mr. Sengupta talked about how the Himalayas have the capability of producing the world’s best quality cold- pressed aloe vera. Talking about dairy-based startups, he talked about Milk Mantra (an agricultural startup based in Odisha) which not only produces high-quality milk, but has tied up with banks to provide low-interest loans to farmers to purchase cows. Besides, it has vets on call to help farmers breed healthier cows and regularly conducts health camps in villages where farmers can bring their cows for check-ups. As a result of such a wholesome market mechanism, Milk Mantra has successfully tripled milk production since its inception.
Coming to the history of startups from Bharat, Mr. Sengupta talked about the roles of Dwarkanath Tagore and Raja Ram Mohan Roy in bringing the fruits of the Industrial Revolution to India. Dwarkanath Tagore, one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, made substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, popularly known as ‘the maker of modern India’, played an unparalleled role in curbing the social evils prevalent at that point of time.
The session was quite informative and offered insight into the entrepreneurial energies of India, or as Sir calls it Bharat. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 PALANIAPPAN CHIDAMBARAM
THE STATE OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
The road to economic slowdown
The Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020 hosted a plethora of speakers and panelists who spoke with determination and passion. The topics ranged from economics to finance, judiciary to social media and online content. Amidst this, a riveting talk was delivered by the former Finance Minister, Mr. Palaniappan Chidambaram. He spoke about the downturn in the Indian economy and the shortcomings of the Budget 2020-21 in dealing with it.
Addressing a gathering of curious students, Mr. Chidambaram stated that the problems arose because of three Government blunders starting from 2016, the first being Demonetisation. He said that the move “cash-starved the society for a year and a half.” India is a country which has a huge dependence on cash payments owing to the daily wage workers and a large unorganised sector. Add to that a population with abysmally low usage of digital transaction systems. The move was bound to spell doom and it did. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Moving a little forward in the timeline, he said that the flawed and hurried implementation of the Goods and Services Tax was also a major reason for the rock-bottom India found itself in. He recalled that when he had introduced the GST regime under the UPA government, it was quite different from what the current government had implemented. He remarked that this way of implementation has been a thorn for businesses and has caused quite a few disruptions because of its frequently changing nature coupled with the lack of a structure and plan. The third thing Sir pointed out was how the banking sector in the economy was low on credit and could not extend loans to stimulate demand or bolster investment in an economy which he called “demand constrained.”
On numbers and data, Sir pointed out that the government had taken “pessimistic assumptions” for the upcoming year by forecasting economic growth at ten per cent. He also believes that the budget deficit for the year will run up to
3.8 per cent in 2019-20 and 3.5 per cent in 2020-21 against a allow the underprivileged to have money in their hands and Budget Estimate of 3.3 per cent. Referring to the long boost demand. In contrast to his proposal, however, the decline in the growth rates, which have been in the red, for Union Budget had already reduced funding for the the last six quarters, he commented “we are in the tunnel Department of Rural Development from ₹1.22 lakh crores to but we are yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” ₹1.20 lakh crores in 2020-21 while the funding for MGNREGA saw a cut of ₹9,500 crores for the upcoming year. The former Mr. Chidambaram held the ruling government liable for not Cabinet Minister expressed that he was let down by these being able to generate the required amount of investment measures from the Government as he feels “Investment despite the huge cuts in corporate tax rates. He felt that follows demand” and lamented that the Government may giving incentives to the private sector would not be have “missed a huge opportunity to revive the economy.” beneficial and that money should be channelised towards rural schemes like PM Kisan and MGNREGA which would Talking about things from a global perspective, Mr. Chidambaram said India would “limp along” given there were no geo-political mishaps which could affect the country adversely. He felt that a crisis in the Middle East or the possibility of an escalating US-China trade war would shake things up for the economy and cut down the country’s already meagre growth rate of five per cent. He strongly believed that the economy in that state would see no revival for the next six months at least.
