Financial Economics
Behavioural Finance
FinTech
Heterodox Economics
- vidhu.shekhar@spjimr.org
Vidhu Shekhar
Assistant Professor, Finance and AccountingVidhu Shekhar holds a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from IIM Calcutta. Prior to his Ph.D., he completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta (2006) and a B.Tech (Hons.) from IIT Kharagpur (2004). After his MBA, he worked in the financial services industry for six years, holding various roles across leading Indian and global investment banks and private equity firms. He is also a co-founder of Vitt.ai, a B2B SaaS fintech firm.
Prof. Shekhar’s research interests span financial economics, fintech, behavioural finance, and heterodox economics. He has also served as the Associate Head of the Centre for Financial Innovation at SPJIMR.
Education
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta
Ph.D., 2018
Focus: Economics
Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta
MBA, 2006
Major: Finance and Systems
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur
B.Tech (Hons), 2004
Major: Aerospace Engineering
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Research interests
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Selected publications
Shekhar, V., & Ramesh, S. (2025). Central Bank Digital Currency in India: Perspectives on design choices and implications of e-Rupee. Financial Services Review, 33(3). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.61190/fsr.v33i3.4154.
Shukla, R.G., Agarwal, A., Shekhar, V. et al. A Fuzzy Approach to Assess Blockchain for Sustainable Transformation of Healthcare. SN COMPUT. SCI. 5, 44 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-023-02331-w.
Shukla, R. G., Agarwal, A., & Shekhar, V. (2021). Leveraging Blockchain Technology for Indian Healthcare system: An assessment using value-focused thinking approach. Journal of High Technology Management Research, 32(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hitech.2021.100415.
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Books/Book chapters
Kiran Kumar, K. V., & Shekhar, V. (2025). Fintech: Concepts and practice. SYBGEN Learning India Private Limited.
Shekhar, V., & Baag, P. (2025). Blockchain for business applications: From cryptographic principles to business integration. SYBGEN Learning India Private Limited.
Vidhu Shekhar, Kiran Kumar KV, Sumit Jha and Pankaj Baag, (2024). FinTech for managers: A handbook. SYBGEN Learning.
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Conferences
Shekhar, V., and Ramesh, S., E-rupee dynamics – Design and macro implications on the Indian payment ecosystems: An overview. Paper presented at the 2024 International Society for the Advancement of Financial Economics Thailand Conference, Pattaya, Thailand. (July 8–10, 2024)
Shekhar, V. (Author and Presenter), Conference of Behavioral Science in Management Conference, From the Central Bank to the Monetary Policy Committee: Has the communication effectiveness improved? NSE Centre for Behavioral Science in Finance, Economics, and Marketing. (April 9, 2021)
Shekhar, V., ISDSI, Is Money Endogenous? Evidence from “High Frequency” Bank Lending Behavior in India, SPJIMR, Mumbai. (December 30, 2018)
Shekhar, V., Haldar, A., ISDSI, “Regionality of Financial Sentiments and Words,” SPJIMR, Mumbai. (December 30, 2018)
Shekhar, V., World Communication Forum, Davos, “Economics Humanity and Communication,” WCF, Davos. (March 2016)
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Periodicals
Shekhar, V. (2025). Trump’s ‘God complex’ and its consequences. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). India’s macro miracle: Understanding the country’s broad growth with low inflation. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). US Fed and Bank of Japan are trapped in a prisoner’s dilemma: On the edge of global financial crisis. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). The “Rahul Goebbels” phenomenon. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Game theory shows one nation one election could transform India’s political stability. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). A great global financial crisis brewing. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Heterodox economics and the RSS. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). West Bengal has 1.04 crore excess voters as per this demographic reconstruction research. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). For too long, RBI hasn’t rewarded government’s fiscal discipline. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Monetary sovereignty in chains: The Fed’s grip on global central banks. Dalal Street Investment Journal.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Bihar has 77 lakh excess voters as per this demographic reconstruction research. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). RBI’s lost decade: How unnecessarily expensive capital dwarfed Indian growth. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). RBI rate cuts: What took so long to back a reforming India? Dalal Street Investment Journal.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Farmer suicides fell in J&K after 2019: What it says about mandi monopoly. Business Standard.
Shekhar, V. (2025). China’s Indo-Pak war games and India’s strategic siege of Pakistan. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). British-imposed Indian ‘surnames’: The colonial construct in personal identity. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). De-hyphenation and India’s geopolitical climb up as a global pole. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Linking Kazan to US tariffs: Geopolitical bifurcation of global trade and finance. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). US-China trade war — Déjà vu of 1980s US-Japan trade war? Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). China’s deep economic crisis — And a trade war it can’t win. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Why new US tariffs might hit Chinese factories more than American wallets. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V., (2024). A BRICS effort is underway to undo SWIFT monopoly — can it work? Swarajya.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Data vs perception: Debunking myths about India’s GST burden. The Free Press Journal.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Taxing truths: Decoding appropriate GST shares. The New Indian Express.
Shekhar, V., (2024). The global importance of the Bank of Japan and Japanese politics. Forbes India.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Budget 2024-25: All the great stuff that Got Buried under excessive tax focus. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2024). What can AI not do, yet? Express Computer.
