NATIONAL ENGLISH NEWS MAGAZINE - Dr Pallavi Gowda

VOLUME: 7 | ISSUE: 03 | MARCH, 2021 | PAGES: 44 | `20

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NATIONAL ENGLISH NEWS MAGAZINE

EXCEL INDIA | MARCH 2021

EDITORIAL

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MARCH, 2021VOLUME: 7 |ISSUE: 03| `20

Why Kamala Harris is a super woman?

Editorial Advisory Board

Chukka RamaiahRK MishraK StevensonBhaskar TatikondaVijay Kumar

Chief EditorRama Krishna Sangem

Consulting EditorsAruna RavikumarAnil BL (Bengaluru)

Senior Assistant EditorsPulipati Ram MohanGollapudi Srinivasa Rao

Special CorrespondentsAcharya ChakravartulaP MahenderKavita Sreekumar (Thiruvananthapuram)

The US BureauElisha Pulivarty (Washington DC)

Photo EditorP.V. Prasad

Business ConsultantY Suresh Babu

DesigningSurya Teja Graphics

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In fact, the US Constitution doesn’t provide a great role forthe Vice-President of America, as her or his job comes intopicture when only the President can’t discharge duties. Butwe have every reason now to raise a toast to Kamala DeviHarris, newly minted VP of 240- plus year old democracy, asymbol of women power in today’s world.She symbolises not just the growing significance of women

in the contemporary global politics, but also theaccommodative nature of multicultural societies that havebecome the hallmarks of democracies. Daughter of a migrantIndian woman who went to America with dreams in her eyesa few decades ago, Kamala Devi Harris has proved her worthseveral times in the country.We, at Excel India, look at her as a true emerging women

power in today’s world, that is emerging out of this century’sworst pandemic, Covid-19. We are happy to carry an articleon Kamala Harris by her maternal uncle Dr GopalanBalachandran in this March issue. We also carry two morearticles by two Indian-American women on the US Vice-President.It’s heartening to note that President Joe Biden has not

only given greater representation to Indian-Americans in hisadministration, but also attached enhanced significance toIndia in the ever changing dynamics of global politics.In this issue, we carried a 12 page section on Excel India’s

Leadership Meet at Warangal on February 15, and we hopeto have another wonderful meeting at Karimnagar in the lastweek of April.Holi greetings to all


WHAT’S INSIDE

Babus tocontrol digital media

Dreams ofwomencan come true

India’s spaceplans beginwith a bang

China andPakistanplay for timewith India

All eyes onDidi’s Bengal

KotiVruksharchanaHow we made itgrand success

G-23 faces identitycrisis in Congress

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Excel Indialeadershipmeet at Warangalgrand success

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Kamala mayrun for presidencyin 2024

Vice PresidentKamala DeviHarris: A truetrailblazer

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COVER STORY

EXCEL INDIA | MARCH 2021 5

Kamala Harris’s VicePresidency will be significant

for more than the simple reasonthat she is the first woman andwoman of colour to be elected VicePresident of United States. Afterall a former San Francisco districtattorney, she was elected as thefirst Black woman to serve as

California’s attorney general.When she was elected a UnitedStates senator in 2016, shebecame only the second Blackwoman in the chamber’s history.

As she explained in her book,‘The Truths We Hold’, she hasvery little interest in the title orperception of prestige of a job.“What mattered to me was thejob”. In summer 2014, when shewas the Attorney general ofCalifornia she was offered the postof the Attorney General of US. Sheconsidered the offer and felt thatunder the circumstances therewould not be sufficient time andresources for her to “create realreforms at the national level.”

For the same reason, in

January 2015 when SenatorBarbara Boxer announced thatshe wouldn’t be running forreelection she felt “It would be anopportunity to take the issues thatshe was driving forward in theCalifornia to the national leveland becoming a U.S.Senatorwould be a natural extension ofthe work she was doing” Sheannounced her candidacy for thesenate seat. She won the senateelection in 2016. Almostimmediately, made a name forherself in Washington with herwithering prosecutorial style inSenate hearings, grilling heradversaries in high-stakesmoments that at times went viral.

It might be considered rather

Gopalan Balachandran

Kamala to play agreat role ahead

US Vice President’s maternal uncle Gopalan Balachandrananalyses her significant saga

Kamala Harris taking oath as US Vice President on January 20

COVER STORY


strange that someone sodedicated to devising andimplementing socialprograms at national levelshould accept to be the vicepresident of US, which wasthe butt of jokes of not onlycomedians but vice presidentsas well

The vice p[resident’sactive role in administrationschanged in a fundamentalway under the presidency ofEisenhower. It reached apeak under the presidency ofObama when Biden was thevice p[resident.In August2020, when Biden announcedhis selection of Kamala as hisrunning mate, and appearedwith heron stage herecounted how, when then-Sen.Barack Obama chose him as hisvice presidential running mate, "Itold him I wanted to be the lastperson in the room before he madethe important decisions.”As vicepresident, Joe Biden oversaw anarray of issues important to theObama administration:implementing an economicrecovery act, shaping foreignpolicy from Iraq to Ukraine, andstrengthening cancerresearch."That's what I askedKamala," Biden said. "I askedKamala to be the last voice in theroom, to always tell me the truth,which she will. Challenge myassumptions if she disagrees. Askthe hard questions. Because that'sthe way we make the bestdecisions for the Americanpeople."

During Trump’s presidency,the vice president’s role andimportance had been erodedsubstantially taking it to the timeof early presidents. There is nodoubt that Kamala will not onlyrestore it to the level it played inthe Obama/Biden administrationbut take it to higher levels neverbefore seen in US history.

Kamala legislative actions-billetc- concentrated mainly indomestic areas- welfare ofchildren. Criminal law reforms,health care etc. She was quiteactive in sponsoring legislationfiguring in top quarter of sponsorsin the senate. There is no doubtshe will be active in these areas inthe Biden administration.However, asked in a recent sinterview what her signatureissue would be, replied she has onefocus: “Making sure Joe Biden is asuccess”.

So far, however, she has spentmost of her time as vice presidentlargely at Biden's side, everpresent with him at signing eventsand speeches, watching andfollowing his lead while onlystarting to whittle away at aseparate portfolio for herself. Thatshould not be surprising.