Witty as always, Mr. P. Chidambaram capped off his speech by “I only hope your parents do not reduce your pocket money.” This was accompanied by a thunderous round of applause and laughter from a spell-bound student audience. The insights shared on dealing with a recession and leveraging the Budget to do so, were certainly insightful and invaluable. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 SHIV KHERA
THE KEY TO SUCCESS
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Re-imagining approaches to success
'The only people who say money doesn't matter are either stupid or billionaires'
The Economics Society, SRCC, was proud to host Shiv Khera, the renowned author and motivational speaker, and an alumnus of SRCC itself, at the Shri Ram Economics Summit. Over the course of an hour, Mr. Khera took the audience through a journey of realistic perspectives, giving anecdotes and examples from his own life and those of many others to highlight the simple, but often overlooked keys to success. While effortlessly overturning the much popularised ideas of achieving moral stature through abandoning the pursuit of wealth, escaping from reality by blaming circumstances for our problems, and the attainment of success through luck or 'being in the right place at the right time', he effectively provided the audience with an alternative perspective to life by highlighting the five kinds of strength an individual must possess in order to succeed at anything they try. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Lastly, he spoke of the need for emotional and spiritual strength, so as to have a moral compass and be a balanced and dependable individual.
After the enriching session, Mr. Khera also distributed amongst the audience several copies of his book 'You Can Win' and 'You Can Sell', and offered free scholarships for his annual workshop to three delegates, to be selected at random. Sir's session definitely left all present with much to think over with respect to a person’s outlook towards life, success and failure. His philosophy can perhaps best be summed up in his own words:
'Being in the right place at the right time is not enough, you need to be the right person in the right place at the right time, and furthermore, you must do the right thing.'
Mr. Khera began by emphasizing the importance of physical strength, as this is what gives us energy, stamina and sustenance. He went on to say that without such strength, we would never be able to fight, and would have to make compromises that we would otherwise never make.
He next spoke of the need for financial strength, which is extremely important for one's peace of mind and the ability to lead life happily. On the familiar quote of 'Money can't buy you happiness', Sir quite realistically quipped: 'If I have to be unhappy, I'd rather be unhappy with money than without money.' He also drew clear distinctions between money in itself, which he believed was not problematic, and the greed for money, which he said is the real root of all evil. He added that money itself is something that everyone needs and uses, and that it is greed for money or it is making money the sole focus of one's life that leads people astray.
The third, and most important, kind of strength that Sir spoke of was mental strength. Mental strength is the ultimate key to success, according to Sir. Using examples like those of Bruce Lee and Michael Phelps, he went on to explain how everyone faces struggles of their own in life, but only the ones who have the mental strength to persevere and not give up are the ones who attain success in the end. At the same time, he also used these examples to shatter the myth of 'getting lucky' by highlighting that only mental determination and physical effort is what can lead one to attain their goals. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 ANIL SWARUP
LIFE OF A CIVIL SERVANT
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Service of a lifetime The Shri Ram Economics Summit, held during 4-6th February 2020 witnessed a number of engaging speaker sessions and panel discussions covering a variety of topics ranging from the economy to finance, judicial reforms, social media and other such contemporary socio-economic issues. One such enthralling session was taken by Mr. Anil Swarup, an Indian author and retired Indian Administrative Services officer. During his tenure, Mr. Swarup had served numerous positions, including Coal Secretary to the Government of India from 2014-2016 and the Education Secretary of India from 2016 to 2018. Under his capacity as the latter, he tackled the CBSE exam paper leak that affected a large number of students.
Addressing the audience, Mr. Swarup talked about the life of a civil servant and provided lessons on how to handle tough situations.
