Department Profile: Economics

1. Name of the Department: Economics 

2. Year of establishment: 1956

3. Names of Programs / Courses offered (UG, PG, M.Phil., Ph.D., Integrated Masters, Integrated Ph.D., etc.): UG 

4. Name of Interdisciplinary courses and the departments / units involved: Nil

5. Annual/Semester/Choice Based Credit System (programme wise): Annual

6. Participation of the department in the courses offered by other departments: UG (B. Com. Accountancy Honours, B. Com. General) [Some courses on Economics are covered by the Faculty Members of the Economics Department.]

7. Courses in collaboration with other universities, industries, foreign institutions, etc.: Nil.

8. Details of courses / programs discontinued (if any) with reasons: Nil.

9. Number of teaching posts:

	Sanctioned	Filled
Professor	NA	NA
Associate Professor	No direct recruitment. Promotion only according to UGC-DPI, Govt. of West Bengal-University Rules	01*
Assistant Professor	04	03

^* On lien as Principal of Dinhata College w.e.f. 02 July 2015

10. Faculty profile with name, qualification, designation, area of specialization, experience and research under guidance: 

Name	Qualification	Designation	Specialization	No. of Years of Experience	No. of Ph. D. Students guided for the last 4 years
Dr.Sadhan Chandra Kar	M.A. (Economics), Ph. D.	Associate Professor*	Agricultural Economics, International Trade	30	1 Awarded; 2 Continuing
Dr. Amlan Majumder	M.A. (Economics), M.P.S. (Population Studies), Ph. D.,PDF (JSPS), Japan	Assistant Professor	Demography, Econometrics	15	1 (Doctoral student) Continuing; 1 (Postdoctoral Scholar) continuing
Shri. Sushil Chandra Biswas	M.A. (Economics)	Assistant Professor	Agricultural Economics, Econometrics	8	Nil
Shri. Surath Bir	M.A. (Economics)	Assistant Professor	Agricultural Economics, Resource and Environmental Economics	0             (Joined on 12 Nov 2016)	Nil

^* On lien as Principal of Dinhata College w.e.f. 02 July 2015

 

11. List of senior Visiting Faculty: Dr. Ranendra Narayan Dutta, [Reader (Retired), Dinhata College)], and Prof. Subhasis Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor, Cooch Behar College (in the Acdemic year 2015-2016)

 

12. Percentage of lectures delivered and practical classes handled (program-wise) by temporary faculty: N.A.

13. Student Teacher Ratio (program-wise): 1:1 for Economics Honours;  150:1 for B. A. General (Section-wise)

14. Number of academic support staff (technical) and administrative staff: sanctioned, filled: Nil.

15. Qualification of teaching faculty with DSc/D. Litt/Ph. D./MPhil/PG: Please refer to serial no. 10. 

16. Number of faculty with ongoing projects from a) national b) international funding agencies and grants received: Two UGC MRPs are granted in October 2016 (PIs: Dr. Sadhan Ch.Kar & Dr. Amlan Majumder respectively)

17. Departmental projects funded by DST-FIST; UGC, DBT, ICSSR, etc., total grants received:

Funding agency, etc.	Year	Name of Principal Investigator	Grant Approved (in Rs.)	Grants Received (in Rs.)
UGC-MRP	2004-2005	Dr. Amlan Majumder	90000	90000
UGC-MRP	2009-2010	Dr. Sadhan Ch. Kar	101000	97400
UGC-MRP	2011-2013	Dr. Amlan Majumder	139000	129600

18. Research Centre /facility recognized by the University: No.

19. Publications:

a)         Publication per faculty

b)         Number of papers published in peer reviewed journals (national / international)

c)         Monographs

d)         Chapters in Books

e)         Books edited

f)         Books with ISBN with details of publishers

g)         Seminar/Conference (i. National &ii. International)

h)         Number listed in International Database (For e.g. Web of Science, Scopus, Humanities International Complete, Dare Database - International Social Sciences Directory, EBSCO host, Medline, etc.)

