In Conversation with Rythm Babbar

Extremely excited to join JPMorgan Chase and Co. as a Strategic Analyst this August. I will be working in the CCB(Consumer and Community Banking) Risk profile. I just got done with a Master’s in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. Interning at the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai under the Monetary Policy Department (MPD) last summer, was an enriching experience. I worked on the project: ‘Content Analysis of Monetary Policy Statements and a Case Study on the impact of COVID-19 on sentiments’ under the Director MPD. I reckon it was a good combination of Master’s in Economics and my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Hons. from Miranda House, University of Delhi. This won’t be complete without making a mention of my 12 years journey at Heritage School, Jammu.

How would you describe your journey at grad school?

Though every moment in life is a celebration, yet 2016 started with mixed feelings of accomplishments, momentary disappointments, and surprises and finally ended up with a miracle to find my feet at Miranda House.

There at Miranda, I experienced real exuberance while shaping my career in the ambiance of that House. My friends, the vintage canteen, sky-high royal palms, the fragrant lawns, the green turf, and the heritage campus of the college; all of these added recognizing colors to my joy. While Miranda enlightened our academic spirits, it also gave us all the liberties to groom our personalities. I started as a member of the Entrepreneurship Cell of the college and finally got elected as its Finance Head. This furthered my interpersonal, management, and leadership skills to a great extent. I am sure the lessons learned here will become the chapters of my life.

I remember the time, I was facilitated by the management for academic excellence but I felt happier for the gardeners who were also lauded for their contribution. This made a big impact in my mind about the college recognising every effort. This is how reminisce about my three years voyage at Miranda House.

Gokhale is one of the oldest research institutes in Economics in India. What kinds of research opportunities are available to students at the Master’s level? Did you get to work on any research projects?

Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics is renowned for its initiatives in qualitative research in diverse areas of economic theory and practice. The Institute is credited with pioneering contributions by way of surveys, research, informed debate, analysis, and critique which have shaped the public discourse on major socio-economic initiatives and in formulating economic plans at the regional level in the State of Maharashtra, as well as the national level. The thrust areas of research at the Institute are Agricultural Economics, Rural Development & Cooperation, Population Studies, Input-Output Studies for Planning & Development, Monetary Economics & Finance, Public Economics, International Economics, among others.

During my tenure at Gokhale, I worked on several research projects, the prominent one being: ‘Does agricultural credit induce the growth of the agriculture sector in India?’ This paper dealt with the reforms made in the credit disbursal system since independence and its impact

on agricultural productivity using two approaches: The credit intensity approach and the Correlation between GLC (Ground Level Credit) and output approach.

When and how did you decide that you wanted to shift your focus from Mathematics to Economics? There must have been multiple challenges that you faced when you decided to change your stream. What is the one challenge that particularly stands out for you, and why?

The transition from Mathematics to Economics was predetermined and deliberate. It’s always desirable to have a B.Sc. Maths background to study Masters in Economics. Without core knowledge of advanced calculus, probability, and algebra, it gets a little challenging to read the core textbooks on Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Yes, the shift wasn’t a breeze. During my third year at Miranda, I took coaching to crack the entrances of my target colleges. Most of the students applying for a Master’s program had an Economics background and were relatively in a much more comfortable space. As for me, I had to start my preparation for the entrance from scratch. I religiously read the books that were suggested to us, gave online tests, and solved past years. That boosted my confidence. I cleared entrance exams of prominent institutes like ISI, MSE, IIFT, SAU, and GIPE. But finally, I preferred the location over the institution and joined GIPE.

There is nervousness regarding the job market among students who are opting for higher education. What are the job opportunities available to students of Economics? What are the must-have skills for cracking job interviews, according to you?

There are several lucrative career opportunities in both public and private sectors that a student of Economics can go for. Inclination towards the Government/Public sector, one can write the Indian Economic Services and Indian Statistical Services Exams conducted by the UPSC. RBI Grade B and NABARD are other potential career-making institutions. Nonetheless, Corporate is an open field for Economics students in the roles and responsibilities of economist, consultant, business analyst, investment analyst, and so on.

To ace the interviews, one needs both technical and non-technical skills. Soft skills like communication, interpersonal skills, personality, and business behavioral traits required to perform a role efficiently are essential. The technical skills include query-based languages like SQL, SAS, and MS Office-related products such as Power point and excel along with a sound base in Statistics and Econometrics. Most importantly, the companies are on the lookout for candidates with strong analytical, interpretative, and problem-solving skills.