Mr. Arvind Kumar Yadav, a researcher from the School of Economics at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, has successfully completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics. Under the guidance of Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena, Faculty at the School of Economics, SMVDU, he conducted empirical analysis on "Maternal Health Care Services Utilization in India" and has published scientific research papers in high-impact factor international journals ranked in the SSCI, SCI, SCOPUS, and ABDC ranked journals. Mr. Yadav has also presented his research work at various national and international conferences. He is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Akal University, Talwandi Sabo, Punjab. The scholar expresses his gratitude to the School of Economics, SMVD University, for providing all necessary facilities and support during his research work. Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU; Dean, Faculty of Management; Head, School of Economics, and other committee members congratulated the scholar and wished him a bright future.

Ms. Garima Gupta, a student of five-year Integrated M.Sc. Economics (2017-2022), School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) has qualified Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)-cum-Assistant Professorship in her first attempt. The student is in the final year of her studies, and the first student from the School of Economics (SOE) to crack UGC-JRF. The student aspires to do research in Economics.Ms. Garima is also a recipient of a university-level scholarship, and she has completed a summer internship at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Jammu, during the period of April 2021-July 2021. The Faculty of the School of Economics congratulated her on this success, and wished her good luck for her future endeavors.

Ms. Meenu Sharma, a Research Scholar at the School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), has successfully completed her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Economics. Her research topic was "Impact of Micro Finance on Women Empowerment: A Study of Jammu Region," and she completed her studies under the supervision of Dr. Meenakshi Gupta, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, SMVDU, and co-supervision of Dr. Roop Lal Sharma, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, SMVDU. Ms. Sharma has published research papers indexed in ABDC-ranked journals and presented several research papers at national and international conferences. Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, the vice-chancellor, and other committee members congratulated Ms. Sharma on her achievement and wished her a bright future ahead.

Ms. Ananya Abrol, 1st year student, B.A.(Hons) M.A. (Economics) from School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), bagged a gold medal in 3rd J&K Powerlifting Championship 2021-22 for deadlift of 50 kg in 52kg class in the women sub junior category, organized by All J&K Powerlifters Association on 25th November 2021, Jammu.

The Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, Prof. RK Sinha, Dean, Faculty of Management & Head, and other faculty members of Economics department congratulated the candidate.

Mr. Ishfaq Hamid, a Research Scholar at the School of Economics at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), has successfully qualified for the award of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics. His research topic was “Impact of Corruption, Democracy and Political Stability on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Inflows in SAARC Countries,” which he completed under the supervision of Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena, Assistant Professor at the School of Economics, SMVDU.The candidate received the Centrally Sponsored ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship, and he has published research papers in SCI/SCIE/SSCI and ABDC-ranked journals. He has presented his research at various international and national conferences and has worked on different research projects sponsored by ICSSR and NITI Aayog. Currently, he is working at MICA-Ahmedabad.The researcher expressed his gratitude to the School of Economics at SMVD University and ICSSR for their support and facilities that helped him carry out his research work. Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor of SMVDU, the Dean of FOM, the Head of SOE, and other committee members congratulated him on his achievement and wished him a successful future.

Ms. Farah F. Shah, Research Student, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), bagged the best paper award for a paper titled 'Antecedents to Short-Term Migration of Labour-An Empirical Investigation' at an international conference on "Sustainable Finance, Economics & Accounting in the Pre & Post Paraandemic Era", held at IIM Jammu under the aegis of Ministry of Education, GoI, University of Bradford, UK, Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). The paper received the 'Best Paper Award' at the conference by ICSI on the theme of 'Sustainable Governance.

The paper examines the various attributes of short-term migrants and their sectoral transition in the Kashmir region, drawing on a primary multi-stage individual survey. Ms. Shah has been pursuing Ph.D. research on 'In-migration and Labour Market Formation: A study of Jammu and Kashmir' at SMVDU, and this paper is an excerpt from her research.

Mr. Aqib Mujtaba, Research Scholar, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, has been declared qualified for the PhD degree in Economics award. He has worked on the topic titled “Analyzing the Impact of Economic Growth, Energy Consumption and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows on Environment: Evidence from Emerging Economies” under the supervision of Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena, Faculty, School of Economics, SMVDU. The candidate has published scientific research papers in high-impact factor international journals ranked in the ABDC, SCOPUS, SCI, and others. He has also presented his research work at various national and international conferences. Mr. Mujtaba is an awardee of the national fellowship for higher education of ST students and has worked as a senior research fellow of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India; he thanked the MoTA for granting financial support. Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU; Dean, FOM, Head, SOE and other committee members congratulated the scholar and wished him a bright future.

The School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, organized a second lecture of the fortnightly webinar series on the topic “Global Economy Post Covid-19 pandemic. ”The lecture was delivered by Prof. Manas Paul, Professor & Area Chair, Economic Environment and Policy, IMT Ghaziabad. Dr. Meenakshi Gupta, Head School of Economics welcomed the speaker.

Prof. Paul discussed the global scenario post Covid 19 pandemic. He talked in detail about the disconnect between the real economy and the financial markets. His talk also focused on the different scenarios under which post-pandemic global economic recovery is going to shape up. The webinar was attended by the students, research scholars and the faculty members of the School. Dr. Arif Billah Dar, Assistant Professor, School of Economics. thanked Prof. Paul on behalf of the School of Economics for sparing his valuable time.

Dr. Supran Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Management, congratulated the School for conducting the webinar.

