UG Programme

• BA Economics

PG Programme

• MA Economics

Doctoral Programme

• Ph.D. Economics

Add-on Course

• Financial Journalism

• Berchmans Centre for Trade technology and innovation

  The Centre was inaugurated by Prof. Heinz D Kurz, University of Graz, Austria in 2017
  He delivered the inaugural lecture on ‘The free trade doctrine of the Classical economists: No unconditional subscription to trade liberalisation’. In 2018, a Talk on Entrepreneurship was delivered by Mrs. Teena Paul, Director, Giftolexia.

• Berchmans Centre for Visually Challenged and Print Disabled

  The centre with the initiative from the student ventured into the preparation of audio books using assistive technology to help visually impaired students in collaboration with Kerala Blind Federation and Chakshumathi. Prof. L Unnikrishnan was instrumental in this noble initiative.
  In 2014, Georgekutty Thareparampil, the Founder Kerala federation of the blind was honoured for his services for the physically challenged. The centre has got a depository of audio books

• Reading Room and Library

  The departmental reading room and library offers Business newspapers, academic journals, industry reports and official data sets for students and research scholars.
  It also has a depository of dissertations and thesis produced.

• Multi-media enabled Smart Classroom cum Seminar Hall

• WiFi internet access enabled

• ICT powered Classrooms

• Prof C Z Scaria Memorial Lecture

  Cheruvallathu Zacharias (C Z) Scaria hails from Arakulam, Moolamattom, Idukki District. “CZ”, as he was known, had his school education from Kolapura Government School, Arakkulam and St. Mary’s High School, Palai. He had his B A (Hons) with first rank from St Joseph’s College, Trichy. He joined the Department of Economics, St Berchmans College in 1949 and became its head in 1967. Endowed with remarkable intellect, sharp wit, deep scholarship and above all a keen sense of vision and commitment, he mentored and inspired generations of students which include prominent politicians, bureaucrats, and economists. Along with the late Prof P R Krishna Iyer, the founder Head of the Department, he cradled and nurtured the department to its present stature. He retired from active service in 1987.

  Prof C Z was a gifted teacher and an eloquent orator. Though he taught a range of subjects during his long span of career, he was best known as a teacher of Microeconomics. Teaching was always a passion for Prof C Z and be it any topic, he communicated it effectively by the magic of his eloquence. Being a teacher par excellence, his students could experience his amazing erudition, analytical mind, prodigious memory, and abundant sense of humour. He also made it a point to connect with the best minds in the field of economics of that period like Joan Robinson, K N Raj, I S Gulati, etc. and could bring them to the department.

  Prof C Z Scaria had the rare honour of becoming a member of both the Senate and Syndicate of the University of Kerala for the longest period (1960 -1984). He was also a member/ chairman of various academic bodies like academic council, BOS and BOE of Kerala, Calicut and Madras Universities. He was always in the forefront to fight for the rights and dignity of private college teachers in Kerala. He was the President of AKPCTA and the Founding President of PCTA. He was truly a multi-faceted genius with tremendous interests in various fields like acting, music, oratory and even agriculture. Being a great educationist, a visionary and an institution-builder, he strode the academic sphere of Kerala like a colossus. He was above all a good human being full of warmth and affection.

  Prof. C Z Scaria passed away on 7^th March 2000.

  Wife: Late Mrs Mary Scaria (Rajamma).

  Children: Jollykutty Zacharias, Late Prof Thomaskutty Scaria, Dr Joshy Zacharias, Dr Siby Zacharias, Dr Prakash Zacharias, Dr Valsamma Baby and Mrs Rani Philip.

  Previous Speakers:

  Sl No	Speaker	Year
  1	Dr I S Gulati	1988
  2	Dr K C Shankara Narayanan	1989
  3	Dr Chiranjib Sen	1990
  4	Dr P R Gopinathan Nair	1991
  5	Prof K J Oommen	1992
  6	Sri T N Jyachandran IAS	1993
  7	Sri K M Mani MLA	1994
  8	Dr P K Michael Tharakan	1995
  9	Dr Olle Tornquist	1996
  10	Dr Cyriac Thomas	1997
  11	Dr Achin Chakraborty	1998
  12	Dr Gerhard De Groot	1999
  13	Dr M A Oommen	2000
  14	Dr K C Zachariah	2001
  15	Dr Babu Paul IAS	2002
  16	Dr Alwin B Prakash	2003
  17	Mar Joseph Powathil	2004
  18	Dr B Ekbal	2005
  19	Sri K J Alphonse MLA	2006
  20	Dr M G S Narayanan	2007
  21	Dr T P Srinivasan IFS	2008
  22	Dr John Kurien	2009
  23	Dr P M Rajan Gurukkal	2010
  24	Dr K P Kannan	2011
  25	Dr K K George	2012
  26	Dr Jebamali Vinanchi Arachi	2013
  27	Dr Jose Jacob	2014
  28	Sri K S Money IAS	2015
  29	Prof Amit Bhaduri	2016
  30	Prof Pulapre Balakrishnan	2017
  31	Prof D Narasimha Reddy	2018
  32	Prof V Santhakumar	2019
  33	Prof. R Ramkumar	2020
  34	Dr. Rose Mary K Abraham IES	2021

