S U M M I T E C O N O M I C S R A M S H R I · ECONOMICS J ean Dreze 38. S e s s i o n R e p o r t...

SUMMIT REPORT

SHRIRAMECONOMICSSUMMIT THE ECONOMICS SOCIETY, SHRI RAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

2020

By Jacob Walker

BIGGER. BOLDER. BETTER.

C O N T E N T S

BUDGET 2020-21Sanjeev Sanyal &Subhash Chandra Garg

9

POLITICS, LAW &CONSTITUIONSalman Khurshid & Prashant Bushan

18

FREE MARKETS &LIBERAL ECONOMICSParth Shah & Rajeev Gowda

12

STATE OF INDIANECONOMYP. Chidambaram

23

LIFE OF A CIVILSERVANTAnil Swarup

27

THE SWACHCHBHARAT MISSIONParameswaran Iyer &Yasmin Ali Haque

3

THE KEY TO SUCCESSShiv Khera

25

CAMPUS FACE OFFRajdeep Sardesai

36

F E B 2 0 2 0

JAIL ECONOMICSNeeraj Kumar & Sunetra Choudhury

6

YOUTUBE : THE NEWSILVER SCREENThe Viral Fever

32

THE LALLANTOPSHOWRahul Pandita & SaurabhDwivedi

15

STARTUPS OFBHARATHindol Sengupta

21

TWITTER SESSIONMahima Kaul, Aparajita Bharti,Anshul Tewari & Tamseel Hussain

29

ART & CULTURESonal Mansingh

34

DEVELOPMENTALECONOMICSJean Dreze

38

S e s s i o n R e p o r t

THE SWACHH BHARAT MISSION

PARAMESWARAN IYER &

YASMIN ALI HAQUE

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

Changing behaviours, forever As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit, The Economics Society, SRCC, washonoured to host a panel discussion on the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Moderatedby Mr. Anand Narsimhan, the panel Mr. Parameshwaram Iyer, Secretary of the Ministryof Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, and Ms. Yasmin Ali Haque, theUNICEF 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 thatSBM has traversed over five years since its launch, and the way it is being looked uponin the future as well. Intended to be a revolutionary behavioural change in the waypeople approach basic hygiene, Mr Iyer described the Swachh Bharat Movement as arevolution. He said, “It became one of India's largest and most successful behaviouralchange programmes because of the success it eventually met with even and especiallyin rural India". People started to identify and attach themselves with the program,providing the spirit of a 'Jan Andolan'.

However, the journey wasn’t easy. Mr. Iyer mentioned thatone of the biggest hurdles that they encountered was thebelief among the people that faeces were impure. This was asignificant reason why people in villages were unwilling tohave toilets in their houses, leading women to urinate ordefecate in the open during unsafe hours at night, making ita major reason for rural rapes as well. One of the biggest focus points of the SBM has been totackle the problem of open defecation and popularising theuse of toilets in villages and rural areas for the same.Initially, increase in access and penetration into rural Indiawas quite slow, with there being only 38% coverage forlatrines in India. Under the SBM, the Prime Minister set thedeadline date of 2nd October 2019, by which the goals ofthe movement were to be attained, including the creation ofan Open Defecation Free (ODF) India. A major contributingfactor to SBM's success, as highlighted by Mr. Iyer was thesupport of the state and the administration towards thescheme, both in terms of interest as well as finances. Thereason being that convincing the authorities in power thatthese schemes deserve to be prioritized, was a majorroadblock in bringing about any micro-level social change. Mr. Iyer then went on to enumerate the primary problemsthat had not been addressed prior to the launch of the SBM.These included the scale of the problem of open defecation,the speed required to address the issue, the stigma aroundproblems relating to untreated waste, and the sustainabilityof solutions like encouraging people to use toilets so as toensure that they did not slip back.


These were referred to as the four 'S' of problems to be dealtwith viz. Scale, Speed, Stigma, and Sustainability, and thesolutions to these were referred to as the ABCDEF of tacklingopen defecation. The measures included: Alignment - Establishing acongruence of goals, Believing - creating a team that believedthat the goal could be achieved, comprising a large youthpresence and cooperation from district political levels,Communication - engaging with key stakeholders at political,administrative and local levels, Democratisation - tacklingproblems at the grass root level, Evaluation - ensuring thirdperson evaluation to maintain credibility, and FollowingThrough - keeping up with sustainability measures to preventpeople from slipping back to open defecation practices. Mr. Iyer also explained the various tools used to popularisethe campaign in both urban and rural India, such asadvertising campaigns with celebrities like AmitabhBachchan, the initiative of appointing 'swachhagrahis' (localrepresentatives) who were tasked to convert other villagers,extensive use of recall value by targeting people throughperiodic text messages, entering into partnerships withNGOs, community based groups, media and internationalorganisations, and the 'Swachchta Hi Seva' campaignentailing students to write letters to the Prime Minister onthis issue. The impacts of the campaign have been extensive andevident. It has saved lives of children vulnerable to diarrhoea,saved money in families by reducing potential health hazardsfrom open defecation, and contributed to facilitating a


significant decline in incidents of sexual violence againstwomen and girls. The efforts started under the SBM are beingfollowed up through measures such as Geo-tagging toilets,third party evaluations and verification to ensure that ODFfree areas remain so. An allocation of 994 cores has been made in the UnionBudget for the next phase of SBM, which will focus on solidand liquid waste management in villages, and on continuingthe journey towards ODF. The next topic of discussion featured another importantscheme launched by the government, the Jal Jeevan Mission,whose goal is to make drinking water accessible to everyhousehold. The panel spoke of how logically, this is the nextstep after the SBM, because to continue the fight againstopen defecation, it is essential to ensure proper water supplythat can keep toilets functioning. In fact, both schemes have

often been implemented hand in hand, such as in states likeRajasthan, water supply had been offered as an incentive tovillages to set up toilets. Ms Yasmin also outlined the majormajor problems faced by the Jal Jeevan Mission, includingpumping of water from sources other than groundwater,ensuring good quality and the cost of procuring clean water. Overall, the session was very informative and offered insightinto the manner in which one of the most significantbehavioural change programmes ever implemented in Indiawas conceived and executed. Mr. Iyer and Ms. Yasminconcluded the discussion on a positive note by highlightingthe need for continuing the 'Swachhata' consciousness byensuring that adults serve as role models for their childrenand communities as a whole, encouraging the role of childrenin communicating the need to take cognizance of theproblems in our world and working towards solutions for thesame.


JAIL ECONOMICS

NEERAJ KUMAR &

SUNETRA CHOUDHURY


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 Policeand Mrs. Sunetra Choudhury, National Editor, Hindustan Times, engaged in a paneldiscussion on the topic ‘Jail Economics’. Ms. Sunetra started the discussion by informing the audience, much to their shock, thatthe prisoners who are incarcerated for more than 10 years are actually the ones runningthe entire prison system. Their work ranges all the way from getting the new inmatesacquainted with the working of the prisons, to acting as the first line of security, in casea fight breaks out. Anything and everything is available in a jail, said Ms. Sunetra. iPhones, LCD TVs andcigarettes were some of the examples given by her. The only catch here is that theinmates have to pay multiple times the actual amount to buy it. She then talked abouthow the Chandra brothers, Unitech promoters who were jailed for alleged

mismanagement and siphoning off funds, had their ownpersonal room, supply of packaged water, own beds and apersonal kitchen. Throwing stuff over the walls is one of the most commonways of getting things into a prison, according to Mr. Kumar.Adding to this, Sir said that there were people who specialisein throwing things over the wall. It was surprising to hearthat such a simple practice could be used to get things insidea prison, clearly showing the severe inefficiencies plaguingthe system. This practice is observed not just in India but allover the world. The other way is to smuggle things insideusing the help of the prison staff. Mr. Kumar then informed the audience that a large numberof inmates have no visitors and that this section of inmatesfeel extremely depressed and lonely. This nudged Sir to start‘Sparsh’, an initiative under which an inmate’s family isinformed about the incarceration of their family member. Insome of these cases, the inmate’s family is even givenmonetary help, train tickets and accommodation facilities, allfunded through the Prison Welfare Fund, to help them get incontact with the inmates. Continuing the discussion, Ms.Sunetra informed the audience that some of the inmatesspend multiple years in prison just because the inmate’sfamily is not aware that they are imprisoned and so theyaren’t able to bail them out, even for an amount whichsometimes is as low as Rs. 500.


