Department of Commerce

Year of Establishment: 1957

Higher education in Commerce (I. Com) started in the erstwhile Ravenshaw College in 1957, at a time when Cuttack was the centre of business and trade in Odisha. The first teachers of the department were Sri P. C. Ray and Sri R. K. Jena who had joined as lecturers. Soon the department gained popularity and the government, because of public demand, allowed the opening of B. Com course in 1959. The course continued successfully till 1969, when Honours was introduced with 16 seats. In 1969 the commerce classes were shifted to a new three storied building, now known as the Commerce Block. The idea of a separate Commerce Block originated in the mind of a renowned businessman of Cuttack Sri Ranglal Modi who had donated a sum of Rs. 100 lakh to the Govt of Odisha for this purpose in 1959. Post Graduate classes in Commerce began in 1977-78. Currently, the department has 372 seats in B. Com and 64 seats in M. Com. M. Phil course started in 1991 with 8 seats each for Commerce and Management students. M. Com in Entrepreneurship Programme was introduced in 2016, with 32 seats. The department also runs Ph. D. programmes in Commerce and Management. Meritorious students from all over Orissa and neighbouring states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal enroll in the courses every year. The Department of Commerce is the largest department of Ravenshaw University and is the first choice of students in the state for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Commerce.