• Prof K K Francis Memorial Lecture

  Prof K K Francis was born in Karror near Palai, Kottayam on December 25, 1931. He was the third child of a family of nine children, five boys and four girls. He had his school education from St Thomas School, Palai. Later, he Joined St Joseph College, Trichy for his intermediate course. He passed B A (Hons) in Economics from Loyola College, Chennai and received a Masters in History from Nagpur University. Prof Francis Joined the Department of Economics, St Berchmans College on August 7, 1956.

  In the early years of his teaching career, Prof Francis taught both Economics and History. Though he had taught many subjects in Economics at the graduate and post graduate levels during the long 35 years of his career, Development Economics, International Trade and Macroeconomics were his favourites. He handled all these subjects with ease and facility. His classes were lively and interesting. Being a dedicated and exceptional teacher, he made ‘learning a joy’ for himself and his students. With his profound scholarship and exceptional expository skills and above all his tremendous passion for teaching he touched the hearts, moulded the thoughts and shaped the destinies of generations of students.  Endowed with the extraordinary talent of penetrating to the essence of a problem, he could make complex ideas and theories transparent and convey them lucidly in simple words.

  The late Prof Krishna Iyer, the founder head of the Department and his colleague had this to say about him, “Prof Francis is a very competent teacher with a rare capacity for simple and lucid exposition of the most difficult topics in Economics”.

  Prof K K Francis was a vibrant and multifaceted personality accentuated by an unforgettable charisma and commendable interpersonal skills. He was an inspiring orator, astute debater and a seasoned stage performer. He played the lead roles like Lady Macbeth, Iago and Shylock in the major Shakespeare productions of the College. He was an enthralling singer as well. He also left his mark in the area of College teachers’ union and association activities by speaking for their rights and dignity. He was in the forefront of Direct payment agitation of teachers in 1972. He was the elected Regional President of united AKPCTA.

  He expired on May 1, 1991 with one year left for retirement.

  Wife: Late Prof Leela Francis

  Children: Late Shaji  K Francis, Susha Elizabeth Francis and Smitha Francis.

  Previous Speakers

  Sl No	Speaker	Year
  1	Dr Ramachandran Nair	1992
  2	Sri P J Joseph	1993
  3	Prof C Z Scaria	1994
  4	Sri Dominic Joseph IRS	1995
  5	Sri James Joseph IAS	1996
  6	Dr George Joseph IPS	1997
  7	D. C R Soman	1998
  8	Dr K Babu Joseph	1999
  9	Dr M P Mathai	2000
  10	Dr C V Ananda Bose IAS	2001
  11	Jus. K T Thomas	2002
  12	Dr K N Harilal	2003
  13	Prof C O Abraham	2004
  14	Dr P M Mathew	2005
  15	Dr A V Jose ILO	2006
  16	Sri S John	2007
  17	Dr Scaria Zachariah	2008
  18	Dr K J Joseph	2009
  19	Dr Sunil Mani	2010
  20	Dr C P Chandrashekhar	2011
  21	Sri K C Johny IRS	2012
  22	Dr L Radhakrishnan IAS	2013
  23	Dr K Joseph Thomas	2014
  24	Prof Surajit Mazumdar	2015
  25	Prof Jayati Ghosh	2016
  26	Prof Indrani Chakraborty	2017
  27	Prof Padmini Swaminathan	2018
  28	Dr Surajit Das	2019
  29	Dr. Alex M Thomas	2020
  30	Dr Smitha Francis	2021

• Prof C O Abraham Memorial Lecture

  Prof C O Abraham was born in Madappally, Kottayam District on September 3, 1934. He had his schooling in Pioneer L P School Ayarkkattuvayal and St Berchmas High School Changanassery. He pursued intermediate, graduation and post-graduation studies from St Berchmans College, Changanassery. After completing BA in Economics in 1954, he served in the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala for a period of eight years. He joined for the MA Economics programme in 1963 and completed it in 1965, securing the 1^st rank with first class from Kerala University – a rare and highly appreciable feat. In the same year, he joined the Faculty of his alma mater as lecturer.

