R Jayakanthan of TCS Chennai emerged victorious for the second time in a row at the 21st edition of businessline Cerebration Quiz 2024, showcasing intellectual prowess at the grand finale held in Mumbai on Sunday. Abhinav Dhar a freelancer from New Delhi took the second spot while Anirudhha Dutta from Tata Consultancy Services, Mumbai came third.

The event, sponsored by Title Partner JK Tyre and powered by Indian Oil, in association with BSE and University partner Amity University, Mumbai, saw participation from over 3,600 individuals across the country.  Pabitra Narayan Nayak (Ministry of Home Affairs) Kochi, Suvam Palo ( Fidelity Investments ) Bengaluru and Aiman Ali (SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant ) Hyderabad were the other finalists.

Raghuvir Srinivasan, Editor of businessline, emphasised the quiz’s legacy: “businessline Cerebration Quiz, into its third decade now, is a prestigious event in the quiz calendar of the country. The quiz reflects the values of businessline which are credibility, intellectual depth, sharp focus and competitive rigour.”

The event was graced by distinguished guests including Rajat Gharsangi, Brand Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd; Kamala Kantharaj, Chief Regulatory Officer, BSE; Dr A W Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Mumbai; and Melbin Varghese, Zonal Service Manager - West Zone, JK Tyre Ltd.

The competition, maintaining its prestigious prize structure, awarded ₹75,000 to the winner, ₹50,000 to the runner-up, and ₹25,000 to the second runner-up.

The competition unfolded through five intense rounds, each testing different aspects of business knowledge. The second round of the quiz was a special tribute dedicated to the Late Ratan Tata focused on the Tata Group’s legacy.

The defending champion, Jayakanthan, shared his experience: “Overall the quiz was very well organized. I didn’t expect to win again but thankfully my luck played out. It’s great to participate and enjoy the experience more than anything else more than focusing on winning.”

Dhar representing Delhi, improving from last year’s third position, remarked: “Since last year I was third in the national final last year and I got married maybe that helped and got to second. I have been quizzing for the past decade,  it is always a nerve wracking feeling which I enjoy. ”

Quiz Master Ajay Poonia, who has been hosting the event for four years, noted the competition’s evolution: “Over the years, I’ve seen a marked improvement in terms of the quality of participation that we get. And not just quality, the quantity, so the bottom of the pyramid is also fairly broad.”

The competition began three months prior with preliminary online rounds across six cities — Chennai, Kochi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. The organizers announced plans to potentially return to offline regional rounds for the 2025 edition.

The event also featured engaging audience rounds, with students and faculty members from various institutes participating actively and winning goodies. The presence of academic participants highlighted the quiz’s role in bridging the corporate-academic knowledge gap.