The National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), successfully conducted the Eastern Regional Round of the National Financial Literacy Quiz (NFLQ) 2026 at St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, on August 22 and 23, 2026. The two-day event brought together undergraduate and postgraduate students from Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal & Odisha who competed in an interactive format covering financial markets, investment principles, investor protection and responsible financial practices.
The Kolkata round is the fourth regional round of NFLQ 2026, followed by the Western Regional Round in Mumbai, Northern Regional Round in New Delhi and Southern Regional Round in Bengaluru. The nationwide initiative received participation from more than 4 lakh students in the college and online qualifying rounds. Based on their performance, leading teams progressed to the regional rounds being held across the Eastern, Southern, Northern, Central, Western and North-Eastern regions of India.
Addressing the participants, Shri Sashi Krishnan, Director, National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), said, “Young Indians today are increasingly engaging with financial products and markets, making financial literacy an important life skill. Through the National Financial Literacy Quiz, we aim to make financial education engaging, relevant and accessible to students at an early stage. The participation of students in Kolkata and across the Eastern Region is encouraging and demonstrates their growing curiosity about investing, financial markets and investor protection. NISM will continue to create platforms that help young learners build the confidence and knowledge needed to make responsible financial choices.”
Shri Vikas S.S., Chief General Manager, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), said, “Financial awareness plays an important role in enabling individuals to make informed and responsible financial decisions. The National Financial Literacy Quiz provides students with an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of financial markets, investment principles and investor protection in an engaging and competitive format. SEBI remains committed to strengthening investor awareness and equipping the next generation with the knowledge and confidence to participate responsibly in the financial ecosystem.”
NFLQ 2026 is part of NISM’s broader outreach programme aimed at strengthening students’ understanding of the securities market and encouraging informed financial decision-making. The quiz covers areas including financial products, market mechanisms, investor rights, regulations and the role of market intermediaries, helping participants develop practical knowledge of India’s financial ecosystem. The initiative is being conducted from July to September 2026, with regional rounds scheduled across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Guwahati and Kolkata. The top-performing teams from these rounds will advance to the National Finale in November 2026, where they will compete for national honors at the NISM Campus, Patalganga, Rasayani, Maharashtra.
The Grand Finale will be held at NISM Campus, Patalganga, Rasayani, Maharashtra, where the top-performing teams from across the country will compete for national honors.
Prizes for the top three winners in each category of the regional rounds:
Undergraduate Category:
1st Prize – Rs. 40,000/- Department of Commerce, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, Park Street, West Bengal
2nd Prize – Rs. 30,000/- Department of Commerce, THK Jain College, Kolkata, West Bengal
3rd Prize – Rs. 20,000/- Department of Commerce, TrivenideviBhalotia College, Raniganj, West Bengal
Postgraduate Category:
1st Prize – Rs. 40,000/- Department of Business Administration, Department of Business Administration, University of Kalyani, West Bengal
2nd Prize – Rs. 30,000/- Department of Management, L. N. Mishra Institute of Economic Development & Social Change, Patna, Bihar
3rd Prize – Rs. 20,000/- Department of Management, ICFAI Business School Kolkata, West Bengal
Additionally, 12 UG colleges from the Eastern Zone qualified to advance to the National Rounds. The list of selected institutions is as follows:
Sr No
College Name
Candidate Name
Rank
1
Department of Commerce, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, Park Street
Aratrika Ghosh, Anamika Shaw
1
2
Department of Commerce, THK Jain College, Kolkata
Siddhant Gupta, Rishika Jariwal
2
3
Department of Commerce, TrivenideviBhalotia College
Priya Paramanik, Satish Barnwal
3
4
Department of Law, The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
VyomkeshDidwania, Rajat Sharma
4
5
Department of Arts/Science/Commerce, Prabhu Jagatbandhu College
Deep Roy, Ritam Das
5
6
Department of Commerce and Arts, Government Girls’ General Degree College, Kolkata
Alfiya Jabeen, Labiba Nurus
6
7
Department of Management, Adamas University
Ayushee N Rao, Koyel Biswas
7
8
Department of Engineering, Government Engineering College Vaishali
Aman Kumar, Shivani Kumari
8
9
Department of Commerce/Science/Arts, Kharagpur College
Saikat Das, Sneha Das
9
10
Department of Management, Arka Jain University
Aditya Sharma, Ishan Kumar Choudhary
10
11
Political Science, Economics and English, Government Degree College
Rajan Sharma, Vijay Kumar Gupta
11
12
Department of Commerce, Ananda Mohan College
Mahak Jaiswal, Adarsh Jaiswal
12
There were 12 PG colleges from the Eastern Zone qualified to advance to the National Rounds. The list of selected institutions is as follows:
Sr No
College Name
Candidate Name
Rank
1
Department of Business Administration, University of Kalyani
Buddhadeb Guria, Manish Shaw
1
2
Department of Management, L. N. Mishra Institute of Economic Development & Social Change, Patna
Sudhanshu Shekhar, Shiv Shambhu Pandey
2
3
Department of Management, ICFAI Business School Kolkata
Soumita Dutta, Ritu Raj
3
4
Department of Commerce, University of Calcutta
Shivam Singh, Abhay Kumar Thakur
4
5
Department of Finance, International Management Institute Kolkata
Krishna Kant Sharma, Jay Joshi
5
6
Department of Management, Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi
Abhinav Chaudhary, Shreya Bharti
6
7
Management, Development Management Institute, Patna
Ritik Anand, Gaurav Kumar Pandey
7
8
Department of MBA, Utkal University
Sourav Kumar Das, Kaustubh Priyadarsan
8
9
Department of Accounting and Finance, IMI Bhubaneswar
Ritesh Mallick, Prajjwal Singh
9
10
Department of Management, Interscience Institute of Management & Technology, Bhubaneswar
Satyabrata Tripathy, Anubhab Pradhan
10
11
Department of Finance, Biju Patnaik Institute of Information Technology & Management Studies (BIITM)
Abhishek Nayak, Himanshu Prasad
11
12
Department of Commerce, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack
Sunayana Bakshi, Priyanka Soy
12
