Social Impact

Inadequate essential education, especially when it comes to financial literacy, has time and again posed as an unavoidable obstacle to the socio-economic development of individuals. To counter this, FinX Institute (Formerly BSE Institute Ltd) Ltd joined hands with Municipal Corporation of Great Mumbai (MCGM) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), for the inclusion of financial literacy subjects in the curriculum of BMC schools. This initiative, called ‘The Financial Literacy Mission’, was supported and inaugurated by Hon. Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban and Minister of State for Tourism and Environment Shri. Aditya Thackeray. The inauguration was attended by esteemed officials of the BMC Education Department, as well as students and teachers from municipal schools. Through this initiative, FinX Institute (Formerly BSE Institute Ltd) Ltd integrated a curriculum with key financial concepts for students of grade 8 and 9. Mr. Thackeray also unveiled the published books to the audience, which was met with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.

The transition from school to workplace is an exciting time for many young souls, bringing with it the prospect of social and economic independence. Children completing higher secondary school have very little scope of exploring vocational options in the BFSI sector. To provide a meaningful solution to this problem faced by many youngsters in our country, we, with the support of World Bank, have come out with an initiative wherein the main goal is to train disadvantaged and at-risk youth in trade specific skills and subsequently transition them into formal and sustainable employment. We do this by piloting an in-class learning for select group of participants and teachers. Through this, we have been able to train 65 bright minds coming out of low income families, out of which 61 were offered mentored-internships in Data science and Microfinance companies. This programme has turned out to be a successful venture in preparing and molding the youth to be job-ready and also providing them an opportunity to study from the best faculty and work with esteemed organizations.

Youth are potential agents for positive societal change. Young people can play a distinct role in the socio-economic and political development of their communities. Education and livelihood options that support the development of relevant skills and capacity can support youth to constructively contribute to their communities and society as a whole. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has launched a livelihood generation training programme in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector. This programme is the result of a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between us and Mission Youth of Jammu and Kashmir. The government’s objective is to bridge the gap between demand and supply of a skilled workforce and create a strong environment for professional and technical skill development in Jammu and Kashmir. The short-term programme helps them begin their journey as entrepreneurs, thereby creating wealth for themselves & opportunities for many more future generations.

Imagine your younger self getting an opportunity to do real time trading in the prestigious halls of Bombay Stock Exchange. FinX Institute (Formerly BSE Institute Ltd) makes this a possibility for many youngsters by initiating a one of a kind national level financial market competition called ‘Stock Torero - Tame the bull’, which seeks to cultivate the financial aptitude of aspiring students. The competition effectively renders real trading scenarios in the financial markets including financial professionals such as brokers, bankers, and a media team that feeds mock news affecting the demand and supply of stocks thereby giving an experiential front-row feel of competitive trading to the participants. Management students from reputed business schools, participate to hone their financial prowess. The excitement and enthusiasm seen amongst the competitors is cosmic, to say the least. The purpose of this tournament is to acclaim financial trading as a specialized skill amongst young minds.

Finance, Art & Literature might be a disparate mix, but this unlikely fusion comes into existence with The Dalal Street Lit Fest Exchange (DSLFX). The event is graced by a galaxy of diverse talents from the finance, music, art and journalism space. It is an annual affair initiated by us as a platform for people to exchange their ideas, viewpoints, opinions and most importantly, their love for Finance and Art. This extravaganza also hosts many art workshops and wellness activities. This event is always looked forward to every year, as it is a medium where people get to interact with an exciting brigade of noted and reputed personalities from different walks of life.

With the spike of interest in new financial trends such as crypto-currency, NFT, etc. there has also been a spike in youngsters wanting to become more aware of the financial landscape. Today’s students are financially curious and impulsive, but far too often lack what many of us consider “common life skills” involving personal finance. To further propel the movement of increasing financial awareness among the youth, our Institute organizes a nationally recognized and innovative financial quiz tournament annually known as BIFO (BSE International Financial Olympiad). The Financial Olympiad aims to encourage students to explore, discover and learn more about financial world and to develop analytical and problem solving skills that will be essential for their career advancement, discovery, learning and application of commerce and finance among students from class 9th to 12th. The competition is awaited and invites participation from schools not just all over India, but the world.

