Axis Bank and IIM Bangalore Agree to Set up Economics Centre

Axis Bank and IIM Bangalore have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a Centre of Economics.

By Career Ahead AI · India — AI-assisted, fact-verified against cited sources. Readers should verify key facts.

The centre is planned for IIM Bangalore’s new undergraduate campus

The Centre of Economics is planned for the IIMB–Dorabji Tata School of Undergraduate Studies, the institute’s new campus in Jigani, Bengaluru. The MoU signing took place at Axis House in Worli, Mumbai. The agreement connects a centre at the undergraduate school in Bengaluru with a signing held at the bank’s Mumbai location.^¹²³

Axis Bank will support both the construction and operationalisation of the centre. It is planned within the Integrated Academic and Administrative Block in Phase I of the campus. The agreement therefore specifies a campus block and phase for the centre, as well as the bank’s support for building it and putting it into operation.^¹³

The collaboration also covers faculty development, research, and scholarships for students. The scholarships are described as need- and merit-based, setting out two bases for student support. These commitments sit alongside the centre’s construction and operationalisation in the agreement between Axis Bank and IIM Bangalore.^¹

Economics teaching will combine quantitative work and empirical research The centre’s focus is economics education that integrates quantitative and computational learning, data analysis and empirical research.

Economics teaching will combine quantitative work and empirical research

The centre’s focus is economics education that integrates quantitative and computational learning, data analysis and empirical research. The stated approach brings those elements together in teaching aimed at addressing real-world economic challenges. The focus therefore includes both working with data and conducting research based on evidence, alongside the quantitative and computational parts of the curriculum.^¹³

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The curriculum is to be aligned with global standards, according to the institute. The collaboration also includes faculty development and research, in addition to student scholarships. Those areas define the academic work attached to the centre: the teaching approach, the curriculum’s stated alignment, research and support for faculty and students.^¹³

The economics programme includes a Data Sciences minor

The IIMB–Dorabji Tata School of Undergraduate Studies welcomed its first batch in August 2026. A total of eighty students were selected for its Bachelor of Science (Honours) programmes in Data Sciences and Economics. The centre is part of the school’s undergraduate setting, and its economics offering is linked to that first batch and the school’s two named programmes.^¹³

Forty students will pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with a minor in Data Sciences at the Axis Bank Centre of Economics. The stated combination places economics as the degree subject and Data Sciences as the minor. It is the student group and course pairing specified for study at the centre.^¹³

Forty students will pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with a minor in Data Sciences at the Axis Bank Centre of Economics.

Bank and institute leaders attended the MoU signing

Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty attended the MoU signing as Chairperson of the Board of Governors of IIM Bangalore. Mr. Amitabh Chaudhry attended as MD & CEO of Axis Bank. Their roles linked the institute’s governing board and the bank’s senior leadership to the signing at Axis House in Worli, Mumbai.^¹²

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Vijay Mulbagal, Group Head – Wholesale Bank Coverage, Corporate Salary, Sustainability & CSR at Axis Bank, said the centre reflects the bank’s “continued commitment to strengthening institutions that can play a leading role in shaping India’s long-term, inclusive and sustainable progress.”^¹³

Prof U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge of IIM Bangalore, said: “The support from Axis Bank will enable us to strengthen academic infrastructure and create opportunities that advance the School’s mission of developing a world-class undergraduate institution.”^¹³

Pair economics with data skills

If you are weighing an undergraduate course, the economics degree with a Data Sciences minor is a specific, bank-backed combination. The centre reserves 40 of 80 seats for that pairing, which signals a deliberate demand for graduates who can do both. This is a niche path, not a mass program, so competition for those seats is likely tight. For your own choice, treat data analysis as a core part of economics, not an add-on, because the curriculum is built around quantitative and computational learning.^¹³

For anyone already in economics or considering a role in it, the skills that matter are shifting. The centre’s stated focus on empirical research and data analysis means employers may increasingly expect those abilities from economics graduates. The bank’s support for faculty development and research also points to a growing investment in these skills. If you are building a career, prioritise hands-on data work and evidence-based research, as those are the competencies this new centre is designed to produce.^¹³

The bank’s support for faculty development and research also points to a growing investment in these skills.