Sir then spoke about the thing that kept him strong even during the roughest times: commitment and the desire to keep things moving. One of the biggest problems that S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 arises for an honest civil servant is sticking to one’s principles healthcare programme with over 50 crore prospective while also safeguarding one’s position in the organisation. beneficiaries. Addressing this issue, Mr. Swarup shared his funda of never expecting anything from the government. He talked about his Impressed by the scheme and looking for inspiration, Mr. experience as the Secretary, Department of Food Processing Swarup was also invited to the United States by Former US and Horticulture, Government of UP, when he was asked by a President Barack Obama’s advisors to make a presentation. Minister to suspend a dutiful officer. Instead of complying He fondly recalled to the audience the pride he felt at being invited for the same. with the order, he called up the Chief Secretary and tried to get the order revoked. The action backfired, and he was Mr. Swarup also mentioned when he was once asked as to transferred to another department. This, Sir said, did not how he managed to be so passionate about his job. After all, it affect him. He viewed the process of his work as life: if was a job requiring a lot of effort as well as sacrifices and one transfer was like death, since it signified the end of work in a which did not come with a very attractive salary. He replied particular department; then he would be reborn in his new that the good wishes of the people whom he had lent a posting. helping hand to came as small kicks that kept him going. As an illustration, he shared a story when a homeless lady Coming onto the question of how to choose one’s path in life, thanked him for coming up with the healthcare insurance Mr. Swarup mentioned asking oneself the question of what scheme that allowed her to access medical facilities. gives him/her a kick. As of his story, Sir said he appeared for the Union Public Services Examination because his father Another important topic that Mr. Swarup discussed was the wanted him to be an IAS officer. However, having served 38 role of positivity in our lives. For him, there is no such thing years in the career, if given a chance, he’d do it all over again. as ‘objective reality’, there is always a subjective way of He strongly emphasized on the feeling one gets after doing looking at things. He recited an anecdote from his life, when good to others. he became the Coal Secretary during the crucial time of the coal scam. He entered the office for the first time, only to Besides this, Mr. Swarup also talked about the importance of realise the gloominess that the place had to offer. However, coming up with creative solutions. To back this, he narrated instead of getting affected by it, he explained how he picturised the brighter side of it and how affirmative another incident from his life when he was asked to deal with thoughts led him to repeal the negativity. the head of a large company. The head was corrupt, but no government official had been able to take him down. Mr. Mr. Swarup also stressed on the importance of not worrying Swarup talked about how he approached the guy with a clean about things one can’t change and instead focussing on doing record as an official and also did a lot of background what one can in the given circumstance. He believed in the research. philosophy to never look for other people to pin blame on,
but to critically view only oneself. He concluded by quoting One of Sir’s biggest achievements is the ideation of the these beautiful words written by Ustaad Mirza Ghalib, 'Umar Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a government run health Bhar Ghalib Yahi Bhool Karta Raha, Dhool Chehre Pe Thi Aur insurance scheme for the rural poor. Mr. Swarup, the then Aina Saaf Karta Raha', and the audience burst into applause. Director-General for Labour Welfare, had a crucial role to play in the formulation of the scheme. The talk given by Sir, and the questions asked covered a range of topics including possible solutions to lack of good The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL quality education in India, importance of making things households from financial liabilities arising out of health happen on ground by dealing with grass root issues, finding shocks that involve hospitalization. The scheme was quite one’s purpose in life, and many such life lessons. It was quite successful and was later merged with Ayushmaan Bharat. an enriching session, and the audience too was happy to ask Also known as the National Health Protection Scheme, the questions from the raisahab, as Mr. Swarup now describes Ayushman Bharat scheme was announced in the 2018-19 himself. budget and is the world's largest government- funded
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 TWITTER PANEL
THE PUBLIC CONVERSATION
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Evolution of social media As part of the Shri Ram Economic Summit 2020, The Economics Society, SRCC was honoured to host ‘The Public Conversation’, in collaboration with Twitter. Moderated by Ms. Mahima Kaul, the Director of Public Policy of India and South Asia, Twitter, the panel comprised Ms. Aparajita Bharti, Mr. Anshul Tiwari, and Mr. Tamseel Hussain - the Founders of YLAC (Young Leaders for Active Citizenship), Youth Ki Awaaz, and PLUC (People Like Us Create) respectively. The discussion revolved around the role that social media platforms have played in giving a voice to the youth.
