Acumen arsenal: Quiz winners Devesh Das and Rohan Khanna (sitting 2nd and 3rd from left at back) of FMS, Delhi, with debate champs Khalid Ahmed (2nd from right in front) and Ankur Huria (2nd from right at back) of MDI, Gurgaon, with some of the participants

If evidence were needed that India's best b-school minds are getting sharper by the day, here it is, provided by the North Zone round of the Business Today Standard Chartered Acumen 2002: The National b-school Challenge.

The kick-off round of the all-India quiz-cum-debate contest has attracted some 80 b-schools, lured by glory and the grand prize of a three-week summer course at Middlesex University, London. Day One, held at the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), New Delhi, on the 24th and 25th of August, sees Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (Delhi), Management Development Institute (Gurgaon), and FMS, Delhi, go through.

Cut to Day Two, at Shankar Lal Hall on the Delhi University campus. The first debate semi-final, marked by all the din and babble of an upbeat audience, has IIML score a resounding victory over IIFT on "Can India ever be a global brand?" The second has the hall up in roars, with the FMS crowd in full-throated strength to pep their team against MDI, on "Pricing strategy is the key strategy for success in an economic downturn". MDI speaks against the motion, FMS for, and a tie-break question has to pick MDI as the upper-hand.

Next up, is the second quiz semi-final. Day One has already seen IIFT and MDI qualify. The auditorium goes dark, as a faint strain of the Mission Impossible theme slowly turns up the knob to a crescendo, as the strobe spotlights quizmaster Joy Bhattacharya. The four teams IIML, International Management Institute (IMI, Delhi), Institute of Management Technology (IMT, Ghaziabad), and FMS get ready for battle, round after round, each with names such as Management In Action, BT Cover Story, TCS Technobytes, and Standard Chartered Credit Limit. Sample the questions. 'Under Islamic law, name the only form of trading of debts that's allowed, which has now gained notoriety in financial circles.' Answer: Hawala. 'Which popular fast food chain is named after a character in Popeye comics?' Answer: Wimpy's. And, 'In which newspaper does everyone from the editor to the peon get paid Rs 1,200?' Answer: Ganashakti.

Taut nerves and stage-fright claim their victims, as some teams miss sitters, but it all adds to the thrill. FMS maintains its blazing start to finish second, while IMI executes a deadly turnaround to finish first.

The debate finals soon get underway. The topic: "Profits will one day cease to be the corporation's raison d'être". IIML and MDI make their case, for and against, respectively. Again, it's the Q&A session that sees MDI's Ankur Huria steal the argument.

The quiz final leaves no less nails unbitten. It's a cracker all the way, with never a team willing to cede an inch. There are some sharp quizzers in the audience as well, who get a chance to win Philips' shavers and Ray-Ban shades. The event reaches a climax with a tie-break on 95 points in the final round. Quick thinking by FMS' Rohan Gopal Khanna and Devesh Das clinches it for the home team.

The winners are awarded cash prizes, which are just teasers for the National Finals for which they have qualified. FMS students put up a little something for entertainment. Brainware needs its recreational input too.