8 students to battle it out at Speak for India finale in Mumbai

The grand finale of the Speak for India Maharastra edition 2022-23 will be held at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, on Saturday.
The semi-finals were organized at Hotel Parle International on Friday, where 32 participants who were selected through district and zonal competitions, had to speak on the topics given to them. The contestants were allowed to speak in Marathi, Hindi or English, the language of their choice.
Eight students, Nirbhay Dhananjay Sonar (Pratap College, Jalgaon) , Karan Madhusudan Pareek (Shivaji Arts and Commerce College, Amravati), Ushir Mahesh Janardhan (New Arts Commerce and Science College Ahmednagar), Parag Rajendra Badirke (YC Law college, Pune), K Sujatha (MIT-World Peace University Pune ), Amritsawan Bhanja (Dr D Y Patil institute of Technology, Pune), Tejaswini Kendre (Shankarrao Mohite Vidyalaya, Solapur), Vedika Bajpai (St Xaviers College, Mumbai), will be competing in the grand finale.
Testimonial from judges
Very good initiative by Federal bank, Times of India and Maharastra Times. Very interesting and relevant topics were chosen for the semi-finals and such topics will enhance the student's creativity, as well as their body language and also help in their academic development. The participation by all of the students was very good and there was no language barrier during the debate, and this was very evident from the students' performances. Overall the competition was very good. -Amol Dharme | sarathi enterprises
The topics reflected contemporary, social and economic issues. The participants were fairly equipped to respond appropriately in the debate competition. For the majority of participants, it is a huge learning process, and they will go home with a reformed and revised perspective about life and society. The debate organization was impeccable and demonstrated a high degree of confidentiality and fairness. Appreciate Federal Bank for this initiative focusing on nation building and national integration. -G.T. Thampi | principal, thadomal shahani engineering college
Speak for India is a great initiative taken by Federal Bank in association with The Times of India and Maharastra Times for the academic excellence of students and contribution towards the society. -Dinkar Gitte | principal, kle college of law , kalamboli
Speak for India is a great platform for students across different cities to come together and compete with the best among them. We witnessed an exhilarating level of intellect, competitive spirit and debating skills among the 32 semi finalists today. It was truly a challenge to pick the final 8 from this talented pool. -Joyce George | associate vice president, federal bank
Speak for India Maharashtra edition 2022-23 is a CSR initiative by Federal Bank in association with The Times of India and Maharashtra Times to encourage young, dynamic and enthusiastic mind across the state to raise their voice on pertinent issues and play the role of change makers in society. The Maharastra Edition of Speak For India is being held in three languages -Marathi, Hindi and English. The winner gets a cash prize of Rs.2.5 lakh and the runner-up get Rs.1.5 lakh. The six finalists stand to win Rs.35,000 each.