Commerce as a stream of
education can be defined
as a study of trade and
business activities such as
the exchange of goods and
services from producer to final
consumer.
Commerce, an
evergreen stream offers huge
opportunities to students to
make up their careers after
Class XII. With the rapid
opening of our markets to
foreign companies,rising GDP
and a number of reforms
carried by the Indian govern-
ment, the students of
Commerce can expect huge
job opportunities in this area.
Growing service sector
offers enormous job
opportunities in accounting,
banking, insur-ance,
advertising, mass communic-
ation, Public Relations, stock
markets, tourism, retailing,
business law, international
business, marketing
research, taxation, teaching,
etc.
The increasing number of
career choices creates a
situation of dissonance in the
minds of the students and
therefore clarity about what
they should do after Class XII
is very much required.
Students who have opted for
Commerce stream during
Class XII are now familiar with
subjects such as,
Accountancy, Business
Studies, Economics and
Mathematics.
Admission in Delhi
University
Delhi University offers
admission based on merit in
B. Com. Hons. and B.Com.
courses for Commerce
students. Amongst them
B.Com. Hons. is one of the
most popular course which
enables and equips the
students to acquire
conceptual knowledge about
the various business
concepts and practices and
enables them to apply various
tools to face up the
challenges as business
managers.
It offers lucrative
career opportunities in the
field of management,
banking, insurance,
marketing, accounting,
advertising, finance, taxation.
The curriculum has been
designed to prepare students
for the corporate sector and
many papers such as
computers, Tally, E-Filing,
Consumer Affairs and
Customer care, Advertising, E
Marketing, E-Commerce have
application part in them. To
get admission in a regular
college in Delhi University,
students can opt for B.Com.
(Hons) or B.Com. (Prog). For
studying B.Com. while
calculating aggregate marks
Maths is not compulsory.
Thus, those aspirants who did
not opt for Maths during Class
XII can take up B.Com.
course as it is required that
the applicant should have
studied and passed
Mathematics/ Business
Mathematics as the qualifying
examination for admission to
B. Com. (Hons.). If a student
is from Science or humanities
and wants to pursue B.Com.
Hons. or B.Com. a deduction
in percentage is done. For this
the student can refer to the
Bulletin as released by the
Delhi University and available
on its website www.du.ac.in.
Procedure for calculation of
Best Four subject's
percentage for B. Com.
(Honours)/B.Com. in DU
In this one Language ie
English/ Hindi + three best
subjects which include
Accountancy, Business
Studies, Economics and
Mathematics are consideredIn case student has different
combination of subjects a
deduction of marks from
aggregate percentage is
done. For example, if an
applicant has scored:
Accountancy (90), Business
Studies (92), English Core
(88) and Economics (94).
Total marks are 90 + 92 + 88
+ 94 = 364, Percentage is
91%. Since the student has
not studied maths she/he will
not be eligible for B.Com.
(Hons.) course. But the
student can study B.Com.
If an applicant has
scored: Physics (96),
Chemistry (92), English Core
(90) and Mathematics (94).
Total marks are 96 + 92 + 90
+ 94 = 372, Percentage is
93%.
The effective percentage
for both B.Com. (Hons.) &
B.Com. is 93 - 2 x 1% = 91%.
Popular colleges: Shri
Ram College of Commerce,
Univer-sity of Delhi (New
Delhi), Lady Shri Ram
College University of Delhi
(New Delhi), Kamala Nehru
College University of Delhi
(New Delhi), Shaheed
Bhagat Singh College of
Commerce, Guru Gobind
Singh College of Commerce,
Jesus and Mary College.In
Delhi University B.Com
Hons. is offered by 55
colleges out of which 15 are
women colleges and B.Com.
Program is offered by 43
colleges out of which 13 are
women colleges.
