MRPL-MSNM Inter-Professional Collegiate Debate Competition

MSNM Besant Institute of Post Graduate Studies in association with MRPL organized the MRPL-MSNM Inter-Professional Collegiate Debate Competition for students of professional colleges of Mangalore and Manipal on Wednesday, October 30, 2019. MSNM Campus at Bondel was the venue for the event. The debate is a part of MRPL’s Vigilance Awareness Programme for students. The theme for this year is “Integrity - A Way of Life”.

Shri Rudolph Noronha (GM Corporate Communications, MRPL) inaugurated the Programme by Lighting the lamp.  He spoke on the relevance of integrity in everyone’s life. “Life provides immense opportunities to those who dare to dream.  Many people who were at the pinnacle of their professional lives have collapsed because they did not enough attention to Integrity,” he said.  

Presiding over the function, Shri Raghav Kamath, Member of the Governing Body, WNES, stressed on the importance of communication skills and knowledge. “Without communication skills, we cannot express our ideas clearly,” he said.

Shri Praveen Pinto administered the integrity pledge. An Integrity Pledge Kiosk was set up in the Institute Lobby for students to take the integrity pledge.

24 students from 11 colleges participated in the debate. The contestants were judged by members of Toastmasters Clubs. 6 teams qualified for the final round. Father Muller’s Medical College bagged the First and Third places while Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering (MITE) bagged the Second place.  Deepak Baburaj of MITE was adjudged as the Best Debator.

Shri Rajeev Kushwaha (CVO, Vigilance Dept, MRPL) was the Chief Guest for the valedictory program.  He urged the students to maintain integrity in all phases of life. He insisted upon unconditional honesty. This means doing the right thing in every situation irrespective of whether we stand to suffer loss for some time.

The guest of honor was Shri Sanjay Verma (GGM, I/C Refinery, MRPL). Quoting Newton’s Third Law to he said, “When there are temptations standing in the way of ethical behaviour, we should understand that every non-ethical action has an equal and opposite consequence. The supreme quality of leadership is integrity, which means doing the right thing even when no one is watching.”

Shri V. Leeladhar, Former Deputy Governor–RBI, in his presidential remarks said that debate competitions help in gaining a holistic view on a topic as it takes into account both sides of the argument. Ms. Ridhvika Shetty, Asst. Professor, MSNM Besant Institute of PG Studies, coordinated the programme.