MUMBAI: The second edition of the Tata Crucible – Business Quiz reaches its climax in Mumbai on 24 July.
The business quiz is a search for excellence. It had launched last year to commemorate the death centenary of JN Tata and the birth centenary of JRD Tata and Naval Tata – three leaders of the Tata Group.
The quiz was organised in nine cities including Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. The last regional final was held in Mumbai a couple of days ago. The eight finalists who will go for glory on Sunday include Vizag Steel and Accenture.
Around 3000 participants took part in the Tata Crucible – The Business Quiz 2005. There was no entry fee for participation. Teams travelled from cities like Bhubaneshwar, Mysore, Cochin, Vizak, and Goa to take part.
The format of the quiz designed by the quizmaster Giri Balasubramaniam had a share of oral, visual and software power rounds. The Tata Group states that the participants at the quiz were a good mix of youth and experience. All centres garnered huge participation from various age groups, right from young corporates in Hyderabad to senior citizens in Mumbai
The broad spectrum of quiz this year included questions which evaluated the depth and width of knowledge of the contesting teams. The quiz had participants who were doctors, advocates, professors, scientists, defense personnel (Indian Army), bankers, stockbrokers, IT professionals and corporate executives. The companies who came forward to compete with one another included Dell, Google, Bhilai Steel Plant and LIC.
This year the quiz was a battleground where the teams strategically selected the city of participation and flew to other venues that were perceived as soft destinations. There were almost 15 teams who travelled to other locations rather than participate in their own city.
For instance The Accenture team from Mumbai travelled to Pune to participate in the quiz to improve their chances of winning. However, looking at the fierce competition in Pune, the team returned to Mumbai without participating. Eventually owing to their determination and amazing quizzing acumen, they qualified as one of the national finalists.
Winding up the contest, the channel announced the selection of Shifa, a 21-year old dentist from Chennai, as the winner. The 20 shortlisted contestants for the final round went through varied competitions based on Tamil traditions, marketing, personality, cooking, martial arts, body language and oratory in the VGP Resorts, Chennai.