Commencing the discussion, the moderator gave a brief glimpse on the evolution of social media platforms from a fun and creative place to a more instrumental one. Its nature and uses have transformed over the past ten years. Social Media has two powerful elements - one, it inspires, moves and influences people, and two, it mobilizes and organizes them. Ms. Kaul went on to illustrate the power of social media through the example of Twitter. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
has to eventually transform offline for it to be effective but she felt that one cannot shape the campaign and the narrative without social media.
Mr. Anshul Tiwari then narrated how his personal blog-‘ Youth Ki Awaaz’, eventually became a public platform where over 75,000 young Indians from every corner of the country came together to speak up, spread awareness and take action on issues of today. India is a country where more than 60% of the population is under the age of 40, but the participation of this group is extremely tokenistic. He realized that, just like him, there are many youngsters who are not able to speak up on topics that they strongly feel about. They are considered too young to have opinions on political issues and stereotypically termed as naive and idealistic. Social media helped his agenda in this very respect in two specific ways. Firstly, it allowed him to experiment actively on the kind of content that youngsters craved for. Secondly, it also helped him to run one of the most popular work-from-home Twitter is a unique platform because it is the only platform training programmes, coaching young people to express designed to be public. It changes one’s approach when one themselves better and vocalize their concerns on online posts something, as the intention is that this news should platforms. Social media aided him in mobilizing young people travel across networks, into places where perhaps even who were either very shy, or skeptical about how their mainstream media isn’t engaged. This is transformational as opinions would be perceived. On social media, as long as one it leads to changes at societal level because people have has something important and interesting to talk about, access to tools that connect them to a larger community, be his/her opinions will not be dismissed. it local, national or global level. Mr. Tiwari also shared the story of how social media allowed Expressing her views, Ms. Aparajita Bharti recalled her YLC to make considerable impact amongst the population - journey from college to founding YLAC. She stated that she In the 2011 Libyan Crisis, a young fellow approached every was exposed to activism since college. After graduation, she mainstream media channel to get his voice heard as the worked in the legislative field for a long time before she Ministry of External Affairs were not rescuing the Indians came up with the idea of YLAC. She realized that there must who were stuck in Libya. be many young people like her, who want to make an impact but don’t know how to; and, there is not enough As a common man, it wasn’t easy to reach out to such happening to strengthen citizens, especially when it comes channels. Out of frustration, the man wrote an open letter to to young people. YLAC aims to increase the engagement of the MEA to rescue his father and other Indians. It took just 2 young people in the policymaking process and build their hours, 6000 tweets, and 30000 Facebook shares, and every capacity to lead change. Such a platform could not be mainstream media channel got in touch with the young man imagined ten years ago as YLAC leans heavily on social through YLC forcing the MEA to bring the Indians back media to be able to reach out to those people who want to home. be active citizens. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram amplify the voice of common people who have Up next, Mr. Tamseel Hussain talked about how PLUC came strong opinions but never get an opportunity to speak up. into effect. Being India’s largest tech-based premium The best part is that one person inspires others to speak up storytelling platform, it is powered by a network of creators as well. She wisely remarked how social media has become from all corners of the country. Mr. Hussain believes that real a favourite place to organize great movements. Everything stories, if told powerfully, can change lives and behaviour. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Back in those days, he said, Social Media provided him a Towards the end, the panelists discussed how technology platform to not only reach out to such writers, but also shapes the start of great movements and how good and readers of those real stories. He stressed on how one need efficient decision-making happens with different point-of- not be a publication to tell his/her story. Social media views. They also touched on the importance of building a platforms make two-way communication possible and allow platform for teens to vocalize their opinions and teach them writers to get instant, unfiltered reviews. It simplifies and techniques to deal with abuse and online trolling. Overall, the facilitates storytelling, breaking language and literacy session was quite insightful and enlightening. The audience barriers. also enjoyed listening to the experiences and stories.
