Started in 1956 with Prof. Amartya Kumar Sen, the Welfare Economist and Nobel Laureate as the first Head, the Department of Economics of Jadavpur University is recognized nationwide for its importance in the teaching excellence and prospective research activities and has emerged as a well-known and premier centre for excellence in economics teaching and research. Impressed by the teaching and research activities of the Department in different fields, the UGC set up a Centre for Regional Economic Studies under the Special Assistance Programme in 1987. In 2005 the Department of Economics became the 4th Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) in Economics in India and has successfully completed CAS phase III (2016-21).