Lawyer, Chess Player, Pilot, Golfer, Musician And More. Here Is A Diverse List Of IIMA Entrants This Year

Over the past few years, the classrooms of IIM Ahmedabad have been seeing a change. The institute has consciously been welcoming students with different experiences and worldviews. For the academic year 2018-2020, the incoming batch invited by IIM Ahmedabad is the most diverse batch in recent years, both in terms of gender diversity, work experience and educational background, said a statement from the pioneer B-School. Besides that, the batch includes students who have achieved significant accolades in areas as uncommon as golf, scientific research and philanthropy. 

"The diverse composition of the batch is an effect of sustained and conscious efforts part on the part of the Director and the Leadership of the institute. It is a testament to the increasing relevance and acceptability of management education," Raghuram Valluri, Media Secretary, Students' Affairs Council of IIMA said while commenting on the diversity of the batch of 2018-20.

Here is a short introduction to some of the students from the 2018-2020 batch:

Anuj Bansal - Lawyer and Public Policy

A law graduate from RMNLU, Lucknow, Anuj is a Securities Law and Public Policy enthusiast. He has been part of numerous events on the National Level, also following his love for public speaking. He has also won the NLIU Juris Corp National Moot, as well as, winning multiple Parliamentary Debates on National Level. He has also written articles, critiques and essays on issues related to Public Policy. Anuj was also the coach of a team representing India in ALSA International Competition, Kuala Lumpur, eventually emerging as the runners' up in the competition. His interests also extend to investigative journalism, mostly on the past realities of the Mumbai Underworld. 

"Pursuing Management studies was a natural step for him to further his understanding and thereby contribute to public policy making," he says.

Meet Agrawal - Featured in the Limca Book of Records, Multi-Instrumentalist

Hailing from Surat, Meet completed his B.Com and the IPCC exam for Chartered Accountancy ranking 5th in India. At the age of 10, he was featured in the Limca Book of Records for having played 47 instruments in eleven minutes. Meet is also a champion in the field of sports. He is a National Level roller-skater and an international-level Chess player. He also captained the Gujarat state Table Tennis team. He is one of three non-engineers to have scored 100 percentile in CAT 2017 as well. Apart from all the above achievements, he also topped the CBSE 12th board examination in Gujarat. At IIMA, he wants to hone his business acumen by learning from some of the best professors in the country and network with other accomplished folks. A big fan of Elon Musk, Meet wants to become an entrepreneur after gaining some industry experience post his MBA.

Pranay Tyle -Pilot, Published Researcher & Philanthropist

An alumnus of the United World College SEA and a gold medallist from the Delhi Public School, Noida, Pranay studied Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. At Hopkins, he conducted extensive oncology research for 3 years under Dr. Denis Wirtz and Dr. Hasini Jayatilaka, the results of which were published last year in Nature Communications and gained widespread attention from the global media, including leading Indian dailies. He has worked with Hilliard Lyons Investment Banking in the United States under Andy McKay, one of the most prominent investment bankers in the US Midwest, and was instrumental in expanding their healthcare M&A practice. Pranay is also an extensive traveler and has been to nearly 40 countries so far. Pranay also holds a pilot's license from the United States and has logged almost 100 hours in the cockpit. He also founded an NGO at the age of 18 to provide scholarships and assist other NGOs in education with fundraising and managing financial resources.

Mehak Sharma - Professional Golfer

Born in Agra, Mehak spent her life in various places in India, majorly in Madhya Pradesh and Pune. She graduated in commerce from Delhi University and thereafter worked in Deloitte as an Audit Assistant. She was introduced to golf at the age of 10 after accompanying her father to the army golf courses. She was instantly interested in the game and played amateur golf for the first few years. She started competing in tournaments since she was 14 and turned professional in 2016. Her first major win was the Captain's Cup at Army Golf Course, Delhi in the open category in 2012. She played her first professional tournament in Ahmedabad where she finished 8th and her first professional win was coming 6th in Leg V at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club. She is ranked 8th by the Indian Golf Union (IGU) in Southern Indian Junior and Ladies Championship, Bangalore. 

Aaditya Agarwal - YIF Fellow

Aaditya graduated as a Civil Engineer from IIT Delhi with an Institute Rank 2. Post IIT, he took an unconventional decision to go for a PG Diploma in Liberal Studies, the Young India Fellowship at Ashoka University. Over the last 3 years, he has worked with students at Ashoka University and has mentored them to find their calling, helping them opt for their ideal career. He has a YouTube channel with sessions on how to prepare and present case studies for consulting job interviews. He has also taken classes on International History and Contemporary International Relations. Passionate about learning and with a unique mix of engineering and liberal arts knowledge, he wants to understand the depth of business decision making. 

Nitin Pai - International Chess Player

An accomplished chess player, Nitin Pai represented India in the Commonwealth Chess Championship. He is the winner of several national-level chess competitions. He is also a chess writer for the prestigious Chessbase India and has organized three All India level FIDE-rated tournaments at IIT Madras. Apart from his extraordinary sports achievements, Nitin also holds academic laurels. He is a B.Tech. graduate from IIT Madras, he ranked 13th in the KVPY scholarship program and 4th in the Kerala Engineering Entrance Examinations. 

Purvi Edara - Psychology And International Relations

Purvi majored in Psychology with a double minor in International Relations and Economics from Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts, Pune. Awarded the Best Academic Performer award in college, Purvi was also ranked 4th in the MaRRS International Spelling Bee. Her previous endevours have seen her interning with a child psychology centre, treating children with neurodevelopmental disorders. She loves reading fiction and enjoys performing slam poetry. She also loves learning languages, and is capable of reading and writing Korean while currently learning Mandarin. "I wanted to figure out how compatible psychology would be with the various branches of management studies, and what career prospects I would have by combining the two fields," she says.
After her MBA, she wishes to work in a field that will help her achieve her goal of travelling every country in the world, starting from Asia. 

Parikshit Khanna -  Development Sector

Parikshit is a 2016 Mathematics graduate from IIT Kanpur. After graduation, he joined Credit Suisse, a place he left within 4 months to pursue his interest in development consulting. Shortly after, Parikshit joined the Chairman's Office, Quality Council of India where he worked closely under the Chairmanship of Adil Zainulbhai. Here, his work involved strategy, policy, and operations decisions while coordinating  with various central ministries including the Union Finance minstry. His efforts were instrumental in the passage of a SEBI circular regarding curtailing of unauthorized trading by brokers.

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