Mani dons role of teacher

Finance Minister K M Mani donned the role of a teacher on Thursday, when he took an one-hour class for students of Centre For Development Studies (CDS) here, as part of inauguration of MA in Applied Economics affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

 “I don’t know what Applied Economics is all about. But I know how economics should be applied,’’ said Mani, who holds the record of having presented the maximum number of budgets in the Kerala Legislative Assembly as Finance Minister.

 When Centre For Development Studies director Pulapre Balakrishnan said that MA in Applied Economics has been started in CDS after PhD and MPhil, Mani  was quick to remark “So it is a downward growth,’’ evoking laughter all round.

But Mani was also quick to add that growth should always reach the grassroots level.

During his class, Mani interacted with  researchers with elan and queried whether theory or practical was attractive to them.

When there was no response from the audience, Mani declared “If the country has to grow then one’s learning should be applied in practical life. A double digit growth rate  should be the aim of the country.  For this, instead of theory we need results,’’ he said, which was a reflection of his practical wisdom.

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