The goal of undergraduate courses in Economics that are offered at the college level is not to prepare professional economists- although some of the students might become such. The primary objective of such courses is to disseminate information about the future prospects of Economics students and to help them acquire knowledge about the subject as a way of life. It is not possible to put together an adequate picture of any sphere of social life- whether politics, family life or even science or literature- without a clear understanding of its economic basis.
The undergraduate courses offered by the Department of Economics, Ramananda College, Bishnupur aim to bring its concentrators to a point where they understand and can evaluate what is occurring in the world around them and at the same time plan their future.
The Department of Economics, Ramananda College, Bishnupur started its long way journey in the year 1945 along with the inception of the college itself. During the initial two years, the department offered only Intermediate Arts (IA) Course. In 1947, B.A. General Course was introduced. Since 1966 the department has been successfully running the undergraduate Honours Course in Economics. From 1981 onwards, both B.A. and B.Sc. degrees were introduced by the affiliating university (The University of Burdwan) according to the subject combinations of the students. The Department of Economics up to 2016, offered B.A. /B.Sc. Honours and General courses under The University of Burdwan and since 2017 the department has been addressing the B.A. /B.Sc. Honours and General courses under Bankura University.
Quite a considerable percentage of the students who have crossed the UG level from this department have moved on to join PG courses at various universities. Some of them have further progressed to join M. Phil. and Ph.D Programmes. Most of the students who have graduated from the department since its inception have been well placed in various occupations, viz., teaching at schools and colleges, banking service, management service, and various administrative services.
The Department of Economics is old enough and has witnessed many ups and downs over the years thereby gaining in strength and gathering some weaknesses as well in the process. A harmonious environment in the department with a very close family like interaction that is stimulating for teachers and students alike is the most important area of strength. The teaching faculty truly enjoys talking with and working with the undergraduates. The students are welcome during office hours, after class and even at home on holidays. They can seek advice and counsel on issues ranging from programmes of study, career plans, study habits and so forth to advise on personal problems. Even after passing out some of the students who join the postgraduate courses often come with different problems and get clarified by the teachers. The teachers also gladly help the students (who come to them) in preparing for various professional examinations by providing guidance and books from their personal collections, sometimes even by borrowing from the library.
Perhaps the most important resource to the students of any department is the wealth of experience, enterprise and creativity found in one's teachers. The Department of Economics can arguably boast of its sincere, capable and motivated teachers who constantly try to monitor their students and motivate them to develop eagerness to apply themselves to their studies.
A rich collection of books on different aspects of Economics in the college library and the departmental library to which the teachers and students have easy access is another aspect that could be highlighted.
In recent years, the lack of sufficient students has surfaced as the most serious threat to the department. Also, the students that the department gets at the intake level are, by and large, qualitatively very poor. Students having studied both Economics and Mathematics at +2 level and having concentration in Economics as their aim are very rare.
But then, we, as Economics concentrators, are familiar with business cycles. Cyclical fluctuations are very much in consonance with the laws of life. May be, we are presently witnessing the slump with respect to student enrolment, but we hope to be on the upswing soon in the natural process. With recent trends of globalisation, financial liberalisation, and digital revolution, interest for economic matters has increased manifold among the common people and simultaneously the Economics concentrators find a new dimension of opportunity and hope. We believe that hope is the rope that swings us through life.
Prospects of Studying Economics
Some information about the future prospects of Economics students, in general, can be highlighted. There are many good reasons to take up the Economics Hons. Course. For students interested in international trade or stock market, Economics is the natural choice. Students may choose to concentrate in the Economics Hons. Course because it provides obvious intellectual advantages as a foundation for professional works in business, banking, management, administration, law and even in environmental studies and computer applications. Thus the Economics Hons. students go to work in business, politics, teaching, research, state level and national level Civil Services, social services and charitable work through NGOs and other occupations.
Specifically,
1. A reasonably good student may prefer to continue in the academic sphere taking teaching and research in various economic and social issues. Teaching assignments are available at schools, colleges, universities and specialized institutes. In fact, there are numerous research institutes in India (like the IIMs, IGIDR, Institute of Economic Growth, Institute of Public Finance, Institute of Foreign Trade and Management, Delhi School of Economics etc.) and abroad (IMF, World Bank, IDA, UNDP etc.) for students who specialize in Economics.
2. A challenging occupation for Economics concentrators could be those of business executives, financial analysts and managers.
3. Students of Economics can also opt for journalism in both print and audiovisual media. In fact, newspapers, magazines and TV channels recruit Economics students as economic correspondents and stock market analysts.
4. Students with Economics concentration can go in for civil services (IAS, WBCS etc.) and other professional exams, where they will find themselves relatively better placed than most others.
5. Finally, certain specialised services are available for concentrators in Economics - e.g., Indian Economic Service, Research Officers in the Reserve Bank's Economic and Policy Analysis department. Most other banks (Like the NABARD, IDBI, SBI etc.) and various stock markets also have special post for economists.
Departmental Accommodation & Built-up Area
The department does not have a separate building or wing of its own, being housed along with all other humanities and social science departments in the college main building. In a sense, therefore, a major portion of the main building of the college is at the disposal of the department for classes etc. However, a small room (Room No. 10) of area 31sq.m. has been earmarked exclusively for the Department of Economics where Honours classes, departmental meetings, open house discussions, departmental functions etc. are held. Recently a small departmental library with ninety (plus) books has been established in this room.
Facilities Available to Students
**No of Books in the College Central Library: 1500 (+)
**No of Books in the Departmental Library: 90
**No of Economics Journals Available in the College Central Library: 03(Yojana ; EPW; Journal of Money & Finance)
List of Ex-Teachers
The Department of Economics had been enriched by the following teaching personalities.
Future Plan
The Department also has a plan to create a “Data Base” consisting of up to date national, state and district level economic data for facilitating future research projects of the department.
| SL No | NAME OF THE TEACHER |
| 1 | DR. MOUSUMI MUKHOPADHYAY (PATRA) |
| 2 | DR. PRASANTA KUMAR PATRA |