i)          Citation Index – range / average

j)          SNIP

k)         SJR

l)          Impact Factor – range / average

m)        h-index

Name of the Faculty

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i*

j*

k*

l*

m*

i

ii

Dr. Sadhan Ch. Kar

40

11

Nil

8

1

2

16

2

8

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

Dr. Amlan Majumder

43

15

4

5

Nil

2

12

5

38

1-7

0.26

0.19-0.21

NA

6-16

Shri Sushil Ch. Biswas

6

Nil

Nil

1

Nil

Nil

4

1

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Nil

Shri. Surath Bir

Nil

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

NIL

*Based on available index values; NA: Not available

20. Areas of consultancy and income generated: Nil

21.       Faculty as members in  a) National committees b) International committees c) Editorial Boards:

A.        Dr. Sadhan Ch. Kar:

            a) National Committees

i)          Service Rendered as Member on the Board of Undergraduate Studies in Economics in terms of Statute 11(b) for a period of four years w.e.f.07.05.2007

ii)         Service Rendered as Member to the Council for Under Graduate Studies, University of North Bengal for a period of four years w.e.f. 30.06.2010.

iii)        Service Rendered as  Member to the Executive Council, University of North Bengal w.e.f. 24.07.2010 to 02.11.2011

iv)        Service Rendered as a Member of the Publication Committee of North Bengal University for a period of Two Years w.e.f. 29.11.2010.

v)         Service Rendered as Nodal Officer in connection with the Lok Sabha Election 2009.

vi)        Service Rendered as Judge of the National Lok Adalat,

vii)       Service Rendered as Member, Governing Body, Cooch Behar College, Cooch Behar.

ix)        Life Member, The Indian Econometric Society, Regd. No. 345/23-7-1971; L/2082/91-92.

x)         Life Member, Vashistha Institute for North Bengal and North East Developmental Studies, Cooch Behar.

xi)        Life Member, INDIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY.

xii) Member, Sri Aurobinda Society, Pondicherry.

xiii) Member District Sports Association.

            b) International committees: Nil.

            c) Editorial Board:

i)          Member Editorial Board, Vashistha Institute for North Bengal and North East Developmental Studies.

ii)         Journal Member, Society for Economic Research in Bengali, Kolkata.

 B. Dr. Amlan Majumder:

            a) National Committees

i) Indian Economic Association (Life member)

ii) Bengal Economic Association (Life member)    

iii) Centre for Studies on Environment and Sustainable Development, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, India

iv) North Bengal University Alumni Association (Life member)

b) International committees

i) Society for the Study of Economic Inequality (2013-2015)

ii) Human Development and Capability Association (2006-2013)

iii) International Association for Feminist Economics (2007-2012)

iv) Association for the Studies in Public Economics (2008-2010)

v) International Society For Philosophers (Life member)

vi) International Association for Review of Income and Wealth (2016)

c) Editorial Board:

Reviewer of “The Review of Income and Wealth”, Journal of the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, Canada

C. Sri Sushil Ch. Biswas: Nil

D. Sri Surath Bir: Nil

22.       Student project: NA (no such provision in Syllabus)

23.       Awards / recognitions received at the national and international level by Faculty:

a) Dr. Sadhan Ch Kar:

i)          Nominated as a Visiting Fellow to conduct research in Mauritius by the UGC in 2009.

b) Dr. Amlan Majumder:

i)          UGC Travel Grant Award for attending International Conference at the University of Luxembourg (2015)

ii)         CICOPS Fellow (as an Ambassador of the University of Pavia), CICOPS-Centre for International Cooperation and Development, University of Pavia, Italy (2012-Present)

iii)        ‘Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) – KAKENHI’, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan (2010)

iv)        Postdoctoral Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2010-2011)

v)         HDCA Scholarship, Human Development and Capability Association, Boston University (2010)

vi)        Research Scholarship/Travel Grant, Human Development, Capability and Poverty International Research Centre, Institute for Advanced Study, Pavia, Italy (2009)

vii)       UGC Travel Grant Award for attending International Conference at the Simens College, Massachusetts, USA (2009)

viii)      Travel Grant Award from the Association for the Studies in Public Economics, Russia for visiting St Petersburg University, Russia (2008)

ix)        Visiting Fellowship, India-China Cultural Exchange Programme (2008)

x)         IDRC Scholarship (International Development Research Centre, Canada) (2007)

xi).       IAFFE Scholarship, International  Association For Feminist Economics (2007)