At the moment the Bidenadministration’s main objective inthe domestic sphere is to controlthe Coronavirus pandemic, bringrelief to those affected byunemployment under thepandemic environment, correctingthe adverse impact of Trumpadministration in the areas of

immigration etc. So far hersolo have focused heavilyon COVID-19, such aswhen she held a virtuallistening session withAfrican American mayorslast week to discuss theadministrations' reliefproposal.

However, as covid-19and economic relief isbrought under controlthere is no reason to doubtthat the Biden/Harrisadministration will turntheir focus to domesticissues where Kamala’sinputs will be valuable.Meanwhile, she has tomanage her role as theleader of the senate

especially in times of tied votes.And unlike Biden, who over

two terms as vice president nevercast a tie-breaking vote in theSenate, Harris has already foundherself needing to jump in twiceand may have to do that againsoon when the coronavirus reliefbill gets voted in Senate.

In addition it is extremelyimportant that the coalition thatbrought Biden to power - the Afro-Americans and other minorities donot break up before the mid termelections in 2022. Biden will haveto depend on Kamala heavily inhis efforts to maintain thecoalition, given her strong roots tothe civil rights movement, herrecord in criminal justice andprogressive views on immigration,health care etc.

So all in all Kamala has herwork out but there is no doubt shewill rise to the occasion and in fouryears time a strong contender forthe presidential nomination of herparty!

(Gopalan Balachandran isa geo strategic expert and

international relations, basedout of New Delhi)

Kamala Harris with President Joe Biden

COVER STORY


Seems most fitting to recognizeUnited States Vice President

Kamala Devi Harris onInternational Women’s Day(March 8, 2021)which serves tocelebrate social, economic, culturaland political achievementsofwomen. She is a graduate ofHoward University and theUniversity of California, HastingsCollege of the Law. The glassceilings that she has shattered arenumerous both professionally andpersonally. She is the first female

US vice president and proudly ofAsian and Jamaican/ Africandescent. Prior to this, she wasnotably California’s first Indian-American to serve as DistrictAttorney of San Francisco,Attorney General of Californiaand as a U.S. Senator. UnitedStates Vice President KamalaDevi Harris is a true trailblazer.

Knowing VP Harris involvesknowing her roots both in the USand in India. She was born inOakland, California to ShyamalaGopalan Harris and DonaldHarris. Her mother was animmigrant from India(specifically, Chennai) and fatherwas an immigrant from Jamaica.They got married in 1963 aftermeeting at a civil rightsdemonstration in California. Theydivorced when Kamala was just 7.VP Harris was taught to embraceboth the Indian and Jamaican

African American cultures,notably attending a reputablehistorically black college, Howard.In 2014 at the age of 50, she ismarried to California attorneyDouglas Emhoff. Given thataccording to 2019 data from theUS Census Bureau about 16% ofAmericans get to their late 40swithout ever having been married,that makes her unique.

It is evident that shequestioned cultural norms byremaining nulliparous and whilereaching her professional pinnacleof success and she marriedsomeone who matched herintellectual and emotional level bymarrying Mr. Douglas Emhoffwho is of Jewish descent. I respecther for the diversity and uniquequalities that she brings forth thatsends a powerful message that onecan achieve anything that nowcultural or societal walls should

Vice President Kamala Devi Harris: A true trailblazer

Dr. Pallavi Gowda

COVER STORY


limit you. There are women fromall walks of life who feel strongerjust seeing her in such a powerfulposition carrying herself withintelligence, confidence, and grace.She has inspired little girls andwomen who are black and brown,biracial, ones who are single older,nulliparous, in interracialmarriages and those who tooknontraditional paths in life.

Being trailblazers is not a newconcept to the VP and I mighteven say is the norm afterlearning about her family in India.They are a force to reckon with bybeing a powerhouse based onacademic achievements, publicservice, and political activism. Hergrandfather, P.V. Gopalanwasprogressive beyond his time. Hegraduated from college andbecame an Indian career civilservant and served as Director ofRelief Measures and Refugees inthe federal Government ofZambia, following itsindependence from Britain. Hewas also the Joint Secretary to theGovernment of India. Largelyraised by their mother, Rajam: allfour of their children were well-educated: G. Balachandranobtained a PhD in economics andcomputer science from the

University of Wisconsin, Sarala isa retired obstetrician,Mahalakshmi was an informationscientist who worked for thegovernment in Ontario, Canada,and VP Harris’s motherShyamalawho became a renownedcancer scientist.

On a personal note, Iimmigrated from India at a youngage and am a professional singlemother of two who proudly servedthe nation in the US Army. Justlike VP Harris, I am also thegranddaughter of a freedomfighter in South India, P.M.Chikkaboraiah of Mysore,Karnataka. He was a lawyer,freedom fighter, professor,politician, but above all ahumanitarian. Similar to the VP’sgrandfather instilled upon me theimportance of standing byprinciples, leadership, hard work,higher education and helpingthose less fortunate throughnumerous stories on long morningwalks.

As a mother with a daughterand son, witnessing a VicePresident of the United Stateswho has similar roots is awesomeand inspiring to futuregenerations. I know with hercomes the strength of her

forefathers, the might of hermother and her own professionalexperience. It is undeniable thatshe brings vast experience as adistrict attorney and as a USsenator. As a district attorney, shehas taken a firm stance onimportant issues such as deathpenalty, criminal justice reform,and hate/ cyberspace sex crimes.As a senator, she addressedclimate change, healthcare,legalization of medical marijuana,path to citizenship forundocumented immigrants, banon assault weapons in schools, taxreform, abortion rights and placedstrict rules on the truancy ofelementary school children toname a few. I know that she willbring her intellectual abilities,leadership,strength and class. Ona lighter note, whether it is thesight of her enjoying masala dosawith Mindy Kaling or lighting aDiya on Diwali at the WhiteHouse, the feeling of immensepride around the globe to have awoman of Indian originisundeniably heartwarming. Onthis International women’s day, itis my honor to celebrate allinternational women with aspecial gratitude for UnitedStatesVice President Kamala DeviHarris. May she have muchsuccess in the years to come.

Dr. Pallavi Gowda is amedical doctor, U.S. armyveteran, certified Zumbainstructor, current Ms. India-DC 2nd runner-up andcommunity activist who residesin Maryland, USA. She servedas a Chief Medical Officer inForce Health Protection inFort Meade, Maryland. Shereceived numerous awardssuch as the National DefenseService Medal, Global War onTerrorism Service Medal, andthe Army Superior Unit Award.