He stated, “We tell stories by our mobile phones and for The major takeaway from the discussion could be best people who use mobile phones. Through mobile, tech, summed up in Ms. Kaul’s closing statement: “Any social journalism and storytelling, we solve real world problems.” He media is what you make of it. It’s who you choose to follow, also spoke about how he co-founded “Let Me Breath”, a who you choose to not follow and your quality of platform that provides space to document and tell stories of engagement. The time that you spend on any platform is living and surviving air pollution, climate change and the end basically your choice. So, make sure that you do what brings of fossil fuels in India. LMB combines the ethics of mobile you happiness but at the same time, it is positive for other storytelling, public engagement advocacy and a multi- people.” channel approach on digital and social media platforms. Mr. Hussain narrated how LMB started out as a hashtag used by Delhiites, but over time quickly developed into a pan India movement. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 THE VIRAL FEVER
YOUTUBE : THE NEW SILVER SCREEN
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Entertainment and economics Under the Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020, The Economics Society, Shri Ram College of Commerce hosted a group of talented artists who’ve made their mark in the digital content space. As part of a special session between the regular line-up, a panel discussion was held by individuals with massive following for their YouTube works. Well known for starring in videos of The Timeliners, under the umbrella brand of TVF – The Viral Fever, the guests were Ms Kritika Avasthi, Ms Himali Shah and Mr Apoorv Singh Karki. While Ms Kritika is one of the lead actresses on the show ‘Engineering Girls’, Ms Himali and Mr Apoorv are engaged as Directors for the series.
In the present day, platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have emerged as the unwinding junction for India’s largely young citizenry. Content which is not only fun, but also relatable, is usually what viewers like. With TVF emerging as one of the most popular channels on YouTube, the panel offered great insight on the other side of the screen and the effort that goes into curating every second of these binge- worthy videos.
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
In a session moderated by junior executives of The However, in the filmmaking industry, producer-induced Economics Society, there was a free-rolling discussion on pressures tend to concentrate on how ‘sellable’ the movie is the theme of “YouTube: The New Silver Screen”. The and the prospects of minting money. Upon inquiring whether conversation witnessed the panellists opening up on the similar forces function in the digital space as well, the team ins and outs of the field. admitted to the positive. While this pressure is lower than that faced in big-box movies, the general concern of financial Before the questions, the audience caught a glimpse of feasibility remains. This constraint makes relatability a key the upcoming season of ‘Engineering Girls’, a show that success factor as that brings in more viewers and ultimately, the trio has been collectively working on. After playing better advertisement revenue. the show’s teaser, the conversation started around the theme. There was broad agreement on how YouTube is Another question was about how artists retain the look of now an accessible launchpad for young artists looking to freshness even after playing different roles in multiple films. make it big. Far away from the time that a legendary film On this, the mantra that the guests focussed on was star like Shah Rukh Khan also hosted Kaun Banega ‘connect’. It is of primary significance for any artist to Crorepati, today’s ‘normal’ is young stars like Sushant maintain a deep sense of connection to the ultimate artwork Singh Rajput tying up with creators like TVF and being worked upon. If one gives themselves in to the piece FilterCopy to promote their movies via specially curated fully, the rest just flows naturally from within. videos. The panel also acknowledged various realities of the industry The moderators also asked about how Ms Kritika got into and the associated struggles. Shadowed by the glitz and the mind and soul of the engineering girl that she was glamour associated with the big-shots, the endless work put playing on screen. Elaborating on the immense amount of in by lakhs of unsuccessful aspirants goes unnoticed. This effort that goes into getting equipped at the role, she irony is clearly visible in the ‘City of Dreams’ - Mumbai, which talked about how from meeting actual college students to is the hub for those looking to fit into show-biz. Another spending days trying to live the life of an actual student, issue here is the social perception of the work involved. requires a certain sense of dedication towards the art. Often, people do not even treat the profession as worthy and Segueing into the TVF way of work, the panel spoke about as a justified career choice. This inherent pressure to opt for how the production of a video is a 24/7 job. As a new idea a ‘safe’ choice, be it from parents or peers, makes the choice can come up any moment of the day, it’s important to of pursuing acting an even steeper slope. retain a level of flexibility to incorporate it. The session ended with lots of interesting questions, witty Revealing some ‘behind the scene’ stories, Mr Apoorv replies and many candid moments were shared. However, talked about the shooting journey of Engineering Girls. the main question that everyone had, which went expectedly From who reaches the set late to who’s the sleepiest, unanswered was – When will Pitchers season 2 come out? many behind-the-scenes details were shared. This took the session on the tangent of how the show came to be born. During a brainstorming session, the team realised that while engineering and hostel shows were borderline cliché, there has never been focus on the journey of girls through their college days.
