Budget Marathon Coverage at IES MCRC
The interactive session saw a jam packed class manouvere itself through Budget jargon and learn to talk of Primary Deficit and Non-Plan expenditure with the panache of a seasoned professional. The discussions led to a dissection of esoteric relationships between the Current Account Deficit and the Fiscal Deficit and need or fiscal consolidation to put the economy back on high growth trajectory. The session ended with the collective pledge that the participants would familiarize themselves with industry reports and the Economic Survey which was to be tabled in the parliament later in the day. Despite the impossible schedules of tight deadlines, assignments, live projects and the mandatory lectures, every single student reported sharp at 8 am the next day to attend the penultimate session Budget Live. Dr Minu Mehta and Prof Siddharth Dabholkar, who believe in making life difficult for students even on regular days, began the day with a barrage of questions on the highlights of the Economic Survey and industry expectations from the finance minister. Sectoral trends were analysed and the likely impact of hypothetical announcements regarding GST and DTC were discussed. The live coverage of Budget Analysis on business channels like CNBC, ET Now and Bloomberg led to the breaking of the physical barriers of the class and the campus. The audience was rapt in attention as Swaminathan Aiyar, Deepak Parekh, Vallabh Bhansali, Punita Sinha and Shankar Sharma analysed the state of the economy and the compulsions of a pre-election budget. As the budget hour came closer, we threw up our list of predictions; a small increase in the tax on the super rich, cosmetic tinkering of tax slabs for the aam aadmi, provision for food security, boost to infrastructure and increase in defense spending. Sugar de-control found favor with the neo-converts to fiscal discipline while the odd leftist hoped for a roll back of LPG cap. The crowd broke into a spontaneous countdown of 10, 9, 8, 7…. and a hushed silence ensued as the Hon. Finance Minister began his budget speech.
The slow unraveling of the drama led to contemptuous shouts of “populism” as the minister announced allocations for certain social sections and areas. It was a teacher’s dream come true to see the students across programs and specializations critically evaluate the unfolding business environment, understand interlinkages and make sense of economic logic and political practice. The dynamic impact on stocks in real time was something that fascinated everyone. The infra stocks went up as soon as the finance minister announced measures to improve the country’s infrastructure, as did the stocks of NIIT, Educomp and Navneet Publications just as hike in allocation for education was announced. Yes, the super rich will pay more and so will the smokers. Some students have postponed the purchase of their Harley Davidson bikes and all have realized that even idli dates in AC restaurants would cost more! It was an exhaustive, exhausting but immensely satisfying experience. For once, sustaining interest became effortless. For once, theory and application had no conflict. For once, no one minded a six hour marathon class!