The next topic of discussion was the inequalities prevalent inthe Indian prison system. Ms. Sunetra talked about how there is rarely any rich personwho has been hanged in the history of the Indian JudicialSystem. She then shared with the audience the ‘Vidya Jainmurder case’ where the husband hired two contractassassins to kill his wife. In her opinion, the husband was asguilty as the contract killers but he escaped by virtue ofwealth power and spent only a few years in prison, whereasthe two assailants were sent to the gallows. The panel discussion was followed by an interactive Q&Asession with the audience. When asked about there being asystem of capitalism prevalent in the Indian Prison System,Mr. Kumar expressed that one doesn’t get all the luxuriesthat one enjoys in the outer world but there are certainthings that the wealthy upper class manage to get by hiringgood lawyers that a poor criminal cannot. According to him,it is extremely rare to see someone from the upper echelonsof society get sentenced to a 20 year or more. Responding tothe same question, Ms. Sunetra talked about how the lawyersof the Sahara Chief Subroto Roy convinced the SupremeCourt to allow Roy to carry out negotiations to sell-off hisluxury hotels in New York and London from his prison cell.Roy was thus given a special air-conditioned cell, which hadWi-Fi and video-conferencing facilities, and he was provided


with two laptops, two desktops, a cell-phone and landlinephones too. During the Q&A session, there was a question on capitalpunishment and the extent to which it should be used. “Alarge number of criminals who are abroad are not willing tocome to India because of the fear of capital punishment”, saidMr. Kumar. In his personal opinion, some heinous crimesdeserve capital punishments but he stressed on the pointthat only the poor people who commit such heinous crimes

end up getting hanged. The session was informative andoffered insight into the economic workings of jail and howthe system is misused by people in power. The major takeaway from the discussion was that the wholepoint of being in jail is the feeling of losing one’s dignity andprivacy. The feeling of constantly being watched. Ms. Sunetra summed up the discussion by stating, “Jail Economics is allabout the inmates paying a price for their dignity andprivacy”.


BUDGET 2020-21

SANJEEV SANYAL &

SUBHASH CHANDRA GARG


Ideal EconomicsThe Economics Society of Shri Ram College of Commerce was honoured to host theformer Finance Secretary of India, Mr. Subhash Chandra Garg alongside Mr. SanjeevSanyal, a Shri Ram alum and the current Principal Economic Adviser in the Ministry ofFinance to discuss the recently launched Budget for 2020-2021. When asked about his thoughts on the new budget, Mr. Sanyal remarked that peopleare not particularly happy with the government’s methods of dealing with theeconomic slowdown. In solidarity, Mr. Garg also acknowledged the current economicslowdown 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 inforeign investment limit and bilateral netting, the impact of such moves is still hard topredict. Mr. Sanjeev remarked that in spite of this budget increasing the fiscal deficit, it willsolely be a consequence of accounting for revenue slowdown and not fiscal boosting.

On the positive side, he asserted the absence of inflationwith respect to even the onion prices going down, foreignexchange reserves being at an all-time high and thenarrowing current deficit, it will solely be a consequence ofaccounting for revenue slowdown and not fiscal boosting.On the positive side, he asserted the absence of inflationwith respect to even the onion prices going down, foreignexchange reserves being at an all-time high and thenarrowing current deficit. Additionally, he said that thebanking system of the country looks healthier as well, withthe Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code bringing the moneyback. To sum up these observations, Mr. Sanyal established that the economy has bottomed out and the natural processof acceleration should kick-start it back once again. Introduction of Bilateral Netting in the market system bringsin two advantages. Firstly, it frees a lot of capital to be usedand allocated in a better manner elsewhere. Secondly, itdevelops a new market called the market for Credit DefaultSwaps (CDSs) which, in turn, facilitates liquid corporate debtmarket. This helps India to be listed on Global Bond Indices,as a bond to be eligible for listing must be freely available butIndia has capital control on its internal debt market. Mr. Garg carefully asserted the areas wherein governmentbudget has a material effect in status quo.

Firstly, he talked about the government’s instrument being animportant indicator of macroeconomic condition of theeconomy. Secondly, he reinforced the government's role as aprovider of public goods. Thirdly, the importance it holds interms of future growth projections and lastly, on the idea ofthis government assuming a rather redistributive role interms of taking care of the poor. Whether governments should only focus on welfare or takethe additional onus of growth is a question many economiststry to answer through their research analyses. The formerFinance Secretary believes that with limited resources at thedisposal of the government, much of economic growthshould be left for the private sector. On that idea, he believesthat the current deficit targeted at 4.5% is already very highand should not be stretched upwards further. The concerns about the new budget resonated with thegeneral public as well, much of which came into the spotlightwhen the floor was opened for questions from the audience.One of the questions talked about marketisation of publicservices in recent times which is uncharacteristic for awelfare state like India. Our esteemed panel laid specialemphasis on ensuring that there is a clear demarcation thatexists between marketisation and social welfare, and theformer should not necessarily be assumed to be against thelatter. Even in the most privatised economies, the centralgovernment provides public goods like defence.


However, both were of the opinion that legacy public sectorinstitutions like Air India should be privatised. When askedabout the possible existence of a distorted larger savingssituation in the economy, the panel mutually expressed theirdislike towards too many taxation slabs created by thisbudget. While incentives like a two lakh rupees deduction onhousing loans will motivate people to buy their own housesand deal with the larger saving situation, the existence ofeleven taxation slabs can be assumed to be only temporary;it is, at best, a short-term measure to generate demand andsolve the problems that currently haunt this economy. Ayoung student seemed concerned about the overseastransfer of funds being taxed again in the country of therecipient. Mr. Garg clarified that there is no double countingin the way NRIs are taxed because in principle, it is onlyincomes that are taxable. To add to that, the panel referredto citation of only reliable government documents asopposed to digital media.

As concluding remarks, members of the panel stronglyasserted that the Government of India is unapologetic aboutwealth creation. The same can be understood by goingthrough the Economic Survey for the financial year 2019-20which talks about the prosperity achieved through wealthcreation at length. Whether this will actually be able tomaterialise into larger economic gains for India is somethingeconomists around the world are keeping an eye on becausefor what it is worth, Nobel laureates Banerjee and Duflo wereright to believe that we live in challenging times. In times likethese, there are no straitjacket solutions to our problems



FREE MARKETS AND LIBERAL ECONOMICS

PARTH SHAH&

RAJEEV GOWDA


Keeping markets freeAs part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit this year, there were many panel discussionsbased on contemporary socio-economic issues and one such intriguing paneldiscussion, 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 Marketsand Liberal Economics’. Both the speakers fervently expressed their views on theimportance of free markets to foster competition and growth in an economy, and theneed to embrace the concept of liberal economics in a world where the structuralhegemon, that is the US is adopting protectionist policies. The panelists commenced the discussion by articulating their interpretation of freemarkets. Dr. Shah described free markets as the freedom to earn an honest living andexpressed his discontent over the fact that farmers, vendors, and tribal communitiesare deprived of a free market and are under constant threat from the government.

Adding to what Dr. Shah said, Mr. Gowda further elaboratedon the farmer distress in India and conceded that there existcertain complications in free and liberal markets. To quoteMr. Gowda,, “Globally, countries are trying to sell goods toeach other, thus rapidly moving towards globalization. Freemarkets result in more welfare outcomes, wealth creationand retention.” On the question of political ideologies of different politicalparties moving towards or away from economic liberalism,Dr. Shah drew an analogy between political democracy andeconomic markets, where producers are leaders andconsumers are voters, thereby making the point thatpolitical and economic markets are very similar. Hence, aparty which is far right on the political spectrum promotesimport substitution that aligns with its protectionist agendaor conservative policies, while the other liberal frontsadvocate for free trade. In other words, a party’s economicpolicies align with its political ideology. On the contrary, Mr.Gowda expressed that the underlying thrust of the Indianeconomy is towards liberalism, despite different politicalideologies leading the executive. However, he expressed hisconcern over the adoption of protectionist measures byleading players like the US and their detrimental impact onthe growth of allied economies in particular, and the globaleconomy in general. The concept of free and liberal markets is perceived as autopian concept by many because the idea of a marketoperating without government interventions seemsimpossible.


