Chamber Consultation Hour with Dr. Rishi Kumar

Most of us know Rishi sir from the PoE class. We have all laughed at his witty remarks, his rebukes, examples revolving around sports and his ultra-amiable nature. Here’s a sneak peek to Dr. Rishi Kumar’s chamber in the Economics & Finance Department where the Economics Editorial Board had a little chat with him while he recollected his school days and gave us an insider on research.

Y: Yashdeep S. Dahiya 

R: Prof. Rishi Kumar

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Y: First of all, sir, please shed some light on your research work.

R: I work primarily in Development Economics. Most of my work is empirical in nature and pertains to the fields of Health Economics, Water and Sanitation, Education, Rural Development, Poverty and Inequality. I worked on primary data for my Ph.D. thesis, but nowadays it’s mostly secondary data that I work on. I am currently working on recently released NFHS data.

Y: I’m sure it must be fun collecting data… visiting new places, meeting people.

R: Yes, that was the highlight of my work. Surveying is a long process. I spent 6 months for a survey. It feels good to interact with people, stay with them… you get the real picture on ground. But now it is very difficult to carry out such exercise due to time limitations and my work commitments.  I think I miss that part of my work now.

Y: And how did you end up in this domain?

R: I completed B.Sc. (Hons.) Math from BHU. I had 3 subjects – Math, Statistics and Physics. I wasn’t much fond of Physics though. I opted for Economics for my Masters from IGIDR. I was fond of Microeconomics & Development Economics during the course.  I conducted a survey in the slums of Mumbai (on multi-dimensional poverty) as part of M.Sc. coursework and I knew I had found my academic domain – Dev Eco! After my Ph.D., I worked for 2 years in TISS. Interestingly, Sunny Jose sir was the HOD of my department there.

Y: What was your favourite subject in school?

R: Math. However (laughs), I remember just like all students, I had jitters during exams and my Math board exam was a nightmare.

Y:  Which subject do you like teaching the most?

R: It’s a draw between Applied Econometrics and Principle of Economics. Applied is more challenging as it is more analytical and technical in nature. In PoE, I meet new faces from different branches. I’m still struggling with names in the class. So, I resort to the colour of the shirt for calling someone!

Y: How often do you visit the library?

R: Actually to think of it, not much. I guess easy availability of reading material online is one of the factors. I should make it a point to visit it more often… :P

Y: I have always wondered what happens in research? It must start with an idea, you pursue it, sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t… So, what path does an idea go through to get to the paper?

R: As a researcher, you read journals, newspaper reports, follow debates on contemporary topics – be aware of the issues around. There, you might find an interesting topic, or you have a realisation that there is a room for improvement in the published work in terms of techniques or concepts, and you pursue it.

In my field, there is usually a lot of hustle when a new database is released, say NFHS that recently got released. So, everyone gets interested in studying the trends of important variables over times, changing relationships among variables and gather other important insights which may have bearing on policy making.

Y: How are the projects offered to students decided upon?

R: There are 2 ways of offering a project. Either the faculty member uploads the project in a project bank, where students can pick the one they like. Or students themselves approach a faculty member for a project. If the student has a preference, he/she can suggest the idea and if the supervisor finds it feasible, they continue with it. Otherwise, the student may be offered an ongoing project in the department.

Y: What goes on your mind during invigilation? For example, I invigilated the PoE quiz and I couldn’t help noticing some people writing wrong answers, peeking into others’ paper, etc. (apologies to whoever was in my room :P) What are your observations during a test?

R: No, I don’t judge students for wrong answers, if I notice so. And I make sure that I don’t stand close to a student for too long. It tends to make the student nervous. However, I might gently rebuke a student, if the test is of my subject, regarding his/her pace. As far as peeking is concerned, it is a strict no-no.

Y: Being in economics and finance department, do you invest in stocks, F&O, etc.?

R: (laughs) No. I am old pretty school when it comes to saving. Other faculty members in the department do discuss stocks, are well aware of the market and invest actively. It depends from person to person. Treat me as an exception!