The daily 2.

2 km rickshaw ride from my residence to my college gives me enough to ponder

over the issues plaguing our society. Every time I heard the story of a poor rickshaw puller, I
could not help reflecting upon the stubborn nature of poverty. This regular confrontation with the
glaring inequalities between my life and the lives of those less fortunate played a crucial role in
building my interest of working in the development sector.

After completing the 12th standard in Science, I chose Philosophy as my major in Miranda
House. The college gave me plenty of opportunities to explore my interests and future goals.
Overcoming my inherently shy nature, I performed a play and also joined various on-campus
societies. In the second year, as the Treasurer of an event management society, I regularly
interacted with the accounts office, the administrative office, the teacher convener, the student
union and the society members for smooth execution of various events. Later, in the third year, I
was elected as the President of the same society. Balancing these responsibilities with
academics, I have consistently maintained a rank within the top 3 of my batch.

I interned with World Wide Fund(WWF) during which I convinced several institutions to give up
using unnecessary and hazardous plastic items, like straws. Later I interned at the Womenite,
where I wrote articles on gender discrimination and assisted in conducting child sexual
harassment workshops. These experiences taught me that NGOs can only complement the
work government is doing within the existing policy framework. On the other hand, appropriately
amending public policies could prove to be the best way to bring about large scale solutions to
developmental challenges.

While my courses in Philosophy honed my critical analysis skills, my courses in economics led
to an interest in Development Economics. It was while reading books such as ‘Poor Economics’
and ‘Misbehaving’ that the idea to pursue a career in Public Policy first entered my mind. The
common thread connecting these books was the belief, backed by evidence, that data can be
used to make more effective policies. The idea excites me, even more so since the field is still at
a niche in India, with numerous growth opportunities.

LAMP fellowship will be an ideal first step for me in this direction. It will help me sharpen my
policy analysis skills, familiarize me with the nitty-gritties of different laws and procedures and let
me closely observe and understand the policymaking process in our country. Post the
fellowship, I see myself working in a governance consulting firm like Samagra, which involves
interaction with various levels of the government. After gaining a work experience of 3-4 years
and figuring out my areas of interest under public policy, I want to pursue a Postgraduate
education in the same subject. In the long term, I want to increase the attention on context
based policy making in India. I believe that the prestigious LAMP fellowship will aid me in the
achievement of these goals.