COVER STORY


Iwas ecstatic watching KamalaHarris‘ swearing in — byanother accomplished woman ofethnic heritage, Justice SoniaSotomayor of the US SupremeCourt — as the first female, Black,Asian (Indian)-American VicePresident of my adopted country,USA.This was a long timecoming.Growing up in India, Igreatly admired our own femalePrime Minister, Mrs. IndiraGandhi who was elected to the

office in the nineteen-sixties.Personally,I have encountered

racism, colorism, and sexism. Allof these required me to put inextra effort to succeed in mycareer, but I believe sexism wasthe toughest to overcome. For thisreason, I am in awe of women likeIndra Nooyi, former CEO of Pepsi;Mary Barra, CEO of GeneralMotors; and now,Kamala Harris.

Harris is the daughter ofhighlyeducated immigrantparents:Shyamala Gopalan, fromIndia, and Donald Harris, fromJamaica. Gopalan, a cancerresearcher and civil rights activistwho passed away in 2009, was atrailblazer. In 1958,when she wasonly nineteen,she emigratedsolo tothe US to pursue her dream ofachieving a doctorate in science.This was no easy task, especiallyconsidering she had no familysupport structure in the US, and

due to divorce, raised her twodaughters as a single mother. It isevident that Kamala gets herresilience and confidence from her.Time and timeagain,it'sheartening to seeKamala thank her motherprofusely.She has amorecomplicated relationship with herfather, a professor emeritus atStanford University. In heracceptance speech for the VPnomination, Kamala thanked herentire family — except for him.While Kamala’s Black heritagewas determined by her father, it’sher mother who instilled her withconfidence in her mixed identity,as well as the belief, that a womancould achieve anything.

Kamala was predominantlyraised as an African American.Unlike now, Indians growing up inthe sixties in Americawere notencouraged to discover their

Keerthi Swamy

Kamala may run for presidency in 2024

COVER STORY


culture. The emphasis was onfitting in, not standing out. What’smore, the "one-drop rule," whichmeans a single drop of "Blackblood" makes a person aBlack,was still prevalent inAmerica. Therefore, her momjudiciously raised her daughters toidentify more with their Blackroots, which helped Kamalanavigate the complexities of beingbiracial.As a mother of three kids,Ican somewhat relate to whatShymala must have gone through.Myhusband and Ihave tried toinculcate our children with Indianculture. In the future, will theycontinue to identify themselves asIndian Americans or justAmericans? While we dearly hopethey will retain their Indianheritage, their happiness is ourmain concern.

To further explore her Blackheritage, Kamala chose to pursueher undergraduate degree atHoward University in DC,America's oldest historically Blackuniversity. She then earned a lawdegree at the University ofCalifornia.Soon, Kamala,whorefers to herself as a "progressiveprosecutor," began breakingbarriers.She was the first woman,

first Black, and first South AsianAmericanelected District Attorneyof San Francisco and later,Attorney General of California.In2017, she became a United StatesSenator from California.

In her twenties, Kamaladatedthe former San Francisco MayorWillie Brown,then in his sixties.They dated while he wasestranged from his wife for a longtime.They split up after acontroversial relationship filledwith allegations of cronyism thatweren’t true. It occurs to me thata man would have been much lesslikely to be accused of suchallegations, nor would anyonequestion the integrity of a 60-something-year-old man dating amuch younger woman. She foundreal love much later in her lifewhen she met her now-husband,Doug Emhoff, an attorney andfather of two children whofondlycall her “Mamala.” As someonewho always wanted to be amother, I wonder if Kamala feltshe had to forgo motherhood tofocus on her career.

When she herself wasapresidential candidate last year,Kamala was critical of Joe Biden’srecord on race relations. Still, the

two have grown to respect eachother. Even though Ms. Harris hasyet to be given a portfolio; she hasa vital role in the USGovernment.As the president ofthe evenly divided Senate, shewields considerable power to makethe tiebreaking vote.As far asIndia is concerned,just becauseshe has Indian ancestry,Indiansshould not expect her to supportIndia in all matters, as first andforemost, her duty is toward hercountry, the US.

It is apparent that Kamalawants to become the president.Every decade of her life she hassubconsciously or consciouslycontinued to learn from her lifeexperiences to prepare herself forthis future role. And supposeBiden, who will be 82 in the nextelection, decides not to run,thenwe might soon get to witnessthefirst woman, Asian American andfemale African American takingon the mantle of becoming thepresident of the USA. Go Kamala!

(Author is abusinesswoman,

entrepreneur, engineer, andavolunteer. Originally from

Bengaluru, shelives inWashington DC)

Kamala Harris easily mingles with people

COVER STORY


Madam Kamala Harrishonored her mother

Shyamala Gopalan Harris’s legacyat Inauguration ceremony afteroath taken as the Vice Presient ofthe United States. “I’ll be thinkingabout my mother,” Harris spoke.“But I feel a very big sense ofresponsibility, that I wll be thefirst, but I will not be the last. Iwas raised by a mother who saidthat to me all the time: Kamala,well, you may be the first to domany things—make sure you’renot the last.” And that’s how I feelabout this moment.”

Her mother ShyamalaGopalan passed away on February11, 2009 due to colon cancer inOakland, California. But elevenyears later, both of her daughtersmake clear that their mother’sinfluence is constantly present intheir lives. Though I miss herevery day, I carry her with mewherever I go. I think of thebattles she fought, the values shetaought me, her commitment toimprove health care for us all,Harris said. “There is no title orhonor on earth I’ll treasure morethan to say I am ShyamalaGopalan Harri’s daughter. As Icontinue the battle for a betterhealth care system, I do so in hername.” “she was the kind of parentwho if you came homecomplaining about something,she’d say “Well what are you

gonna do about it?” Kamala writein a 2019 Instagram post. “So Idecided to run for President afterGopalan’s divorce. she raisedKamala and Maya mostly as asingle mother of United States.”Her mother a gifted breast cancerresearcher and civil rights activist.

Dr Shyamala Gopalan, bornin Chennai, Tamil Nadu, whenshe was 19 years old, She cameto do her Ph.D in nutrition andendocrinolgy at the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley in 1958. In1962 she met a student ineconomics from Jamaica Donald J.Harris and were friendly and gotmarried in 1963. Her mother tookher daughters to India severaltimes to visit her parents in

Chennai and also visited their’sfamily in Jamaica as they grewup.

