Programme Name : Business Finance and Public Policy (BFPP)

Module

Module Title

Credit

Description

Content

ECO901

Pricing

The course helps in the understanding of

the decision making process of firms and

individuals. In a way, the course introduces

tools to understand the basics of Modern

Economic Analysis. The approach is

different from a typical traditional

introduction. From the beginning of the

course, the focus has been set on Pricing.

● Problem Solving and Decision Making

● Simple Pricing

● Monopoly, Monopsony, and Price Discrimination

● Strategic Games and Pricing

● Making Decision with Uncertainty

ECO902

Economics and

Financial Data

Analysis

The primary objective of this course is to

equip the participants with various statistical

tools and techniques along with their

applications used in Economics and

Finance. Through this course, the

participants will develop an ability to

analyze the data by applying appropriate

quantitative methods. This course serves as

a prerequisite for future courses such as

Machine Learning, Advanced Financial

Econometrics, Probability and Stochastic

Systems, and Program Evaluation. The

course also involves use of statistical

software such as R to demonstrate the

various concepts.

● Descriptive Statistics

● Correlation

● Simple and Multiple Linear Regression

● Time Series Analysis

ECO903

Introduction to

Finance and

Accounting

The module focuses on the fundamentals of

finance and accounting. It prepares you for

advanced knowledge of electives and real-

life applications.

● Time value of money

● Fundamentals of portfolio construction, mean-

variance framework, capital allocation and

optimization with multiple assets.

● Fixed income securities

● Introduction to derivatives

● Fundamentals of accounting

● Financial analysis techniques

ECO904

Game Theory

and Strategy

Strategic interactions are pervasive in all

walks of life.This module aims to

systematically study these strategic

interactions, focusing on their applications

in Businesses and Public Policy.

● Tales of Strategy and Basic Ideas [Choice,

Chance, and Strategic Moves]

● Sequential games and Simultaneous Moves

[Making Strategies Credible]

● Interpreting and Manipulating Information

● Applications: Voting, Auction, Adverse Selection,

and Signaling

● Mechanism Design

● Cooperative Games and Bargaining

● Using Game Theory to Shape Strategy and

Other Case Studies

ECO905

Money and

Banking

The module aims to provide a broad

understanding of the different instruments

of money markets and banking operations.

The module will help the participants

develop an interest in the banking sector

and short-term money market operations.

● Overview of the Indian financial system.

● Money and its forms

● Banking sector

● Interest rate analysis

● Central bank and monetary policy

● Financial regulation

ECO906

Global Economy

and International

Finance

This course examines the economics of

international markets, and how international

considerations affect financial economic

models. The objective is to equip students,

● Globalization and International Trade

● Foreign Exchange Market

● Forward Markets and Exchange Risk

● Balance of Payments

policy makers and decision makers with the

analytical tools needed to make informed

financial decisions and to create awareness

of issues that arise in today’s competitive

global environment.

● Exchange Rate Systems

● Interest Rate Parity Conditions

● Exchange Rate Determination

ECO907

Applied

Macroeconomics

The course provides tools to analyze

economies subject to macroeconomic

influences, both foreign and domestic. The

focus is on developing insights to aid in

sensible policy advice as well as investment

decisions.

● Real Economic Activity

● Inflation, Relative Prices and Expectations

● Monetary Policy and Accounts

● Fiscal Systems

● Financial Stability

● External Accounts

ECO908

Applied

Corporate

Finance

This module provides an in-depth

understanding of some of the critical topics

in corporate and it is also an extension to -

.ECO903

● Basics of corporate finance.

● Capital Budgeting

● Stock valuation

● Return and Risk through systematic risk models

● Cost of capital

● Long-term financing

ECO909

Economics of

Platforms

Digital platforms such as Amazon, Zomato,

Uber, Netflix and Facebook have become

an essential part of our life. This course is

an attempt to systematically study the

economics of these platforms, emphasizing

their applications in Public Policy and

Businesses.

● What are Platforms?

● The Role of Ratings and Recommendations

● A Primer on Network Goods

● Platform or Not Platforms?

● Platform Pricing

● Platform Design

ECO910

Machine

Learning

Applications

This course will cover advanced Machine

Learning (ML) algorithms for Economics,

Finance and Public Policy. A variety of

Machine Learning tools such as the Linear

● Linear Regression

● Logistic Regression

● Support Vector Machines

● Linear Discriminant Analysis

Regression, Logistic Regression, Support

Vector Machines, Discriminant Analysis and

several others will be studied followed by

their rigorous analysis. Another important

aspect of the program is to study data pre-

processing techniques such as Principal

Component Analysis for feature selection.