  Prof C O Abraham was an outstanding teacher and was much passionate about his profession. He inspired his students with a love of the subjects he taught. The depth and range of his knowledge in the discipline, particularly in economic theory, was remarkable. Although he could handle any subject in Economics with facility and interest, Macroeconomics, was his forte which he taught with authority. His scholarship attracted students not only throughout his tenure at the college, but even after his retirement from the service in 1990. He wrote many text books and study aids (guides) for the intermediate and the graduate programmes; the most celebrated one among them is “Economic Systems”. His books speak volumes of his scholarship, analytical skills and hard work.

  Alongside his academic engagements he showed a keen interest in public life. He served as a Member, Madappally Grama Panchayath and involved actively in socially relevant issues. Prof C O Abraham was an immensely affectionate person with deep empathy and concern for his colleagues, associates, friends and students.

  After his retirement, Prof C O Abraham moved to Kalluvathukkal in Kollam district. He expired on July 9, 2013. He is survived by his wife Mrs Accamma Abraham and daughters Aniamma, Ashamma, Anupama, Minu and Angel.

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  Previous Speakers

  Sl No	Speaker	Year
  1	Prof Prabhat Patnaik	2015
  2	Prof Pulin B Naik	2016
  3	Prof Govind Rao	2017
  4	Dr Vamsi Vakulabharanam	2018
  5	Prof L Venkatachalam	2019
  6	Prof. R Nagaraj	2020

• M P Johnson Memorial Annual Paper Presentation Competition and Best Paper Award

  Sri Johnson M P (1956-1981) was called to the eternal life unexpectedly while he was a student of MA Economics Programme in the Department. He was an outstanding student with exceptional academic records. He secured the highest marks in the BA Economics Programme 1976-79. His teachers and friends still cherish their fond memories of him and remember him for his simplicity, sincerity and commitment to life. This award is instituted by Dr Philip M.P. in loving memory of his brother for the annual paper presentation competition being held in the Department. The First Johnson MP Memorial National Paper Presentation Competition was held in 2020.

• Elbin Simon Memorial Annual Inter-School Quiz Competition

  Elbin Simon departed for the heavenly call unexpectedly while he was a student of BA Economics Programme in the Department.  The Elbin Simon Memorial Inter-School Quiz Competition is an annual event held by the department as part of the annual fest.

• Association Activities
  • Workshops and Skill Development Programmes on Statistical Packages like MS Excel, SPSS, STATA, EViews etc.
  • Economics Discussion Forum on current issues
  • Demographic/Socio-economic/Health Surveys
  • Intra-department quiz
  • Paper/poster presentations
  • Debate competitions
  • Colour a home: financial assistance project for house construction/renovation for the needy students
  • Celebration of Commemorative Days
  • Celebrating Festivals

• Carpediem

  Carpediem is the All India Inter-collegiate economic fest hosted by the department. It is a platform to showcases the talents of the students and is a sought-after event with participation from colleges far and near. Various competitions ranging from quiz and poster designing to dance and photography make the event vibrant. Altogether, Carpediem is an event to cheer and chill out.