However, Mr. Shah and Mr. Gowda thought otherwise andcited the US as the closest example of a free market, whichhas successfully managed to establish its supremacy over theworld economy by following the capitalist model withminimal government intervention. Mr. Gowda said, “The UShas enough space for spurring innovations in the economyand that is the primary idea of a free market. It has abundantresources and sufficient capital that further boost innovationand promote technological advancements, and areimperative to foster growth in an economy”. Another ideaadvocated by the supporters of the free market, is theexistence of competition. On this note, Mr. Gowda said thatthe US model of economy has proven that it supportscompetition between enterprises, in order to ensureefficiency in the economy. The breaking up of AT&T is one ofthe examples of the US’s opposition to monopoly power. The popular argument against free markets is that basicnecessities, such as education and healthcare, requiregovernment intervention to be distributed equally amongpeople. As a result, many believe that the idea of qualityeducation and good healthcare services cannot align with theconcept of free markets. However, the panelists arguedagainst the popular notion and said that in the ‘Index ofEconomic Freedom’ countries such as Singapore, Norway,New Zealand etc. lead the pack, and these countries haveprospered through freely functioning market mechanisms.Contrary to the general opinion, Dr. Shah said, “One does nothave to be anti-market to emerge as a welfare state, aseconomic freedom that is granted by free and liberal marketsis the foundation of bringing greater prosperity to a country”.

Mr. Shah further added that even the People’s Republic ofChina saw economic expansion from 1978 after they hadmoved away from a system of central planning andgovernment control. On the question of the emergence ofmore right wing thinkers in today’s world, both the speakersspoke of Friedrich Hayek, the globally renowned economistwho contributed immensely to classical liberalism. Mr.Gowda said that Hayek’s writings are relevant today in Indiasince he also wrote in the backdrop of fascism and heavygovernment control. The panelists agreed on the point thatonly economic liberalism can steer economies to greaterheights as history is evidence that government control hasled economies to a situation of crises. On the question of India being able to accommodate botheconomic liberalism and political democracy in the long run,Mr. Gowda said, “India has moved in the direction of creatingvarious market spaces and is particularly giving impetus tothe startup culture. Bangalore is rapidly emerging as thestartup capital of India”. He further added that even thoughthere are market distortions that pose hindrance for freemarkets, there is a need to provide the kind of education thatenables people to set up their own businesses.

In other words, in order to enhance economic liberalismthere has to be a greater participation of people in theeconomy. Considering democracy already exists in India,economic liberalism can be achieved at a faster pace. On thatpoint, Dr. Shah said that the regulatory system does not allowfarmers, street vendors and tribal communities to have freeaccess to markets and thus, government regulations must bereduced. He suggested that the private sector must beallowed to exist freely in order to induce competition andefficiency in the economy. He further added that in lieu ofrunning schools itself, the government should ensure thatschools are run well by the private sector as the latter has agreater incentive to provide quality services in return forprofits. Overall, the panel discussion was very enriching andinteresting, and both the speakers engaged with the audienceon a few important questions revolving around free markets.The panelists supported the idea of a free and liberal marketand eloquently expressed their views and opinions on thesame.



OUR MOON HAS BLOOD CLOTS

THE LALLANTOPSHOW


What went wrongAs part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit, The Economics Society, SRCC, wasimmensely delighted to host a book discussion on India’s bestseller “Our Moon hadBlood Clots”, authored by Indian writer and journalist, Mr. Rahul Pandita. Mr. SaurabhDwivedi, the moderator and anchor of the famous TV program The Lallantop Show, wasinvited to lead the discussion as part of his show. Mr. Dwivedi caught the audience’sattention from the moment he set foot on stage with his humorous exuberance. Thediscussion was divided into two parts - It began with a discourse between Mr. Dwivediand Mr. Pandita, followed by an interactive Q&A session from the audience. Mr. Pandita’s volume elucidates a deeply personal and powerful memoir on theunforgettable chapter in the story of Kashmir, when the Kashmiri Pandit communitywas exterminated in a violent ethnic cleansing backed by Islamist militants.

In his memoir, Mr. Pandita has recorded even the tiniestdetails of what he, along with his family, went through duringthe days leading to and after the exodus of the KashmiriPandits. Starting with the discussion, Mr. Pandita recalled a typicalchildhood phase in a Kashmir ‘so beautiful’ that, according tohis grandfather, even the Gods would envy the Kashmiris.There were communal riots most often, where templeswould be targeted, but overall, there was peace. There weresubtle signs of the upcoming massacre - sly comments onthe futility of Pandits building their home in the valley,celebrations when Pakistan would win cricket matchesagainst India, passionate discourse on pro-independence inevery corner, slaughtering of cows during Janmashtami andthe general air of hostility towards the Hindus whenever lawsfor their benefit were passed. On 19th January, 1990, everything changed. Pandita’s localitywas surrounded by muslim localites and three-four mosqueswere at its edge. Thousands gathered and started shoutingslogans against the Indian Constitution and the KashmiriPandits. One particular slogan that was engraved in Pandita’smind as he quoted was “Kashmir banawon Pakistan, Batawvaraie, Batneiw saan” meaning “We will turn Kashmir into aPakistan without Kashmiri Pandit men, but with theirwomen”. Cries of “La Sharqia la gharbia, Islamia! Islamia!”(East or West, Islam is the best) and “Kashmir banegaPakistan”, among many others, filled the air, frightening a 14year old Pandita to death lying in his fathers’ arms in his 22


room house that his father had built with his provident fundand his wife’s jewelry. Pandita’s mother, with a knife in onehand and his younger sister in the other, were ready to givetheir lives to save their dignity. Now when Mr. Pandita recalled it, he felt that the worst partof all of this was that it was never covered by any mediahouse. As a result, the entire Kashmir was in denial modeabout the exodus even today. Pandita said, “They refuse toaccept that something horrendous happened to KashmiriPandits in the 1990s. What is even worse is that their storyhas been insulted numerous times by journalists who believethat whatever happened was the work of Pakistani militants,but the truth is that it was the work of ordinary Kashmiris”.Their pain is normalised by saying that such militancyhappens from time to time and people are forced to leavetheir homes behind, and so their story is not unique. Pandita also said that the actual death toll was in thousandsas compared to the down-sized official figure of 700-800that continued to be stated. It was a genocide. A holocaust ofhopes of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. 3.5 lakhs pundits hadto leave everything behind and flee to save their lives. But Mr.Pandita claimed that his story was not the narration of howthey left Kashmir; rather it was about being unable to returnhome. It wasn’t the loss of material goods but the burden ofcarrying those memories and that constant feeling ofhomelessness that haunted them. Their entire fight wasabout saving their dignity, about the humiliation of having toleave their homes and living in exile in their own country.