Without Dr. Shyamala, thereis no Kamala. Truly today,Shyamal is the reason for Kamalato be a Vice President of theUnited States. Kamala’s parentsdivorced when Kamal was 7 andMaya was 5 years. She raised bothKamala and Maya mostly as asingle mother. Because of thismother and daughtes developedan incredibly close relationship,one that Kamala still views asincredibly formative. “I am prouddaughter of Indian mother whoreminded us every day howblessed we are to live in thiscountry.” She goes on to recount

Reason for Kamala as US VPIndian mother Shyamala

Elisha Pulivartifrom Washinton DC

Kamala with mother Shyamala Gopalan

COVER STORY


how her hard-working mothertaught her to be herself, and to betough in the face of inequality andprejudice.” Kamala Harris hails asa “Daughter and Mother of Indiasoil” who became the first VicePresident from Tamil Nadu, SouthIndia.

Madam Kamala Harris iscommitted to promote deeperrelationship between the UnitedStates and India in globalsecurity, stability in Indo-Pacificregion, economic prosperitythrough trade, Investment andpeople to people connectivity.There are more than 4 millionstrong Indian American diasporawho are a tremondous source ofstrenth for the Partnership andeconomic development of ournations. India is close to heart.There are more than 25 IndianAmericans are high level postionsin the Biden-Harrisadministration, includingPresident speech writer is IndiaAmerican. Madam Kamala Harrisvalues strong U.S.-India ties.

Madam Kamala Harris,has deeplove, respect for her motherland.She proudly says that “I am theproud daughter of Indian motherShyamala Gopalan from TamilNadu, South India.”

March is celebrations of theInternational Women’s Day andUN Theme for 2021-“Women inLeadership: Achieving an EqualFuture in a COVID-19 World.”

This is our historic momentand Madam Kamala Harris sowninto history. She is the firstwoman, she is the first African,First Asian and above all firstIndian American. God says thatBefore I formed you in the IndianMother’s Womb, I knew you byname and before you were born, Iconsecrared you as the VicePresident of the United States.God already knew your name anddate of birth and your mother’sname. God had already mappedout your entire genetic code. Everyhair on your head is numbered,says the Gospel— and wasnumbered before the very

foundation of the world. You are aspecial and unique. God has abigger purpose in mind for you.God is going to lead you to yourdestiny. He will point you in theright direction and spur you on,step by step. Trust in the Lordand having faith in him. Byhaving a spirit of thankffulness .By being prayerful instead ofprideful, humble instead ofarrogant. By dedicating your lifeto serving citizens and others.

Today, Excel India -NationalEnglish News Magazine- honorMadam Kamala Harris, firstIndian American Vice President ofthe United States. We alsodedicate this month magazine tomother India -Dr. ShyamalaGopalan Harris, a world-renowedScientist and her dedication,devoation and commitment forcancer research. We arecommitted to promote Dr.Shyamal Gopalan HarrisMemorial lectures on Cancer andHealthcare in India. India will benext Innovation SuperPower..

Kamala Harris with grandparents


CLEAR VIEW/SRIDEVI GADE


Last time I spoke aboutglobally recognized

women achievers of India,were to a group of youngand brilliant final yearengineering girls, students.On one hand it was easysince there are no dearth ofworld renowned andfamous women achievers inIndia, but on the otherhand to list out and speakabout, on each meant hoursof talking and may be stillnot able to finish.

So, I decided to makemy own filter and picked them who’s feat andachievements I thought were one of their ownkind, unique in their field, and who’s achievementswere path breaking, revolutionary, breaking theglass ceiling so to speak. One that set as anexample to womenkind across the world, andspecially them who came from very humblebackground. Even that list was long.

Somehow I was not quite up to repeating thesame and wanted to take the conversationforward. I mean anyone can do a google, and getlist, names, news and articles about womenachievers from India, world, with theiraccomplishments, achievements awards andrecognition etc. So, what’s big about talking of andabout them.

So I thought to take it a step forward andquestion the very purpose of such write, as to whyspeak, hear, and write about such great (women)achievers? what purpose talking about themwould serve?

There is a reason, an important reason …forcenturies women have been told that they areinferior and weaker to men, so much that at thispoint, it has become an expectation rather than a

fact and carving their wayout of these complicatedwebs of ideas, is one bigreason why we need tokeep discussing andtalking about them. Eventoday despite so manywomen achievers there istalk about whether or notwomen are capable,society divided with somesaying women today areempowered, or gettingempowered, while thereare still others whosimply don’t agree and

continue to maintain the women are stillbackward in almost all the areas.

And it is precisely this reason, it is vital wecontinue to speak of women success so andemphasize to all women we are better thananybody. Their success stories would continue toinspire to present and future women generationsin that as long as you believe in yourself and havecourage you will most definitely break the shacklesand fearlessly move forward in pursuit ofachieving your dream, and glory.

Another important remembering womenachievers is that they remind how they havesuccessfully broken stereotypes and have stood upfor their rights and their achievements shall serveas an inspiration to both men and women, havingdisplayed exemplary talent in their respectivefields.

Plus, their valour, gallantry and their grit shallcontinue to remind every women that they have itin them all the qualities and attributes andcharacter to achieve any greatness.

I shall keep talking of, about women achieversand hope one day in my list I shall have the honourto speak of yours...

Let’s keep talking of women achievers

Miss India Manasa Vaaranasi

MY VIEW / ARUNA RAVIKUMAR


It is that time of the year when encomiums areshowered on women achievers and everyorganisation worth its salt is frantically listingout different fields where women have excelledranging from the mundane to the uncommon.Never mind the reality, the raging domesticviolence, sexual-abuse and lopsided figuresemerging from genderbias in every sphere orthe observation of theWorld Economic Forumthat gender equality withrelation to politicalempowerment for womenis at least a centuryaway. The fact that somecountries like Canadawith a gender equalcabinet are fast gettingthere and there areincreasing number ofnations headed by women leaders who are takingthe world by storm make women’s daycelebrations meaningful and perhaps focus onrole models worth emulating. The Covid 19pandemic which has been an eye opener in moreways than one has also brought into focus thetremendous efforts by women and girls aroundthe world in shaping a more equal future andrecovery from the COVID 19 pandemic. Thetheme announced by UN women for theInternational women’s day celebrated on March8th “Women in leadership: Achieving an equalfuture in a COVID 19 world” aligns withpriorities of eliminating all forms of violenceagainst women and ensuring that they haveevery opportunity to assume leadership rolesfaster than envisaged.

