05 January 2023

To the Graduate Admissions Committee at University of Oxford

Seeing my students explore advanced academic horizons at a university as prestigious as yours is

always very satisfying. I am glad to know that Mr. Ishaan Sindhu is applying for the Master’s in
Financial Economics course at your esteemed Institution. He has been pursuing economics in our
college since 2020. I have known Ishaan for the last 6 months. While our interactions have primarily
been related to the curriculum, I have known him to be a naturally inquisitive person with strong
research and quantitative skills combined with his high level of integrity and cheerful demeanour.

I interacted with him very closely when I taught Indian Economics in the fifth semester. Simply put,
Ishaan is an excellent student, one who is hard-working as well as insightful. He attended to the
complex challenges presented in my course with grace and took the initiative to engage in further
discussions after class. While this course is predominantly theoretical, I noticed that, over and above
his analytical skills relevant to this course, he is very insightful toward economic policymaking.
While studying this course, he was keen on emphasizing the methods through which lessons derived
from previous macroeconomic policies can be modified and applied to policymaking in present
times. He valued conceptual clarity and knowledge over marks and made sure he gave his best in the
examination conducted by the university as well. If there was a particular topic/concept that he did
not understand, he would proactively come to me later, either after class hours or in tutorial classes.

His keenness to learn extra was never at the cost of his performance in internal assessments or
weekly assignments; he used to be in the upper percentile of marks in all assessments. Besides his
academic excellence, I truly appreciate his maturity and poise. His academic excellence was
combined with a perpetual curious nature; he had a habit of questioning the logic and existing
circumstances behind the execution of a policy and discussing its application and usefulness in
present times. I distinctly remember him questioning why the Indian health system is found to be
lagging behind other countries. Imploring him to study further about the reasons, he decided to write
a research paper on this topic, titled “Health in India since Independence”. I was delighted upon
reading the paper; the method by which he examined India’s health policies pre-independence and
how they compared to the current policies was highly insightful and astute. The paper also included a
well-researched case study on Malaria control. The research paper highlighted his excellent research
and problem-assessment skills. I am sure these qualities will certify he is an asset to the programme.

He also has an affable personality which, when combined with his good communication skills,
makes him a great team player. He was helpful towards his batchmates; as one of the very few
students who took notes during class, he never hesitated in sharing his notes with others. His good
teamwork skills, I feel, will be an extremely important trait when it comes to group work at your
university. The way he was able to balance coursework with extra-curricular pursuits is certainly
commendable. He is a confident individual, who not only had the pride to recognise his goals and
zeal but was also determined to bring a change with his hard work. With his bright mind,
perseverance, and positive attitude, I am sure he will achieve outstanding success in all his pursuits
and shall be an excellent selection for this MS program. I wish him the best in his future professional
journey.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ravi Kant

Assistant Professor
Economics Department
Shri Ram College of Commerce
Delhi University, Delhi, India
Email: ravi.kant@srcc.du.ac.in