Mangaluru: Arun A. from JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Mysuru, emerged the winner, while Nivya Rodrigues from Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, Manglauru, and Alvia Mishra from K.S. Hegde Medical Academy, Mangaluru, finished as the first and second runners-up in The Hindu-Rostrum State-level inter-collegiate debate competition held here on Saturday.

As many as 200 teams from different parts of the State participated in the competition, held at Alva’s College, Moodbidri.

Following the inaugural function, the participants took part in group discussion round in batches of 10. Among the topics discussed were the impact of e-commerce on Indian economy.

The participants then took part in the ‘Turncoat’ round, where each had to speak for and against a topic in three minutes. Among the topics in this round was ‘Can family values prevent crime?’.

The top 10 participants qualified for the final round, where they had to speak on any one of five topics: ‘Is privatisation of health services in India good or bad?’, ‘Are villages becoming old-age homes?’, ‘Are Indian men really empowered?’, ‘Is commercialisation of sports affecting talents?’, and ‘Are children’s reality shows on television a boon or a bane?’.

Apart from the first three prize winners, the others who qualified for the final round were Tirthsavla from the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka, Surathkal; Shubha Kotian from SDM Law College, Manglauru; Priya Basu from Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal; Samarth Gowda from Adichuchanagiri Institute of Technology, Chikkamagaluru; Tejaswini from Alvas College of Physiotherapy; Jude D’Cunha from SNM Polytechnic, Moodbidri; and Annie Varshitha from Sri Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara College of Technology, Ujire.

Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) Registrar G. Shreekumar Menon, associate professor of St. Agnes College, Mangaluru, Malini Hebbar, and quizmaster Rakshit Shetty were the judges in the final round.

While the top three performers received cash awards of ₹10,000, ₹5,000 and ₹3,000, respectively, the other seven finalists were given consolation prizes. Adani UPCL executive director Kishore Alva, Mr. Menon, and Alva’s Education Foundation managing trustee Vivek Alva distributed the prizes.

The competition was presented by Adani in association with Rostrum-The Speakers Club of Alva’s College and Alva’s Education Foundation. V4 Media was the broadcast partner.