Career Opportunities
Huge career opportunities
are availiable after pursuing
graduation in B.Com. Hons.
and B.Com. in the field of
Accounting, Marketing, Law,
taxation Management,
Banking, Finance, etc. In DU
students have the edge of
being taught by the best
faculty who are mostly
Ph.D's, smart class-rooms
having projectors,
compulsory attendance,
linkage to industry through
internships, Seminars and
Workshops and innovative
methods of learning.
Commerce students have
been placed in the past in
many big corporate
companies such as Google,
Ernst and Young, KPMG,
Standard Chartered Bank,
Lime Tray, E-Marketing
Firms, and more with a
starting pay package of Rs 3
lakh or more.
Some other options
available to students from
Commerce Stream are:
A. Bachelor of Arts
(Economics): This degree is
designed to meet the growing
needs for an analytical and
quantitative approach to
problem solving in the
changing corporate world by
the application of the latest
techniques evolved in the
fields of Economics and
Business. Students
specialize in areas of micro
and macro economics,
Business Policy and Strategy,
Industrial Studies,
Environmental and Resource
Economics, Foreign Trade,
Macro Economic/Policy,
International Finance and
Marketing, Applied Econo-
metrics, Energy Economics,
Labour Economics and
Economics of Climate
Change. Since 1995 Delhi
University is offering a
degree in BA (Hons)
Economics in various Delhi
University colleges.
Popular Colleges: St
Stephen's College University
of Delhi (New Delhi),Shri
Ram College of Commerce,
Univer-sity of Delhi (New
Delhi).
B. Bachelor of Arts
(ASPSM): Commerce
students who did not study
maths but have a strong
aptitude in marketing,
advertising and sales
management can pursue a
three year degree course in
BA (Advertising, Sales
Promotion and Sales
Management (ASPSM)).
Some of the colleges which
offer this course are Kamala
Nehru College, University of
Delhi (New Delhi), Jesus and
Mary College, University of
Delhi (New Delhi), Delhi
College of Arts and
Commerce University of
Delhi (New Delhi). Further
MICA Institute from Mudra at
Ahmedabad offers PG
Diploma courses in
Advertising, Sales and
Marketing.
C. Bachelor of Business
Administration (BBA):
Bachelor of Business
Administration is a
professional degree, focusing
on formulating administrative
skills in the students essential
for hitting success in the
business industry. BBA
programmes are mainly
offered under university
affiliations. The top
universities in India which
offer BBA programmes
include Univer-sity of Delhi,
Guru Gobind Singh
Indraprastha University,
Mumbai University,
Symbiosis International
University, NMIMS University
to name a few. These
universities not only offer
BBA/ BBM/BMS programmes
but also conduct their own
admission test to select
students.
Popular colleges: Indian
Institute of Management
(IIM), Indore, Shaheed
Sukhdev College of Business
Studies, Delhi, Christ
University (Bangalore),
Department of Business
Administration - SRM
University (Chennai), Amity
International Business
School (Noida), Institute of
Management Studies
(Noida).
D. Entrance Based
Management Courses:
Students specialize in
Management Courses and
generally Universities
conduct entrance exams to
admit meritorious students.
University of Delhi conducts a
common entrance
programme of Bachelor of
Management Studies (BMS)
where students seek
admission in 3 separate
programmes. These are
Bachelor of Business Studies
(BBS), B.A (Hons.) in
Business Economics (BBE)
and Bachelor of Financial &
Investment Analysis (BFIA).
Professional Courses in
Commerce
(a) Chartered Account-
ants: The CA course
combines theoretical study
with practical training. The
Chartered Accountancy
course is considered to be
one of the most rigorous
professional courses in India
with only 8.0-16.0% of the
pass percentage in every
attempt. The institute has
8,74,694 students, studying
various levels of the
Chartered Accountancy
Course. The Chartered
Accountancy examinations
are divided into three levels.
Level 1: CPT covers four
basic subjects viz.