Creativity is the defining aspect of any artistic venture. In this regard, the flexibility that any director has with regards to nurturing the product with his thought becomes a key measure of outcome. The power of such platforms is the relief offered to creators due to the non- regulation of the content. Contrary to films which have to pass through the scissors of the Central Board for Film Certification, anyone can make a video for YouTube and get it out to the world.
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 SONAL MANSINGH DANCE AND INDIAN CULTURE
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
The power of passion
As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020, The Economics Society, SRCC was proud to host yet another interesting session with Dr. Sonal Mansingh. One of the most renowned Bharatanatyam dancers in the world and a recently elected Member of Parliament, she brought with her learnings and stories woven by years and years of experience.
Dr. Mansingh spoke about various elements of dance as an art form and what inspired her to become a dancer. She enlightened the audience by talking about destiny and karma and explained why they had such a big role to play in her life. She narrated the story of how her mother saw Pandit Ravi Shankar perform before she was born and how it became her dream to see her daughter be a dancer too. She said, instances like those and her karma intertwined to present her with her future. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Having remarked about the relevance and significance of dance in the current scenario, Dr. Mansingh spoke about the abundance of Indian culture and elaborated on the idea of understanding India’s diversity and culture to understand India as a country.
On the idea of acceptance and intolerance, she strongly advocated for respect and tolerance of views. She shared her journey as a woman and as someone who chose an unconventional career. She said that passion is a guiding light and how nothing could be a bigger wealth than one’s art. She elaborated about the hardships she had to face, how society embraced her with open arms and how she then opened her own dance institute in Hauz Khas.
Ma’am highlighted her aspirations as a member of Parliament and what she thinks the Indian system needs to work on. She spoke about various problems that she wants to address with the highest emphasis on population control. She also focused on implementing change in the Indian education system to make it more relevant and diverse. Dr. Mansingh believes that there should be more focus on the culture, history and heritage of India. It would add more diversity to the syllabi and help students connect with their roots better. She said that she would
not want to complicate things and take small and simple steps towards success.
Dr. Mansingh concluded the session by sharing her heart- warming experience in Argentina. She narrated how the archbishop saw her performance and went down on his knees. With teary eyes he said that he saw Jesus Christ through her performance. It was a very emotional moment for her and the archbishop. The archbishop asked her if she was Christian and she replied that she was a Hindu. However, Ma’am believes that religions don’t divide people because effectively, Jesus and Mary and Krishna and Meera are the same. She told the audience that this heartfelt experience was a day that she would never forget.