The pandemic has in a way brought thespotlight on women leaders and their ability tolead effectively. Countries like Denmark,

Ethiopia, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Slovakiaand New Zealand headed by women leaders havegained wide recognition for their quick, effective,decisive and compassionate response instemming the tide of the pandemic. Yet, we arevery far away from that equal world as thepandemic has shown how women are unsafe and

prone to abuse evenwithin the precincts oftheir homes. Achievers atdifferent levels aretherefore precious rolemodels who need to helpthe vast majority ofwomen realise theirpotential, believe inthemselves and worktowards removingbaseless prejudices thathave subjugated them forfar too long.

We have come a long way since khertekAnchima Toka of the mostly unrecognized andnow defunct Republic of Tuvan became the firsthead of the state in 1940. Numerous powerfulwomen leaders have emerged since then and apowerful nation like the United States which hassadly lagged behind many poorer and humblernations in this respect finally has a woman vicepresident in Kamala Harris perhaps signalingthe winds of change sweeping the world.

“If you just set out to be liked, you would beprepared to compromise on anything at any timeand you would achieve nothing” Britain’s firstfemale prime minister and Iron lady MargaretThatcher’s powerful words are far too valuableto be ignored. I would want all women to stopputting themselves up for judgement and realisethat life is what we make of it. Why should wealways follow a written script when we can scriptour own destiny?

Let’s script our own destiny

NO COMPLACENCY


In the past, whenever another ofthe several hundred "de-escalation" and "confidencebuilding" measures agreed uponbetween India and its neighboursthe PRC and Pakistan was signed,there was rejoicing that "peace"had come at last. Soon afterwards,that dream would evaporate infresh transgressions by either ofthe two countries. In the case ofPakistan, these were mostly onthe border, and involved theceaseless efforts of the Pakistanarmy to push terrorists across thefrontier so that they could createmayhem in Jammu & Kashmirand in other states in India. Onthe Chinese side, thetransgressions involved a series ofmoves by the PLA that sought toexpand the territory in the control

of China. Since the 1950s, Indiahas lost territory to the PRC,which of course claims that whatit took control over was its ownterritory, and that much more ofwhat it (wrongly) claims to beChinese territory is still in thecontrol of India. At the same yimeas this has been happening, theauthorities in Beijing have soughtto increase the volume of exportsto India, such that the balance oftrade has been overwhelmingly inBeijing's favour for decades. Thesecond highest trade deficit withChina after that of the US vestswith India. Only after the May3,2020 move by the PLA into freshIndian territory in Ladakh did thepolicy of decoupling commercefrom the border situation changesubstantially. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi ordered a ban onseveral PRC apps, and put inplace restrictions on thesanctioning of investment fromthe PRC, which is now regarded asa country in the same bracket asPakistan where hostility to Indiais concerned. The steps on trade

have been worrisome to theChinese side, which is alreadybuffetted with protectionism andtariffs on its trade with the US.Even EU countries are comingaround to the view that theintention of the Chinese side is toreplace their national championswith PRC substitutes. Reverseengineering and acquisition byvarious means of technology haveresulted in China being only a fewyears away from competing withEuropean states in key fields suchas automobiles and aircraft. In thefield of Artificial Intelligence andin telecom, the Chinese now areclose to leading the world. PRCcompanies need the Indianmarket as well as meta datasecured through apps and telecomfrom the other 1.3 billionpopulation country.

The PRC is eager to ensurethat India not sign any moredefense agreements with the US(such as part-producing advancedUS weapons platforms in India.They are looking to theinstallation of the Russian S-400

Prof. M D Nalapat

China and Pakistanplay for time with India

India can’t trust de-escalation moves by neighbours on the borders

De-escalation of troops at Ladakh

NO COMPLACENCY


air defense system in India andexpect that once this is fullyoperational, interest inWashington to make Delhi adefense and security partner willwane. At the same time, they areworking their contacts inWashington to ensure not just acease fire but an end to the tradewar that was declared byPresident Donald J Trump on thePeoples Republic of China. Theyexpect that the many friends theyhave in the US establishment willensure that by the close of theyear, President Biden will in effectend the trade war. It is thereforelikely that the PLA is playing fortime for it to regroup and rebuildits forces and for the internationalsituation to turn hostile to Indiaand favourable to China for thePLA to resume offensiveoperations against the Indianarmed forces at the border. Thecampaign motivated by GHQRawalpindi of painting Modi andIndia in the blackest of hues isgeared towards turning publicopinion in the US and the EUaway from focus on Tibet andXinjiang and towards Kashmirand conditions in India once again.

The need to delay fresh offensivesuntil a more propitious moment isthe reason why Beijing has agreedto a de-escalation on the border,without at the same time budgingfrom its stance that there is noborder, not even a Line of ActualControl, but just an undefinedboundary that the PLA seeksconstantly to push forward into.The agreement that was signedwill therefore be temporary.Should the PLA occupy thelocations vacated by the Indianside under the agreement, therewould be immediate repercussionswithin India. It may beremembered that the Pakistanarmy stealthily occupied during1998 the heights in Kargil thatwere vacated by Prime Minister AB Vajpayee on the understandingthat they would not be occupied byPakistan. Later the heights werewon back after a conflict whereprecious lives were lost. Shouldthe Chinese occupy the heightsthat the Indian military isreported to have withdrawn fromunder the disengagement plan,that would e a repeat of what tookplace at Kargil during theVajpayee period

In the case of Pakistan, itwould prefer to attack Indiatogether with China. If the latterseeks a delay in such a move, sowill Pakistan, which is in nocondition to fight on its ownagainst India. GHQ Rawalpindi isalso wary, as is the CentralMilitary Commission and thePLA, at the relationship that hasdeveloped between the US andIndian militaries. It would like towait until ( as hoped) the Bidenadministration warms up to Chinaand cools towards India. As aconsequence, Pakistan too hasjoined Beijing in seeking atemporary cooling of hostilitiesagainst India. PM Modi will befully aware of this, as will the verycompetent Chief of Army StaffGeneral M M Naravane. WhileModi will focus on strengtheningdefense cooperation with the US,thereby dashing the expectationsof China and Pakistan that India-US ties will cool, GeneralNaravane will ensure that themistake (of misreading theintentions of the adversary) madein Kargil during 1998 does not getrepeated. Vigil will be constant onthe border. .

