A Report on Vocational Conference 2011 Date: 22nd December 2011 Venue: Nutana Ravindra Mantapa, MGM College, Udupi.

The Vocational Conference 2011 was held at the Nutana Ravindra Mantapa on Thursday, the 22nd of December 2011. The Conference was inaugurated by CA Sharath Rao, Chartered Accountant from Bangalore and alumni of B Com (Voc) in the college. Inaugural function Dr. S. R. Mayya, Director of the Vocational Course welcomed the guests and the gathering. He also commended the efforts of the people who have worked day and night in making the conference a huge success.

In his address, CA Sharath Rao highlighted the need to be extremely good in terms of knowledge and creativity. He counted his many experiences in the corporate world, each of which has made him learn that he is still a student of Income-tax despite the coveted qualifications that he holds. He also highlighted the fact that creativity is

much sought after these days and through such conferences, students should try to develop creativity in what they do in the college. Dr. H. N. Naik, Head of the Commerce Department delivered the Presidential address. Dr. Naik laid particular emphasis on the fact that the college will continue to encourage students in holding such internal conferences and competitions which will add great value to their personality. CA Sridhar Kamath, Guest Faculty for the Vocational Course and Coordinator of the conference delivered the Vote of Thanks. Panel discussions Two Panel Discussions were scheduled for the morning. The first one was presided over by Ms. Deviyani of III B Com(VOC). The panelists were: 1. Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Chartered Accountant, Bangalore, 2. Mr. G. S. Hegde, Associate Professor, MGM College 3. Mrs. Chitra Rao, Lecturer SMS College, Brahmavar, 4. Mr. Karthik Nayak, student III B Com (VOC), 5. Ms. Shravana student II B Com (VOC), 6. Ms. Rakshitha Shetty, student I B Com (VOC). The topic for the discussion was “Exemptions under the Income tax Act”. The 1-hr panel discussion took the audience through a journey of various exemptions granted by the IT Act ranging from Agricultural Income, Allowances given to an employee, Retirement benefits, scholarships etc. The discussion was met with enthusiastic response from the audience who raised many queries. The second panel discussion centered on the sensitive topic of cases of double taxation between VAT (Value Added Tax) and Service Tax. This discussion was coordinated by Ms. Vidyashree of III B Com (VOC). The panelists were: 1. Mr. G. Prabhakar Nayak, Chartered Accountant, Udupi, 2. Mr. Ganesh Y., Chartered Accountant, Udupi 3. Ms. Nivedita Kamath, Guest Faculty, MGM College, 4. Mr. Vineet Shetty, student III B Com (VOC), 5. Ms. Veena Bhat, student III B Com (VOC) and 6. Mr. Shridhar Hegde, student II B Com (VOC). Though, the topic was complex and prone to multiple interpretations, the panelists were able to throw clear light on the different cases of double taxation (especially in areas such as outward catering, IT products and construction contracts) and how to resolve them. Many questions from the audience were also addressed. Lunch was organized at the backyard of the Ravindra Mantapa. Lunch was followed by a variety programme. Mr. Rajendra of III B Com (VOC) and Mr. Junaid of II B Com (VOC) sung songs written by the students on their teachers

and on MGM College. The performances were met with a loud round of applause from the audience. Talk Show Afternoon at 2, a talk show was organized hosted by Ms. Swathi S. of III B Com (VOC). The topic was ‘Has Social media changed the world for the better?’. The hosts were: 1. Dr. Narasimha Bhat, Founder Manipal Dot Net (P) Ltd, 2. Prof. Chowdari Prasad, Dean (Planning & Development), TAPMI, 3. Mr. Praveen K. Shetty, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, MIT and 4. Dr. J. Venkat Rao, Professor & HOD, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, MCOPS. The chairs were arranged in an oval shape so that more interaction could take place between the guests and the audience. Swathi presented a self-made documentary in which she highlighted the pros and cons of the social media and how it has changed the world for sure. This was followed by an intense discussion on the various issues surrounding the topic. After the talk show, a surprise competition was scheduled wherein different tasks where given to the students to perform. Valedictory Function Dr. H. Shantaram, Administrative Officer of Academy of General Education, Manipal presided the Valedictory Function. In his short but insightful speech, Dr. Shantaram again laid emphasis on developing a sense of competitiveness in addition to academics among the students as they step into the corporate world. He profoundly praised the Commerce Department in organizing such events and giving opportunities to students to participate in such activities.

The speech was followed by Prize Distribution Ceremony for the various competitions held before and during the Vocational Conference called the Vocational Premier League. The Principal, Dr. P. V. Gowda was also present on the occasion. Vocation Premier League A series of competitions were conducted for the students as part of the Vocational Premier League. All the B Com Vocational students of the college were divided into six teams through a bidding process. The different competitions conducted were: Income-tax Case Study, Venture Capital, Debate, Quiz, Group Discussion, Stock Markets, Tax Manager, Student videos and a surprise competition held on the day of the conference. Eminent personalities from outside the college like CA Venkatesh Nayak, CA Muralidhar Kini, CA Sadashiv Pai, CA Surendra Nayak, Prof. Anand Bhat and CA Aadit Dev Anand joined the faculties of the college in judging various competitions. Vidyahsree’s Vanguards, a team led by Ms. Vidyashree of the 3rd years garnered the maximum points and emerged as the league champions. Inter-collegiate competition As part of the conference activity, an Inter-college Income-tax Case Study was organized on the 21st of December 2011 at AV Hall (Room No. 27) of the College. A case study was given beforehand, which the participants were required to solve and make a power point presentation to the judges. 3 colleges attended the

competition. CA Anantnarayan Pai and CA Suresh Prabhu acted as judges. The team from SMS College, Brahmavara won the 1st prize. The official attendance of the Conference was 142. We were also joined by 15 students from Poorna Prajna College, Udupi and numerous students from the B Com General Course, chartered accountants from the town and ex-faculties of the college.