Shekhar, V., (2024). 2024 Elections: The last stand of Congress. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Opposition’s weaponised questioning aims to destroy credibility of institutions but could cause greater damage. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Real direct benefit – The silent wave of Modi schemes in 2024 elections. OpIndia.
Shekhar, V., (2024). The yet underestimated impact of Modi schemes. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V., (2024). How can Indian startups carve a niche in Gen AI space. Financial Express.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Surpassing predecessors: ‘Mehengai’ disappears from election campaigns as inflation in India reduces to the lowest during Narendra Modi’s term among all PMs. OpIndia.
Shekhar, V., (2024). Anna Yojana is Modi’s pragmatic alternative to universal basic income. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V., (2024). “Data reveals Modi has best record on inflation among all Prime Ministers”. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V. (2024). PM Modi’s war on corruption: Wielding culture, governance and ED as potent weapons. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V., (2024). How cashless payments are restructuring the Indian economy. Canvas 8.
Shekhar, V. (2024). The great onslaught of generative AI on IT services and SaaS model. Express Computer.
Shekhar, V. (2023). BJP’s 2023 state elections’ success sends global signals, shapes expectations for 2024. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V. (2023). Petro-Yuan or Petro-BRICS: The need for better alternative reserve currencies to break dollar dominance. Forbes India.
Shekhar, V. (2020). How APMC Monopoly Is The Core Reason For Farmer Suicides In India. Swarajya.
Shekhar, V. (2019). Indian Politico-Economic Narrative and Scale Of PM Modi’s “Real” Direct Benefit Programmes Point To A Bigger-Than-2014 Majority. Swarajya Magazine.
Shekhar, V. (2017). Assessing Demonetisation: Minsky Provides the Link That Traditional Economics Misses. Swarajya Magazine.
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Featured in
Prof. Shekhar attends pre-budget consultation chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, in New Delhi. Read the full article in Mint.
A study on electoral roll inflation in the Indian state of West Bengal, co-authored by Prof. Shekhar, has been cited in The Telegraph’s article, “Why is SIR needed in Bengal?” Study estimates the presence of around 1 crore excess voters in rolls.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Quoted in Life in the time of solitude. The New Indian Express.
Shekhar, V. (2025). GST relief gives education a tax-free boost. BW Education.
Shekhar, V. (2025). Global economic shifts that will impact YOUR future! Think BRICS.
Shekhar, V. (2024). Can blockchain technology end NEET-like paper leaks? News18.
Shekhar, V. (2024). How Olive manages Japanese people’s cashless confidence. Canvas8.
Shekhar, V. (2024). Podcast: Investing in an uncertain and changing world. Desi Fire Podcast.
Shekhar, V. (2021). After a rough ride in 2020, India’s banking system faces a litmus test this year. Quartz India.
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Courses
Corporate Finance
FinTech and Blockchain
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Awards and honours
Bharat Chamber of Commerce Medal, IIM Calcutta/ Bharat Chamber of Commerce. (April 2006).
Proficiency Prize, IIT Kharagpur. (April 2004).
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Teaching interest
Financial Economics
Behavioural Finance
FinTech
Corporate Finance
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Work experience
S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai (January 2018 – present)
Assistant Professor
Administrative assignments
Centre for Financial Services, Business School. (July 1, 2019 – present).
Associate Head
Mizuho Securities, Mumbai. (March 2012 – June 2012).
Assistant Vice President
QVT Financial LP, Delhi. (June 2010 – August 2011).
Investment Analyst
Intellicap Advisors, Mumbai. (April 2009 – April 2010).
Senior Associate
New Vernon Capital, Mumbai. (August 2007 – March 2009).
Associate, Private Equity
Edelweiss Capital Limited, Mumbai. (August 2006 – August 2007).
Associate – Investment Banking
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MDPs/FDPs
State Bank of India-Batch 8, Leadership Development Programme (January 2025).
State Bank of India-Batch 7, Leadership Development Programme (January 2025).
State Bank of India-Batch 4, Leadership Development Programme (December 2024).
CK Birla Group, AdvantEdge Finance – Leading Business into the Future (December 2023).
Management/Executive Development, Voltas Limited, 19 participants. (September 20, 2019).
Management/Executive Development, Voltas Limited, 25 participants. (February 4, 2019 – February 8, 2019).
Certificate Programme, Fintech and Blockchain, 80 Participants. (July 21 – February 22).
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Board memberships
Vitt.ai
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Professional service
Committee Member, Fellowship Programme and Research Committee, IIM Calcutta. (August 2015 – June 2016).
Committee Member, Student Council, IIM Calcutta. (November 2013 – November 2014).
Committee Member, Student Council, IIM Calcutta. (November 2012 – November 2013).
Faculty Co-ordinator, SPJIMR – ADMAP – Finance Committee. (January 7, 2020).
Speaker and Faculty Co-ordinator, SPJIMR’s Centre for Financial Services and Vanderbilt University Law School, University in Nashville, Tennessee. (December 12, 2019 – December 14, 2019).
Workshop Organiser, SPJIMR, Mumbai, Maharashtra. (November 26, 2019).
Workshop Organiser, SPJIMR, Mumbai, Maharashtra. (November 10, 2019).