Furthermore, other schemes will also be

discussed for clustering, such as K-means,

Probabilistic Clustering, Naïve Bayes and

Decision Tree Classifiers. It is also intended

to cover algorithms from modern

Probabilistic Inference, Online Learning and

Probabilistic Graphical Models to

comprehensively analyze their

performance. These will involve concepts

such as Likelihood Maximization, Bayesian

Learning and Independent Component

Analysis.

● Naive Bayes

● Decision Tree Classifiers (DTC)

● K-Means and Probabilistic Clustering

● Principal Component Analysis

ECO911

Advanced

Financial

Econometrics

The primary objective of this course is to

equip the students with various tools and

techniques and their applications for better

understanding and investment decisions.

Through this course, the students will

develop an ability to analyze the data by

applying appropriate quantitative methods.

● Overview of financial econometrics, statistical

foundations: data, the data, descriptive statistics

and data summary, visualizing and describing

data

● Role of linear regression in financial data

modeling, assumptions, violations, diagnostics

two-stage procedures

● Introduction to time series, autocorrelation and

forecasting techniques.

● Fixed effects and random effects and

instrumentation process

● Logit, Probit, Tobit and other variants and their

applications

● Monte Carlo simulations, Variance reduction

techniques, bootstrapping and random number

generation

ECO912

Probability and

Stochastic

Systems

An understanding of probability is critical to

study a world replete with randomness and

uncertainty. This course will give students

tools needed to understand data,

economics and finance. Students will learn

not only how to solve challenging technical

problems but also be exposed to various

ways in which probability is applied in the

real world.

● Probability

● Random Variables

● Limit Theorems

● Markov Chains and Poisson Processes

● Statistical Inference

ECO914

Contemporary

Issues in the

Indian Economy

The primary aim of this module is to equip

the students with the knowledge of how the

Indian economy functions. Basic concepts

will be explained, along with exposure to

relevant data.

Policy implications will be discussed

keeping in mind the latest developments in

the Indian scenario.

● Introduction to basic macroeconomic indicators

of the Indian economy

● Budget analysis and fiscal frameworks

● Sectoral understanding

● Monetary and financial developments

● Socio-economic analysis

● External outlook

ECO915

Program

Evaluation

This course aims to equip the participants

with principles and techniques for causal

inference in social science. These tools and

techniques find wide application in policy

evaluation. This is particularly useful to the

bureaucrats and industry experts involved

● Overview of Causal Inference

● Foundations of Randomized Control Trial(RCTs)

● Non-randomized designs (IV and DID)

● Further topics (RDD, Synthetic control)

in the grassroots-level monitoring and

implementation of public policies.

ECO916

Public Finance

The module covers different dimensions of

public finance and is expected to provide a

practical understanding of public finance

from policy making to its implications. The

model answers the why and how of public

finance.

● Basics about public finance, understanding key

terms: decentralization, taxes, deficits and

debts, interventions, and regulatory role of the

government

● Utility maximization techniques – utility mapping

and budget constraints, social welfare and social

inefficiencies, and competitive equilibrium

● Understanding relevant quant models in public

finance

● Introduction to government budgeting, fiscal

rules, cash vs capital accounting, static vs

dynamic scoring, short-run and long-run aspects

of government

● Externality theory – negative and positive

aspects, public sector remedies to externalities,

approaches of handling externalities, public

goods – public and private provisions

● Foundations of political economy, Lindhal pricing,

preference aggregation, voter models, basics of

public choice and fiscal federalism

ECO917

Project I

Capstone Project

ECO918

Innovation

Systems and

Policy

The course will delve into what it takes to

develop a national innovation ecosystem- to

make firms competitive at world-scale,

move away from low technology to high-end

technology, invest higher in R&D, public

funding of research for private sector, using

● Breaking the Middle Income Trap through

Innovation

○ Middle Income Trap; Moving from service

to innovation led economy; Firm as a

focal point of Innovation

● Theoretical Perspectives

Indian demand as a leverage for innovation,

prioritizing research in higher education

system through Governmental funding,

creating and leveraging large scale high

quality researchers. The course also

studies existing policy frameworks for

innovation including the Nation S&T Policy,

Startup India, Digital India and Make in

India Programmes, Atal Innovation Mission

and the gaps in the current National

Innovation System. The course would also

delve into innovation and technology

demands of high tech areas of current

interest including Semiconductors, Artificial

Intelligence, Quantum, Minerals and Blue

Economy. The Course will use Case

Studies and practical experiences from the

field to create insights and understandings.

