Participants of the founding batch of the Master’s in Financial and Economic Crimes (MFEC) programme visited the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) recently as part of their Campus Immersion Programme, engaging in discussions on economic security, financial crime mitigation, and emerging threats to India’s financial ecosystem.

The interaction was attended by Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, EAC-PM; Dr. K.K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary, EAC-PM; and Dr. Sri Vatsa Sehra, Joint Director, EAC-PM. The participants were accompanied by Prof. (Dr.) Naveen Sirohi, Programme Director of MFEC and Head of the School of Finance & Management at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA).

The MFEC programme is a first-of-its-kind inter-ministerial initiative jointly offered by the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), an Institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The programme aims to develop a specialised cadre of professionals equipped to address financial and economic crimes in support of the vision of Viksit Bharat.

During the interaction, participants engaged with policymakers and experts on issues including financial frauds, money laundering, illicit financial flows, cyber-enabled financial crimes, and broader economic security challenges.

Discussions highlighted the growing sophistication of financial and economic crimes and underscored the need for technology-driven, collaborative, and multidisciplinary approaches to tackle emerging risks.

Addressing the participants, Prof. Mahendra Dev shared insights on India’s evolving economic landscape and stressed the importance of strengthening institutional capabilities, enhancing regulatory coordination, and promoting evidence-based policymaking to safeguard national economic interests. Deliberations also focused on vulnerabilities within the financial system and strategies to enhance resilience against economic threats.

Speakers emphasised that economic resilience requires a whole-of-nation approach involving close coordination among government agencies, regulators, industry, academia, and international partners, supported by sustained investments in research, institutional capacity, and human expertise.

A key highlight of the event was the formal launch of the quarterly newsletter, “Economic Security Insights,” by the EAC-PM leadership, Prof. (Dr.) Naveen Sirohi, and participants of the MFEC founding batch. The publication is intended to serve as a knowledge platform for advancing discourse on economic security, financial integrity, regulatory developments, emerging risks, and policy responses relevant to India’s economic resilience.

India’s first specialised postgraduate programme in financial and economic crimes, MFEC focuses on developing expertise in the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of financial offences. The programme brings together professionals from law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, financial institutions, corporate organisations, and the legal fraternity to foster a multidisciplinary understanding of financial crime.

Combining academic instruction with practitioner-led sessions, policy engagement, and field exposure, the programme seeks to strengthen India’s economic security architecture by preparing professionals capable of addressing the increasing complexity of financial and economic crimes.

The visit to EAC-PM formed an important component of the Campus Immersion Programme, providing participants with firsthand exposure to policy perspectives on economic governance and reinforcing the significance of collaborative efforts in combating financial and economic crimes.

Economic security and financial crime prevention gain focus through multidisciplinary training, regulatory coordination, and policy engagement. Financial and economic crime policy discussions emphasised the growing sophistication of financial frauds, money laundering, illicit financial flows and cyber-enabled financial crime, together with the need for technology-driven, collaborative and multidisciplinary responses. The interaction also highlighted the importance of strengthening institutional capability, enhancing regulatory coordination, promoting evidence-based policymaking and building resilience in the financial system to safeguard economic interests. The founding batch of the Master's in Financial and Economic Crimes programme visited the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister as part of a Campus Immersion Programme and engaged with policymakers on economic security and emerging threats to India's financial ecosystem.