Economics Conclave
The Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics organized its Economics Conclave on 1st March 2016 on the theme ‘Financial Inclusion in India’ at B.J. Hall, Vile Parle (West). The Keynote address was delivered by Mr. S. S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
Mr. Mundra in his address emphasized that financial inclusion includes financial literacy and that financial inclusion is the centrepiece of poverty alleviation programs in any country. While the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have adopted a planned and integrated approach to target financial inclusion, notably through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mr. Mundra mentioned that gaps persist - the number of small farm and non-farm sector bank accounts have increased, but the volume of transactions still remains low. One of the challenges of financial inclusion, Mr. Mundra explained, is believing in it as an opportunity. While newly formed payments banks will improve the delivery of business correspondents, there is a global debate on whether financial inclusion should focus on credit or deposits. Mr. Mundra said that he believed the focus should be dual. Mr. Mundra summed up his views with the line - "I feel despondent that while there is sound regarding financial inclusion, there is no action. RBI, banks, NGOs and the civil society need to work collectively for financial inclusion. This can be achieved by thinking inside the box.”
This was followed by a Panel discussion. The panellists Mr. Ramraj Pai, President, CRISIL Foundation. The panellists were Mr. Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director, Financial Sector Ratings, CRISIL Ltd., Prof. Pushpa Trivedi, Professor and Institute Chair Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT-Bombay, Mr. Rajesh Prasad, VP & Head, RuPay Acceptance & e-Commerce, National Payment Corporation of India, Mrs. Trishna Guha, Executive Director, Dena Bank were of the opinion that Financial Inclusion was not a social service, but was rather a smart move at the grassroot level in the area of public policy. The discussion also centred around the digitization of payments to increase efficiency and reduce costs, and the ‘bi-directional causality’ of financial inclusion & growth - that financial inclusion and growth tend to create a virtuous cycle. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Ramraj Pai.
Shastrarth – 2015
Shastrarth, the annual inter collegiate debate competition of NMIMS's Sarla Anil Modi school of Economics was held on 12th September 2015 in Juhu Jagruti Hall and Mithibai Seminar Hall, NMIMS campus. 73 teams participated from all over India. 12 teams qualified for the semi finals and out of which two qualified for the finals.
We had an esteemed panel of judges were Mrs. Suma Chacko, Mrs. Nidhi Raina, Mrs. Bhavyataa Daave and Mr. Vikash Vaibhav, renowned personalities in the spheres of education, public speaking, marketing and economics.
The semi-finals was an impromptu round discussing issues such as capital punishment, the recent bans in India and artistic freedom. The judges for this round were Mrs. Abha Matthan, an eminent debate trainer and Mr. Soumyadipta Banerjee, a renowned journalist and media enthusiast.
The judges for the final round were Mrs. Abha Matthan, Mr. Soumyadipta Banerjee and Mr. Prashant Desai, CEO of Financial Technologies (India) Limited.
The teams that went through to the finals were from Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Management and Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering.
The team from Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Management emerged victorious, with Tanvi Kanchan bagging the award for Best Speaker.
Orientation 2015 – 16
Orientation Schedule - Click Here to Download - PDF
Inaugural Session - July 16, 2015
The programme consisted of an inaugural session at Santokba Hall. Students were addressed by the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Rajan Saxena and Mr. Shalin Divatia, Mentor Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics. The Registrar Dr. Meena Chintamaneni spoke to them about the University rules and regulations. The Associate Dean, Prof. Amita Vaidya, gave the students as well as the parents an insight into the working of the School of Economics. The Second Year B. Sc. Economics students also shared their experiences at the School with the F.Y. B. Sc. Economics students. It was followed by an interactive session of the parents and the students with the faculty.
Second Session July 16, 2015
The Session consisted of an Examinations orientation. Ms. Shilpa Patil (Assistant Registrar) briefed the students about the examination system followed by the Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics and also the grading system followed by NMIMS. The second Session was conducted by Ms. Meeta Shah, Psychologist and Counselor. The third session consisted of the Library orientation, conducted by Mr. Shivanand S. (Librarian).
Third Session July 16, 2015
The Orientation was continued with an ice-breaker session by the students of S.Y. and T.Y. B.Sc. Economics.
Fourth Session July 30, 2015
Blackboard Training Session
Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics uses the LMS system of Blackboard extensively. It serves as a very effective medium of collaborative interaction of faculty and students. The Blackboard training session was conducted by Mr. Sujeet Chaudhary.
Library database orientation
NMIMS’s Sarla Anil Modi School of Economics has a wealth of electronic databases to ensure effective utilization of this rich academic resource. The students were given an orientation for the same by Ms. Madhavi Tipnis.
Workshop
Workshop on ‘Finance GYM’ as a part of the Financial Literacy Programme was conducted by Prof. Binal Gandhi from December 2015 to March 2016 for the SY and TY B.Sc. students.
The workshop was conducted for the T.Y. B.Sc. Economics on the topic ‘Design Thinking’ by Mr. Kunal Gupta, Co-Founders of Tinkerlabs on December 15, 2015.
Workshop for the course ‘Creative Writing’ was conducted by Prof. Shefali Shah – Director Somayya Life Long Learnings, and Ex. HOD-English Literature, St. Xavier’s College for F.Y. B.Sc. Economics on January 29, 2016.
‘Training Logistics’, a workshop on Communication and Motivation was conducted by Prof. Ocean Gonsalves, Adjunct Faculty, NMIMS.
Scroll of Thoughts
The college newsletter ‘Scroll of Thoughts’ came out with its first issue on July 16, 2015 at the Orientation.
