Yukta Sareen

My three-month internship in the Indian government’s food and public distribution department made me realise how government Interventionist policies, such as minimum support prices for sugarcane farmers, play a critical role in protecting them from foreign competition.

As I worked on my research paper, “The Sugar Policy Impact on Farmers in achieving Sustainability”. I realised how the price control policy helped the sugarcane farmers overcome most challenges in production and earn sustainable incomes. Moreover, the government’s sugar industry-specific policy slowly led to the development of innovative technologies to suit the time-based and location-specific demands that facilitated India to gain a comparative advantage and become a significant sugar exporter at the global level.

The opportunity for analysis of such issues compels me to study economics at university.

My four-month internship in the Indian government’s textile industry emphasised how comparative disadvantage in international trade aggravates income inequality in India. As I worked on my research paper, “Current Challenges in the Indian Textile and Potential Solutions”, I realised that millions of low-income households in this industry face the risk of unemployment due to stiff global competition. My solution for the Indian textile industry focused on investment in digitised textile parks and skill development programs for low-skill resources to gain a comparative advantage and prevent employment loss. The opportunity for analysis of such issues compels me to study economics at university

To understand the lack of educational opportunities for underprivileged children in India, I volunteered to teach at a school for Indian orphans for the past year. While teaching allowed me to witness students’ growth, I felt troubled by the absence of quality education that would have made it possible for poor children to escape the poverty trap. However, the Indian government’s tax revenue is inadequate as the current tax systems are disengaged from socioeconomic reality. Therefore, it is essential to amend tax policies, such as progressive income taxes and aggressive tax enforcement, to generate higher tax revenues. In addition, I am keen to learn more about government policy responses focused on increasing human capital for low-economic groups.

As the Finance head of the school genetics club society, I learned how to develop financial models such as budget planning. In addition, I strengthened my mass communication skills while working in group activities such as joint research work, “Epigenetics- How Surroundings of an Individual can Impact Genes,” wherein I led and coordinated the finalisation of research work from a large team.

Participation in the school’s new business start-up competition allowed me to develop a real-world sustainability model. This included developing a business plan for an organic food start-up company focusing on the 4P’s - price, place, promotion, product, and how a firm gets comparative advantage via product differentiation.

Out of the 240 students that participated in the competition, my team reached the final round for the overall competition and won the first prize.

Participation in such a competition allowed me to demonstrate teamwork skills by operating in a large, diverse group with confidence and enthusiasm. I also gained leadership skills in setting up a new framework for a start-up venture.

As part of the school Art club, I made cards, posters, clay pots and other art forms. However, the one I cherish most is creating cards for the Singapore healthcare workers who had worked tirelessly during the outbreak of COVID-19.

I felt fulfilled and compassionate by contributing to community service when our group produced two hundred cards together in one weekend.

My deep interest in economics and how government policy response impacts economic growth and development led me to do further research on an extensively debated topic of government debt.

As part of the extended essay, “The effect of Covid-19 on US government debt and how it impacts the US future economic growth,” I concluded two contrasting analyses.

On one side, the United States is uniquely positioned to have debt-driven economic growth because it holds the world's reserve currency, allowing it to carry debt more cheaply than other countries. However, the other side of the analysis points toward the imminent risk of very high US debt, which will eventually have long-term negative economic regressive consequences such as a "debt trap," with high debt tamping growth.

Based on such research experiences, I have undoubtedly developed a greater interest in economics, and obtaining an economics degree will give me an improved perspective of world economics affairs.

Mathematics research and analysis have broadened my perspective of real-world applications of mathematical models, such as “determining the surface area and volume of an irregular three-dimensional object using calculus and integration”.

Through extensive analysis, I learned how advanced mathematical concepts are used to solve real-life problems. Furthermore, it was rewarding to get appreciation from my mathematics teacher for the quality of my research work, practical problem-solving skills and clarity of solutions presented while working on complex mathematical problems.

This has increased my curiosity about real-world applications of mathematical models such as financial mathematics and economic theories.

My experiences instigated an urge to learn how to quantify and identify potential solutions to economic inequality. I undertook an eight-week course on “Measuring Economic Inequality” and “Global Prosperity beyond GDP”. As part of the quantitative analysis, I performed an inequality comparison using Lorenz Curves, Gini Coefficient, and Rich-to-Poor income ratios based on historical income deciles of India and Singapore. I noticed one stark difference in the provision of merit goods, such as government spending on education; India spends three per cent of its GDP on education, while Singapore spends twenty-one per cent. This could explain how Singapore has transitioned to developed status by leveraging education and meritocracy. I am intrigued to learn more about mathematical economic models that could explain economic theories.

Completed IB examinations with following Subjects - Mathematics (AA, HL), Chemistry (HL), Economics (HL), Biology (SL), and Hindi (SL), English (SL). I was ranked in the top 15% in my cohort of 160 IB students.

In 2020, I undertook nine IGCSE examinations; Additional Maths, Extended Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Business Studies, English Lang, English Lit, and Hindi, gaining A*s in all nine subjects. I was awarded the highest academic excellence honours – “Dr APJ Abdul Kalam” accorded to attaining 1st Position in my school cohort (of 120 students)