Chamber Consultation Hour with Dr. Shreya Biswas

Dr. Shreya Biswas, Assistant Professor in the Economics and Finance Department at BITS Hyderabad, has made significant strides in both academia and the corporate sector. With a research background in corporate governance, public policy and household finance, as well as firsthand experience at prestigious firms like KPMG and Deloitte, she brings a unique blend of theoretical insight and practical application to her work.

In this exclusive interview, Economics Associations' Head of Operations Monal Gupta (henceforth M), and Editorial Board member, Jasraj Seth sat down with Dr. Shreya (henceforth S) to delve into her career journey, research interests, and her take on the evolving landscape of finance and corporate governance. The conversation offers an insightful look into her academic experiences, current projects, and the advice she has for students aspiring to excel in the field.

Prof. Shreya Biswas

M: What are your research fields and interests?

S: I did a thesis on Corporate Governance. Initially, I was interested in working in the corporate sector but then gradually developed interest to go deeper into the subject and so went ahead and pursued a PhD. I have also worked as a pricing transfer agent. I have worked in KPMG as well as Deloitte and gained corporate experience. My interests lie in fields like household finances, portfolios and policy issues, current significant topics like gender diversity. Equity management and investing in gold is also a part of my interests. 

M: How did you gain interest in your field of study and research? What motivated you to pursue a career in this field?

S: I am a trained economist from St. Xaviers’ College, Kolkata. I pursued my masters degree in economics as well as PhD from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. I feel that although many students pursuing their undergraduate degrees think that this might not be very useful in the future, I would say that it does. It does hold importance for future studies and related experiences. During my masters days, I was not very keen on going for a PhD, but thanks to my then faculties, I was exposed towards research papers. We were also taught how to use data sets for different research purposes like solving policy issues. This was a journey that sparked my enthusiasm and motivated me to pursue a PhD.

M: When did you decide to join BITS Hyderabad, and what factored into the decision?

S: I worked with NMIMS, Mumbai for four years before joining BITS Hyderabad in 2019. My main reasons for joining BITS were that I knew some of the people working here and I had positive reviews about BITS from them.

M: Are there any research projects that you are a part of currently that you can tell us about? 

S: I have a couple of projects where we are looking towards gender diversity in boards. India has certain regulations according to which every firm must have at least one female director but this has become like a tokenism where firms use family structure to appoint the female director that is a woman of the owner family is appointed as the director. We want to explore whether or not having an able female director instead of just appointing someone from the family is advantageous for the firm. Main motive of my projects is to try and show from the regulators perspective that appointing an able female director might be useful which might bring a transition from this tokenism to more professionalism across firms. We are trying to find out which would give better outcomes in the firms’ point of view - having a promoter woman (from the family) or having an independent woman (appointed on basis of ability).

M: What are some typical challenges faced by students when applying analyzing real world data, and how can they be addressed?

S: One of the typical misunderstandings is the overuse of regression. Students are taught regression in their first EM course where they think that regression can be applied to any data to get a cause and effect relationship which is not the case. The transition from trying to understand association to causation is a long journey, and according to me, we have to be a bit more conservative while running a regression to form a causation of one regression coefficient due to some particular factors. Another thing is that we do not always need to talk about causation, we can talk about association too.

M: How do you stay updated with the current issues and developments in the field of economics?

S: There are two sources that I rely upon for updates, apart from the regular newspapers - the Economist for around the world updates and EPW (Economic and Political Weekly), for India-specific issues and updates. These sites use data in their articles to explore issues.

M: What reforms or best practices do you think are needed to strengthen corporate governance and rebuild public trust in business?

S: The Companies Act currently puts a disproportionate burden of monitoring the managers on the Board of Directors (especially on independent directors). It is imperative to prop up the external governance system like the market for corporate takeover, so poorly managed firms with low stock price can be acquired by well-managed firms at a discount. Also, the speed of the insolvency resolution process should be fastened to improve efficiency in the corporate sector.

M: Being a professor in the finance department, do you personally invest in stocks, F&O (Futures and Options), etc?

S: I do not trade in Futures and Options at all. When it comes to stocks, I am a passive investor and I entirely take the mutual fund route.

M: What courses would you recommend students complete before taking up a project in the finance domain?

S: I generally advise students to at least complete the Financial Management course and a basic econometrics course as most of the questions that we deal with are empirical questions which require you to have some basic knowledge on how to handle data, along with a little bit understanding of how firms behave. I believe that for any economic project, a basic or applied econometric course is desirable.

M: What does your typical day look like at the university?

S: A typical working day of mine starts with a 9 A.M. classes. Thankfully, I have a good set of colleagues with whom I go for a morning tea after the class in our cafeteria and discuss any recent economic developments or issues taking place or talk about any new courses that should be introduced in the curriculum. Then I meet some of the PhD scholars and have lunch. Post lunch I usually engage in some research work and the day ends with a coffee break.

M: How do you usually spend your leisure time? Do you have any favorite places in Hyderabad?

S: Generally, on Sundays, I make it a point to spend my time outside the campus. I love to eat and so I like to explore places where I can get good food. I also love to dance, I am a trained Bharatnatyam dancer so I try to take out time to practice dance on weekends. There are quite a few places that I like in Hyderabad, one of them is the Farzi Cafe.

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Through this engaging conversation, Dr. Shreya Biswas exemplifies the role of a dedicated educator and researcher who is constantly pushing the boundaries of her domain. Her advice to students—grounded in practical experience and academic expertise—serves as a valuable guide for anyone aspiring to excel in the field. As she continues to pursue projects that challenge traditional norms, Dr. Biswas remains a source of inspiration for students and colleagues alike, leaving a lasting impact on the community at BITS Hyderabad.