India should be alert on the borders

BATTLE FOR STATES


With the battle lines drawn inthe poll-bound states,

political parties have intensifiedtheir campaign in order to woo thevoters. While the BJP strives toretain power in Assam, it ishoping to make some gains inTamil Nadu with the help of its‘senior partner’ AIADMK. On theother hand, the ruling LeftDemocratic Front (LDF), headedby Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan, looks confident ofretaining the Kerala fort.However, it is the battle in WestBengal which has generatedsignificant public interest acrossthe country, where TrinamoolCongress (TMC) chief and stateChief Minister Mamata Banerjeeis seeking her third term.

Elections are scheduled to beheld in four states – West Bengal,Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala andthe Union Terrirory ofPuducherry. Voting for fiveassembly elections will begin on27 March while counting of voteswill be done on 2 May. The WestBengal assembly has 294 seats,Tamil Nadu 234 seats, Kerala 140seats, and Assam 126 seats. TheUnion Territory of Puducherryhas 33 (3 nominated) seats in theassembly.

Political atmosphere hashotted up in Bengal afterBollywood actor MithunChakraborty joined the saffronbrigade, starting his new politicaljourney with a new dialogue “Ekchobol chobi” (death in one strike).Interestingly, Chakraborty wasonce close to Mamata Banerjeeand a Rajya Sabha MP of the TMCbefore he resigned from the UpperHouse in 2016.

Political observers feel thatentry of Mithun Chakraborty,being one of the West Bengal’s

cultural icons, who still has aconsiderable fan following acrossthe State, has added spice to theelection campaigning in the state.However, some also feel that hisassociation (with the BJP) maynot be long lasting given his past.He had been a supporter of theCommunist Party of India(Marxist), after which hecampaigned for the TMC,following which he was sent to theRajya Sabha with the support ofthe TMC. On the other hand,several Trinamool Congress MLAsand leaders, who were denied aticket, are joining joined the BJP.

Election campaign in the statetook a twist after the alleged‘attack’ on Mamata Banerjee. TheWest Bengal CM was rushed toSSKM Hospital in Kolkata aftershe was ‘attacked’ whilecampaigning in Nandigram hoursafter she filed her nomination. Sheclaimed that she was heckled by afew men while she was interactingwith locals in Birulia Bazar, EastMidnapore..

All eyes on Didi’s BengalBJP should win Bengal Assembly to prove its power at the national level

Navtan Kumar

Can Mamata Banerjee evoke sympathy?

BATTLE FOR STATES


In Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin-ledDMK has signed the seat-sharingagreement with CPI(M) andallotted them six seats. In total,the DMK has allotted 54 seats toits allies. Congress has received 25seats, other allies VCK, CPI, CPI(M), MDMK have received 6 each.The DMK has released itsmanifesto promising to revive theeconomy, improve agriculture andfarming productivity, focus onhealth and education, urban andrural development and, abolitionof manual scavenging. Stalin hasalso promised a Rs 1000 monthlyallowance to homemakers withration cards.

On the other hand, rulingAIADMK has released a list ofcandidates for 171 constituencies.The party also released names of20 constituencies where the BJPwill contest. S Ramadoss-led PMKwhich is in alliance with both theparties has been given 23Assembly segments.

The ruling Left DemocraticFront (LDF), headed by ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan,appears to be in a comfortableposition in Kerala. The Opposition

United Democratic Front (UDF),led by Congress, has not been ableto put its house in order. TheCongress suffered a major setbackwhen one of the senior mostleaders P.C. Chacko resigned.

The elections have becomeinteresting with the entry of’Metroman’ E Sreedharan into theBJP. At a rally being attendedUnion Home Minister Amit Shah,he said he was ready to take upany responsibility given to him bythe party. “I am still energetic andwant to utilise my energy forKerala. Whatever responsibility isgiven to me I will take it up withall courage and energy,”Sreedharan said at the concludingfunction of Vijay Yatra taken outby BJP state president KSurendran from Kasaragod toThiruvananthapuram. Electionsin the state will be held on 6 April.

In Assam, while the BJP isseeking a second term on the basisof its governance record of ChiefMinister Sarbanand Sonowal, theCongress is raising the issue ofidentity politics and theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) in the State. The threephase voting in the State will take

place on 27 March, 1 April and 6April, while the results will bedeclared on 2 May. Chief MinisterSarbanand Sonowal is confident ofa BJP victory once again. TheCongress and the AIUDF hadforged the mahajot or grandalliance along with six otherparties, including the BJP’sformer ally Bodoland People’sFront with an aim to oust the BJP.

In Puducherry, leaders of theCongress and its ally DMK areholding seat-sharing talks.However, the opposition front isclueless about the shape of thealliance. In the 2016 elections, theCongress had contested 21 seatsand won 15 while the DMKbagged two of the nine seats it wasallotted by the alliance leader.Former Chief Minister, V.Narayansamy, whose governmentcollapsed last month after a seriesof desertions by MLAs, claimedthe alliance was strong and peoplewill teach a lesson to the BJP-ledNDA for its "undemocratic style offunctioning". He also alleged thatthat the BJP in collusion with theAINRC and AIADMK had"toppled his democratically electedgovernment.".

Will Stalin come topower this time?


OPINION/MADABHUSHI SRIDHAR

The Information Technology Act, Section 79provided that the intermediaries are not liable

for the content generated by users. The text is, “anintermediary shall not be liable for any third-partyinformation, data, or communication link madeavailable or hosted by him.” This immunity ismade subject to adherence of rules made by theGovernment. Using this authority, theGovernment came up with this regulation thatalmost empties the immunity. The InformationTechnology (Intermediary Guidelines and DigitalMedia Ethics Code) Rules 2021 are basically“Intermediary Rules”, it replaced the earlierInformation Technology (Intermediariesguidelines) Rules, 2011.

Minister called it ‘soft touch regulation’ butcriticised as wolf in watchdog clothing. Over theTop video streaming platforms are now under inthree-tiers-regulation. First tier is self-regulationby the platform. The second tier involves a body ofcontent publishers evolving ‘regulation’ headed byretired Judge of high Court or Supreme Court. Thejudge will have to be appointed from a panelprepared by the ministry, and have up to six othermembers, who can be experts from the field ofmedia, broadcasting, technology, andentertainment. And the third is under the name of‘oversight’, the Ministers, their Inter-Departmental Committee with secretaries takeoverall control on the entire media withoutexception including the print media beingcontrolled through their digital versions.

