An NGO for economics enthusiasts

"ECONOMICS IS one subject which needs to be taught and learnt beyond the four walls of the classroom,” believes G. Shashi Panikar, the president of The Economics Club, an NGO that provides a free interactive forum for Economics teachers, students and budding economists in Mumbai. With a mission "To Create Leaders in Economics", the club strives to provide opportunities to the less privileged youth by providing free career guidance mainly in Economics and Finance.

As a part of their free workshops for college and school teachers, the NGO emphasises on the use of technology in teaching and learning, budget related issues, and other matters of public policy. The Economics Club organised a free workshop on 'The working of Foreign Exchange Market in India,' last week at Indian Merchants' Chamber, Churchgate. The workshop was jointly organised by the Forum of Free Enterprise and the IMC Economic Research and Training Foundation and The Economics Club.

“We are in the deep end of the swimming pool globally!” said Jamal Mecklai, CEO of Mecklai Financial, an expert on treasury and risk management, while addressing the participants. He further traced the history of Indian rupee from independence to date and explained the basic concepts of exchange rate, inflation and what one means by efficiency of capital and exposure to risk.

Minal Khadilkar, a Final Year BA (Economics) student, who attended the workshop, stated: “The Economics Club gives us students excellent opportunities to interact with the industry leaders which gives us a lot of confidence and practical knowledge.”

Seconding her opinion, Prof. Rajam Rajagopalan, Vice-Principal, R.A. Podar College of Commerce & Economics, said, “The Economics Club has done a great job by introducing us teachers to a world of opportunities; be it interaction with the industry leaders or upgrading our technical skills. It is a great platform to encourage our students to build a strong understanding of Economics and to know how they can apply their knowledge in the corporate world!”.