He revealed how when his peers were going to school,making friends, playing video games and wearing new shirts,his family waited outside a Jagmohan’s house among othersto get free ‘kambals’; how they had to sleep on thenewspapers in freezing cold January winters; and howunwelcome and unwanted they felt when they reachedJammu. Their only solace was in other Kashmiri Pandits andtheir heart-wrenching stories. He was astounded how, evenafter 30 years, he often dreamt of being back in Kashmir andhow precisely he remembered the layout and details of hishome. Pandita also recalled the pain of his mother and along withhers, the pain of all grown-ups who lost everything in an agewhere all they seek is stability and consistency. They didn’teven know where their next meal would come from. It wasexceedingly hard for them. Mr. Pandita also elucidated on the importance of learning theorigin of the slogans that people shout when they protest.And in the backdrop of the current protest culture, it is allthe more important than ever. Sir remarked that today’syouth cries out slogans of “Azaadi” but rarely anyone everknows its true meaning. According to Sir, the two biggestreasons behind that dark episode in the Indian history wasthe rapid Islamization following the death of Sheikh Abdullah,which made the Hindus weak against the majority muslimpopulation;

and, more importantly, the failure of the Indian state, whichallowed the xenophobia in the state to grow and nurture,creating a sceznophrenix environment where people begandoubting their own identity. Powerful echoes of “Dhoodhmango kheer denge, Kashmir mango cheer denge” werefloated but no real stringent actions were actually taken toprevent the macabre. Towards the end of the discussion, Mr. Pandita expressedhow he felt enraged over his neighbours and his friends fornot saving the minorities on that fateful night. It was thischapter of his life that inspired him to become a journalistand tell their story to the world. The untold story wasextremely important not only because it spoke of Pandita'sfamily alone or their sufferings, which perhaps wasminuscule as compared to some of their fellow Pandits butbecause it kills many fake and forged stories that had beencirculated to cover the reality. Mr. Dwivedi, who had read thebook, urged the audience to read it too. Mr. Pandita and Mr. Dwivedi had an engaging and insightfultalk and the former’s experience kept the audience at theedge of their seats throughout the show.



POLITICS, LAW AND THE CONSTITUTION

SALMAN KHURSHID &

PRASHANT BHUSHAN


Safeguarding the constitution As part of the 8th edition of Shri Ram Economics Summit (SRES), the Economics Society ofShri Ram College of Commerce organized a panel discussion on ‘The Constitution andLegal Reforms’, hosting Mr. Salman Khurshid, a senior politician, lawyer and an eminentauthor; and Mr. Prashant Bhushan, a public interest lawyer in the Supreme Court of Indiaand an activist, on 4th of February, 2020. The discussion began with both the panelists sharing their views on safeguarding theConstitution in times of turbulence. Mr. Bhushan began by saying that the presentsituation is that of communal hatred, and there exists a lot of social unrest and disruptionof peace. In times of unrest, it is necessary to recall constitutional values of justice andequality. For India to sustain and grow peacefully, it is necessary that the Constitution isheld as the supreme institution, even above the Government. While explaining hisviewpoint, Mr. Bhushan referred to a famous quote by Charles Dickens, and said that whilethis is the ‘worst of times’, this is also the ‘best of times’. He cited peaceful protests as the

right way to oppose the wholesale onslaught of constitutionalvalues; being highly necessary in preserving the essence ofdemocracy. Mr. Khurshid was of the opinion that during times of stressand disturbance, we must adhere to the Constitutionalvalues. We must learn various aspects of the Constitution andinculcate it in our living. Next, there was a brief discussion on how a democratically-elected Government with a huge public mandate should bequestioned and opposed. To this, Mr. Bhushan replied thatthere must exist an efficient system of ‘checks and balances’so that there is no misuse of power. Even if the governmenthas an absolute majority, it has no right to violate the basicstructure of the Constitution. Citing an example, he said thatCAA is discriminatory on the basis of religious and nationalgrounds, and therefore, it falls foul on part of theConstitution, which prohibits discrimination based on anyground. So, even a democratically-elected Governmentshould be questioned and protested against. Mr. Khurshidsaid that there is always some democratic discussion andaction going on across the country. No Government has theright to go against the public and distort democracy. There

are various countries that rely on the referendum system andbelieve in the supreme power of their citizens. He believesthat a good law is one that manifests people’s needs andopinions. He also feels that the Government should beresponsible and answerable to ensure a fair political system. After this, they were requested to share their opinions on‘judicial review’ and the delays associated with it. Mr.Khurshid,while conceding the existence of heavy load,believed the courts should ensure a faster resolution ofhighly pressing issues. Mr. Bhushan said that currently, thereexists huge influence of the Government over the judiciary.Thus, it no longer remains an independent institution. Also,inaction of courts in cases like that of JMI and AMU, is highlyworrying. The courts need to act much more swiftly.Nowadays, people are losing confidence in the judicial systemand it is not able to uphold Constitutional values. When asked about political interference, Mr. Bhushan saidthat there exists tremendous interference of politicians inthe judiciary. Several CJIs have been influenced by theGovernment. Mr. Khurshid added to it by saying that there isa huge problem and lack of clear idea about how the politicalinterference can be minimized. Experiments such as an 'in-house' system have been tried to improve transparency, yetthey haven’t been very successful. Moving from a collegiumsystem to a more committee-based system where peoplefrom different political spheres would take decisions could bea way, but his ‘views are quite tentative on it’. Talking about the existence of dynasticism and other issuesrelated to the selection of judges, Mr. Khurshid said thatdynasticism exists in all spheres of life. There is nocomprehensive solution to this. Yet, social mobility and willof the people might reduce this to some extent. Mr. Bhushan,on the other hand, stated a few comprehensive solutions todeal with this problem. Amongst the major problems relatedto the selection of judges is the non-existence of a full timebody to audit their performance , besides the lack of a setcriteria for the selection of judges. So firstly, there is a needfor a full time body for the appointment of judges, as the onethat exists in Britain. And secondly, the attributes of selectionneed to be laid down clearly. Next, they were asked whether seniority as a selectioncriteria, can act as a safeguard against political interference.To this, Mr. Bhushan replied that the process of selection is


totally arbitrary and there exists a lot of nepotism in it. Mr.Khurshid said that seniority is just a safeguard and it maynot always guarantee a good choice. After this, they were asked what they would do if they weremade the law minister of the country. The irony here wasthat Mr. Khurshid had already been the law minister before.Yet, he mentioned his priorities. Firstly, he said he wouldmake the appointment of judges more rigorous andtransparent. Secondly, he would reform the processes thatcause delays in justice. Finally, he would create an all Indiajudicial service in order to draw best talent from lowercourts. Mr. Bhushan feels that the major problems that exist injudiciary are long delays, reduced quality in terms ofcompetence and integrity, and lack of independence. So ifhe were the law minister, he would set up andoperationalize gram nyayalayas in order to simplify theprocedure. He would also reduce delays and establish morecompetent judges by transparent and rational selectionprocedure. He would also set up an external body toexamine complaints against judges. Lastly, he wouldincrease the accountability of the judges. The panelists were also asked about the Justice Loya case, towhich Mr. Bhushan answered that there were doubts on theofficial manner of death. According to him, post-mortemreports didn’t show any evidence of a heart attack. Therewas no order of an independent investigation and theSupreme Court closed the matter arbitrarily. Finally,there was a discussion on the autocratic rule of theGovernment and whether the judiciary is dying. Mr.Khurshid said that whoever is in power is ‘answerable’. Butat the same time, the opposition is answerable as well. Atpresent, there is a need to protect the fundamental values.He also said that ‘the truth must prevail’. Constitutionalvalues must be preserved no matter what the cost is. ‘Rightto disagree’ is a basic right and everyone shall have it. Mr.Bhushan said that the polity has been failing us. Otherinstitutions like the judiciary, ECI, CVC, etc are also notperforming well. Political authority is the root of thesefailures.

He also called the current situation similar to the ‘age offascism’. He stated that our only hope is in the form ofpeople who come out boldly and resist the onslaught on theConstitution and culture. He rightly said that ‘this is thetime of despair, but this is also the time of hope’. It was a wonderful and insightful session. Some reallypressing issues related to the Constitution, laws and politicswere discussed in depth. Both the panelists had theirdistinct opinions over various issues, and they laid downtheir opinions clearly and lucidly. The audience was verysatisfied and happy with the session.



STARTUPS OF BHARAT

HINDOLSENGUPTA


Hidden potentialUnder 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 fromentrepreneurial energies located in India to the hidden potential of Indian startups. Mr. Sengupta commenced the session by putting across the point that theentrepreneurial energies of India are located in rural areas and not in metropolitancities. Distinguishing between India and Bharat, he said that India for him representsthe 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 theintermediaries to source tea-leaves from its fields to customers just days after theleaves are picked. The startup has been remarkably successful so far, providing anestimated 25 million cups of tea to 100,000 users in 75 countries since its launch.