Mr. Aasif Ali Bhat S/O Muzafar Ahmad Bhat, Ph.D. student of School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), has been declared qualified for the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).Mr. Bhat worked on the topic, titled “Impact of Tourism on Local Residents: A Study of Kashmir Region” under the supervision of Dr. Kakali Majumdar, Associate Professor, School of Economics, SMVDU, and Prof. R.K. Mishra, Senior Professor, ONGC Subir Raha Chair & Former Director, Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad. Mr. Bhat has been awarded the ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship administered through Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE), Hyderabad. He has published research papers indexed in the reputed ABDC ranked journals, and presented many research papers in international and national conferences. Mr. Bhat has worked in the different Research Projects sponsored by ICSSR and ICMR. In addition, he is a member of the European Union Research Project of Centers of Excellence in Sustainable Tourism to boost economic development and enhance University-Business cooperation in Southern Asia.The candidate has expressed his gratitude to the School of Economics, SMVD University and IPE Hyderabad for providing all facilities and necessary support for carrying out the research work.Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, and committee members congratulated the scholar and wished him a bright future ahead.

SMVDU Katra, Dr. Kirtti Ranjan, an assistant professor of economics, and Ms. Nusrat Akber, Ph.D. research scholar in School of Economics have been awarded “the best paper award” by the “International Association of Agricultural Economists” (IAAE), Toronto for their paper published in the prestigious journal of IAAE, i.e., ‘Agricultural Economics’. The paper titled ‘Is public Investment complementary to private investment in Indian agriculture? Evidence from NARDL approach’ has been awarded as the best paper published in Agricultural Economics for the year 2019. Agricultural Economics is the prestigious journal of IAAE, ranked ‘A’ in the Australian Business Dean Council (ABDC) ranking and indexed in various indexing agencies like SCI, SCIE, and SSCI. The annual ‘best paper award’ is given to draw attention to the finest work published in the journal during the preceding 12 months. The head of the School of Economics, Dr. Kakli Majumdar, Dean of Faculty of Management, Prof Dinabandhu Mukhopadhaya, and other faculty colleagues have congratulated both authors for their success.

Ms. Nusrat Akber D/O Mohd Akber Bhat has been declared qualified for the award of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Economics by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K. She has worked on the topic, titled “Capital Formation in Indian Agriculture: An Empirical Analysis”, under the supervision of Dr. Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, Assistant Professor School of Economics, SMVDU. Ms. Nusrat has been awarded the Centrally Sponsored ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship and Uma Lele Mentor Fellowship by the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association (AAEA). She has published research papers indexed in SCI/SCIE/SSCI, and ABDC ranked journals. One of her papers has been awarded the best paper award by the International Association of Agriculture Economists (IAAE). She has presented many research papers at international and national conferences. Prof. R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, and other committee members congratulated the scholar and wished her a bright future ahead.

Mr. Sandeep Kumar Tiwari, Research Scholar (ICSSR Fellow), School of Economics attended “The Southeast Asian Conference on Education (SEACE2020)”at Max Atria at Singapore EXPO, Singapore during 7th-9thFbruary, 2020. This conference was organized by International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Osaka University, Japanin collaboration with Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore. Mr. Tiwari presented his research paper entitled “Role of caste and class association on households’ expenditure on elementary education in Uttar Pradesh, India: Evidence from NSSO data” co-authored by Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena & Dr. Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh. He is working in the field of Economics of Education under the supervision of Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena & Dr. Kirtti Ranjan Paltasingh, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University. Mr. Sandeep Tiwari is the son of Dr. Anil Tewari, Head, School of Philosophy & Culture in SMVDU. The conference was attended by the various eminent Professors, Scholars and Academiciansin the field of education from all over the globe. Mr. Tiwari interacted with eminent professors, academicians, research scholars and exchanged the views about the latest growth and advancements in the field of Economics of Education with the participants across the globe. Mr. Tiwari’s participation was sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science and Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. Padam Sri Prof. R. K. Sinha, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SMVDU, Prof. (Dr.) D. Mukhopadhyay, Dean, Faculty of Management and Head of the School, Dr. Kakali Majumdar and the faculty members of the School congratulated the scholar for his achievement and wished him success for future academic endeavor.

Ms. Sonali Sharma declared qualified for the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Economics by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU). Ms. Sharma worked on the topic, titled “Productivity and Efficiency Analysis of ASIAN Agriculture: An Empirical Exploration”, under the supervision of Dr. Kakali Majumdar, Faculty, School of Economics, SMVDU, Katra. Ms. Sonali has published research papers indexed in reputed ABDC ranked journals. She has presented many research papers in international and national conferences. Additionally, Ms. Sharma has also worked in the ICSSR sponsored Research Project. The Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, chaired the committee along with committee members including Dean, Faculty of Management, Dr. Supran Sharma, Head, SoE, Dr. Meenakshi and other faculty members.

SMVDU Katra, January 2020. Mr. Ishfaq Hamid S/O Abdul Hamid Bhat, Research Scholar, from School of Economics (SoE), Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), has been awarded with centrally administered full-term doctoral fellowship for the Year 2019-20, from Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi. He has been working in the field of political economy under the supervision of Dr. Pabitra Kumar Jena, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, SMVDU. Prof. R. K. Sinha, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SMVDU, Prof. (Dr.) D. Mukhopadhyay, Dean, Faculty of Management and Dr. Kakali Majumdar, Head of the School, and the faculty members of the School congratulated the scholar for his achievement and wished him success for future academic endeavor.

Ms. Shaymli Pawar (Batch 2016-2021), an MSc student, School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Univeristy (SMVDU) has published a paper, titled “Examining asymmetric impact of climatic factors on crop yields in India” in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and also a Scopus journal, titled “Applied Economics Letters” published by Routledge, UK.The research paper is part of her masters’ thesis jointly supervised by Dr. Gopinathan, R & Dr. D. P. Joshi, Faculty Members, School of Economics, SMVDU. Ms. Pawar aspires to crack the civil services exam.