Careers in finance can be extremely rewarding, exciting, and lucrative, but also high pressured, demanding and nerve-wrecking. Because of the confluence of emotional and mental aspects required for these careers, investment firms often look for specific skills and characteristics in potential employees. There are various roles in investment firms, but one of the highest profile and most sought after is investment banking. To promote this, a training programme was launched by us to equip college students with necessary work skills and prepare them for meaningful employment through our CPIBO (Certificate Program in Investment Banking Operations) programme. Over 4000 students were given the opportunity to learn and gain knowledge about Investment Banking and its operations, preparing them for working in the BFSI sectors after graduation. The programme also focused on soft skills such as the English language and business communications. The students were extremely excited and hopeful for a brighter future as they were promised significant employment opportunities through quality interventions across India

Akin to the Olympics, the Worldskills competitions are the pinnacle of skill achievement, where young minds compete in different skill-based tournaments. To bolster the importance of financial trading as a skill, we partnered with IBMC Professionals, to launch the ‘BSE Financial Trading Competition’ at Worldskills, Abu Dhabi. The competition used BSE On-Line Trading (BOLT), the world’s fastest trading platform. The tournament provided students an experience in mastering the complexities of trading, with the simulation based on the actual systems used to trade in the financial markets. The aim was to raise awareness of the potential and career prospects in stock trading, as well as to promote it as a highly specialized skill.

Finance can be a tough nut to crack as it has complex concepts and instruments which may not be easy to understand. Thankfully, within the confines of financial literacy, there exist a plethora of learning aids such as board games that help teach a diverse range of topics to learners of all age groups. Keeping this in mind, we have conceptualized a fun assortment of board games that can be effectively used to simplify financial topics across all age groups and strata of society. Some concepts covered by our games include Risk and Return, Compound Interest, Insurance, etc. These games help in making financial spheres easier to grasp by making them fun and relatable. The participants are able to enhance their financial knowledge thereby bringing about responsible behavioral changes in the long-term.

Anyone who’s ever struggled in school with certain subjects must have always wondered, – “Will I ever actually use this knowledge after I graduate?” But Financial Literacy, when included in a school curriculum, would definitely prove to be beneficial in making the children financially sound and cognizant in their developing years. Financial edification at the school level is one key aspect we identified, that needed an intervention. In order to meet this objective, our Institute, in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), have drafted a syllabus and textbooks for certification courses in Banking and Insurance to be taught in public and private schools. Drawing from our intensive knowledge of the underlying subjects, our Institute designs the syllabus to reflect the tasks performed by job holders in the work environment rather than just imparting bookish knowledge. Furthermore, the content is tailored to suit the aptitude of school students. The course is entirely experiential based, where students learn through a 7simulated approach .The students are ecstatic to le8arn as many of them aspire to get into the finance arena when they grow up.

As India stands poised at the precipice of the digital economic revolution, it is imperative that the women of the country, especially those in rural India, play a substantial role in making India’s economy dynamic. Financial literacy is one of the primary barriers to financial inclusions of the rural population. The gap between rural women and their urban counterparts in terms of financial knowledge and literacy is huge. In trying to fill these very gaps, we have initiated a Financial Literacy & Life Skills for Rural Women; program in Shivaganga, Tamil Nadu. The aim of this program is to create awareness about micro-financial activities and educate women about life skills involving Savings, Money-management, etc. This program provides an opportunity for women to gain training in financial life skills and acquaint themselves to the economic scenario in India as well as become self-employed individuals. The women are very grateful to our institute and are hopeful that this initiative will help them become more self-independent.

A few decades ago, financial literacy was rarely encouraged within schools. Children were expected to gain their financial knowledge and know how’s from their parents or on their own. Inclusion of mindful financial literacy right from childhood is pivotal for children to learn the basics of financial management early on. A popular initiative by our Institute is ‘ Learning Outside The Classroom’ – that conducts various workshops in schools from Std VI to IX by creating a simulation program to teach financial management habits such as savings, investment, banking, budgeting. They are also taught about various financial instruments, through a series of interactive game-based activities. The objective of these programs is to inculcate good financial habits from a young age. The students are always curious and excited to learn new financial concepts through our extremely interactive and animated way of teaching.

To keep a check on India’s highly animated economy, the Government comes out with numerous programs, policies and guidelines. When Demonetization had taken the nation by storm, very few actually understood the nuances and the intention behind formulating such an intensive policy. It has thus become crucial for the workforce to keep themselves aware of what impact would it cause on the social and economic front. We have incorporated programs to enrich our teaching curriculum by including topics such as G.S.T., Demonetization, etc. A market-like simulation is created through a gaming experience. This technique aims to teach the students the causes and impact of Demonetization on all sectors of the market. The students role-play the functions of various stakeholders in different sectors. They are able to grasp the concepts with a more practical approach as well as understand the intricacies and complications that come with Demonetization.