Teabox revolutionised the supply chain, by bypassing themiddle-men and creating an efficient system for distributionof tea-leaves through its e-commerce platform. This hasresulted in tea plantation owners and pickers earning 30-40% more. Sharing another startup story of ‘Naara Aaba Wines’, Mr.Sengupta talked about the fact that while we import kiwisfrom New Zealand, one of the best varieties of Kiwis isproduced back home in Arunachal Pradesh. Naara AabaWinery capitalised on this fact and started producing entirelyorganic kiwi-wine. But they soon met with a roadblock whenthey started looking for wine bottles. Due to Indian winebottles being slightly suboptimal in quality than the Chinesecounterpart, they had to transport the wine bottles all theway from Kolkata. This resulted in 15% of the bottles beingcrushed due to bad roads and poor connectivity. This, Sirbelieves, is also an opportunity waiting to be seized by someentrepreneurial mind of Bharat. Delving deeper into the hidden entrepreneurial opportunitiesof India, Mr. Sengupta talked about how the Himalayas havethe capability of producing the world’s best quality cold-pressed aloe vera. Talking about dairy-based startups, hetalked about Milk Mantra (an agricultural startup based inOdisha) which not only produces high-quality milk, but hastied up with banks to provide low-interest loans to farmersto purchase cows. Besides, it has vets on call to help farmersbreed healthier cows and regularly conducts health camps invillages where farmers can bring their cows for check-ups. Asa result of such a wholesome market mechanism, MilkMantra has successfully tripled milk production since itsinception. Coming to the history of startups from Bharat, Mr. Senguptatalked about the roles of Dwarkanath Tagore and Raja RamMohan Roy in bringing the fruits of the Industrial Revolutionto India. Dwarkanath Tagore, one of the first Indianindustrialists and entrepreneurs, made substantialcontributions to the Bengal Renaissance. Raja Ram MohanRoy, popularly known as ‘the maker of modern India’, playedan unparalleled role in curbing the social evils prevalent atthat point of time. The session was quite informative and offered insight intothe entrepreneurial energies of India, or as Sir calls it Bharat.

Rapping up the session, Mr. Hindol mentioned the one bigdebt that our ancestors have left us. The debt that we are allborn with. The debt for which he returned to India. It is thedebt to repay the nation, the debt to leave the country in abetter place than we came in.



THE STATE OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY

PALANIAPPANCHIDAMBARAM


The road to economic slowdown The Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020 hosted a plethora of speakers and panelists whospoke 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 bythe former Finance Minister, Mr. Palaniappan Chidambaram. He spoke about thedownturn in the Indian economy and the shortcomings of the Budget 2020-21 in dealingwith it. Addressing a gathering of curious students, Mr. Chidambaram stated that the problemsarose because of three Government blunders starting from 2016, the first beingDemonetisation. 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 dailywage workers and a large unorganised sector. Add to that a population with abysmallylow usage of digital transaction systems. The move was bound to spell doom and it did.

Moving a little forward in the timeline, he said that theflawed and hurried implementation of the Goods andServices Tax was also a major reason for the rock-bottomIndia found itself in. He recalled that when he hadintroduced the GST regime under the UPA government, itwas quite different from what the current government hadimplemented. He remarked that this way of implementationhas been a thorn for businesses and has caused quite a fewdisruptions because of its frequently changing naturecoupled with the lack of a structure and plan. The thirdthing Sir pointed out was how the banking sector in theeconomy was low on credit and could not extend loans tostimulate demand or bolster investment in an economywhich he called “demand constrained.” On numbers and data, Sir pointed out that the governmenthad taken “pessimistic assumptions” for the upcoming yearby forecasting economic growth at ten per cent. He alsobelieves that the budget deficit for the year will run up to3.8 per cent in 2019-20 and 3.5 per cent in 2020-21 against aBudget Estimate of 3.3 per cent. Referring to the longdecline in the growth rates, which have been in the red, forthe last six quarters, he commented “we are in the tunnelbut we are yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Mr. Chidambaram held the ruling government liable for notbeing able to generate the required amount of investmentdespite the huge cuts in corporate tax rates. He felt thatgiving incentives to the private sector would not bebeneficial and that money should be channelised towardsrural schemes like PM Kisan and MGNREGA which would


allow the underprivileged to have money in their hands andboost demand. In contrast to his proposal, however, theUnion Budget had already reduced funding for theDepartment of Rural Development from ₹1.22 lakh crores to₹1.20 lakh crores in 2020-21 while the funding for MGNREGAsaw a cut of ₹9,500 crores for the upcoming year. The formerCabinet Minister expressed that he was let down by thesemeasures from the Government as he feels “Investmentfollows demand” and lamented that the Government mayhave “missed a huge opportunity to revive the economy.” Talking about things from a global perspective, Mr.Chidambaram said India would “limp along” given there wereno geo-political mishaps which could affect the countryadversely. He felt that a crisis in the Middle East or thepossibility of an escalating US-China trade war would shakethings up for the economy and cut down the country’salready meagre growth rate of five per cent. He stronglybelieved that the economy in that state would see no revivalfor the next six months at least. Witty as always, Mr. P. Chidambaram capped off his speechby “I only hope your parents do not reduce your pocketmoney.” This was accompanied by a thunderous round ofapplause and laughter from a spell-bound student audience.The insights shared on dealing with a recession andleveraging the Budget to do so, were certainly insightful andinvaluable.


THE KEY TO SUCCESS

SHIV KHERA


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 andmotivational speaker, and an alumnus of SRCC itself, at the Shri Ram EconomicsSummit. Over the course of an hour, Mr. Khera took the audience through a journey ofrealistic perspectives, giving anecdotes and examples from his own life and those ofmany others to highlight the simple, but often overlooked keys to success. Whileeffortlessly overturning the much popularised ideas of achieving moral stature throughabandoning the pursuit of wealth, escaping from reality by blaming circumstances forour problems, and the attainment of success through luck or 'being in the right place atthe right time', he effectively provided the audience with an alternative perspective tolife by highlighting the five kinds of strength an individual must possess in order tosucceed at anything they try.

Mr. Khera began by emphasizing the importance of physicalstrength, as this is what gives us energy, stamina andsustenance. He went on to say that without such strength, wewould never be able to fight, and would have to makecompromises that we would otherwise never make. He next spoke of the need for financial strength, which isextremely important for one's peace of mind and the abilityto lead life happily. On the familiar quote of 'Money can't buyyou happiness', Sir quite realistically quipped: 'If I have to beunhappy, I'd rather be unhappy with money than withoutmoney.' He also drew clear distinctions between money initself, which he believed was not problematic, and the greedfor money, which he said is the real root of all evil. He addedthat money itself is something that everyone needs and uses,and that it is greed for money or it is making money the solefocus of one's life that leads people astray. The third, and most important, kind of strength that Sir spokeof was mental strength. Mental strength is the ultimate key tosuccess, according to Sir. Using examples like those of BruceLee and Michael Phelps, he went on to explain how everyonefaces struggles of their own in life, but only the ones whohave the mental strength to persevere and not give up are theones who attain success in the end. At the same time, he alsoused these examples to shatter the myth of 'getting lucky' byhighlighting that only mental determination and physicaleffort is what can lead one to attain their goals.


Lastly, he spoke of the need for emotional and spiritualstrength, so as to have a moral compass and be abalanced and dependable individual. After the enriching session, Mr. Khera also distributedamongst the audience several copies of his book 'YouCan Win' and 'You Can Sell', and offered freescholarships for his annual workshop to threedelegates, to be selected at random. Sir's sessiondefinitely left all present with much to think over withrespect to a person’s outlook towards life, success andfailure. His philosophy can perhaps best be summed upin 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 atthe right time, and furthermore, you must do the rightthing.'


