Topic: Analysis of the Union Budget 2018    Time: 02:00-04:00 p.m. Faculty Co-ordinators: Dr. Naveen Kumar Jha    Date: 06th February 2018
Dr. Varadurga Bhat Department of Economics
Christ (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru

Summary
A Panel discussion on ‘Analysis of Union Budget 2018’ was organized by the Department of Economics, on 6th February 2018, Tuesday, at Campus View, Central Block, and 10th Floor. Three Panelists and a moderator had participated in the discussion. The report of the proceedings is as below.
Moderator: Dr. Mathew, P. M. Retd. Professsor, Christ (Deemed to be University) Panelists:  Dr. Charan Singh, Professor and RBI Chair, IIM Bengaluru
Dr. Gayathri K. Professor, ISEC, Bengaluru

Dr. Xavier V. K. Professor and Head, Dept. of Economics, Jain University

The Panel Discussion started at 2:00 p.m. with the invocation song. Dr. Joshy K. J, Head, Department of Economics welcomed and introduced the guests.

Dr. P M Mathew

Dr. Mathew initiated the discussion giving the general introduction to the new budget and outlined the different topics to be discussed by the panelists. He also discussed the health-related provisions in the budget.

Dr. Charan Singh:

Dr. Charan Singh gave a comprehensive overview of the budget provisions. He analyzed the sectoral allocation of funds, sector-specific schemes, and their expected impacts on the economy.

Dr. Gayathri K.

Dr. Gayathti critically analyzed the issues related to fiscal consolidation. She emphasized the quality of the government spending as the major concern.
 
Dr. Xavier V. K

Dr. Xavier spoke about the interlinkages between the union budget and the stock market performance. He focused on the impact of union budget on the financial market in India.
Questions and Responses

The audience enthusiastically participated in the discussions and interactions. The panelists responded all the queries.

Conclusion

The Panel discussion was a grand success. It got a highly positive feedback from the students. Concluding the discussion, Dr. Varadurga Bhat expressed vote of thanks to the guests, and  the audience for their active participation.