The highly popularized cricket tournament IPL T20 making half the nation glued to their televisions, is one of the most recognized and watched sports extravaganza by both children and adults alike. Hence, taking the lead from the same, we launched its quirky spin-off version for class 7th students of the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government School at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate. Using the premise of the IPL T20 bidding process, in the T20 Mock Stock game, the students had to bid, buy, sell and negotiate for their favorite Cricketers. The game made it easy for the students to practically grasp the intricacies behind basic concepts of trading, buying and selling of shares, listings, etc by adopting an experiential learning approach. This session proved to be a throbbing success among the students and teachers alike.

Faculty vitality is the main ingredient to enhance professional education and competence. Enriching the faculty in key domains of teaching, assessing and research is perceived to improve the educational environment significantly and enhances the academic performance of learners. With India’s aggressively changing economy, we strive on upgrading our meticulously selected faculty about the latest economic trends by conducting Faculty Development Programme. These programs are a stand-alone educational pedagogy in fostering knowledge and professional skills of faculty. The curriculum of the programme is to ensure that our market expert faculty members keep pace with the changing demands of the industry. Also with the orientation of the student body changing from theoretical to experiential learning, our faculty development programmes focus on creating and emphasizing learner-centered teaching. The program aims to nurture a productive culture for the students, by maximizing the ability of a faculty to teach

Though not a highly glamourized subject in school, Mathematics has proved to be a foundation for many of the financial concepts prevalent in today’s economy. Our inability to deal rationally with very large numbers and the probabilities associated with them results in misinformed government policies, confused personal financial decisions and an increased susceptibility to pseudoscience of all kinds. We at FinX Institute (Formerly BSE Institute Ltd), conduct many Mathematics activity workshops wherein the most effective practices and pedagogy in mathematics are taught. The audiences for these programs are primarily Math teachers working in schools, colleges and similar institutions, inspectorates, regulators, publishers, systems suppliers, trainers and recruiters. With mathematics being omnipresent in our day to day life, our workshops also try and integrate mathematics with real life applications so as to make it more relatable and easy to comprehend. Since inception, these workshops have been very successful in making sure that even the most complex of mathematical questions, can be resolved in a recreational way.

Some key program highlights include:

As a fresher, stepping into the corporate world can be daunting as one is unaware of the many unspoken norms and nuances an employee faces once they start working. Hence, adjusting to a professional set-up can be an extremely challenging experience if not given proper guidance. We are always on the lookout to identify such gaps which are becoming hurdles for today’s youth, preventing them from pursuing illustrious corporate careers. We have thus initiated the “Campus to Corporate” program wherein we address the voids in adaptation of core skills and help candidates get better equipped with functional English communication and Interpersonal skills. These skills empower them and prepare them to face the challenges of the dynamic spirited corporate world. The candidates are thus able to take a confident first step towards a luminous career.

Education is a vast domain which should be accessible to everyone. Majority of the educational content is either on paper or online resulting in educational needs of a differently-abled person almost always overlooked. We believe in providing inclusive education to all and by identifying this void, we have thus collaborated with Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged to create audiobooks and other audio content on various financial concepts, for Visually Impaired students. This content has been created in consultation with industry experts and promises to provide a practical and holistic learning of various financial instruments. Our goal is to integrate the differently abled and prepare them for growth, enabling them to face life with courage and confidence.

There needs to be a bridge for ideas between the decision makers of today and passionate leaders of tomorrow by providing the youth with opportunities that would help them make meaningful contributions to the process of nation building. In this regard we organize Model Parliament, an event to help students gain an understanding of the workings of our parliament, public policy issues, discuss live issues, participate in discussion as ruling party and opposition, learn how decisions take place, understand the role of the speaker and how bills are passed. Over the years we have conducted Model parliament sessions for more than 1,000 students for various South Mumbai colleges. The simulated parliament debate is organized amongst students of various colleges of Mumbai. The students are able to get an insight into the processes that are undertaken during Parliamentary sessions. With these sessions, we seek to promote a series of skills that, with proper teaching and guidance, can aid in the holistic development of an individual. This activity exposes participants to current events and local political and economic issues.

Generation Z are the most connected generation to date with an emerging characteristic of theirs being the desire to have a positive impact on the world. We recognize these shifting priorities for our current and future students, and to engage with their efforts to positively impact the world we have initiated the SARATHI initiative. Through this initiative, our students are able to channel the vast resource of energy they have to offer, towards the improvement of our community. The programs are conducted solely by our student volunteers with guidance from our pool of faculty. Getting involved with Sarathi enables them to build leadership skills, management skills and imbibes in them a sense of moral responsibility. As a part of this initiative, students also get the privilege of interacting with social entrepreneurs and grassroots leaders involved with volunteer work. This initiative has been largely successful in invoking social responsibility amongst our students.