They impose an obligation on social media andall other platforms to assist investigative agencies.Now the Google, Facebook, Twitter etc shouldappoint officers to deal with grievances andcompliance of rules, who will be designated as‘liable’ officer for legal requirements. They shouldalso appoint a nodal- contract person forcoordination with law enforcement agencies for24x7 hours.

Besides, the Programme Code under the CableTelevision Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 is alsomandatory. These guidelines also requirestreaming services to classify content based on itsnature and type. For example, the content “forpersons aged 16 years and above and can beviewed by a person under the age of 16 years withparental guidance shall be classified as U/A 16+etc. Thus, the platform owners will have to classifytheir content according to different age groups: “U”or universal rating, and others for 7+, 13+, 16+ andthen 18+ age.

This cleverly designed regulatory cover, controland compel every publisher of news and currentaffairs on digital platforms and the videostreaming services to depend on or fear theSecretaries of the Ministries. These officers areempowered to receive and deal with ethical issuesand compliance of code, which includes “Norms ofjournalistic conduct” developed by Press Council.It is also mandated that ‘content which isprohibited under any law for the time being inforce shall not be published or transmitted’. TheCommittee was given extra ordinary powers tosummon media persons, to admonish, censure anddirect the to remove or block the content.

The Centre has, not indirectly, but directlybrought news media on digital platform under itscontrol. It says that the newspapers and their e-papers are exempted but their content innon-e-paper form makes them publisher of digitalmedia of news and current affairs. As every printand tv news organization has a digital version,thus these guidelines will subject them to newgovernmental regulation additionally.

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), adigital liberties organisation, criticised that this as“excessive governmental control over digital newsand OTT content”.

(Writer is former Central InformationCommissioner)

Babus to control digital media


“Heart failure” (HF) makes it sound like theheart is no longer working at all and there’s

nothing that can be done. However, it denotes thatheart cannot keep up with its workload and theoxygen demand cannot be met for needs.

The normal heart is a strong, muscular pumpa little larger than a fist. The heart has 4 chambersLeft and Right Atria and Ventricles.A wall, calleda septum, separates into Left and Right side of theheart hence, there is no mixing of the oxygen-richand oxygen-poor blood.Heart pumps bloodcontinuously through the whole body.

HF to occur can take yearsto developand isalsocalled congestive heart failure when fluidbuilds up in various parts of the body - causingswelling infeet, ankles and legs. This is called“edema.” Fluid accumulating in lungs and is called“pulmonary edema.”

HF occurs in adults due to effects of high bloodpressure, diabetes, heart attacks, past heartattacks, low blood haemoglobin, medication usedin treatment for cancer or leukemia and disease onheart valves and many more, also can occur innew-borns, infants, toddlers andteenagers forother reasons also.

In infants, heart failure often presents withbreathing trouble, poor feeding, poor growth,excessive sweating, takes longer time to feed orbecomes uninterested in feeding after a short timeand too rapid a heartbeat, parents may feel therapid heartbeat through the chest wall.

In adults it presents as shortness of breath,especially when lying down, tired, run-downfeeling, coughing or wheezing, swelling in feet,ankles and legs, weight gain due to fluidbuild-up.

Heart failure can get worse if it’s not treated.Since heart failure has different causes andoutcomes, it’s important to recognize how it’sdiagnosed treated and even cured in youngerchildren and in adults.

Pump failure or HF caused by heartbeat that’s

too slow often requires a pacemaker, if pumpfailure is caused by irreversible muscle damage,heart function may not improve with medicationbut may continue to get worse. In this situation, aspecial electro mechanical pump – called LeftVentricleAssist Device (LVAD), ECMO(extracorporeal membrane oxygenator) may benecessary to improve heart pump functiontemporarily. If heart muscle function continues todeteriorate despite therapy, the heart specialistmay discuss the need for a hearttransplant.Successful treatment depends onwillingness to get involved in managing thecondition. The loved ones and the caregivers allplay an active role as part of the healthcare team.

(Columnist is Consultant Cardiologist,Care Hospital, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad)

WHAT IS HEART FAILURE

HEART BEATS: Dr. PRIYEN KANTILAL SHAH

Listen to your heart

GROUPISM IN CONGRESS


Year 2014. BJP led NDA postslandslide victory in general

election. PM Narendra Modi rollsout new rule for his cabinet andpegs 75 as maximum age forministerial berth. Then comesAmit Shah as new BJP chief inJuly 2014. He too ensures greaterrole for youngsters and mentor’srole for veterans. The partyconveys clear message thatveterans over 75 won’t get ticketin any form of election. TheCongress, instead of introspectingits drubbing, accuses Modi-Shahduo of sidelining veterans like LKAdvani. Cut to August 2020. G23(or Group 23) veterans inCongress write letter to SoniaGandhi and urge to bringtransparency and democracy in

the party from top to bottom in itsactivities and fair election ofnational president. Consequently,Sonia and Rahul Gandhi stripmajority of G23 veterans of theirkey roles and responsibilities anddecide to replace dissentingseasoned faces with obsequiousones in the parliament. Whilechanges in BJP from onegeneration to other appearedgraceful and natural, the demandfor change brought turmoil inCongress.

The big difference betweenBJP and Congress is a trust factor.In BJP, trust is a two-way street.The transition in BJP from Atal-Advani period to Modi-Shah era istestimony to the fact that theparty transparently offers equalgrowth opportunity to allkaryakartas. In Congress, trust isa missing element. The leadershiprewards sycophants and keepscritics at bay. It is this habit ofdistrust inherited by the party’sfirst family that eventually gave

birth to G23.Congress is apparently once

again on brink of division. Thistime it’s G23 which has emergedas dissenting lot. The party'sgolden era ended way back withassassination of Indira Gandhi in1984. The last trace of party'scharisma vanished in just fiveyears in 1989 when Rajiv Gandhifailed to get clear mandate ingeneral election. The voices ofdissent in party had startedgrowing when Rajiv Gandhi wascalling the shots. FromVishwanath Pratap Singh toSharad Pawar, Congresswitnessed massive outflow of itssenior cadres from late 80s to1999.

