UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION
NET SYLLABUS
Subject: Commerce
Code No. : 08
Unit 1: Business Environment and International Business
Unit 2: Accounting and Auditing
Unit 3: Business Economics
Unit 4: Business Finance
Unit 5: Business Statistics and Research Methods
Unit 6: Business Management and Human Resource Management
Unit 7: Banking and Financial Institutions
Unit 8: Marketing Management
Unit 9: Legal Aspects of Business
Unit 10: Income-tax and Corporate Tax Planning.
Unit 1: Business Environment and International Business
Concepts and elements of business environment: Economic environment- Economic
systems, Economic policies(Monetary and fiscal policies); Political environment
Role of government in business; Legal environment- Consumer Protection Act,
FEMA; Socio-cultural factors and their influence on business; Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR)
Scope and importance of international business; Globalization and its drivers; Modes
of entry into international business
Theories of international trade; Government intervention in international trade; Tariff
and non-tariff barriers; India’s foreign trade policy2
Foreign direct investment (FDI) and Foreign portfolio investment (FPI); Types of
FDI, Costs and benefits of FDI to home and host countries; Trends in FDI; India’s
FDI policy
Balance of payments (BOP): Importance and components of BOP
Regional Economic Integration: Levels of Regional Economic Integration; Trade
creation and diversion effects; Regional Trade Agreements: European Union (EU),
ASEAN, SAARC, NAFTA
International Economic institutions: IMF, World Bank, UNCTAD
World Trade Organisation (WTO): Functions and objectives of WTO; Agriculture
Agreement; GATS; TRIPS; TRIMS.
Unit 2: Accounting and Auditing
Basic accounting principles; concepts and postulates
Partnership Accounts: Admission, Retirement, Death, Dissolution and Insolvency of
partnership firms
Corporate Accounting: Issue, forfeiture and reissue of shares; Liquidation of
companies; Acquisition, merger, amalgamation and reconstruction of companies
Holding company accounts
Cost and Management Accounting: Marginal costing and Break-even analysis;
Standard costing; Budgetary control; Process costing; Activity Based Costing (ABC);
Costing for decision-making; Life cycle costing, Target costing, Kaizen costing and
JIT
Financial Statements Analysis: Ratio analysis; Funds flow Analysis; Cash flow
analysis
Human Resources Accounting; Inflation Accounting; Environmental Accounting
Indian Accounting Standards and IFRS
Auditing: Independent financial audit; Vouching; Verification ad valuation of assets
and liabilities; Audit of financial statements and audit report; Cost audit
Recent Trends in Auditing: Management audit; Energy audit; Environment audit;
Systems audit; Safety audit.
Unit 3: Business Economics
Meaning and scope of business economics
Objectives of business firms
Demand analysis: Law of demand; Elasticity of demand and its measurement;
Relationship between AR and MR
Consumer behavior: Utility analysis; Indifference curve analysis
Law of Variable Proportions: Law of Returns to Scale3
Theory of cost: Short-run and long-run cost curves
Price determination under different market forms: Perfect competition; Monopolistic
competition; Oligopoly- Price leadership model; Monopoly; Price discrimination
Pricing strategies: Price skimming; Price penetration; Peak load pricing.
Unit 4: Business Finance
Scope and sources of finance; Lease financing
Cost of capital and time value of money
Capital structure
Capital budgeting decisions: Conventional and scientific techniques of capital
budgeting analysis
Working capital management; Dividend decision: Theories and policies
Risk and return analysis; Asset securitization
International monetary system
Foreign exchange market; Exchange rate risk and hedging techniques
International financial markets and instruments: Euro currency; GDRs; ADRs
International arbitrage; Multinational capital budgeting.
Unit 5: Business Statistics and Research Methods
Measures of central tendency
Measures of dispersion
Measures of skewness
Correlation and regression of two variables
Probability: Approaches to probability; Bayes’ theorem
Probability distributions: Binomial, poisson and normal distributions
Research: Concept and types; Research designs
Data: Collection and classification of data
Sampling and estimation: Concepts; Methods of sampling - probability and non
probability methods; Sampling distribution; Central limit theorem; Standard error;
Statistical estimation
Hypothesis testing: z-test; t-test; ANOVA; Chi–square test; Mann-Whitney test (U
test); Kruskal-Wallis test (H-test); Rank correlation test
Report writing.