India is a country with a large number of working class also known as blue-collar workers. While skilling and development programs are widely implemented for the white-collar staff; there is a lack of structured training programs and institutes available for the blue-collar counterparts. As our economy is recovering from the blow of Covid, the employability of the blue-collar workforce has largely increased. However, the skillset gap between the while-collar and unskilled blue-collar workforce remains as wide as it was. We recognize the role we can play in being a part of their upskilling journey and have thus introduced a number of programs to increase employment opportunities for the working class. Through these programs, the workers are able to learn more about Work Etiquettes, Basics of English. The training curriculum, designed by our very competent student volunteers of Sarathi, help in not just diversifying and amplifying their skill sets, but also motivating them to use more of their analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities. Through these programs, we wish to someday create a capable intuitive workforce out of these talented individuals.

Children below poverty line are at great risk of several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, physical abuse and neglect, behavioral and socio-emotional problems, physical health problems, maltreatment by parents, etc. Our Institute, with the help of our bright student volunteers of Sarathi, have decided to resolve this problem by introducing an initiative known as SEEK (Safe Environment for Every Kid).Through this initiative, the volunteers organize safety seminars to teach personal safety to young destitute children. The primary aim is to equip these children to stay safe in situations they may encounter in their daily lives. They are taught to take part in their own protection by giving them age-appropriate information, skills and confidence to face the real world. The students are able to build their self-esteem which in turn empowers them to practice assertiveness skills for their own protection.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission was a campaign administered by the Indian government and introduced by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi which served as a great initiative in making people aware of the importance of cleanliness in our day to day lives. This drive was formulated to cover through the length and breadth of India to make them clean. We have also taken an initiative aligned with this purpose by launching our own Swachh Bharat campaign. This initiative is taken upon by our brilliant student volunteers. Wherein they conduct weekly workshops with the street vendors in our vicinity and educate them about the importance of cleanliness and hygiene. Cleanliness among street vendors is extremely important to maintain as this not only affects their own health, but also the people they serve around them. This small but significant step taken by our student volunteers hopes to one day pave a path towards a cleaner India.

English and mathematics are two subjects that always make it to the syllabus of most educational institutions. The reason for this is not far-fetched: both subjects are very essential in producing well rounded and aware students. Our student volunteers at SARATHI have hence started the Shiksha program, wherein they collaborate with our expert bunch of faculties to design a syllabi of these two subjects for children studying in government schools. The curriculum is designed in such a way, so as to make the subject easier to comprehend, interesting and relatable for children. A good level of understanding in these core subjects can translate to the future generation having more control over their finances, communication, and better awareness of political and current affairs.

Inclusive education has paved a pathway for educating students with special educational needs and cognitive challenges. Among the most pressing issues for youth with disabilities are the development of knowledge and skills with regards to financial independence and money management. Students with physical disabilities need inclusive, specific, and specialized financial literacy training to reach financial stability as an adult. In order to address these concerns, we have customized a comprehensive financial literacy program known as ‘Drishti’. Our student volunteers, along with our esteemed faculty, carry out various financial literacy workshops under this program to impart economic knowledge to these people. The students are able to learn about positive financial behavior such as saving, spending responsibly, money management, investing, etc. Through this initiative, we wish to one day close the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of the world with a concerted effort to improve financial inclusion for the most vulnerable.

Students coming from marginalized backgrounds face various difficulties in acquiring education and pursuing a meaningful career. We believe that a disadvantaged backdrop should not be a barrier to a person’s growth and have hence partnered with TATA Institute of Social Sciences to create an expertly designed curriculum for their National University Student Skill Development (NUSSD) Programme. The NUSSD Program is a unique initiative on skill development designed to enable graduating youths from underprivileged background to acquire employment-oriented skills while pursuing their graduation from the regional colleges. The programme also aims at fostering inner potential in students, stimulate their critical thinking, inculcate a sense of civic responsibility and develop their skills through our cutting-edge pedagogy. The programme has been successful in increasing employability of graduating youths across India.

Skill training has been proven to enhance the proficiency of a person by building on their professional network, communication, time management and negotiation skills. Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) is an initiative to propel the upskilling revolution, launched by the Government of Kerala, to impart skill training to the Higher Secondary and undergraduate students of the state. We have collaborated with ASAP to formulate financial courses with our expert body of faculty. The program has been able to create employment opportunities for unemployed youth in Kerala by enhancing their skill sets of the labor force in general by emphasizing industry linkages. Our goal is to bring about a 360 degree shift in thinking pattern, attitude, and behavior and confidence level of students.

