Grand Finale of Federal Bank's 'Speak For India' debate held the Presidency University

The Derozio Hall at Presidency University Kolkata was filled with zeal and enthusiasm as the Grand Finale of the 'Speak For India' debate contest by Federal Bank, in association with Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph was held on Saturday, March 9, in the presence of eminent judges and dignitaries.

The debating grandeur was graced by Debasish Sen, IAS, Former Secretary of the Urban Development Department as the Chief Guest and Jaydip Mukhopadhyay, IAS, Senior Special Secretary, Higher Education Department of Government of West Bengal and Dr Kunal Sarkar, renowned cardiac surgeon. Actors Ritabhari Chakraborty and Gaurav Chakraborty were also present on the occasion.

Several top officials from the Federal Bank including Sabu R S, Vice President and Zonal Head (Kolkata Zone) and Chiranjib Mukherjee, Deputy Vice President of Federal Bank were also present on the occasion.

The contest kicked off with eight finalists from Thursday's semi-finals whose powerful voices and opinions echoed through the walls of the auditorium as they took centre stage in the august presence of the distinguished guests and judges.

The finalists included Nirupam Chakraborty from Midnapore College, Rohit Das from Scottish Church College, Anaita Rakshit from Indian Institute of Legal Studies , Athena Mukherjee from Government Centre of Legal Education, Meghana Choudhury from MCKV Institute of Engineering, Esha Mandal from National Institute of Technology, DGP, Rohit Dutta from Kalna College and Namrata Choudhury from The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Kolkata.

The contestants debated on several topics including 'Formal Education Impedes Natural Creativity', 'The youth needs mentors rather than teachers' and whether 'Military training should be made compulsory in India'. Two contestants, Nirupam Chakraborty and Anaita Rakshit qualified for the final round where Anaita emerged as the winner of the West Bengal chapter of the 'Speak for India' debate contest.

The jury included Atri Bhattacharya, IAS, Dr Ashok Vishwanathan, Award-winning Filmmaker and Swati Gautam, Founder of Necessity India.

"It was a fantastic experience listening from the young generation. They spoke brilliantly and should be given more opportunities to voice their opinions," said Debasish Sen, IAS.

Anaita was elated with her win. A law student from Coochbehar, Anaita is a regular in the world of Theatre and wishes to practice law in the future.

"It is a dream come true for me. I am thankful to my parents, teachers and friends for guiding me throughout the journey. I am a student of law and would like to take up law as a career apart from theatre, which is like oxygen for me," she said.

Nirupam was also delighted on securing the position of runner-up.

"I never thought I would reach this stage. As a student of Physics, I would like to pursue higher studies in the subject," he said.

The winner and the runners-up were awarded a cash prize of Rs 2.5 Lakh and Rs 1.5 Lakh respectively. The other finalists received a cash prize of Rs Thirty-Five Thousand each.