Vista 2010-11 Day Two was explosive, showing great participation and intensity, and surpassed everyone’s expectations in terms of participation and range of events. The flagship event of the day, Bzzwings saw truly innovative, socially beneficial ideas take the laurels. First prize winners, Aqua Nautica, had the idea of starting transportation services on India’s many rivers. Second prize winners, RTI Nation had already started a web portal that makes it easy to file RTI applications.
New events like Retailer, an event about one of the fastest growing segments of the economy, saw great enthusiasm with over 130 participants. Private equity quiz Finesse also saw extensive participation and competition. The day concluded with a talk by Arun Shourie, the former minister for disinvestment and IT, government of India. Addressing a packed house at Vista, Shourie described how the Indian savings rate had gone up in the recent years heralding a change in the structure of the economy. He spoke at length about what IIM-B students could do, and needed to do, in order to help India face its challenges. He emphasized that entrepreneurs and professionals must resist the temptation of being self-serving and personally take up any one important, social issue. That would bring the kind of civil society pressure that would change government policy, indeed, change the nature of the government and its leaders. He highlighted that India needs a culture of excellence, and the students of IIM-B must act as the exemplars of such a change.
The evening saw IIM-B play host to corporate and students in Post-Meridian, a corporate networking event. The cool evening and verdant campus hosted a perfect opportunity for students and corporate professionals to interact in a more personal setting.