LIFE OF A CIVIL SERVANT

ANIL SWARUP


Service of a lifetimeThe Shri Ram Economics Summit, held during 4-6th February 2020 witnessed anumber of engaging speaker sessions and panel discussions covering a variety oftopics ranging from the economy to finance, judicial reforms, social media and othersuch contemporary socio-economic issues. One such enthralling session was taken byMr. Anil Swarup, an Indian author and retired Indian Administrative Services officer.During his tenure, Mr. Swarup had served numerous positions, including CoalSecretary to the Government of India from 2014-2016 and the Education Secretary ofIndia from 2016 to 2018. Under his capacity as the latter, he tackled the CBSE exampaper leak that affected a large number of students. Addressing the audience, Mr. Swarup talked about the life of a civil servant andprovided 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

arises for an honest civil servant is sticking to one’s principleswhile also safeguarding one’s position in the organisation.Addressing this issue, Mr. Swarup shared his funda of neverexpecting anything from the government. He talked about hisexperience as the Secretary, Department of Food Processingand Horticulture, Government of UP, when he was asked by aMinister to suspend a dutiful officer. Instead of complyingwith the order, he called up the Chief Secretary and tried toget the order revoked. The action backfired, and he wastransferred to another department. This, Sir said, did notaffect him. He viewed the process of his work as life: iftransfer was like death, since it signified the end of work in aparticular department; then he would be reborn in his newposting. Coming onto the question of how to choose one’s path in life,Mr. Swarup mentioned asking oneself the question of whatgives him/her a kick. As of his story, Sir said he appeared forthe Union Public Services Examination because his fatherwanted him to be an IAS officer. However, having served 38years in the career, if given a chance, he’d do it all over again.He strongly emphasized on the feeling one gets after doinggood to others. Besides this, Mr. Swarup also talked about the importance ofcoming up with creative solutions. To back this, he narratedanother incident from his life when he was asked to deal withthe head of a large company. The head was corrupt, but nogovernment official had been able to take him down. Mr.Swarup talked about how he approached the guy with a cleanrecord as an official and also did a lot of backgroundresearch. One of Sir’s biggest achievements is the ideation of theRashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a government run healthinsurance scheme for the rural poor. Mr. Swarup, the thenDirector-General for Labour Welfare, had a crucial role toplay in the formulation of the scheme. The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPLhouseholds from financial liabilities arising out of healthshocks that involve hospitalization. The scheme was quitesuccessful and was later merged with Ayushmaan Bharat.Also known as the National Health Protection Scheme, theAyushman Bharat scheme was announced in the 2018-19budget and is the world's largest government- funded

healthcare programme with over 50 crore prospectivebeneficiaries. Impressed by the scheme and looking for inspiration, Mr.Swarup was also invited to the United States by Former USPresident Barack Obama’s advisors to make a presentation.He fondly recalled to the audience the pride he felt at beinginvited for the same. Mr. Swarup also mentioned when he was once asked as tohow he managed to be so passionate about his job. After all, itwas a job requiring a lot of effort as well as sacrifices and onewhich did not come with a very attractive salary. He repliedthat the good wishes of the people whom he had lent ahelping hand to came as small kicks that kept him going. Asan illustration, he shared a story when a homeless ladythanked him for coming up with the healthcare insurancescheme that allowed her to access medical facilities. Another important topic that Mr. Swarup discussed was therole of positivity in our lives. For him, there is no such thingas ‘objective reality’, there is always a subjective way oflooking at things. He recited an anecdote from his life, whenhe became the Coal Secretary during the crucial time of thecoal scam. He entered the office for the first time, only torealise the gloominess that the place had to offer. However,instead of getting affected by it, he explained how hepicturised the brighter side of it and how affirmativethoughts led him to repeal the negativity. Mr. Swarup also stressed on the importance of not worryingabout things one can’t change and instead focussing on doingwhat one can in the given circumstance. He believed in thephilosophy to never look for other people to pin blame on,but to critically view only oneself. He concluded by quotingthese beautiful words written by Ustaad Mirza Ghalib, 'UmarBhar Ghalib Yahi Bhool Karta Raha, Dhool Chehre Pe Thi AurAina Saaf Karta Raha', and the audience burst into applause. The talk given by Sir, and the questions asked covered arange of topics including possible solutions to lack of goodquality education in India, importance of making thingshappen on ground by dealing with grass root issues, findingone’s purpose in life, and many such life lessons. It was quitean enriching session, and the audience too was happy to askquestions from the raisahab, as Mr. Swarup now describeshimself.



THE PUBLIC CONVERSATION

TWITTERPANEL


Evolution of social media As part of the Shri Ram Economic Summit 2020, The Economics Society, SRCC washonoured to host ‘The Public Conversation’, in collaboration with Twitter. Moderated byMs. Mahima Kaul, the Director of Public Policy of India and South Asia, Twitter, thepanel comprised Ms. Aparajita Bharti, Mr. Anshul Tiwari, and Mr. Tamseel Hussain - theFounders of YLAC (Young Leaders for Active Citizenship), Youth Ki Awaaz, and PLUC(People Like Us Create) respectively. The discussion revolved around the role that socialmedia platforms have played in giving a voice to the youth. Commencing the discussion, the moderator gave a brief glimpse on the evolution ofsocial media platforms from a fun and creative place to a more instrumental one. Itsnature and uses have transformed over the past ten years. Social Media has twopowerful elements - one, it inspires, moves and influences people, and two, it mobilizesand organizes them. Ms. Kaul went on to illustrate the power of social media throughthe example of Twitter.

Twitter is a unique platform because it is the only platformdesigned to be public. It changes one’s approach when oneposts something, as the intention is that this news shouldtravel across networks, into places where perhaps evenmainstream media isn’t engaged. This is transformational asit leads to changes at societal level because people haveaccess to tools that connect them to a larger community, beit local, national or global level. Expressing her views, Ms. Aparajita Bharti recalled herjourney from college to founding YLAC. She stated that shewas exposed to activism since college. After graduation, sheworked in the legislative field for a long time before shecame up with the idea of YLAC. She realized that there mustbe many young people like her, who want to make animpact but don’t know how to; and, there is not enoughhappening to strengthen citizens, especially when it comesto young people. YLAC aims to increase the engagement ofyoung people in the policymaking process and build theircapacity to lead change. Such a platform could not beimagined ten years ago as YLAC leans heavily on socialmedia to be able to reach out to those people who want tobe active citizens. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter andInstagram amplify the voice of common people who havestrong opinions but never get an opportunity to speak up.The best part is that one person inspires others to speak upas well. She wisely remarked how social media has becomea favourite place to organize great movements. Everything


has to eventually transform offline for it to be effective butshe felt that one cannot shape the campaign and thenarrative without social media. Mr. Anshul Tiwari then narrated how his personal blog-‘Youth Ki Awaaz’, eventually became a public platform whereover 75,000 young Indians from every corner of the countrycame together to speak up, spread awareness and take actionon issues of today. India is a country where more than 60%of the population is under the age of 40, but the participationof this group is extremely tokenistic. He realized that, justlike him, there are many youngsters who are not able tospeak up on topics that they strongly feel about. They areconsidered too young to have opinions on political issues andstereotypically termed as naive and idealistic. Social mediahelped his agenda in this very respect in two specific ways.Firstly, it allowed him to experiment actively on the kind ofcontent that youngsters craved for. Secondly, it also helpedhim to run one of the most popular work-from-hometraining programmes, coaching young people to expressthemselves better and vocalize their concerns on onlineplatforms. Social media aided him in mobilizing young peoplewho were either very shy, or skeptical about how theiropinions would be perceived. On social media, as long as onehas something important and interesting to talk about,his/her opinions will not be dismissed. Mr. Tiwari also shared the story of how social media allowedYLC to make considerable impact amongst the population -In the 2011 Libyan Crisis, a young fellow approached everymainstream media channel to get his voice heard as theMinistry of External Affairs were not rescuing the Indianswho were stuck in Libya. As a common man, it wasn’t easy to reach out to suchchannels. Out of frustration, the man wrote an open letter tothe MEA to rescue his father and other Indians. It took just 2hours, 6000 tweets, and 30000 Facebook shares, and everymainstream media channel got in touch with the young manthrough YLC forcing the MEA to bring the Indians backhome. Up next, Mr. Tamseel Hussain talked about how PLUC cameinto effect. Being India’s largest tech-based premiumstorytelling platform, it is powered by a network of creatorsfrom all corners of the country. Mr. Hussain believes that realstories, if told powerfully, can change lives and behaviour.

