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When you earn your first salary, will you save or invest? If you decide to invest, will you invest in debt funds or equity funds? If you decide to invest in equity funds, will you choose mutual funds, midcap or large cap funds? If you decide to invest in large cap funds, what will be your criteria to choose the specific large cap fund?
It has become an increasingly important but basic life skill to have the right answers to such questions and manage your money for growth. According to a June 2023 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) survey, India’s financial literacy rate was 62.6%. In contrast to other countries, where financial education is integrated into the school curriculum from an early age, India’s financial literacy programs are still in development.
Money, Markets & Personal Finance is a live comprehensive course, designed to provide a strong foundation in personal finance, empowering students to make informed financial decisions and cultivate healthy financial habits for a secure future. Through a combination of interactive lessons, real-life case studies, and hands-on exercises, you will gain a fundamental understanding in financial literacy and key concepts like budgeting, debt management, inflation, risk diversification, and compound interest. The course emphasizes practical knowledge and tools that can be immediately applied in their daily lives, with a special focus on avoiding common financial pitfalls and “cutting the noise” around trending topics like the stock market, cryptocurrencies, and high-risk investments.
You will discover strategies to identify and avoid common financial mistakes, enabling efficient and smart money management. You will be well-equipped to understand and manage your money responsibly, make sound financial decisions, and set themselves up for long-term financial success. By the end of the course, you will engage with essential topics and develop actionable skills to navigate the world of personal finance. Each week includes interactions to delve into core principles of personal finance, followed by practical exercises that put these ideas into real-world scenarios and case studies.
What’s more? The course will culminate into a capstone project, where you will explore how financial behaviors evolve over time alongwith impact of inflation or calculate compound interests of investment options or analyze different investment strategies from a movie or a book. Each project will be designed to challenge you to apply the financial principles you have learned throughout the course. The outcome of this project will be in the form of reports or presentations.
Are you ready to take control of your financial future? Top students will get an opportunity to experience the workings of a financial institution or interact with a finance industry expert.
Enroll Now Existing User? Log InThis course is designed for high school students who are beginning to take an interest in managing their money. It’s ideal for students who want to understand the basics of budgeting, saving, and investing without diving into the complexities of economics or the risks of speculative investing.
Prerequisites: High proficiency in written & spoken English. You will be required to submit your latest mark sheet in the application form.
By the end of the programme, you will:
| Week | Lecture Module | Project Module |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Foundations of money & personal finance
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Simulation on expenditure & inflation
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| Week 2 | Building a Financial Safety Net
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Group activity on emergency planning
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| Week 3 | Essentials of Personal Finance
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Task challenge on budgeting
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| Week 4 | Asset Allocation & Risk Diversification
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Case study on risk diversification
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| Week 5 | Counseling:
Get a chance to ask questions to the faculty and the mentor and get their answers and perspective. You are encouraged to ask questions to the faculty around the following aspects:
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Mentoring:
You are encouraged to ask questions to the mentor around the following aspects:
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As a capstone project, you may choose between the following topics and deliverables:
Psychology of money and impact of inflation: Study how inflation has influenced spending and investing habits across three generations and draw insights on financial behavior evolution, through interviews with friends and family on their investor stories, biases and myths. At the end of the project, submit a comprehensive report featuring generational interviews, historical price comparisons, and changes in investment trends.
Power of compound interest: Explore how compound interest works by comparing different savings or investment strategies over time. Present with scenarios and graphics, using basic math of finance, graphing data, and representation of impact of time on investments.
Investor behaviour and biases: Analyze investor behavior and psychological biases through a selected movie or book and connect these behaviors to behavioral finance principles and derive actionable insights. Present your insights creatively through posters, slides or a comprehensive report.
Preetha Wali is the award winning, co-founder of Pay It Forward (PIF), an all-women initiative focused on demystifying finance and empowering individuals across diverse demographics. As a passionate advocate for financial literacy, for the last 15 years, Preetha has delivered impactful workshops for schools, colleges, corporates, industry bodies, and NGOs. She has also shared her expertise as a panel speaker and through numerous media contributions.
Preetha’s mission is to make finance accessible, inspiring people to take charge of their financial futures. With professional experiences at The Times of India and CRY, Preetha has been honored with accolades such as the Best Woman Entrepreneur Excellence Award (L&D category), recognition among the Top 100 Successful Women Entrepreneurs in MSME, and the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year title. She also initiated and led FICCI FLO’s financial literacy vertical (2022-24) and was a delegate for the Jordan Entrepreneurs Exchange Program.
Preetha’s thought leadership is featured in prominent publications like The Hindu, Times of India, and Mint, and she is a commissioned writer for Prajavani’s personal finance edition. Her organization, Pay It Forward, has been celebrated by YourStory as a top company with a unique idea, cementing her reputation as a trusted voice in financial wellness and empowerment.
Anu Seth, co-founder of Pay It Forward, is an accomplished financial coach, author, and advocate dedicated to enhancing financial literacy across diverse demographics, including students, women, youth, and peri-retirees. With a robust background as an engineer and nearly 20 years of experience in equity markets,.
Beginning her career as a software engineer and architect, she has worked with top-tier organizations such as Wipro, HCL, the World Bank, and ISRO. Her personal journey from a technology professional to an accidental investor led her to discover her passion for financial education and investor awareness.
Anu is a prominent voice in financial education and regularly speaks at leading industry forums, including BCIC, FICCI FLO, QPFP, and CII-IWN. She is also a visiting speaker at prestigious institutions like ISB and Asia Business School, where she advocates for financial literacy as a critical life skill, particularly for women and young professionals entering the workforce.
Her leadership roles include serving as Convenor of CII IWN Karnataka Leadership Pillar and contributing to FICCI FLO’s financial literacy initiatives. Anu’s insights on financial wellness have been featured in major publications such as Mint, The Hindu, and Prajawani, reaching thousands of readers.
Grading, Assessments, Certification and much more
Ashoka Horizons Achievers Programme offers a certificate on satisfactory completion of the course.
Class participation will be assessed based on your active engagement in live sessions, contributions to discussion forums, and involvement in Teaching Fellow-led activities.
Achieve More…with Horizons:
*Subject to discretion of the faculty
This programme is administered through an online platform. Students are expected to have a foundational understanding of computer usage, including but not limited to sending emails and conducting Internet searches. Consistent access to the Internet and a computer that aligns with the recommended minimum specifications are also requisite for participation in the programme.
Have a question about Ashoka Horizons Achievers Programme? Write to us on horizons@ashoka.edu.in
Prof Sudipta Sarangi
Ph.D., Professor and Head Department of Economics, Virginia Tech
Schedule:May 17, 2025 (Saturday) – June 14, 2025 (Saturday)*
Parush Arora
Assistant Professor of Economics, Ashoka University
Ph.D. University of California, Irvine
Schedule:May 17, 2025 (Saturday) – June 14, 2025 (Saturday)*
Nikhil Sud
Visiting Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Ashoka University
MS Harvard University
Schedule:May 17, 2025 (Saturday) – June 14, 2025 (Saturday)*