Overall, the session was quite informative, emotional and engaging at the same time. The audience really enjoyed the session and were grateful to Ma’am for sharing her experiences with us. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 RAJDEEP SARDESAI
CAMPUS FACE OFF
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Medley of viewpoints The Economics Society, SRCC was proud to host India Today’s renowned series, ‘Campus Face Off’ at the Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020. In this episode of Campus Face Off, students of Shri Ram College of Commerce grilled political netas on a variety of issues ranging from the Indian Economy, Delhi Polls, CAA, NRC, and the like. Moderated by the newsman Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, the Face-off featured representatives from across the political spectrum, including Mr. Amit Malviya (BJP), Ms. Supriya Shrinate (Congress) and Mr. Jasmine Shah (AAP).
The interrogative session started with the question on how the political system aims to ensure authenticity of the data published by the government. Mr. Malviya stated that the current government, per se, is not responsible and that the data regarding budget is constant in the way it is arrived at, irrespective of the government that is in power, as statistical institutions that generate this data are common and consistent across the world. Mr. Rajdeep further hinted that the mistrust in the government's track record of dealing with data may have led to such insecurity. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Mr. Malviya didn’t concur and added that the agencies He further added that the BJP has been working on that generate this data don’t change because the establishing a medical college with 500 beds in every district, government in power has changed. In India, there isn’t as instructed by the honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra any reliable data which could give a measure of Modi, and that they would increase the budget for both the employment and so the opposition often whips the sectors as well. government for poor performance using this argument.
He further added that it is the duty of every government to invest in the same and form a proper index. But Mr. The panel discussion lasted around 40 minutes and covered a Malviya did acknowledge the fact that the data is indeed range of key topics including education, budget, and unreliable. healthcare. The discussion could have continued on for a while but due to time constraints, the former couldn’t take Another question addressed to the representatives place. Mr. Rajdeep expressed that he looks forward to coming featured free bus rides and the specific number of units back to Shri Ram College of commerce if the opportunity to be given off as free electricity to the people, and presents itself. Overall, the Face-off was quite informative whether these freebies might come off as tokenistic given and enlightening and involved the audience at the same time. the election season approaching. The second part of the questions asked if it was right on their part to capitalize on the hatred of a large political issue at a national level and bring it down to state elections. Mr. Shah addressed the first question by stating the fact that over the last 5 years Delhi’s budget has doubled from 30 to 60 thousand crores and that Delhi has a government that spends 26% of its budget on education and 11% on healthcare. He said that the free rides are meant for providing more access to job opportunities and education. Refuting on the stat provided by Mr. Shah, Mr. Malviya argued that the finance commission recommendation was responsible for Delhi’s increased budget, and not the AAP.
Another question addressed to the panel read,- While the expenditure on healthcare has definitely increased, why is it that there hasn’t been a significant increase in accessibility that healthcare has? Mr. Shah responded that while there has been a problem regarding accessibility in the past, the expenditure on healthcare has definitely increased and that over the last five years the AAP has built over 450 mohalla clinics and also increased the capacity of hospitals as compared to the BJP. Ms. Supriya further argued that the budget of 2020 provided an increase of only 6% to education, healthcare, and jobs whereas skill development witnessed a budget- cut of nearly 7%. Hence, she appealed that the government should invest more in these sectors.
The debate shifted course when a student from the audience asked the reason behind little heed being paid to the education infrastructure of this country, which in essence, is the need of the youth. Mr. Malviya responded that the budget had been increased altogether. He stated that there is a certain capacity as far as healthcare is concerned, and the way one increases it is by building new medical colleges and by improving district infrastructure. S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0 JEAN DRÈZE DEVELOPMENTAL ECONOMICS
S e s s i o n R e p o r t
Healthcare and development As the concluding session for Shri Ram Economics Summit, 2020, The Economics Society, SRCC hosted notable developmental economist, Dr. Jean Drèze. Widely known for his Jholawala Economics, he epitomises the primary research driven methodology that has attached major value in socio-economics.
In line with the humility and grassroot connection that Dr. Drèze emanates, the session was held with the students sitting under the shade of the college's famed Co-Op Tree, in a baithak setting. With some chai to set the mood, the discussion started with Dr. Drèze’s take on the current economic scenario, in which he factored in the difference between growth and development.