xii).      Research Scholarship Human Development, Capability and Poverty International Research Centre, Institute for Advanced Study, Pavia, Italy (2006)

xiii)      IDRC Scholarship (International Development Research Centre, Canada)   (2006)

xiv)      CICOPS Scholarship, CICOPS-Centre for International Cooperation and Development University of Pavia, Italy (2005)

xv)       “Srinivasan Award” for the Best Technical Paper of the year 2001 in ‘Demography  India’ by the Indian Association for the Study of Population (2002)

c) Shri Sushil Ch. Biswas: Nil

d) Shri Surath Bir: Nil

Students: Nil

24.       List of eminent academicians and scientists / visitors to the department: Nil.

25.       Seminars/ Conferences/Workshops organized and the source of funding  a) National: One (19-20 December 2015/UGC).

b) International: Nil

26. Student profile program-wise: 

Name of the Course/Programme (refer to question no. 4)	Applications received	Selected Male    Female	Enrolled		Pass percentage
			* M	* F
B. A. (Hons.) 2016-2017	18	2                3	1	3	-
B. A. (Hons.) 2015-2016	4	1                3	1	1	50
B. A. (Hons.) 2014-2015	3	0	0	0	-
B. A. (Hons.) 2013-2014	1	0	0	0	-

27. Diversity of students:

Name of the Course	% of students from the same State	% of students from other State	% of students from abroad
B.A.(Hons.) 2015-2016	50%	-	50%
B.A.(Hons.) 2016-2017	100%	-	-

28. How many students have cleared national and state competitive examinations such as NET, SLET, GATE, Civil Services and Defense Services etc.?: Record not maintained.

29. Details of infrastructural facilities 

Library:

Students mainly avail the Central Library. However, the Department has few books in its collection as well as several national and international journals subscribed mainly by its faculty members, such as (i) Population and Development Review, (ii) Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, (iii) Feminist Economics, (iv) Journal of Economic Inequality, (v) Indian Economic Journal, (vi) Journal of Quantitative Economics, (vii) Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, (viii) Artha Bijnana, (ix) Artha Beekshan, (x) Review of Income and Wealth, and (xi) Alekhya; newsletters and magazines, such as (i) JSPS Quarterly, and (ii) Reader’s Digest.

30. Internet facilities for staff and students: Part of Central facilities.

Class rooms with ICT facility: NA.

Laboratories: NA.

31. Number of students receiving financial assistance from College, University, government or other agencies: Data maintained by the College.

32. Details of student enrichment programmes (special lectures / workshops/seminar) with external experts:

“Insurance Marketing in India” (03 October 2015;

 “Foreign Trade in India” (13 October 2015);

 “Save the Girl Child” (21 November 2015);

“Through Youth Development Programme Environment and Cultural Conservation and Alternative Livelihood” in North Bengal Region (27 November 2015).

33. Teaching methods adopted to improve student learning:

Lecture, demonstration, Technology Aided Teaching, GD and Rapid Participatory Techniques.

34. Participation in Institutional Social Responsibility (ISR) and Extension activities: Through the NSS Units of the College.

35. SWOC analysis of the department and future plans: 

Strength	Weakness	Opportunity	Challenge
The department did not have students in Economics Honours for several years. After a long draught, last year the Department got two students – one from Dinhata Sub-division (India) and the other from Nepal. Unavailability of students in Economics Honours is not specific to this College. This is a general trend prevailing in this region for a decade or so. The good news is that in the present academic year (2016-2017) we get four students.	This situation is mainly due to the factors in the demand side, as there is no or little desire for obtaining BA (Honours) in Economics among the new pass-outs from the High Schools. In the supply side, in spite of poor physical infrastructure, the Department is well-equipped to run all the programmes offered by the College. The senior most member of the Department, joined as Principal of the College recently. In spite of his busy schedule, although he is taking classes, the Department needs two more teachers to run the programmes smoothly.	Further, the news of research activities done by the Department crossed the State as well as national boundaries and thanks to these, the Department has been able to attract attention of the national and internationalcommunities.	The challenge for the Department at present is to generate demand for the subject locally among the potential students. It is hoped that the joy of learning Economics (Honours) in Dinhata College will attract many students in days to come.