Earth Day 2024

Here we are, marking yet another Earth Day! Some of us might question if our individual choices truly matter in the grand scheme of things!

But, there are many ways an individual can contribute to making the planet a better place, especially in relation to Earth Day 2024. Here are some impactful actions:

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Practice responsible waste management by reducing consumption, reusing items, and recycling materials whenever possible.

2. Conserve Energy: Use energy-efficient appliances and lighting, turn off lights and electronics when not in use, and consider renewable energy sources like solar or wind power.

3. Save Water: Conserve water by fixing leaks, taking shorter showers, using water-efficient appliances, and collecting rainwater for gardening.

4. Support Sustainable Transportation: Use public transport, carpool, bike, or walk whenever feasible to reduce carbon emissions from transportation.

5. Choose Sustainable Products: Opt for eco-friendly products, such as organic foods, biodegradable cleaning supplies, and items made from recycled materials.

6. Plant Trees and Native Plants: Participate in tree planting initiatives and cultivate native plants in gardens to support biodiversity and combat climate change.

7. Reduce Plastic Use: Minimize single-use plastics by using reusable bags, bottles, containers, and utensils. Properly dispose of plastic waste and participate in clean-up activities.

8. Support Conservation Efforts: Donate to or volunteer with organizations dedicated to protecting wildlife, habitats, and natural resources.

9. Raise Awareness: Educate others about environmental issues, advocate for sustainable practices in your community, and participate in Earth Day events and campaigns.

10. Lead by Example: Be a role model for sustainable living by integrating eco-friendly habits into your daily life and encouraging others to join in conservation efforts.

By taking proactive steps and fostering a culture of environmental stewardship, individuals can make a significant positive impact on the planet and contribute to a better future for all.

#EarthDay #EarthDay2024 #earthdayeveryday #earthdayactivities #earth #conservation #sustainability #recycle #saynotoplastic #awareness #environment #ReduceReuseRecycle #reducewaste #sunithashyam #Veritadyne

Happy Tamil New Year

மகிழ்ச்சி, அமைதி மற்றும் செழிப்பு நிறைந்த ஆண்டாக அமைய வாழ்த்துக்கள். இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்!

Wishing you a year filled with happiness, peace, and prosperity. Happy Tamil New Year!

#tamil #tamilnewyear #puthandu 

To New Beginnings!

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” - Arthur Ashe 

What better way to start than by gathering together and celebrating our rich culture and enlightened heritage of diversity, as the symphony of summer unfolds with opportunities for new beginnings!

#newbeginnings #symphonyofsummer #chaitranavratri #gudipadwa #navreh #navratri #navaratri #sajibucheiraoba #ugadi #ugadi2024 #Veritadyne

Health for All

Achieving the theme for World Health Day 2023, ‘Health for All’ is a tall order!

While there are many expectations for improvements in our world health, due to promises in AI, innovations in omics technologies, materials & nanotechnology etc., the actual realization of excellence in healthcare will boil down to getting some basics right!

Not only excellence in treatment of common ailments, but also on improvement of diagnostic tools and preventive health care/wellness, including:
·       Availability of vaccines of all kinds to general public
·       Regular, mandatory screening programs for common issues like blood pressure, diabetes as well as cancers & other diseases
·       Increase in rehabilitation resources for recovering patients from various illnesses including development of communities where people & families can find the necessary support
·       Accessibility & resources promoting inclusivity of people with disabilities
·       Quality childcare where children are taken care of and also provided with quality stimulation and excellent nutrition for growth
·       Women’s and children’s health - more research and research funding allocation
·       Rare diseases research and funding allocation has to increase exponentially
·       Organ donation - universal improvements in policies, procedures and their implementation
·       Neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases – increased workforce, research and sensitization
·       Geriatric population studies
·       Health, fitness and wellness education; nutrition & exercise physiology
·       Mental health research, improvement in international policies and sensitization

Some of the biggest challenges will be in implementing all of the above in addition to latest trends in treatment & diagnostics equally among all countries. Ensuring such accessibility, equity and ethics would remain the biggest challenge in our future. Unless new tools and technologies are monitored for safety & ethics, and made available equally for every man, woman and child, we can unfortunately never claim healthcare for all!