When asked about a comparative between the kind of field work he is known for and Randomised Controlled Trials in terms of potential for meaningful observations,
S H R I R A M E C O N O M I C S U M M I T | 2 0 2 0
Dr. Drèze explained why these two aren’t contradictory special importance to health as he felt it is the basic tenet of ideas. RCT is a scientifically developed technique, which quality of life. In his opinion, the Mohalla Clinics model in comes with its own peculiar pros and cons, and is Delhi has surely fulfilled the need for putting health higher contingent on the efficiency and accuracy with which it is on the political agenda, however just in a city. It is imperative applied in a particular situation. to accord more focus and money to health. A country like India spending a miserly 1% of GDP on healthcare, with the Talking about evidence as a concept in itself, Dr. Drèze Health Secretary implying it was enough, is truly worrisome. pointed out that an RCT is not really any rigorous evidence Universal healthcare, which should be a target, works on the as the rigour depends on the accuracy with which the principle of eliminating money as a basis for care. Dr. Drèze technique is applied. However, evidence is a mere fact and pointed out its success in various countries and explained needs to be supplemented by ‘understanding’ which is given how the United Kingdom has a single National Health Service by observations and experience. Thus, while numbers offer which is freely available to all. statistical evidence like correlation, field work is critical to add causality to it. The only reason why experience, The variety of ideas discussed reflected the holistic nature of although a valuable type of evidence, isn’t given due respect ‘development’ and why its broad nature is important to is because of the difficulty in communicating it to a larger acknowledge. Dr. Drèze’s examples and analyses clearly audience. Dr. Drèze also explained the paradox of evidence, reflected a certain sense of grounding of ideas brought by his wherein the insistence on getting evidence of high rigour experience in the field. He left the audience pondering over a ultimately leads to lesser total evidence. new-found respect and admiration for the power of groundwork. The engaging session was a treasured Having lived for a significant time in the tribal and rural opportunity for students of Development Economics to areas, Dr. Drèze shed some light on the Maoist movement interact with one of the authors of their readings. The in Jharkhand. Although it hasn’t collapsed completely, he Economics Society, SRCC was honoured to host an categorized it to be on a downfall. There is a certain academician and economist of the repute that Dr. Jean Drèze corruption of ideals over time. The need for funds to truly warrants. continue struggle, leads to bad blood and the inescapable reality of people joining a movement for their personal benefits were the reasons for the same. The movement has been doing better in Bastar, where Dr. Drèze felt an armed struggle could actually bring out tangible benefits in mining and land issues.
Given the ever-increasing vibrancy of the democracy we live in, feasible tools for dissent and debate on social trends are crucial. Dr. Drèze felt these boiled down to the need to organise better. Tools like social media and word of mouth have immense power, but are lacking in effective usage. Sharing his experiences from Jharkhand, there were anti- CAA demonstrations daily which were non-violent and massive in scale. However, they did not catch the eye of national media until the one-off rioting that happened when a pro-CAA rally passing through a particular neighbourhood was attacked. He described the ensuing curfews and ban on protests throughout Jharkhand as ones giving eerie Kashmir vibes, Infact, he was not even allowed to enter the city for his own enquiries.
On the broader theme of development, Dr. Drèze attached CONTRIBUTORS T H E E C O N O M I C S S O C I E T Y , S R C C SARVESH LATIKA AMOGH PARTH WEBSITE CAONUNDHTIIRIBPRUATTHAOMRS www.ecosocsrcc.com APOORV SAKSHAM HARSHIT VANI KHUSHI MUSKAN EMAIL ADDRESS [email protected] LATIKA DUTTA
DPERS ATIGHANM KTAEL RAAM SAKSHAM CONTACT LATIKAX Padmini Prasad: PRATHAMY +91-85870-58588 SAKSHAM Z Nakul Gupta: M +91-85278-30518 R