Semi Finale of Federal Bank's 'Speak For India' Debate contest held at Asutosh College

A plethora of powerful thoughts echoed through the walls of Ashutosh Memorial Hall at Ashutosh College, Kolkata as the Semi Finale of the West Bengal Edition of 'Speak for India' debating contest was organised on Thursday, March 7 by the Federal Bank, in association with Anandabazar Patrika and The Telegraph.

The audience was left in awe as the contestants took the centre stage delivering their powerful opinions for and against the motion over several topics ranging from democracy to the digital age and social media.

The contest was judged by eminent personalities from the debating arena including Tanya Bharadwaj, Bratati Bhattacharya, Supriya Newar, Sovik Mukherjee, Reeswav Chatterjee, among others.

The powerful voices and criticial thinking of the participants gave the judges a tough time in deciding the top eight finalists from a total of 57 participants.

In the first round, six topics were divided among the 57 participants and they had to channelise their thoughts for or against the motion. In the second round, 22 participants were selected and finally eight finalists were chosen.

"The Federal Bank always advocates for the voice of the youth. They are the future of the nation. The bank has always tried to give something back to the society. We must nurture their thought process to make them better citizens of tomorrow. This debating competiton enhances the critical thinking among today's youth and boost up their confidence," said Tanusree Basu, Assistant Vice President of Federal Bank.

The judges were mesmerised with the criticial thinking and the performance of the participants.

"The contestants were excellent and their views were engrossing. They are aware of difference between the good and bad," said Dr Bratati Bhattacharya, one of the Jury members.

"The arguments put forward by the participants were well-reasoned. I enjoyed listening to their perspectives. The most important part was that none of them brought a chit to the dais while delivering their arguments," said Tanya Bharadwaj, another member of the Jury.