#worldhealthday #health #AI #funding #education #healthcare #future #research #menatalhealth #wellness #ethics #fitness #nutrition #development #children #women

Pic: UPenn

Jamshedji Tata - an inspiration!

Commemorating the life & legacy of Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata - a man of extraordinary vision, prodigious fortitude, and unyielding industriousness - at 184.

In the words of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, who called him a 'One Man Planning Commission' - "When you have to give the lead in action, in ideas – a lead which does not fit in with the very climate of opinion – that is true courage, physical or mental or spiritual, call it what you like, and it is this type of courage and vision that Jamshedji Tata showed. It is right that we should honour his memory and remember him as one of the big founders of modern India."

#JamshedjiTata#JamdetjiTata #JNTata #tata #Jamshedpur #India #Industry #Steel #tatasteel #founders #planning

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

This year marks the Indian presidency of the G20. India plans to use this to create a unified global health accelerator whereby the world is united in its health preparedness to tackle global emergencies efficiently.

One of the first tweets that I have seen from the government rightfully focussed on antimicrobial resistance and creating an awareness about it in the form of a quiz. Since this is such an important topic, I am writing this article to put down some thoughts on AMR, causes and effective ways of dealing with it. 

What is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? 

AMR happens when microbes of any kind (bacterial, viral or fungal) develop mechanisms that help them to evolve, thereby resisting the effects of the antimicrobial medicine used against them. That means they can't be easily destroyed and treating them in a patient becomes very hard or sometimes impossible, leading unfortunately to death!

Main cause of AMR?

Mainly overuse or misuse of antimicrobials by individuals for themselves, in farming and livestock rearing are all causes. 

Another major cause is improper disposal of:

• Unused antimicrobials
• Water and waste segregation that does not focus on the leaching of medicines into the environment

Why is AMR a cause for concern?

From data in 2019, about 700,000 people die of infections caused due to resistant pathogens every year world over.

In addition to this, the pollution of our environment and water due to improper disposal of unused antimicrobials is also another big problem, leading to further AMR being developed by all kind of microbes leading to creation of 'superbugs'. 

What corrective measures/awareness is required in an individual capacity?

1. Antibiotics should only be consumed when absolutely required and prescribed by a doctor. They should also be taken in the right way, the right dosage and completion of a full course, as not doing this could also lead to AMR. 
2. Disposal of antimicrobial drugs - Please read more about the individual drug and manufacturer's recommendations. Some have take-back policies, some have collection sites to receive drugs back, mail-back programs, or recommended safe options to discard at home. 

However, not all countries have these options and many governments do not require pharmaceutical companies to take responsibility for the proper disposal of unused/expired medicines. 

Need of the hour?

Humankind now needs governments, with their policies in place and pharma companies, with their moral & ethical responsibility to step up and do the needful. 

In India for example, The Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) Rules, 2016 categorises expired drugs rightfully as 'domestic hazardous waste' and mandates that they be segregated, stored in separate bins and disposed in line with the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 that mandate that the drugs be incinerated at high temperatures.

Unfortunately, due to poor enforcement of the MSWM policies, there is poor management of hazardous waste, including unused/expired drugs & antimicrobials in the country. Waste segregation is an important area for the country where there is a lot of improvement, but policies have to be made clear and their implementation tight to bring everything together to fruition. 

Shared responsibility:

This responsibility for safe discarding of medicines however cannot begin and end with governments alone. Pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and distributers of medicines, hospitals and any other relevant industry partners should step up and this should be considered a legal responsibility. Very importantly, this properly defined method/flow of medicines will also prevent illegal secondary trade of controlled use medicines.