○ Blue Ocean-Red Ocean Strategy;

Disruption Theory (Clay Christensen),

Porters Porter’s 5 forces of innovation

and other theoretical frameworks

● Innovation Systems- Global Perspectives

○ Learnings from experiences of other

countries (Japan, South Korea, China,

US and others)

● India tasters innovation

○ India’s successes in innovation IT,

Healthcare and Biotech, Defense Case

Study: Aadhaar, UPI, DEPA Case Study:

iDEX

● Government Policies and Innovation

○ Leveraging India’s Innovation Policy

Framework- Make in India, Digital India,

Startup India, Fund of Funds, Other

Funding Programmes, Atal Innovation

Mission, National S&T Policy, Venture

Capital funds, Data sharing and open

data initiative, tax structure and

incentives, Government procurement etc.

○ Case Study: Map Policy and the Drone

Rules

○ Case Study: Medical devices regulation-

approval of Indian designed ventilator

● Technology trends and Innovation for

leadership in emerging technologies

○ Why Critical and Emerging Technologies

are important? Innovation in

semiconductor, Artificial Intelligence,

UAV, Quantum computing, Critical

minerals and Deep Ocean technologies

○ Case study: India Semiconductor

Initiative.

● Innovation: Intellectual Property

○ Protection of Intellectual Property,

Balancing openness and protection Case

Study: Mission Raksha Gyanshakti

● Developing National Innovation Ecosystem

○ Product Policy Framework Higher

Education

○ Human Resource Development and Jobs

○ Financial Markets and Venture Capital

Regulatory framework

ECO919

How to Read an

Economy’s

Report-card

We encounter news on macroeconomic

concepts like GDP, inflation, unemployment

etc. every day in the newspapers and

magazines of general interest. The

objective of this course is to introduce

students to look at macroeconomic data

critically. Students will be introduced to the

key macroeconomic concepts, followed by

demonstration of the corresponding data.

By the end of the course, students should

be able to read and critically assess news

pieces concerning macroeconomic

concepts and articles from The Economist,

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal,

Financial Times etc.

● State of the economy

● Money, monetary policy, interest rates.

● Fiscal policy

● The external sector

● Social sectors and employment

● Inequality and poverty

● Institutions

ECO920

Public Policy and

The module introduces students to the

● Basic Concepts of Public Policy

Implementation

in Indian Context

theoretical constructs of public policy and

illustrates how it is applied in India with

case studies relevant to India. The objective

of this analytical course is to prepar e

students for critical evaluation of public

policy issues and to make them informed

participants in the related constructive

dialogue.

○ Key defintions, features and objectives

○ Types and examples of policies

○ Main actors/stakeholders

○ Public policy cycle

○ Key features of good policy making

process

● Checks and Balances among Roles of

Different Stakeholders and Institutions

○ Legislation

○ Government programs and schemes

○ Rules and regulations

○ Court orders/judgements

● Agenda Setting

○ Decision making processes

○ Agenda setting

○ Analysis of policy options

○ Political agenda

● Policy Implementation

○ Feedback and policy modifications

○ Formulation of polic

○ Successes and failures of policy

implementation

○ Examples of good policy bad

implementation and good policy good

implementation

○ Importance of lessons learned during

implementation

● Case Study: Rural Sanitation

○ Case of evolving policy, evidence-based

policy making, how feedback from field

was used to continuously improve the

policy to achieve the desired goals

● Case Study: Aadhaar

○ Design of a unique organizational

structure

○ Implementability - important guiding

principles in various initiatives taken by

the Aadhaar project.

● Case studies on checks and balances

○ SC intervention in vaccination case

(executive decision under scrutiny of

judiciary)

○ ECI appointment case Uudicial decision

overturned by legislature)

○ Prakash Singh case (executive decisions

changed by judiciary)

○ Missing children case (ensuring

implementation of existing laws by

executive through judicial scrutiny)

● Case study on agenda setting

○ How an issue gets on to the political

agenda

○ Example of Chipko movement and focus

on environmental issues

○ Example of climate change and

sustainability initiatives at global

levelMDGs, SDGs, Paris agreement.