45 Days of Research: My internship experience at Niti Aayog, New Delhi | Day 0
In this series, I’ll be sharing my day-to-day experience at Niti Aayog, New Delhi. I am both nervous and excited at the same time, as I am writing. I am hoping that this is going to be a fantastic experience. So, before we start, let’s talk about my experience from Mumbai to Niti Aayog.
Application Phase
I had applied for Niti Aayog in September. Fast forward to November. It is my end semester exams. Tensions soaring through the sky, trying to finish the syllabus. 😟 However, something adventurous was probably in store for me. My dad used to ask me often about the status of my winter goals and would ask if we should buy 3 tickets to Kolkata (our home place) or 2. I knew I had to do something, to prove my mettle. I had applied to various startups, hoping for an interview call, but none had come till late November when I got a call from a reputed foreign startup, we had a nice long discussion, and they gave me a task to fulfill by the weekend.
Selection Phase
However, during this phase, I received a miraculous email! I woke up in the morning, preparing for my Data Networks exam, and then as I checked my phone, voila! The notifications panel flashed a mail from the Niti Aayog team, indicating my selection! I was ecstatic and beaming with joy! But that joy was suddenly put on hold when I realized that I was almost accepted into a startup. Now started the “dharamsankat” (dilemma, in layman terms). I wanted to intern at both places simultaneously 😝. But obviously, God didn’t give us the power to create our multiple copies that would access different parts of the world parallelly!
Settling the “Dharamsankat”
After many considerations, chat with some of my friends and some discussion with my parents, I felt choosing Niti Aayog was the right choice. Two primary factors motivated my decision:
- Being able to contribute to a national body like Niti Aayog, the principal decision-making body of the Government of India.
- Getting exposure to the work culture of the “latest, modern and vibrant” government office.
So, there it was! Now, I won’t bore you with the struggles of managing the documents for formalities, because, I am sure we all have faced it, and you already know about it! 😜
The Departure
Fast forward to departure day. I and my dad got ready to go to New Delhi. When we boarded the train to New Delhi, all we heard were how Mumbai is a much better and safer place than New Delhi. All these conversations had a profound impact on my already-developed image of New Delhi, based on news and some of my Delhi friends’ experiences. We had to choose a place to stay, preferably PG (Paying Guest) since I didn’t have any relatives in New Delhi to bank on.
The Big Day
So, once we reached New Delhi, we got a taste of what the people were saying about New Delhi, rather quick. The auto-rickshaws were ready to loot us by charging us exorbitantly. But, we are also Mumbaikars, we don’t fall prey so easily and find our way out politely. We finally settled for a reasonable price and I reached Niti Aayog and got my formalities done while my dad and his ex-company friend went on a scavenger hunt for “decent” PG. It was difficult, but not impossible. We finally found a good PG, that was acceptable and convincing and we settled for it.
Meanwhile, at Niti Aayog, I got to meet my mentor, who helped me ease in with the atmosphere and very calmly explained all the aspects and work culture of Niti Aayog. His words caused an adrenaline rush within me, thinking about the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for me at this national-level body. I learned that I have to choose a research problem of my own and work on it. This really caught me off-guard. I was expecting some already-decided project to work on. Now that I am in the thinking phase, I am really thrilled to work on a project, that will be my brainchild (or at least inspired by someone, but I get to do it all by myself).
Conclusion
This is my first time working in a company as big as this, and I am getting all nervous and intimated, mixed with a feeling of curiosity and excitement. Over the next few days, I hope I find a strong problem to work upon, that will challenge my skill set and will also propel me to acquire new skills in a short time to see the project through!
Thanks for making it till here and I hope that you all are excited about exploring the world of Niti Aayog with me!
Show Your Support
Press the clap button below if you liked reading this post. The more you clap, the more it motivates me to write every day!
