Lord Meghnad Desai's guest lecture at SIMSREE Campus!!!

We had a phenomenal guest lecturer at our campus today. A celebrity economist, British Labour peer and Padma Bhushan awardee, an author and a Dilip Kumar admirer, all rolled into one. Yes, it was none other than Lord Meghnad Desai.

The event, coordinated by the Alumni Committee, was flagged off by the Director of the Institute, Dr. Sandhya Dhabe, who welcomed the guests on campus. Chairperson of Sydenham Institute of Management Alumni Association (SIMAA) Mr. Ashish Bhasin gave the introductory speech, outlining the illustrious life of Lord Desai. Following this, former Director SIMSREE and Hon’ble Registrar of Mumbai University Dr. M.A. Khan delivered a brief welcome address. Among the esteemed attendees at the event was Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, alumnus of the batch of 2002 and Divisional Manager at Dhanlaxmi Bank, who was instrumental in arranging the guest lecture. Accompanying him was Mr. Kailash Rathod, General Manager at Ogilvy and alumnus of the batch of 2003.
                                                                          

The guest lecture by Lord Desai was a highly interactive one, with the audience throwing a plethora of questions at him from various areas concerning India, its economy and politics. Needless to say, he fielded each of the questions with aplomb. Among the wide array of topics discussed at the lecture were the dilemma faced by our economy of choosing between fuelling growth and controlling inflation, the assumptions of Efficient Market Hypothesis, the separatist movement in Kashmir, whether macroeconomic indicators really indicate growth, Indian politics, the Amartya Sen versus Jagdish Bhagwati debate, the BRICS being a misnomer etc. His views on Indian politics thriving on poverty as a means to sustain itself were especially interesting. Lord Desai shared with students his insights and opinions accumulated over a life rich in academic as well as political accomplishments.

Mr. Sachin Tendulkar, Divisional Manager, Dhanlaxmi Bank, delivered the vote of thanks. The event was concluded by Mr. Kailash Rathod who offered Lord Desai a token of appreciation on behalf of Sydenham Institute of Management.

We are sincerely thankful to Lord Desai for kindly consenting to visit the campus for the guest lecture, and to Mr. Sachin Tendulkar for his endeavors in making the guest lecture possible.