Unit 6: Business Management and Human Resource Management
Principles and functions of management 4
Organization structure: Formal and informal organizations; Span of control
Responsibility and authority: Delegation of authority and decentralization
Motivation and leadership: Concept and theories
Corporate governance and business ethics
Human resource management: Concept, role and functions of HRM; Human resource
planning; Recruitment and selection; Training and development; Succession planning
Compensation management: Job evaluation; Incentives and fringe benefits
Performance appraisal including 360 degree performance appraisal
Collective bargaining and workers’ participation in management
Personality: Perception; Attitudes; Emotions; Group dynamics; Power and politics;
Conflict and negotiation; Stress management
Organizational Culture: Organizational development and organizational change.
Unit 7: Banking and Financial Institutions
Overview of Indian financial system
Types of banks: Commercial banks; Regional Rural Banks (RRBs); Foreign banks;
Cooperative banks
Reserve Bank of India: Functions; Role and monetary policy management
Banking sector reforms in India: Basel norms; Risk management; NPA management
Financial markets: Money market; Capital market; Government securities market
Financial Institutions: Development Finance Institutions (DFIs); Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFCs); Mutual Funds; Pension Funds
Financial Regulators in India
Financial sector reforms including financial inclusion
Digitisation of banking and other financial services: Internet banking; mobile
banking; Digital payments systems
Insurance: Types of insurance- Life and Non-life insurance; Risk classification and
management; Factors limiting the insurability of risk; Re-insurance; Regulatory
framework of insurance- IRDA and its role.
Unit 8: Marketing Management
Marketing: Concept and approaches; Marketing channels; Marketing mix; Strategic
marketing planning; Market segmentation, targeting and positioning
Product decisions: Concept; Product line; Product mix decisions; Product life cycle;
New product development
Pricing decisions: Factors affecting price determination; Pricing policies and
strategies5
Promotion decisions: Role of promotion in marketing; Promotion methods -
Advertising; Personal selling; Publicity; Sales promotion tools and techniques;
Promotion mix
Distribution decisions: Channels of distribution; Channel management
Consumer Behaviour; Consumer buying process; factors influencing consumer
buying decisions
Service marketing
Trends in marketing: Social marketing; Online marketing; Green marketing; Direct
marketing; Rural marketing; CRM
Logistics management
Unit 9: Legal Aspects of Business
Indian Contract Act, 1872: Elements of a valid contract; Capacity of parties; Free
consent; Discharge of a contract; Breach of contract and remedies against breach;
Quasi contracts;
Special contracts: Contracts of indemnity and guarantee; contracts of bailment and
pledge; Contracts of agency
Sale of Goods Act, 1930: Sale and agreement to sell; Doctrine of Caveat Emptor;
Rights of unpaid seller and rights of buyer
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881: Types of negotiable instruments; Negotiation and
assignment; Dishonour and discharge of negotiable instruments
The Companies Act, 2013: Nature and kinds of companies; Company formation;
Management, meetings and winding up of a joint stock company
Limited Liability Partnership: Structure and procedure of formation of LLP in India
The Competition Act, 2002: Objectives and main provisions
The Information Technology Act, 2000: Objectives and main provisions; Cyber
crimes and penalties
The RTI Act, 2005: Objectives and main provisions
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) : Patents, trademarks and copyrights; Emerging
issues in intellectual property
Goods and Services Tax (GST): Objectives and main provisions; Benefits of GST;
Implementation mechanism; Working of dual GST
Unit 10: Income-tax and Corporate Tax Planning
Income-tax: Basic concepts; Residential status and tax incidence; Exempted incomes;
Agricultural income; Computation of taxable income under various heads; Deductions
from Gross total income; Assessment of Individuals; Clubbing of incomes
International Taxation: Double taxation and its avoidance mechanism; Transfer
pricing6
Corporate Tax Planning: Concepts and significance of corporate tax planning; Tax
avoidance versus tax evasion; Techniques of corporate tax planning; Tax
considerations in specific business situations: Make or buy decisions; Own or lease an
asset; Retain; Renewal or replacement of asset; Shut down or continue operations
Deduction and collection of tax at source; Advance payment of tax; E-filing of
income-tax returns