Fundamentals of Accounting,
Mercantile Laws, Economics
and Quantitative Aptitude. A
student can register for CPT
after completing Grade 10
and take the exam after
completing High School
(Grade 12). A candidate is
considered to have cleared
CPT if he/she obtains in a
sitting 30% in each of the 4
sections and a 50.00%
aggregate in the entire
examination.
Level 2: IPCC or
Integrated Professional
Competence Course is the
second level of Chartered
Accountancy examinations. A
person can take the IPCC
Examination after passing
CPT and nine months of
study. IPCC has two groups
of seven subjects. Group-I
consists of four subjects and
Group - II of three subjects.
Level 3: CA Final
Examination is the last and
final level of Chartered
Accountancy Examinations. It
is considered as one of the
toughest exam in the world.
Any person who has passed
both the groups of IPCC,
during the last six months of
articleship can take the Final
Examination. This exam
consists of two groups of four
subjects each.
Students can pursue CA
together with graduation or
after completing graduation in
any subject.
(b) ICAI (Institute of Costs
Accountants of India): The
Institute of Cost Accountants
of India (ICAI) which was
formerly known as Institute of
Cost and Works Accountants
of India (ICWAI), is the only
professional body specialized
in the field of Cost and
Management Accountancy in
India aims at imparting
coaching and training in the
subject of Cost &
Management Accountancy.
Institute of Costs Accountants
monitors all costs involved in
making a product or providing
a service, from raw materials
and labour to administrative
costs and overheads. In other
words, the cost accountant
collects, collates, and
interprets data relating to the
organization's business
activities and converts them
into money terms, thereby
guiding managerial decisions
and enabling the organization
to maximize profits.
The Institute of Cost
Accountants of India (ICWAI),
ICWAI Bhawan, 3,
Institutional Area, Lodhi
Road, New Delhi- 110003
provides training in this area
to students who have
completed plus two. The
students have to clear three
levels, ie, Foundation,
Intermediate and Final.
Graduates are exempt from
doing the foundation course.
ICWAI has several branches
all over the country.
c) Company Secretary:
The Institute of Company
Secretaries of India (ICSI) is
the organisation set up under
an Act of Parliament, i.e.,
Company Secretaries Act,
1980 for the regulation and
development of the
profession of company
secretary in India. As per the
proviso to Section 383 A of
the Companies Act, 1956, all
the companies having a paid
up capital of Rs. 500 M are
mandatorily required to
appoint a full-time Company
Secretary. Those companies
having a paid capital greater
than Rs. 10 M and less than
Rs. 500 M are required to
procure Compliance
Certificate from a Practicing
Company Secretary which
has to be annexed to the
Directors' Report along with
the Annual Accounts. Thus
there are two areas in the
career: whole time
employment and whole time
practice. A Company
Secretary, being A principle
Officer/Key Managerial
Personnel in the Company is
an Expert of various Laws.
He is chief advisor for
corporate Law to the Board of
directors. He/She conducts
Secretarial Audit in the
company, that covers his
Independent opinion on
various Laws like Labour
laws, Company Law,
Environmental Laws,
Securities Law and other
concerned laws to the
company. The ICSI conducts
the Company Secretary ship
examination to bring in high
level professionals
specialized in corporate laws,
management and
governance.
The Company Secretary
Course is conducted in three
stages as under:
Š Foundation Programme:
Candidates who have
passed Senior Secondary
Examination (10+2) are
eligible for admission to
Foundation Programme.
Š Executive Programme:
Graduates in any stream
excluding Fine Arts or
candidates who have
passed the Foundation
Examination are eligible to
join Executive Programme.
Š Professional Programme:
A registered student is
admitted to the
Professional Programme
on passing the Executive
Examination.
Thus, the sky is the limit
and plenty career options are
available to commerce
students, what is required is
excellence and remaining
focused towards one's goal.
(The author is Dr. Sheetal kapoor kamla nehru college)
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