We recently hosted the inaugural Dvara Research Blog Competition for students currently pursuing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in India. The competition was on the theme of “Suitable Finance for Agricultural Households“ and was aimed at encouraging students to conduct analyses on the Agricultural sector in India, and how suitable finance can serve as a lever for lower-income agrarian households to improve their social as well as financial capital.
The competition saw participation from across the country, and it was encouraging to see the response and the thinking behind the entries. Given our decision to encourage both undergraduates and graduates to compete, it was heartening to see participants from undergraduate, post-graduate, as well as post-graduate diploma degrees.
We reviewed each of the entries, and we looked at the originality of the ideas presented, the thoroughness with which arguments had been submitted, and whether the structure of arguments and narrative had a perceivable flow. Our eminent jury, consisting of Dr. Ajay Tannirkulam, Bindu Ananth, Dr. Ritu Verma, and Dr. Sudha Narayanan, was invaluable in helping with the review process, and in deciding on our top three entries.
The top three entries are by:
- N. Ramachandran & Dipesh Mangwani – IIFT, Delhi
- Rajni Vidhani – IRMA, Anand
- Shreya Mary Abraham – MSE, Chennai
Their work is grounded in need to rethink the systems in place, and in resorting to technology and innovation as a groundwork towards creating a more customer-centric solution design.
We are encouraged by the participation and diversity of entries that we received and hope to make the blog competition a recurring feature of college calendars across the country. Through it, we hope to further the engagement of students with the work being undertaken in research institutions across the country and encourage more critical thinking and rigour on important research themes.