Other important government stakeholders like pollution control boards, drug regulation boards and other important groups in society are also going to play a vital role in proper implementation of responsibility on the ground! Transparent and well-defined policies and procedures will be vital if this is to be successful.

The above issues are true of many developed and most developing countries, and one would hope that the efforts of the G20 in unifying healthcare response also tastes success in implementing certain universal policies such as safe disposal of antimicrobials to safeguard our environment.

#G20 #G20health #antimicrobials #antimicrobialresistance #antibiotics #antibioticresistance #AMR #governments #policies #law #legal #responsibility #sustainability #socialresponsibility #India #water #land #environment #pollution #waste #wastesegregation #pharmaceuticals #health #implementation #management

Happy Birthday Smt. Sarojini Naidu!

A proponent of civil rights, women's emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, Smt Bharat Kokila Sarojini Naidu was not only an important person in India's struggle for independence from colonial rule but remains one of the most inspiring role models across the world!

Fierce nationalist; freedom fighter; women's emancipation, social welfare, & civil rights proponent; writer; poet; and India's first woman governor!

Tireless crusader and architect of modern India! These below pictures speak volumes about her capabilities and achievements.

#sarojininaidu #civilrights #nationalist #governor #poet #writer #socialwelfare #society #India #rolemodel

From Darkness to (moon)Light - India's Services Sector in Need of Enlightenment

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." - Oscar Wilde

What is Moonlighting? 

Very simply put, people taking up extra work other than their full-time job, which is traditionally expected to be 9 to 5, without informing their current employer, is called moonlighting. 

Recently this whole discussion came to the fore in India when Wipro's chairman Rishad Premji tweeted "There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating - plain and simple."

Following this, last week, Wipro also sacked 300 employees stating the same reason, further explaining that they also worked for Wipro's competitors. Following suit, TCS, Infosys and IBM have also warned their employees that moonlighting is unethical and will lead to disciplinary action or even termination. 

However, Tech Mahindra CEO, C P Gurnani, recently said that it is required to change with the times and also said, "I welcome disruption in the ways we work". 

India's Union minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, yesterday joined this debate by tweeting in support of employees moonlighting if they wish to use their skills and time to expand their work, which will also help the country with talent deficit. He has strongly recommended companies to embrace this change and not to suppress talent & the very intention to innovate.

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Micrsoft, went one step further and coined a new term "Productivity Paranoia", which is companies feeling their employees are not being their productive best, leading to unwelcome activities such as spying on the employees. Microsoft firmly believes that employee surveillance is just wrong and in today's hybrid work models, to bridge the gap between what employers and employees want is of utmost importance. Employers should in fact be more concerned about employee burn-out as worktime and 'other' time have completely blurred following the imposed WFH culture due to the pandemic.

It is my opinion that people must have the freedom to work on what they want in their own time (i.e. time not paid for by an employer). Most companies do have 'Non-disclosure' agreements (NDAs) and ‘Non-compete’ clauses (NCCs) in work contracts which employees commit to, which should cover any ethical concerns. Employees on the other hand could avoid conscientiously working for a direct competitor and should definitely not engage in unethical practices which will only spoil it for everyone as seen in the case of Wipro. 

Of concern, however, is in the loose definition of 'competitor'. Big conglomerates could even consider a start-up as competition and thus stop employees from utilising their private time to work pretty much anywhere within a sector which would otherwise benefit from access to their skills. This could be the primary reason for employees to leave other work undisclosed. 

It should be deemed unethical for companies to have a blanket contract that prohibits employees from taking up any other paid work. Not only is this treatment of employees as bonded labour antediluvian, but it is also plain unconscionable and does not fit in a digitally mobile world, especially post COVID! Employees must stand up for their rights, including that of privacy, and reject such contracts. NDAs and NCCs, on the other hand, need to be rational and clearly articulate a company’s terms, which must be explained to prospective/current employees, giving them a fair chance to accept, come clean, or reject the terms. Such mechanism can help mitigate perceived threats of moonlighting and develop an atmosphere of trust in which employees are self-motivated to ensure ethical conduct and can feel safe disclosing their other commitments. 