Back in those days, he said, Social Media provided him aplatform to not only reach out to such writers, but alsoreaders of those real stories. He stressed on how one neednot be a publication to tell his/her story. Social mediaplatforms make two-way communication possible and allowwriters to get instant, unfiltered reviews. It simplifies andfacilitates storytelling, breaking language and literacybarriers. He stated, “We tell stories by our mobile phones and forpeople who use mobile phones. Through mobile, tech,journalism and storytelling, we solve real world problems.” Healso spoke about how he co-founded “Let Me Breath”, aplatform that provides space to document and tell stories ofliving and surviving air pollution, climate change and the endof fossil fuels in India. LMB combines the ethics of mobilestorytelling, public engagement advocacy and a multi-channel approach on digital and social media platforms. Mr.Hussain narrated how LMB started out as a hashtag used byDelhiites, but over time quickly developed into a pan Indiamovement.

Towards the end, the panelists discussed how technologyshapes the start of great movements and how good andefficient decision-making happens with different point-of-views. They also touched on the importance of building aplatform for teens to vocalize their opinions and teach themtechniques to deal with abuse and online trolling. Overall, thesession was quite insightful and enlightening. The audiencealso enjoyed listening to the experiences and stories. The major takeaway from the discussion could be bestsummed up in Ms. Kaul’s closing statement: “Any socialmedia is what you make of it. It’s who you choose to follow,who you choose to not follow and your quality ofengagement. The time that you spend on any platform isbasically your choice. So, make sure that you do what bringsyou happiness but at the same time, it is positive for otherpeople.”



YOUTUBE : THE NEW SILVER SCREEN

THEVIRAL FEVER


Entertainment and economicsUnder the Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020, The Economics Society, Shri Ram Collegeof Commerce hosted a group of talented artists who’ve made their mark in the digitalcontent space. As part of a special session between the regular line-up, a paneldiscussion was held by individuals with massive following for their YouTube works. Wellknown for starring in videos of The Timeliners, under the umbrella brand of TVF – TheViral Fever, the guests were Ms Kritika Avasthi, Ms Himali Shah and Mr Apoorv SinghKarki. While Ms Kritika is one of the lead actresses on the show ‘Engineering Girls’, MsHimali and Mr Apoorv are engaged as Directors for the series. In the present day, platforms like YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video haveemerged as the unwinding junction for India’s largely young citizenry. Content which isnot only fun, but also relatable, is usually what viewers like. With TVF emerging as oneof the most popular channels on YouTube, the panel offered great insight on the otherside of the screen and the effort that goes into curating every second of these binge-worthy videos.

In a session moderated by junior executives of TheEconomics Society, there was a free-rolling discussion onthe theme of “YouTube: The New Silver Screen”. Theconversation witnessed the panellists opening up on theins and outs of the field. Before the questions, the audience caught a glimpse ofthe upcoming season of ‘Engineering Girls’, a show thatthe trio has been collectively working on. After playingthe show’s teaser, the conversation started around thetheme. There was broad agreement on how YouTube isnow an accessible launchpad for young artists looking tomake it big. Far away from the time that a legendary filmstar like Shah Rukh Khan also hosted Kaun BanegaCrorepati, today’s ‘normal’ is young stars like SushantSingh Rajput tying up with creators like TVF andFilterCopy to promote their movies via specially curatedvideos. The moderators also asked about how Ms Kritika got intothe mind and soul of the engineering girl that she wasplaying on screen. Elaborating on the immense amount ofeffort that goes into getting equipped at the role, shetalked about how from meeting actual college students tospending days trying to live the life of an actual student,requires a certain sense of dedication towards the art.Segueing into the TVF way of work, the panel spoke abouthow the production of a video is a 24/7 job. As a new ideacan come up any moment of the day, it’s important toretain a level of flexibility to incorporate it. Revealing some ‘behind the scene’ stories, Mr Apoorvtalked about the shooting journey of Engineering Girls.From who reaches the set late to who’s the sleepiest,many behind-the-scenes details were shared. This tookthe session on the tangent of how the show came to beborn. During a brainstorming session, the team realisedthat while engineering and hostel shows were borderlinecliché, there has never been focus on the journey of girlsthrough their college days. Creativity is the defining aspect of any artistic venture. Inthis regard, the flexibility that any director has withregards to nurturing the product with his thoughtbecomes a key measure of outcome. The power of suchplatforms is the relief offered to creators due to the non-regulation of the content. Contrary to films which have topass through the scissors of the Central Board for FilmCertification, anyone can make a video for YouTube andget it out to the world.


However, in the filmmaking industry, producer-inducedpressures tend to concentrate on how ‘sellable’ the movie isand the prospects of minting money. Upon inquiring whethersimilar forces function in the digital space as well, the teamadmitted to the positive. While this pressure is lower thanthat faced in big-box movies, the general concern of financialfeasibility remains. This constraint makes relatability a keysuccess factor as that brings in more viewers and ultimately,better advertisement revenue. Another question was about how artists retain the look offreshness even after playing different roles in multiple films.On this, the mantra that the guests focussed on was‘connect’. It is of primary significance for any artist tomaintain a deep sense of connection to the ultimate artworkbeing worked upon. If one gives themselves in to the piecefully, the rest just flows naturally from within. The panel also acknowledged various realities of the industryand the associated struggles. Shadowed by the glitz andglamour associated with the big-shots, the endless work putin by lakhs of unsuccessful aspirants goes unnoticed. Thisirony is clearly visible in the ‘City of Dreams’ - Mumbai, whichis the hub for those looking to fit into show-biz. Anotherissue here is the social perception of the work involved.Often, people do not even treat the profession as worthy andas a justified career choice. This inherent pressure to opt fora ‘safe’ choice, be it from parents or peers, makes the choiceof pursuing acting an even steeper slope. The session ended with lots of interesting questions, wittyreplies and many candid moments were shared. However,the main question that everyone had, which went expectedlyunanswered was – When will Pitchers season 2 come out?


DANCE AND INDIAN CULTURE

SONAL MANSINGH


As part of the Shri Ram Economics Summit 2020, The Economics Society, SRCC wasproud to host yet another interesting session with Dr. Sonal Mansingh. One of the mostrenowned Bharatanatyam dancers in the world and a recently elected Member ofParliament, she brought with her learnings and stories woven by years and years ofexperience. Dr. Mansingh spoke about various elements of dance as an art form and what inspiredher to become a dancer. She enlightened the audience by talking about destiny andkarma and explained why they had such a big role to play in her life. She narrated thestory of how her mother saw Pandit Ravi Shankar perform before she was born and howit became her dream to see her daughter be a dancer too. She said, instances like thoseand her karma intertwined to present her with her future.

The power of passion


not want to complicate things and take small and simplesteps towards success. Dr. Mansingh concluded the session by sharing her heart-warming experience in Argentina. She narrated how thearchbishop saw her performance and went down on hisknees. With teary eyes he said that he saw Jesus Christthrough her performance. It was a very emotional momentfor her and the archbishop. The archbishop asked her if shewas Christian and she replied that she was a Hindu.However, Ma’am believes that religions don’t divide peoplebecause effectively, Jesus and Mary and Krishna and Meeraare the same. She told the audience that this heartfeltexperience was a day that she would never forget. Overall, the session was quite informative, emotional andengaging at the same time. The audience really enjoyed thesession and were grateful to Ma’am for sharing herexperiences with us.

