A student speaks in the branch-level elocution contest in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, July 12: Twelve contestants with the gift of gab today fought it out at the branch-level elocution contest organised by Central India Chartered Accountants’ Students’ Association (CICASA) that runs under the Patna Branch of Central India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, on the premises of Bihar Industries Association.

CICASA also hosted a quiz contest at the same venue today, where 12 teams, each comprising two members, wracked brains to outdo the others.

The contestants spoke on vital issues, including the role of audit, how a chartered accountant can fight against corruption, how modern technology has made lives efficient, educational reforms and employment opportunities in India.

“India is a medical tourism centre where people from Africa, North America and Western Europe are flocking in large numbers. It is estimated that India will earn US$2 billion annually by 2012 in this sector because of foreigners coming for treatment but if India continues to impose a 5 per cent service tax in medical sector, it will put itself in a competitive disadvantage with other Asian countries,” said 22-year-old Raushan Kumar Singh, while articulating his thought on the topic “Levy of service tax in health sector: whether it is justified or not”. Speaking on how modern technology makes life efficient, Apoorva Shandilya, another contestant, said: “We are using all luxuries just because of the inventions of science and technology. Whether it is a calculator, a computer or the Internet, all have made our lives easy and fast paced. Computers on one hand have made our calculations easier and faster, the Internet has made the world a small place to live in, people from one part of the globe can connect to another part any time at any place through internet.”

Abhishek Kumar, another contestant spoke on educational reforms and employment opportunities for Indian youth. He said: “Although there have been many significant educational reforms, including launch of vocational studies in India on a larger scale, a lot needs to be done. The institutions, which are providing vocational training, don’t have proper infrastructure for these courses. This needs to be checked, as India still suffers from unemployment and is also the second largest populated country in the world.” The judges for the elocution contest were Dipankar Sircar, Arun Kumar Garodia and Meera Narayan, all chartered accountants. Later, a quiz was held in the second part of the programme. Five of the 12 teams made it to the final round. Mukul, a chartered accountant, conducted the quiz.

The winners of the elocution and quiz contests will represent Patna branch in regional-level elocution and quiz contests in September. A total of 150 CICASA students and its chairman, Priti Tulsyan, were present with other members at the event.