 More than policies and policing, it is a company’s culture which will define whether moonlighting becomes a threat or an engine of positive transformation for both employer and the employee.

Tamil Nadu school events this summer!

Teaching – a calling which I have always been passionate about, and an important aspect of my academic and professional journey thus far – is central to fostering a cultivated society. And despite pandemic-induced disruptions and the proliferation of new modes of teaching, schools remain indispensable centres of vital interactions, knowledge exchange, and holistic learning that students carry with them all their lives.

This summer I had the privilege of being invited for two school events in Tamil Nadu, India. 

As the guest of honour at a vision health camp for students at Government High School - Karunkuzhi, in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram district (an important seat of learning since time immemorial), I was delighted to have the opportunity to interact with students from grades 10 to 12.

My address, to have been delivered in the school auditorium, was instead - by delightful happenstance - conducted outdoors to accommodate the wider student body. Under the shade of beautiful trees and amidst the buzz of young minds, I engaged with them across a broad spectrum of topics including the process of education and pathways to learning, higher education in India and abroad, traditional and non-traditional career options, research and technology, and so much more.

What I really enjoyed were the interactions with various student groups and individuals who I found to be extremely bright, confident, and very well informed about regional, national, and international developments. During these discussions we spoke on pertinent aspects including social responsibility, women's health, substance abuse, and confronting socio-economic challenges. I was pleasantly delighted to hear of one student discussing in front of the whole audience her dreams of becoming a dancer. I was very happy to see her not shying away from discussing her question in public and was even more surprised to hear how she had already started making international enquiries to unlikely countries as far as South Korea! She knew of scholarship possibilities and was ready to go if she was lucky to get one!

In my interactions with the Headmistress and faculty, I commended them on their academia-related undertakings and also for effectively fulfilling a variety of administrative requirements that are being meticulously followed-up and assessed by the state government. While there is a huge scope of improvement in Government funded schools, I understood all the many challenges that the school administration and staff face and some of the steps they take to perform better. 

It was also a privilege to be invited as an honoured guest of the Social Education and Rural Development (SERD) Trust, in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram district, for their recent student outreach initiative supporting the National Securities Depository Limited’s (NSDL) nation-wide ‘Chalo, School Chale’ campaign. As part of this campaign, NSDL is providing under-privileged students with educational kits comprising essential items to supplement their learning.

It was amazing to see the energy and excitement of young students who truly cherish their time at school among friends. What more could I say to this electric bunch other than to stay excited and reach for the stars…come what may!

Being actively and very successfully rolled-out by NSDL across Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Mangalore, and also across various sub-urban areas, SERD is to be congratulated for their efforts in helping this meaningful campaign find its way to a small rural school in Kancheepuram dist.

#school #schools #education #chennai #learn #learning #tamilnadu #chengalpet #kanchipuram #serd #nsdl #government #governmentschools #teaching #teachers #challenges #interactions #women #girl #student #students #privilege #opportunity

Madras Day!

Happy birthday Madras!

Today is the city of Madras’s (now called Chennai) 382^nd birthday. This day commemorates the acquisition of a strip of land along the Coromandel coast, from the waning Vijayanagara empire, on 22 August 1639 by the British East India Company to set-up a factory and warehouse for their trading activities. Though the sale deed indicated Chennai, the acquired land area was formerly known as ‘Mādarasanpattanam’, reference to which goes all the way back to 1367. So, you see, the city (or geographical area) is actually older than the official 382 years. Not to mention, some of the architecture and temples of the city date back to as early as 7^th century!

One of the largest cities of the world - 36^th largest by population area - the cultural and de facto gateway to Southern India, Chennai remains one of the most visited cities of the country. The city is known as the ‘Health capital’ of India as it captures majority share of medical tourism, both international and domestic; an indicator of not just world-class healthcare facilities but also excellent health research organisations that the city boasts of.  

