An increasingly flat world with vanishing borders has also led to the growth of capitalism  in hitherto non-capitalistic countries. This had led to not only individual countries, but the world as a whole, being subject to the vagaries of the market economies and the consequences thereof.What is the optimal level of regulation in the economy? Was lack of regulation the cause of the financial crisis in the US last year? Is information coordinated better under a market mechanism that under tightly regulated command structures? Is innovation fostered better under a market economy?

These questions provoked 40 young minds to share their knowledge and understanding in an All India Essay Competition on

The market economy and its impact on the global financial crisis organized by the India FNF Alumni Network in partnership with the Bangalore Management Academy (BMA). Dr. Amir Ullah Khan, IFAN member and Professor at BMA, designed the Competition to encourage young thinkers to challenge the conventional thinking behind the financial crises and thereby dig deeper into the popular “blame the market” response.

Out of the 40 entries received from college and school students across the country, 28 finalists were invited to a one-day seminar on the same topic on 31 October 2009. Three best presentations were chosen by the three-member jury from industry, media and academics based on their relevance, structure, style, flow, conviction and language.

Parnika Malhothra from Amity Law School won the first prize for her paper on the failure of the credit rating agencies and lack of government regulation causing the financial crunch. Paras Katoch from Amrita School of Business won the Second Prize for his paper on the cause and recovery from the global financial crisis. Navneet Kaur and Mrinal Chadha from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College won the third prize for their essay focusing on the housing bubble. Building on the papers and the presentations, Dr. Amir Ullah Khan clarified the basic foundations of a market economy and rule of law society.


In a parallel event, IFAN member, Dr Munmum Jha facilitated a provocative discussion on Population: The Changing Perception with social sciences students at the Indian Institute of Technology with fellow IFAN member, Barun Mitra as the resource person.