The stock market has been a target of various frauds committed by scamsters which are still remembered to this day. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have been responsible of keeping such white collar economic crimes in check. To make them more financially proficient in the stock trading domain, we have conducted a two-day program on “Understanding Capital Market and its Unfair Trade Practices”. This training program has helped the officials grasp the inner-workings of the capital markets and increased their knowledge on the various trade practices. This program has been successful in making our capable law-keepers learn the in-depth functioning of capital markets and the unlawful frauds that come with it.

Though many things work in favor of a military personnel from the financial standpoint, that doesn’t obviate the need for a secure financial plan after retirement. Protecting the family financially and planning for life after service are the two main challenges for a military person. Thanks to our esteemed presence in the financial industry, we had the prestigious opportunity to conduct special training programs for the Indian Armed forces. The programs were made to make our armed forces) more financially savvy and knowledgeable. We are immensely proud of getting the opportunity to serve our brave countrymen through our financial expertise.

State and local government workers face increasingly complex challenges in financial decision making. With an animated economy like India’s and government workforce currently being in a period of economic transition, many public employees must navigate different options and structures for retirement and other benefits. We have thus initiated ‘Financial Awareness’ and ‘Digital Banking Seminars’ for the executives, staff and their family members, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) in New Delhi. Through these seminars, the attendees have been able to gain a deeper understanding on a range of fundamental and essential topics related to finance, making them updated with current financial innovations and trends.

Regulators across the globe have adopted investor education and awareness as a key strategy to enhance investor protection, promote investor confidence and foster investor engagement in financial planning and decision-making .The Investor Awareness Program (IAP) is our endeavor towards educating investors and helping them make informed meaningful investments. These programs are a great opportunity for investors to know more about the merits of investing and various other issues pertaining to investments. Protecting the interest of the investors dealing in securities is one of the main objectives of the program initiated by our institute. We are regularly conducting many Investor Awareness programs at PAN-India level to educate investors and to create awareness amongst them regarding the working of the capital market and in particular the working of the Stock Exchanges.

Surveillance, Risk Management and Securities Settlement have emerged as critical factors for successful functioning of stock exchanges. We have thus initiated a Risk management program to address various security vulnerabilities and risk assessment of an organization. Conducted within the premises of our institute, this program is highly recommended for Senior to Mid-level officials from the Regulator, Securities Market Commission, Stock Exchanges, Central and Commercial Banks, Financial Institutions, Broking Houses, Corporate and other Financial Services. This program aids the participants to equip themselves with assessing, monitoring and managing skills in risk management with greater efficiency and efficacy.

South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is a cooperative platform launched by the bourses in South Asia with a purpose to promote the development and harmonization of the securities markets in the region. Our institute is also included in the forum and is one of the representatives from India. The forum provides these member countries a platform giving them an opportunity to share, exchange and promote technological knowhow, speak about their experiences from the rapid growth and development of capital market as well as work towards regional and global integration. The members of SAFE work towards safeguarding international accounting standards and best business practices in capital markets. SAFE is able to represent its members in related international forums, encourage cross-border listing, co-operate in human resource development, facilitate technology transfer among members and address other issues of common interest

It’s important to educate children on finances and investment as it is math in practice, where one learns to use numbers to grow their money. It is never too early to introduce children to the big world of stock market and our honest endeavor has always been to disseminate knowledge and know-how on the workings of the capital markets to our student community. Citing this, we have launched a live and extremely enriching experience for our young learners called “Immersive Walk through the Stock Exchange.” Here, students from different parts of the country are given an opportunity to visit our very own Bombay Stock Exchange to get an overview and understanding of the working of stock markets. During the visit, the students acquire knowledge about the Stock Exchange structure, its process, procedures and the various products traded on it. This visit enables students to expand their financial knowledge base.

Even though the literacy rate in Nizamabad is well above the national average, it does not reflect in the quality and quantity of jobs available in the region. The socio-economic conditions of the women are so poor, it has hampered their ability to start and develop their own business. To solve this problem, we have trained 40 young women in financial and soft skills, and entrepreneurship in Nizamabad. The knowledge and skill-driven camp is divided into 3 parts. The first six weeks comprises mostly of financial literacy concepts, wherein students were taught basic finance. The second part includes teaching about the importance of investing and saving. The third part caters to skill development and entrepreneurship necessary to start their own businesses. With this programme, our aim is to make women in Nizamabad not just self-reliant, but also entrepreneurs of tomorrow.