One of the safest metropolitan cities of India, Chennai was rated best city in India in 2014 by India Today. BBC named Chennai ‘the hottest’ city in 2015 for long term living as well as visiting. This is true literally and otherwise; the biggest gripe of visitors and expatriates is that the city is much too hot! But we people who are in love with Chennai don’t care about the heat in the least!

The people of Chennai are also some of the biggest foodies you will find, and the city does them proud by providing sheer variety that other places can only dream of. So much so, the National Geographic featured Chennai in their list of ‘Top 10 Food Cities’ in 2015! Where else would you find old, traditional places like Karpagambal mess where you can eat all you want, delicious traditional food in the heart of Mylapore? Or another old landmark place, the Ratna Café famous for Idly, Vada with delicious sambar generously served in a saucepan, with endless refills!!! I have often wondered how much sambar the cooks at the café make on a daily basis…mindboggling! So many more such gems, but how can we cover them even in a dedicated volume, much less here? As for modern and international cuisines, you will find everything from Italian to Mexican, street food to seven star restaurants, and never be in a position where you cannot have something your heart desires - even way past mid-night! The endless varieties of biriyanis would be a post in itself, so I will not do the injustice of going into that here!

Chennai is home to many museums, art galleries and other cultural institutions, that help residents and tourists connect with the rich cultural heritage of the city and state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is celebrated as a major hub for music, arts, culture, and movies in the country. The Madras Music or Kutcheri (music & dance concerts) Season, beginning late November to mid-January each year, is a celebrated destination event that every performing arts lover across the country looks forward to. People travel from all over the world to perform or participate as an audience in the many concerts that the city has to offer. This season spins-out an entire economy as people shop for concert-specific clothes & jewellery; food catering services are booked several months in advance, as are the many sabhas, temples, auditoriums and halls in preparation for the hundreds of concerts organized throughout the city! Professional event planners (unlike community-based volunteer services of old) and many other associated service providers make a killing during this time which also happens to be a season for weddings.. This of course is not the only time the city celebrates its culture and arts, but one of the most prominent.

Did you know that banking systems were established in Chennai as early as 1683, a century earlier than the establishment of other commercial banks across the country? The city boasts of existence of branches of many international banks. The permanent back office of the World bank – the largest other than the Washington D.C office, is in Chennai as well!

The State of Tamil Nadu is on the whole extremely well connected by road, air, and rail within and across the country. This, very obviously, extends to the capital city of Chennai too and we residents could not be prouder of our excellent roads and transport options. We might occasionally complain, but one visit to any other metro or state shuts us right up and moves us into the grateful zone immediately 😉

Chennai is home to some of the best educational institutions in the country and the world. Government and private schools, colleges and universities operate here, and English is the medium for most higher education. The city is blessed with an abundance of public libraries, including the largest library in Asia and some of the largest in the country. All libraries are open for free public use.

One of the earliest and most industrialized cities of India, Chennai goes back to the 16^th century with its foray into textiles manufacturing and has steadily grown to now become the automobile capital of the country in addition to other manufacturing sectors. Chennai hosts most of the international automobile companies as well as domestic manufacturing plants.

Does this article sound like I am boasting? Of course, I am 😊 This article is nowhere close to doing any justice to my beautiful city but is just a small dedication from me on this special day when we take an extra minute to remember Chennai’s or Madras’s greatness. Madras (as some of us still like to remember) is not a city but an emotion for most of us!

I leave you with some landmark pictures.

                                                       Stone carvings at Mahabalipuram

Central Railway station

University of Madras

Chennai High Court

The Karl Schmidt memorial at Eliots beach

Shore temple at Mahabalipuram at sunrise

Famous statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Chennai

Napier bridge

Ripon building - Corporation of Chennai

#Chennai #Madras #idly #sambar #library #MadrasDay #nammachennai #manufacturing #automobile #education #UniversityOfMadras #MadrasHighCourt #MadrasUniversity

Happy 75th Independence Day

Wishing all fellow Indians and others who like India, a happy 75th Independence Day!

