Budget pe charcha

“A budget tells your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.”

John C. Maxwell.

 

As the clock struck 3:00 P.M. on March 3rd, 2025, the Economics Collective, Eco For Be-Ites of The Bhawanipur Education Society College, proceeded with the seminar “Budget Pe Charcha” in the Society Hall of the College, enlightening fellow learners about the Financial Budget 2025. The session was interactive and unpacked the key highlights, policy changes, and fiscal strategies announced in the budget. It broke down the budget’s major components, including tax reforms, expenditure allocations, and fiscal projections.

The seminar was divided into two rounds. The first round consisted of questions having multiple choice answers, where ten questions were displayed on the screen, and the audience had a minute to write down the correct answer for every question in the sheets provided to them. After the first round, the judge engaged the audience in a lively discussion and shared his perspectives on the budget’s long-term effects. He shared the MSME factor of the budget and how this year’s budget will affect middle-class citizens. Lastly, he asked the audience to rate the 2025 budget out of ten. Following this, Prof. Dilip Shah, Rector and Dean of Student Affairs of The BESC, took to the stage to explain how a bit of inflation leads to the economy’s growth and using examples from daily life, he explained how it can encourage spending, boost economic activity and allow for more flexibility in monetary policy. He also remarked that the economy of the United Kingdom follows the same strategy.

The second and final round of the seminar began when the top four participants, namely Varun Mahato, Indrashis Chatterjee, Swadhin Paul and Sourashis Mullick, were called in for a group discussion. All four participants were given four different topics, and they were allowed two minutes to prepare their pointers. The first topic was “What is your key takeaway from Budget 2025?” followed by the second topic “What impact will the received tax slab and increased rebate have on the economy?”. The third participant had to speak on the topic “Does this budget put politics over economics? Has BJP tried to create an election narrative for Delhi and Bihar elections with this budget to take to the people?” while the last topic for the day was “Which sectors according to you are the heroes of this year’s budget and why?”.

At the end of two minutes, the participants put forward their stances and faced questions from the judge and the audience. The best three of them were awarded appreciation certificates, whereas all the other participants were awarded certificates of participation. Swadhin Paul bagged the first position, followed by Sourashis Mullick in the second place, and Indrashis Chatterjee won the third prize. The event ended at 5:00 P.M. with the judge being felicitated and in his words, this event was “More than a competition, it was an exchange of knowledge.”

REPORTER – Moubani Maity.