The second Union Council meet was held on the 29th of October, 2017 at the SAC Amphitheatre to discuss the progress made by the Students’ Union with regards to the manifesto points of the Union Council members.

The highlight of the meet was the induction of the newly proposed Media Relations Club into the Students’ Union. Deliberations over the necessity and purpose of took place at length and spanned a large portion of the meet. The discussion concluded with a vote by the Union Council members, which passed with over two-thirds majority.

As the UC Meet was in close proximity to this year’s Oasis, the General Secretary, Shivam Jindal, presented several new initiatives proposed for the fest including a QR code based entry system for the professional shows. He also mentioned the reduction in the ticket costs by quoting the figures for this year as well as the previous year. The General Secretary assured that the Oasis merchandise would be delivered to the BITSians before the commencement of the fest as opposed to the delayed delivery every year.

The meet also revolved around the work done for the student community. The President, Bharatharatna Puli, informed the gathering about the signings for the newly proposed cycle rental service on campus and which he hoped to see in operation by the start of next semester. He also spoke about the timely submission of the bills pertaining to the Students’ Union to SWD, which he believes would increase the system’s transparency and prevent any discrepancy occurring later on.

Both the President and General Secretary remarked on the progress made towards their proposal to set up a Jawed Habib salon on campus. They expected the primary investor in this initiative, Mr Vijay Hola, to visit the campus in a couple of weeks. They also spoke about the increase in the budget allocated to the Film Making Club and the Renewable Energy Club in an effort to encourage outstation participation.

Speaking for the Hostel Representatives, Shivam Jindal specified the accomplishment of their respective manifesto points, citing Mal and Budh Bhawans as examples.

In the light of several acts of breach of privacy and security by the Institute, the President and the General Secretary shared their concerns with the Union Council, and advised the General Body not to hesitate to approach the Students’ Union in case of a flagrant violation of privacy.

As a concluding remark, the President appreciated the efforts of various clubs as seen by an unprecedented rise in their activities and workshops on campus. ”This clearly marks a shift from a fest-centric to a student-centric paradigm of the Student Union”, said Puli, as the meet came to a close.