Financial literacy in India is abysmally low. The vast majority of Indians have little to no awareness of even the basic concepts of the stock markets, investing or trading. According to a recent S&P research report, up to 3/4th of Indian adults do not understand the basic financial concepts and less than 3 percent of the population has ever invested in the stock markets. This is because the education system in India has completely shunned stock markets as a subject altogether. As a result, the majority of the savings in India are funneled into real estate, fixed deposits, and gold in the form of jewelry. This is despite a healthy stock market and well regulated financial instruments.
In my strong opinion, stock market education should begin in high school so that teenagers are aware of the system and will be in a better position to get started once they reach adulthood. It will also give them more confidence to invest in various financial instruments. The earlier it is taught to youngsters, the more impact it will have on the future. Currently, even commerce degrees such as BBM, BCOM, and MBA don’t focus as much on the stock markets and the basics taught in such courses are excessively theoretical and only touch the surface. When I was a high-school student, I didn’t have any guidance or resources to learn about the markets. I had to compile bits & pieces of information from various sources to form my own understanding. In college, I signed up for BBM with a specialization in Finance (From a reputed institution), but was barely taught anything about stock markets. At the time, I found it to be very amusing. I later did a postgraduate course in Finance & Investments but then realized that what was being taught was far-stretched from reality. From my experiences, I strongly believe that stock market education and general awareness about trading & investing ought to improve significantly in our country.
‘School Of Stocks’ is our initiative to help increase financial literacy with a focus on educating readers on the Indian capital markets, trading & investments.
About School Of Stocks
It’s an education platform which is available for free and will be regularly updated with fresh content to help people constantly learn and explore the capital markets. We are committed to help increase your knowledge about trading & investments and will regularly publish content in a systematic manner. The goal is to help you understand all the important concepts from ground-up. The material is structured in modules and chapters. You can get a brief understanding of what you’re going to learn beforehand by reading the description mentioned in the table of contents. While reading, if you want to bookmark or mark a reference to any particular section on School Of Stocks, click on any lesson, paragraph or sub-heading to generate a unique URL (link). You can store or share this with your peers.
We’ve used simple language, explained important financial terms and jargons too. The idea is to simplify what is perceived as a very complicated subject. If you want to discuss or clarify any topics, you can always interact with us in the comments section of the relevant modules. It will help us get your feedback and further refine our efforts in educating people. We are passionate about this endeavor and it would be amazing if you could share the School of Stocks portal with anyone who is seeking to learn about stock markets, trading, and investments.
Contributors
Our Research Head, Gopal Kavalireddi will be writing on various topics which he specializes in including fundamental analysis, investment methodology, taxation, topics which require an in-depth understanding of financial statements, fundamental indicators, sectors, etc. On the other hand, I will be writing about topics such as technical analysis, trading, commodities, currencies, options, financial instruments, etc. We may include more contributors in the future depending on how things progress. You can reach out to us on the platform.
We look forward to building a continuous engagement with those who are seeking to learn about the markets and develop insights. Let’s build a strong community together and help increase financial literacy in India! You can access School Of Stocks here.