• Seminars Conferences and Workshops

  Date	Event
  Oct 11 2021	Inauguration of the 2021-23 Batch M.A Economics
  	Augustine Peter  IES, Former Member at Competition Commission of India & Visiting Fellow, RIS
  28 Sep 2021	Centenary The Alumni Talk  Series 3
  	Vinu Abraham, Script writer
  Sep 27th-30th and Oct 01st, 2nd & 4th	Skill Training Programme: Research Methodology:  Theory and Techniques
  	Dr Martin Patrick, Chief Economist,  CPPR Kochi
  	Skill Training Programme: Introduction to Mendeley
  	Dr. Renjith Thomas, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, St Berchmans College Kerala
  Sep 16 2021	Induction Programme of the  88th Batch of BA Economics 2021-24
  	Dr Mathew Kurian, Joint Director, K.N. Raj Study Centre for Planning and Centre -State Financial Relations
  Sep 17 2021	Groom to Bloom
  	Dr Ajith James Jose, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, St Berchmans College Kerala
  Sep 17 2021	Methodology of Study
  	Rev Fr Tinju Tom, Librarian, Assumption College, Changanassery
  Sep 05	Teachers Day Celebrations
  Aug 02 2021	Invited Lecture and Student Paper Presentations
  	Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Economic Growth and Development
  	Dr. Muhammed Najeeb K K, Fellow, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur
  Jul 24 2021	Centenary The Alumni Talk  Series 2
  	Sibi Mathews, General Manager RBI Mumbai
  17 July 2020	Training Programme in Research Methodology
  	Cyril Philip, University of Hyderabad
  Jul 16 2021	World Population Day Invited Lecture and Essay writing competition
  	World Population Day amid AI and Big Data
  	Dr. Renji George Amballoor, Deputy Director at the Directorate of Higher Education, Govt. of Goa.
  Jun 24 2021	Centenary The Alumni Talk  Series 1
  	Vinod John, Freelance Journalist, Toronto.
  Jun 19 2021	Book Review Competition as part of the National Reading Day 2021 celebrations
  Jun 5 2021	Plant a Tree Campaign as part of the World Environmental Day 2021
  May 6, 2021	Prospects for Economics Graduates
  	George Varghese, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar School of Economics University, Bengaluru.
  May 6, 2021	Prof. C O Abraham Memorial Lecture 2020
  	Prof. R Nagaraj CDS Trivandrum
  Apr 16, 2021	Prof. C Z Scaria Memorial Lecture  2020
  	Prof. R Ramkumar, TISS Mumbai
  Feb 5-12 2021	One week language development programme: Class on English Through Filims
  	Jeeva Theresa Jose, Kristu Jayanti College Bangalore
  Feb 6 2021	Glimpses of Union Budget 2021: Will India Be ‘Back On Track’?
  	Dr. M P Philip, Head, Department of Economics,  Gregorian College of Advanced Studies, Trivandrum
  Jan 30 2021	Pre-Budget Discussion 2021
  	Prof. Mathew Kurian,  KN Raj Centre for Planning and Development,  MG University, Kottayam
  Jan 25, 2021	Prof. KK Francis Memorial Lecture 2020
  	Dr. Alex M Thomas Azim Premji University Bengaluru
  05 Nov 2020	Indian Agriculture and Agriculture Bill 2020
  	Dr. Shaijumon CS, Associate Professor IIST Thiruvananthapuram
  Nov 3, 2020	Student Paper Presentation on Farm Bills
  	Prof. Mathew Kurian, KN Raj Centre for Planning and Development, MG University, Kottayam
  Oct 14 -20, 2020	Inauguration of the 87th Batch of BA Economics Programme (2020-23)
  	KC Johny IRS, Principal Commissioner of GST, Hyderabad
  Aug 22-26, 2020	Five-day Online Faculty Development Programme in Behavioural Economics
  	Dr. Ashish Kulkarni, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune
  	Junofy Anto Rozarina, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
  Jul 17, 20, 21 2020	Workshop on Unethical  Practices in academic writing
  	Fr Tinju Tom, Librarian, Assumption College Changanasserry
  Jun 6 2020	Covid 19 Economic Package: Some Reflections
  	Dr. Philip M P, Former Head, Dept. of Economics, St Berchmans College
  May 30 2020	The New Normal Economy under the post- COVID 19 era
  	Dr. L Venkatachalam, Professor, MIDS, Chennai
  May 16 2020	Online Class Rooms: Issues of Equity & Excellence in Higher Education
  	Dr Rajan Varughese, Hon. Secretary Kerala State Higher Education Council
  Feb 20 2020	Prof. C O Abraham Memorial Lecture
  	on Behavioural Economics for Public Policy
  	Prof. L Venkatachalam, Professor, MIDS Chennai
  Feb 3 2020	National Seminar on Fifty years of Bank Nationalization: Indian Banking at Crossroads
  Dec 6-7 2019	Two-day Workshop on SPSS and Data Handling Techniques
  Nov 25 2019	Women Empowerment Campaign
  	On the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
  	Smt. Mruduladevi Sasidharan (Dalit and Gender Activist)
  Nov 20 2019	Prof. KK Francis Memorial Lecture 2019
  	on Fiscal Policy and Human Development
  	Prof. Surajit Das CESP JNU
  Aug 30 2019	Workshop for Developing socially Relevant pedagogy in Microeconomics
  Aug 29 2019	Prof. C Z Scaria Memorial Lecture 2019
  	on Status of Indian Education: A Few Disquieting Features
  	Prof. V Santhakumar, Azim Premji University Bangalore
  1 Aug 3-14 2018	Two-day Erudite Scholar in Residence Programme 2018 Lecture Series
  	and National Seminar on Equity and Sustainability in a Globalized World
  	Prof Nrarashimha Reddy, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad
  Jul 31- Aug 1 2018	Erudite Scholar in Residence Programme 2018 Lecture Series
  	and National Seminar on Growth Vs Equity: India in the Reform Era
  	Prof Vamsi Vakulabharanam, The University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Weblinks

  Prospects for Economics Graduates | George Varghese

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  Indian Agriculture and Agriculture Bill 2020 | Dr. Shaijumon CS

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  Introduction to Behavioural Economics | Dr. Ashish Kulkarni

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  Decision making under uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases | Dr. Ashish Kulkarni

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  Experimental Economics | Junofy Anto Rozarina

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  Social preferences | Junofy Anto Rozarina

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  Behavioural Economics in public policy | Junofy Anto Rozarina

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  Workshop on Unethical Practices in academic writing | Fr. Tinju Tom