Q: I have appeared for Plus Two boards. I am confused between BCom (hons) and economics (hons). Could you tell me the difference between the two? Also, suggest some good colleges which offer these courses.

— Sumona Saha

A: Economics (honours) is an academically demanding course that requires an analytical bent of mind. It goes deep into economic theory, economic systems and principles, econometrics and statistics, Indian economics, economic history, developmental economics — all of this to give you a deeper understanding of how economics and economies work.

Economics impacts several aspects of our daily lives — from what we pay for cellular and cable TV services, to the price and subsidy on petrol for instance. The subject also requires you to read extensively around the topics covered in the syllabus — beyond the prescribed textbooks. Some of the best known institutions in New Delhi for studying economics are St Stephen’s College, Sri Ram College of Commerce, Hindu College, Lady Sri Ram College for Women, Hansraj College and Sri Venkateswara College.

BCom (hons) is a more application-oriented course — it teaches you accounting, finance, corporate and tax law, and business economics. The traditional commerce options are as chartered accountant, cost accountant, company secretary, chartered financial analyst, certified financial planner, and in banking, insurance, actuarial science and venture capital. The colleges are pretty much the same as for economics, with the exception of St Stephen’s which does not offer this subject.

Be good at number crunching

Q: I want to become a chartered accountant (CA). What do I have to do?

— Keshav Burman

A: CA continues to remain a popular option among those seeking a career in the finance domain. CAs now find themselves playing a critical role in India Inc’s confident march forward — be it large merger and acquisition activities, cross-border taxation, transfer pricing issues or setting up infrastructure projects. It is estimated that there are approximately 1.5 lakh CAs in the country — with about 10,000 new CAs passing out every year. With the revised CA curriculum, it does become difficult, but not impossible, to pursue a full-time undergraduate course alongside your CA.

Put your best foot forward

Q: I want to study footwear designing. Are there any institutes that offer degrees or diplomas in footwear design?

— Ramnik Fadia

A: Whether you are designing leather garments, footwear, handbags, accessories or leather upholstery and furniture, it calls for basic knowledge of leather technology and treatment, besides specialised training in different aspects such as styling, creating patterns and fabrication. You need to keep yourself abreast of the latest in international designing and manufacturing trends and standards.

India is the second largest footwear producing country in the world, after China. Moreover, the domestic demand for footwear is also on the rise — estimated at over 800 million pairs a year. Several courses are offered in footwear design and technology. You can choose from these according to your needs and qualifications.

Some of these courses are management programme in footwear technology, masters in footwear design, higher diploma course in footwear technology, diploma course in footwear design, as well as short-term courses in footwear, leather garments and leather goods.

While the certificate course in footwear design and technology can be pursued right after Class XII, the higher diploma course in footwear technology requires the candidate to be a graduate in any stream or a diploma holder in leather, engineering or footwear technology. In order to apply for basic courses in footwear manufacturing technology, shoe making or design, a candidate needs to pass Plus Two.

You can opt for any of the following institutes. (a) The National Institute of Fashion Technology (www.nift.ac.in) offers a four-year undergraduate programme in leather design at Delhi, Chennai and Calcutta.

(b) The Footwear Design and Development Institute (www.fddiindia.com) has centres at Noida (UP), Kanpur, Agra and Chennai. Equipped with a CAD centre and a resource centre, the ISO 9001 certified institute is accredited by the Bally of Switzerland and the Textile Institute, the UK, for its long-term courses. FDDI offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in footwear technology, design and CAD-CAM. (c) The Government Leather Institute also offers courses at Agra, Kanpur, Chennai, Jalandhar and Mumbai.