Having remarked about the relevance and significance ofdance in the current scenario, Dr. Mansingh spoke aboutthe abundance of Indian culture and elaborated on theidea of understanding India’s diversity and culture tounderstand India as a country. On the idea of acceptance and intolerance, she stronglyadvocated for respect and tolerance of views. She sharedher journey as a woman and as someone who chose anunconventional career. She said that passion is a guidinglight and how nothing could be a bigger wealth than one’sart. She elaborated about the hardships she had to face,how society embraced her with open arms and how shethen opened her own dance institute in Hauz Khas. Ma’am highlighted her aspirations as a member ofParliament and what she thinks the Indian system needs towork on. She spoke about various problems that she wantsto address with the highest emphasis on populationcontrol. She also focused on implementing change in theIndian education system to make it more relevant anddiverse. Dr. Mansingh believes that there should be morefocus on the culture, history and heritage of India. It wouldadd more diversity to the syllabi and help studentsconnect with their roots better. She said that she would


CAMPUS FACE OFF

RAJDEEPSARDESAI


Medley of viewpointsThe 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 CampusFace Off, students of Shri Ram College of Commerce grilled political netas on a varietyof issues ranging from the Indian Economy, Delhi Polls, CAA, NRC, and the like.Moderated by the newsman Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai, the Face-off featured representativesfrom across the political spectrum, including Mr. Amit Malviya (BJP), Ms. SupriyaShrinate (Congress) and Mr. Jasmine Shah (AAP). The interrogative session started with the question on how the political system aims toensure authenticity of the data published by the government. Mr. Malviya stated thatthe current government, per se, is not responsible and that the data regarding budget isconstant in the way it is arrived at, irrespective of the government that is in power, asstatistical institutions that generate this data are common and consistent across theworld. Mr. Rajdeep further hinted that the mistrust in the government's track record ofdealing with data may have led to such insecurity.

Mr. Malviya didn’t concur and added that the agenciesthat generate this data don’t change because thegovernment in power has changed. In India, there isn’tany reliable data which could give a measure ofemployment and so the opposition often whips thegovernment for poor performance using this argument.He further added that it is the duty of every governmentto invest in the same and form a proper index. But Mr.Malviya did acknowledge the fact that the data is indeedunreliable. Another question addressed to the representativesfeatured free bus rides and the specific number of unitsto be given off as free electricity to the people, andwhether these freebies might come off as tokenistic giventhe election season approaching. The second part of thequestions asked if it was right on their part to capitalizeon the hatred of a large political issue at a national leveland bring it down to state elections. Mr. Shah addressedthe first question by stating the fact that over the last 5years Delhi’s budget has doubled from 30 to 60 thousandcrores and that Delhi has a government that spends 26%of its budget on education and 11% on healthcare. He saidthat the free rides are meant for providing more access tojob opportunities and education. Refuting on the statprovided by Mr. Shah, Mr. Malviya argued that the financecommission recommendation was responsible for Delhi’sincreased budget, and not the AAP. Another question addressed to the panel read,- While theexpenditure on healthcare has definitely increased, why isit that there hasn’t been a significant increase inaccessibility that healthcare has? Mr. Shah respondedthat while there has been a problem regardingaccessibility in the past, the expenditure on healthcarehas definitely increased and that over the last five yearsthe AAP has built over 450 mohalla clinics and alsoincreased the capacity of hospitals as compared to theBJP. Ms. Supriya further argued that the budget of 2020provided an increase of only 6% to education, healthcare,and jobs whereas skill development witnessed a budget-cut of nearly 7%. Hence, she appealed that thegovernment should invest more in these sectors. The debate shifted course when a student from theaudience asked the reason behind little heed being paid tothe education infrastructure of this country, which inessence, is the need of the youth. Mr. Malviya respondedthat the budget had been increased altogether. He statedthat there is a certain capacity as far as healthcare isconcerned, and the way one increases it is by buildingnew medical colleges and by improving districtinfrastructure.


He further added that the BJP has been working onestablishing a medical college with 500 beds in every district,as instructed by the honorable Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi, and that they would increase the budget for both thesectors as well. The panel discussion lasted around 40 minutes and covered arange of key topics including education, budget, andhealthcare. The discussion could have continued on for awhile but due to time constraints, the former couldn’t takeplace. Mr. Rajdeep expressed that he looks forward to comingback to Shri Ram College of commerce if the opportunitypresents itself. Overall, the Face-off was quite informativeand enlightening and involved the audience at the same time.


DEVELOPMENTAL ECONOMICS

JEAN DRÈZE


As the concluding session for Shri Ram Economics Summit, 2020, The EconomicsSociety, SRCC hosted notable developmental economist, Dr. Jean Drèze. Widely knownfor his Jholawala Economics, he epitomises the primary research driven methodologythat has attached major value in socio-economics. In line with the humility and grassroot connection that Dr. Drèze emanates, the sessionwas held with the students sitting under the shade of the college's famed Co-Op Tree, ina 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 differencebetween growth and development. When asked about a comparative between the kind of field work he is known for andRandomised Controlled Trials in terms of potential for meaningful observations,

Healthcare and development

Dr. Drèze explained why these two aren’t contradictoryideas. RCT is a scientifically developed technique, whichcomes with its own peculiar pros and cons, and iscontingent on the efficiency and accuracy with which it isapplied in a particular situation. Talking about evidence as a concept in itself, Dr. Drèzepointed out that an RCT is not really any rigorous evidenceas the rigour depends on the accuracy with which thetechnique is applied. However, evidence is a mere fact andneeds to be supplemented by ‘understanding’ which is givenby observations and experience. Thus, while numbers offerstatistical evidence like correlation, field work is critical toadd causality to it. The only reason why experience,although a valuable type of evidence, isn’t given due respectis because of the difficulty in communicating it to a largeraudience. Dr. Drèze also explained the paradox of evidence,wherein the insistence on getting evidence of high rigourultimately leads to lesser total evidence. Having lived for a significant time in the tribal and ruralareas, Dr. Drèze shed some light on the Maoist movementin Jharkhand. Although it hasn’t collapsed completely, hecategorized it to be on a downfall. There is a certaincorruption of ideals over time. The need for funds tocontinue struggle, leads to bad blood and the inescapablereality of people joining a movement for their personalbenefits were the reasons for the same. The movement hasbeen doing better in Bastar, where Dr. Drèze felt an armedstruggle could actually bring out tangible benefits in miningand land issues. Given the ever-increasing vibrancy of the democracy welive in, feasible tools for dissent and debate on social trendsare crucial. Dr. Drèze felt these boiled down to the need toorganise better. Tools like social media and word of mouthhave immense power, but are lacking in effective usage.Sharing his experiences from Jharkhand, there were anti-CAA demonstrations daily which were non-violent andmassive in scale. However, they did not catch the eye ofnational media until the one-off rioting that happenedwhen a pro-CAA rally passing through a particularneighbourhood was attacked. He described the ensuingcurfews and ban on protests throughout Jharkhand as onesgiving eerie Kashmir vibes, Infact, he was not even allowedto enter the city for his own enquiries. On the broader theme of development, Dr. Drèze attached


special importance to health as he felt it is the basic tenet ofquality of life. In his opinion, the Mohalla Clinics model inDelhi has surely fulfilled the need for putting health higheron the political agenda, however just in a city. It is imperativeto accord more focus and money to health. A country likeIndia spending a miserly 1% of GDP on healthcare, with theHealth Secretary implying it was enough, is truly worrisome.Universal healthcare, which should be a target, works on theprinciple of eliminating money as a basis for care. Dr. Drèzepointed out its success in various countries and explainedhow the United Kingdom has a single National Health Servicewhich is freely available to all. The variety of ideas discussed reflected the holistic nature of‘development’ and why its broad nature is important toacknowledge. Dr. Drèze’s examples and analyses clearlyreflected a certain sense of grounding of ideas brought by hisexperience in the field. He left the audience pondering over anew-found respect and admiration for the power ofgroundwork. The engaging session was a treasuredopportunity for students of Development Economics tointeract with one of the authors of their readings. TheEconomics Society, SRCC was honoured to host anacademician and economist of the repute that Dr. Jean Drèzetruly warrants.

CONTRIBUTORS

LATIKA DUTTA

PRATHAM KALRA

SAKSHAM

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T H E E C O N O M I C SS O C I E T Y , S R C C

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CONTRIBUTORS

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