CHENNAI: Just like how you can’t survive today without an Aadhaar card, you cannot survive without banks,” said D Thilagarajan, AGM Circle Office, of Canara Bank, Chennai, who was the guest speaker at the B.Com (Bank Management) department’s inaugural program for the student association BANKER on Friday at DG Vaishnav College. The session covered topics such as general banking, banking networks, banker’s role in the economy and other recent trends in the banking industry.
Thilagarajan gave students inputs and pointers about how they could excel not only at banking but in any profession. “I have completed 34 years in banking and have realised that for a banker, flexibility is required,” he said. “What IAS officers, collectors and ministers cannot do, a banker can do by providing a loan. It is not a job that only students who get 99% can get.
Even a student who scores above 60% can get the job provided they have speed, accuracy and integrity. Bankers should also have no weakness because they are going to be handling thousands of crores of rupees.” He emphasised the importance of time management and discipline, not only in banking but in any profession and in life. Further, he said that technology too should be used as a medium to improve one’s knowledge.
“Technology has been developed highly but we can use it properly,” he said. “Use a cell phone and Google properly. Use it for your studies. This is the turning point in your life and if you use it properly, you can enjoy your life. Be disciplined. Be clear about what you want from the future. If you dedicate 2-3 hours to study, you can join any bank because the interview is simple too. But don’t be overconfident just because you are B.Com graduates as a lot of bankers come from diverse fields.”
Thilagarajan advised the students to invest in a house first and not a car. He said that was the most important and went on to advise them to go ahead and invest in a two-wheeler if required but invest in a car only if they had surplus funds. He also urged students to pay attention to health insurance as he felt it was essential in today’s day and age. Ashok Mundhra, secretary; R Ganesan, principal and B Vijayakumar head of the department, were present.