The Jindal School of Banking & Finance (JSBF) has launched a unique, industry-relevant undergraduate programme, B.A. (Hons.) Finance and Entrepreneurship, on 16 October 2020.

The programme aims to train a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs who have been identified as ‘Growth Ambassadors’ by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. The programme will enable students to familiarise themselves with the process of incubating a new venture, make creative contributions to existing enterprises working in the finance and financial services industry, and master the tools of finance needed to make new and existing businesses financially sustainable and scalable. 

During the virtual launch event on 16 October 2020, a keynote address on ‘The future of finance and entrepreneurship in India’ was delivered by Mr. M. Damodaran, who is currently the Chairman of the Board of IndiGo and has previously served as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Chairman of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). A special address was delivered by Ms. Renu Satti, Senior Vice President at Paytm, on ‘How digital payments can benefit entrepreneurs in India’. 

Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, said, “This new programme is a part of our sustained efforts at JGU to create opportunities for young people at different levels to apply the study of finance to real-world entrepreneurship, and have a far greater focus in the academic and intellectual imagination of the study of entrepreneurial finance. We believe that emerging issues at the intersection of these two fields hold immense importance to academia and the industry in a post-COVID world.” 

Professor (Dr.) Ashish Bharadwaj, Dean of JSBF, said: “This BA Honors programme in Finance & Entrepreneurship has been designed based on inputs received from the JSBF International Advisory Board, which comprises some of the seniormost bankers in the country as well as eminent industry professionals and academics from India and around the world. This programme will meet the needs and aspirations of young students who want to learn finance while thinking of entrepreneurial ways to contribute to society.” 

Mr. Damodaran said: “Entrepreneurs are not job-seekers but providers of jobs. In India, we need a large number of professionals who have a risk-taking appetite and a spark to imagine and innovate. If we can do this at an undergraduate level when young people start dreaming, then there is nothing better. The new BA in Finance & Entrepreneurship at JGU will help students move from a dream to a vision informed by knowledge.” 

Ms. Renu Satti said: “By 2025 we expect 750 million Indians to make payments digitally. With the government’s push for digital acceptance, Paytm is driving adoption of digital payment and financial services in India. It is the right time to start this new BA Finance & Entrepreneurship programme, and the best time for students and aspiring entrepreneurs to learn how to leverage digital platforms.” 

B.A. (Hons.) Finance & Entrepreneurship is the third programme of JSBF after the B.Com. (Hons.) and the MBA in Digital Finance & Banking (in partnership with Jindal Global Business School and upGrad). As technology disrupts the nature of work and reorients banking, finance and financial services, the programmes at JSBF will offer specialised learning on topics in technology-led banking, finance and allied areas, including the technological, business, legal, financial and social drivers of change within the sectors in all forms and manifestations. JSBF embraces the diversity and interconnectedness within social sciences in building and delivering all existing and upcoming programmes. In this sense, JSBF is thought of as a truly sui generis, one-of-its-kind, specialised school of JGU.