Sunday, January 29, 2023

New addition to National Immunization program - HPV vaccines

In news today is the Government of India's decision to add the HPV vaccination to the national immunisation program for girls aged 9 to 14. 

This could be very much related to the fact that just last week the Serum Institute of India launched the made-in-India HPV vaccine CERVAVAC, although market authorization was granted last year. This vaccine could cut costs from Rs 4000 for international vaccines to Rs 200 to 400 by the SII. Although SII will still need to participate in the government tender along with international heavy weights like Merck!

India accounts for a quarter of all cervical cancer incidence in the world, so it is imperative to produce and utilise this vaccine. Since their introduction around 2006, HPV vaccines have been found to be safe & effective. HPV infections decreased by more than 85 % in teens and more than 70% in women in early 20s. Cervical cancer screening and awareness programs will compliment these efforts of the Indian government in reducing cancer spread and deaths.

A very worthy initiative with the hope that the vaccines produced and administered are great in quality in terms of both safety and efficacy. Trust the program will include boys of same age group as well in the future.



Boodabim - an endearing tale for kids


Who is Boodabim? Is he a cloud? A tiger? An astronaut? A butterfly? A book with delightful illustrations that could equally captivate a child's and an adult's imagination!

Listen to Little Dragon Reader and Baby Dragon read this lovely book in their unique style with plenty of effects! Enjoy! 🙂

Sunday, September 25, 2022

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.

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Hyena Ballerina - A lively story of hope for kids of all ages!


An optimistic story of a Hyena, dropped from auditions due to her looks, but who perseveres and becomes the star of another show; a show which appreciates the diversity that she brings. Lessons for corporates presented in a fun way with lively illustrations!
Like it, Share it, and Subscribe to Little Dragon Reader's channel here: https://cutt.ly/vyBdAEW

Saturday, September 10, 2022

Nabiya - A moving story that encourages kids to read!

Little Dragon Reader is back with this inspiring story about a little girl's initiation into the wonderful world of books & reading by an understanding and dedicated teacher. The beautiful illustrations evoke excellent imagination of her world, especially with her good friend and how she journeys into the world of reading.


Like it, Share it, and Subscribe to Little Dragon Reader's channel https://cutt.ly/vyBdAEW

Friday, September 9, 2022

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

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Misinformation!

Misinformation can always cause trouble, but is especially dangerous when alleged experts either in person or via social media deliver this as 'facts'.



Recently, an acquaintance mentioned that a gynaecologist had performed a C-section on her 25 year old sister-in-law. A 25 year old with a normal pregnancy and not much complications, being advised to have a C-section in itself is pretty shocking but we can't possibly be a judge of this as a doctor might know better. Granted. But where alarm bells sounded in my head was when she mentioned that the doctor had said it was due to her 'age'!!! 25 years? Is old according to this doctor? Now this advice is given to a family with a cultural & religious background that is already quite conservative. Imagine the repercussions......the elder members of this family will now start insisting that their daughters and daughters-in-law marry very young and have kids in their late teens to early twenties. This message will get shared, with doctor's stamp of approval, throughout their community. It was extremely irresponsible of the doctor to give such misinformation. C-sections are clearly very advantageous for doctors in terms of scheduling convenient appointments ahead of time and there are much less complications or surprises. Nevertheless it is a surgery and should only be performed when there is a medical reason to. 

General knowledge, which only needed some reading up from trustable sources, would indeed give a much better picture to this woman and her family, but they chose to put all their faith in a doctor who said 25 years of age was late for a pregnancy and delivery! Let's not even get into the topic of vested interests of hospitals and insurance companies. 

In this day and age of social media, spread of misinformation has reached new alarming heights. Easily affected are the vulnerable, like kids or the elderly, and anyone else who blindly trusts something or someone without enough research. Too many pseudo-experts and vested interest parties exists in social media, so never fully believe everything you read, see or hear. Extensive research is required before believing, or adapting anything. Social media is now an extremely useful tool to spread mass hysteria, violence, hate and conflict. So beware, be aware and look to more authentic sources of information. 

© Sunitha Shyam 2021

#misinformation #righttoinformation #info #information #socialmedia #truth #hysteria #conflict #hate #doctors #culture #religion #conservative #community #society