'Attaining Educational Qualifications At A Very Young Age Makes Me Proud' - Priya Ashok Jatia - Best 50 - Class of 2016

Priya has been chosen as one of the top 50 most employable candidates across schools and programmes in India for the Class of 2016. She has one of the best 50 profiles among the candidates who participated in the Best50 competition.   About Me I am pursuing my Second year Business Management MBA course from XLRI, Jamshedpur. I am a qualified Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary and a law and commerce graduate from Mumbai University. I have always performed academically well and have secured All India Ranks in Chartered Accountancy and Company Secretary Exams at all exam levels. I have also been a rank holder in the Mumbai University and the topper of my school and college. I was also among top 7 students admitted to the Business Management Batch of 2014-2016 to XLRI based on aggregate admission scores (the only one among all the girl students admitted). My x-factor: My educational qualification is my X factor. Hailing from a business family, I have been a young achiever with skills that sets me apart from everyone else. I have always strived for excellence and am still continuing to do so. I have high acumen/ expert knowledge in tax, accounts, audit and law because of the diverse and rigorous academic curriculum that I have undergone. This is essential for running any business. I can multi-task well. My aim of life can be strongly summarised by Henry Longfellow’s “Psalm of life”: “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time” I want to make a difference in this world by whatever means I can. Q 1. What have you done in your life that you are the proudest of? Attaining educational qualifications at a very young age makes me proud. As a child, I always had the dream of being as qualified and successful as my father who also holds five degrees and is a practising Chartered Accountant. This dream will now be fulfilled when I pass out of XLRI. Education is the means for ensuring success but it is not an end in itself. What also is required is humbleness, honesty and integrity to succeed in life. I believe I have all these qualities too. I have been able to depict this in all the team projects I have handled so far. Striving to achieve excellence has always been my motive. Whatever work is allotted to me is done with utmost honesty, dedication and determination. During my summer internship at Axis Bank, I was adjudged as the Best Intern. The following verse from the Bhagwad Gita makes me strive for more: “Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani” It means that do you duty without being attached to its outcome and do not be driven by the end product. One should enjoy the learning process of reaching that point. Q 2. If you were the Prime Minister of India, what would be the one problem that you would solve. Please explain your reasons. India is mainly an agrarian economy. More than half of India’s population survives on agriculture for livelihood. Agriculture contributes around 18% of GDP. Agriculture has scope for great improvement in India but there is a lack of resources available for its development. It is neglected and requires reforms and investments. Agriculture is a blessing in disguise for India which should be explored to its full potential. Many farmers are forced to commit suicide due to miserable conditions. If I were the Prime Minister of India, I would ensure that agriculture sector is given utmost importance and that investment is actually made in it. Our budget boasts of contributions amounting to crores being allotted to the agriculture sector but only a small percentage of the total amount is actually deployed towards the sector. A good season would ensure a good supply of food crops which would meet the demand and also help the FMCG, textile and other industries which are dependent on agriculture for growth. So investment in technology to help out during the erratic rainy season should be explored. Lack of  investment by the private sector in this field, low technology investment in hybrid seeds and inefficient ways of processing of agricultural produce has hampered the growth of the sector. Also, an irregular rainy season and irrational subsidies on rice and jowar have increased the prices of other pulses like dal which is a necessity for livelihood. I would ensure that skill development is focused on for the farmers and also that importance is given by Government to crop insurance and other new agricultural financing techniques are explored. Steps would also be taken to see that the MSP set, is free from prejudice and it provides a fair price to the farmers. There is a huge difference between what price farmers get and what price consumers pay. Thus, a fair pricing mechanism should be ensured. Technology investments would ensure the creation of new jobs in agriculture and related processes. Ways to make farmers meet direct customers would ensure that they get a good price for their crops, this would infact reduce misery in the rural areas, reduce poverty, crimes and increase the productivity of the nation thereby leading to its development.   Meet the rest of India’s 50 Most Employable Management Graduates from the Class of 2016 here.