Honouring the theme 'Nation First, Always First', let us take a pledge to first be life long learners and be our most productive best everyday, following the glorious path of our freedom fighters!

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, the 75th independence day is not only a time for celebrations, but also for the country to make a decision on the direction to take going forward.

Key takeaways from the PM’s address: • 25 year plan to make all villages and small cities across the country sufficient and scale new heights of prosperity • 100% coverage of roads in rural areas, electricity, bank accounts, Ujjwala gas connections • 1000s of hospitals in the country will have their own oxygen plants, and this requires India’s full strength • No region to get left behind

 all the North Eastern States will be connected by rail to the rest of the country

 Assembly elections soon in Jammu & Kashmir; all districts including tribal districts declared for accelerated development

• Call for the strengthening of the co-operative movement. A separate ministry has been created for this purpose • Strengthening of agriculture by increased support for small farmers and fully supporting the efforts of our research scientists in the agriculture sector • Call for increasing manufacturing and exports in the country, both in quality and quantity • Promise to undertake next generation reforms and to ensure last mile service delivery. citizens need to be freed from unnecessary regulations and laws! • Call for all Central government or State governments to review rules and regulations for much needed upgrades • New education policy:

 Mother-tongue to be prioritized

 Sports have been made a mainstream part of curriculum

• Increased efforts to ensure equal partnership of women in workplace and education; importance of women’s safety and call for increased efforts of law enforcement in this regard • Call for resolve to make India energy independent. Declared a National Hydrogen Mission for making India a hub for production and export of green hydrogen • Self-reliance in the field security and strengthening of our armed forces • The PM also called for prioritizing of duties and every citizen owning a sense of duty.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate on this special day, the importance of learning. With possible extra time in our hands due to lockdown and work from home, many people have used their time to learn new things, skills or brush up on long-forgotten skills. However, many of us can still be motivated to do even better. We still waste a lot of time on social media and watching all kinds of entertainment online. We owe it to ourselves, our nation and our planet to make our limited time here useful.

Happy Independence Day everyone!

#India #independenceday #freedom #nation #modi #reforms

Doctors Day!

Yesterday was India’s National Doctors Day and here is wishing all our lifesavers a very happy Doctors Day.

Much has been said about their contribution to healthcare from patient perspectives especially during the pandemic, but I want to focus today on the important and less discussed role of doctors in research.

Doctors conduct research aimed at improving overall human (or animal) health. They could use clinical trials and other methods of investigation to work on their area of research and research question. Doctors are vital in testing drugs, vaccines and clinical procedures. Quality improvement studies maybe less appreciated but are critical to quality of patient care.

Doctors team up with scientists from universities, non-profit organizations or the private sector to conduct research. Responsibilities of doctors include

1.          designing and conducting studies investigating diseases, preventions and treatments
2.          preparing and analyzing medical samples and data
3.          standardizing potency of drugs, their doses, methods for drug manufacturing and distribution
4.         coming up with needs, ideas for medical devices and ultimately testing them
5.         developing programs and trainings (including simulations) aimed at improving health outcomes
6.         writing research proposals and applying for grants and other funding;
7.          following procedures and ethical compliance requirements for patient safety.

Without all this work of doctors, patients will not be prevented from or easily cured of diseases and quality of life standards would not have been as high as today. Even if each doctor may not have ground-breaking research accomplishments, each paves the way for someone else and hence leave behind amazing legacies.

So doctors, thank you for all that you do that patients notice every day. Thank you also for your other work like research that might go unnoticed by general public on a daily basis but is still crucial to healthcare.

#nationaldoctorsday #medicine #research #clinicaltrials #health #healthcare #doctors