Jalnidh Kaur

Jalnidh Kaur, born on 3rd December 1992 at Ludhiana, in the house of a devout Sikh couple BibiSatinderjit Kaur and S. Sarabjit Singh Renuka, is an upcoming economist of the country. This title is justified because she always proved her interest and ability in the related subject. When she completed her schooling at Sacred Heart Convent School, Ludhiana by passing her class XII exam with more than 96% marks in 2010, she was declared as the best outgoing student of the School. Next year, when she participated in ‘Budding Economist Quiz’ at St. Xavier College, Kolkata, she won the second prize. Her distinguished performance throughout in B.A. (Hons.) Economics course at St. Stephen College, Delhi, enabled her to obtain Rhodes scholarship in 2013, which is a fully funded scholarship for graduation at University of Oxford (this scholarship has been awarded to persons of eminence like S. Montek Singh Ahluwalia). She completed her Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Economics from University of Oxford in 2015 covering the areas of Advanced Microeconomics, Advanced Econometrics, Development Economics, Behavioural Economics and Theory Based Empirical Analysis.

As an economist, she would like to help combat the extreme social disparities in the world through value-based interventions based on social science research.Apart from her brilliant academic record, she is also a devoted social worker. She founded a street school chain in India – ÉCLAIR providing informal education to children livingon the streets. Under the initiative, children of construction labourerswere enrolled in public schools. A detailed ‘How to Éclair handbook’ was prepared for future volunteers detailing curriculum and tips for teaching underprivileged kids and getting them enrolled. She is also the founder member of G 65 started by pan-India NGO, Sukrit to groom youth for competitive examinations free of cost. Further, she served as Youth Coordinator for the Punjab division of the Civil Society against Drugs Movement during the Punjab Assembly Election in 2012. She is also author of three books namely Divine Pills, Work is more Fun than Fun, and Economic History of India. All these achievements at this young age make her a role-model. Her firm faith in Sikh religion and her Gursikh living add to status of a role-model. When she was selected for prestigious Rhodes scholarship, she gave credits for her success toSehajPaath of Sri Guru Granth Sahib which she had completed in her hostel room using four parts of Shabdaarth. She believes that understandingof Gurbani meanings make life especially enriching. Last but not the least, she is blessed with the daat of kirtan and is trained in Gurbani classical music.We look forward to her bright future when we see her not only as a great economist of the country, but also a great Sikh who can be emulated for Gursikhi living. Her email is kaur.jalnidh@gmail.com.