The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Axis Bank to establish the Axis Bank Centre of Economics at the IIMB–Dorabji Tata School of Undergraduate Studies, the institute’s new undergraduate campus at Jigani, Bengaluru. The centre is being positioned as the academic and research hub for economics at the school, with a curriculum that blends core economic theory with quantitative and computational learning, data analysis and empirical research.
The agreement was signed at Axis House in Worli, Mumbai, in the presence of Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairperson of the IIMB Board of Governors; Amitabh Chaudhry, Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank; Prof U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge of IIM Bangalore; and Vijay Mulbagal, Group Head – Wholesale Bank Coverage, Corporate Salary, Sustainability and CSR at Axis Bank, along with senior representatives of both institutions.
What the partnership covers
Under the MoU, Axis Bank will support the construction and operationalisation of the centre, which will be housed in the Integrated Academic and Administrative Block in Phase I of the Jigani campus. Beyond the physical facility, the collaboration extends to the academic side of the school:
- Academic infrastructure: building and running the centre as a dedicated space for economics teaching and research.
- Faculty development: support for strengthening the teaching and research capacity of the school’s faculty.
- Research: backing for empirical and interdisciplinary research on economic challenges.
- Scholarships: need-based and merit-based scholarships for deserving students.
Economics taught through data
The centre’s defining feature is its pedagogy. According to the institute, the economics curriculum will be aligned with global standards and will combine disciplinary knowledge with quantitative and computational methods, encouraging students to use data and empirical analysis to study real-world economic problems. The approach reflects a wider shift in higher education, where economics, management and the social sciences are increasingly being taught alongside data science, statistics and computing rather than as stand-alone theoretical disciplines.
Prof U Dinesh Kumar said economics is central to understanding the forces shaping businesses, markets and society, and that its study “today increasingly calls for strong foundations in quantitative and qualitative methods, data-driven application and interdisciplinary thinking.” He added that the centre “will contribute to creating an environment where students and faculty can engage deeply with the determinants of global and national development,” and that Axis Bank’s support would help strengthen academic infrastructure and advance the school’s mission of developing a world-class undergraduate institution.
For Axis Bank, Vijay Mulbagal said multi-disciplinary education and research are vital to building the knowledge, skills and capabilities India needs to navigate an increasingly complex economic landscape. “Together with IIM Bangalore, Axis Bank aims to establish a new paradigm in undergraduate education that is benchmarked to global standards and integrates meaningful pedagogy with deep research,” he said, adding that the centre reflects the bank’s commitment to strengthening institutions that can shape India’s long-term, inclusive and sustainable progress.
A first cohort picked from 12,000 applicants
The IIMB–Dorabji Tata School of Undergraduate Studies marks IIM Bangalore’s expansion into full-time undergraduate education. The school welcomed its first batch in August 2026, selecting 80 students for its Bachelor of Science (Honours) programmes in Data Sciences and Economics from nearly 12,000 applicants.
Of this inaugural cohort, 40 students will pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with a minor in Data Sciences at the Axis Bank Centre of Economics. The pairing of the two disciplines is central to the school’s stated aim of building an interdisciplinary undergraduate model that brings together subject knowledge, quantitative skills and data-driven applications.
Why it matters
The partnership is another example of industry stepping in to co-build academic capacity at Indian institutions, in this case at the very start of a new campus. For students, the immediate benefits are a purpose-built centre, access to scholarships and a programme designed from the outset around data and computation. For the wider higher education sector, it shows premier institutions designing the kind of multidisciplinary undergraduate degrees the National Education Policy 2020 calls for that prepare graduates for careers in economics, research, policy and data-intensive roles.
As the Jigani campus builds out its Phase I facilities, the Axis Bank Centre of Economics is expected to expand research and academic opportunities for both students and faculty, with a focus on developing economists, researchers and leaders equipped to engage with national and global economic questions.
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