Seminar on Union Budget

Article 112 of the Constitution of India refers to it as the Annual Financial Statement of the Republic of India – the “Budget” to all and sundry.

Naturally, the hype and the hoopla that surround the build up to its presentation in the Parliament; the live telecasts, the commentaries of experts dissecting it, the lengthy editorials that follow and the different ways it casts its spell on the stock market and the common man’s purse; are all matters that are keenly followed.

How much of it is understood, however, is a matter of pure conjecture.

To cut through this din of useless noise and present the gist in all its purity, the Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) organised a Seminar, where not only were the relevant portions of the Budget dissected, but were also presented in the right context, made palatable so that the attending students could not only eat, but also digest the financial fare that was spread.

Ashwin Bajaj, who sports an array of professional qualifications was the first on the podium.

He explained the impact of the Budget on the Capital Markets.

As the Capital Market is the barometer of the economy, the way it is swayed by the Budget decides the direction in which the economy itself will move, which makes the exercise of extreme importance.

On another level, he explained the direct impact on the scrip prices, explaining their movements before, during and after the presentation.

Vivek Bajaj, renowned Tax professional explained the Budget purely from the point of view of the tax payers, explaining how the various provisions will impact the different classes of tax payers and the impact such taxation will have on the revenue side of the Government.

Going forward, he also talked about the specific provisions relating to that have been mooted in the Budget and discussed different issues relating to them.

Tapas Shah, took the discussion on to a different plain altogether, providing a broad economic overview with emphasis on the state of the economy.

Bypassing the specific proposals in the Budget, he focussed on the compelling socio-economic reasons that have led to their incorporation, provid bhu7ing the much-needed macro-economic justifications which provided the students with a whole new dimension to the entire exercise.

Finally, Mohit Agarwal talked about the Government’s stand on Crypto Currencies, their runaway growth and the impact on the Capital Markets.

He also dwelled at length about the various ways that the Budget affects the investor sentiments in the market, leading to its gaining or shedding points as is reflected in the movement of the different indices.

Prof Dilip Shah, the Dean of Student Affairs of the BESC, felicitated the guest speakers and thanked them for sharing their keen insight in a matter that not only affects every Indian’s life, but is also something that today’s students should muster before they go out to contribute their bits to the economy.

He also summarised the proceedings of the entire session, giving the gist of the various points that had been made by the speakers in a nutshell, in a language that was refreshingly free of jargon and well within the comprehension of the average student keeping his first tryst as it were, with the Central Budget.

Prof Minakshi Chaturvedi did the honours by handing over the token of appreciation on behalf of the college.

The felicitation was followed by a heady session of questions and answers when students from the audience threw a number of questions about the topic of discussion at specific speakers who took them and addressed them to the satisfaction of the audience.

Tis open session was extremely lively with some very pertinent questions being raised from the audience with equally erudite and deft answers being provided by the guest speakers.