The G23 veterans led byGhulam Nabi, Anand Sharma andKapil Sibal are in no mood to quitparty in near future. Instead, theywant complete revamp in theorganizational structure andcontinuous and greater say in theparty. They don’t trust Rahul

Yogesh Mishra

G-23 faces identitycrisis in Congress

Rebel Congress leaders stare at an uncertain future

GROUPISM IN CONGRESS


Gandhi. They don’t want Rahul tobe projected as PM candidate in2024 Lok Sabha polls. They areaware of Sonia Gandhi’s heathconditions. They doubt PryankaVadra’s capabilities. They reallywant to bail out Congress fromdynasty rule so that a new anddeserving leader could take onModi-Shah combine in nextparliamentary elections.

Sonia Gandhi and her coteriecan’t think beyond Rahul for partypresident post and PMcandidature. The irony inCongress is you can’t even dreamof becoming party president or PMcandidate, howsoever qualifiedand eligible you are, as all yourcredentials would be termednugatory when compared to RahulGandhi’s lineage. The party wouldalso consider your aspirations astreason. The G23 wants to removethe label of private limitedcompany from their grand oldparty. Unfortunately, Congresshas a history of showing doors tothose who have demanded changein leadership.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi havealready expressed theirdispleasure against G23’s loudpresence in public. Yes, they havestarted revamping the party, butin their own way, not as G23suggested. They first tried todivide G23 veterans by givingsignificant assignments to a few infive poll bound states and in theorganization while ignoring theothers. Ghulam Nabi Azad paidthe price of their ire first as he wascompelled to bid adieu to RajyaSabha when the party refused toresend him to the Upper House.Anand Sharma was second targetwho was denied elevation fromparty’s deputy leader to leader ofopposition in Rajya Sabha.

The party is closely watchingactivities of G23 veterans. It iscounting how Ghulam Nabi Azadpraised softened his tone towards

Modi and how Anand Sharmaminced no words in criticizingCongress for forging alliance withMuslim cleric Abbas Sidiqui’sIndian Secular Front in WestBengal and termed it selective infighting communalists. KapilSibal is another veteran whosecontinuous outcry against theparty and leadership in public hasdisappointed Sonia and RahulGandhi.

It is now direct fight betweenG23 and Rahul Gandhi and Soniais a deciding factor. The recentdevelopment in organizationalstructure shows Sonia can’t goagainst Rahul’s wish. Not long agowhen Rahul had tenderedresignation and senior cadrescomprising G23 veterans hadurged Sonia to take the partybaton. That was the time whenSonia’s coterie, having big chunkof G23 veterans, was too strong forRahul to defy with his ordinarypolitical acumen. He then hadseries of meetings with Sonia and

Priyanka pertaining to his fulltime role in party for decade 2021-2030. The siblings wanted powertransfer from mother to sonsilently with no interference fromSonia sena.

Sonia Gandhi is ready tocompromise party’s fate for Rahulwho is least bothered who remainsin or who quits the party. Hisattitude has changed after 2019Lok Sabha polls. He felt noremorse when his close friendJyotiraditya Scindia left Congress.He dealt Sachin Pilot’s angry-with-Ashok Gahlot-drama andseemingly threat-to-quit-partycold heartedly. Suddenly G23veterans, who were once party’smost revered leaders, have becomethorn in flesh of Sonia and Rahul.From here, the G23 members, whosurrender, will have to leadSachin Pilot-like life in the partywhile others would have to packup and seek opportunity in otherparties, may be BJP, as has beenthe trend since 2014..

Can they tackle rebellion in the party?

BY INVITATION


First things first. Before I writefurther about the tremendous

success, we received forKotiVruksharchana – planting of1 crore saplings acrossHyderabad, various cities in thecountry and in around 52countries as a part of HonourableChief Minister of Telangana SriKCR garu’s birthday – let me

thank every one of you. It is no secret that Green India

Challenge was inspired byTelanganakuHarita Haram aimedat spreading the green cover andfighting environmental pollution.As a public servant, I stronglybelieve that we all, including thegeneral public should be part ofeach government initiate for acollective growth and it was theprime reason behind Green IndiaChallenge. In other words, whenwe include every citizen in thenoble projects, it surely leads toaccountability, responsibility andit eventually turns into a primaryright of one and all.

Speaking about rights -cleanand pollution free environment is

a basic amenity that should bemade available irrespective of theplace we are residing. I grew up ina village, where pure water andpollution free environment werelike our birth right but why are wemissing the same in urban areas?Well, there might be manyreasons, but we should not denyall that happiness and health toour next generation kids. GreenIndia Challenge gained intensemomentum in the last one yearand despite the lockdown, itmoved on relentlessly and iscontinuing to do so.

When it comes to Green IndiaChallenge, I always dreamt ofdoing it at a much larger scaleforcreating a lot more awareness

Koti VriksharchanaHow we made itgrand success

Santosh Kumar Joginapally, MP

Selfie with CM KCR on his birthday

BY INVITATION


and what more could be thebest occasion than my Hero,Guru and Mentor KCRgaru’s birthday. Themoment I proposed to haveKotiVruksharchana, everyone of us in the TRS party,team, friends, associatesexperienced palpableexcitement in making this ahuge success.

A lot of brain stormingwas done, ideas poured,discussions lasted till verylate in the nights and we leftno stone unturned inachieving our goal. Allthanks to the party workers,supporters, environmentand nature lovers – we couldspread the word in no timeand the response wasunbelievably encouraging.

People from various cities inthe country and from abroadstarted enquiring on how to takepart in this amazing moment andbe a part of KCR Garu’s birthdaycelebrationsfor giving him themost memorable gift in the form ofplants. Even as the huge responsestarted trickling down, we startedtalking to district in-charges,village heads, even apartmentsecretaries and they all agreed inunison.

It is not just individuals butcorporate companies, NGOs,media houses, teenagers, childrenand everyone irrespective of theage group took part in it.

Finally, on February 17, therewas a sort of adrenaline rush in allof us and huge excitement was allaround. It all started at 10 amsharp as planned. KTR garu,Kavitha garu along with theirfamilies planted saplings and fromthat moment, the mobile numberwhich we dedicated for GreenIndia Challenge kept buzzing withpictures, videos of people sharingthe activity from everywhere inthe world.

Believe it or not, the WhatsAppnumber allotted for Green IndiaChallenge received more than 70lakh messages crashing the deviceand that itself is a testimony of thelove people have for KCR garu.

It surprised me that peopleactually did homework on thevariety of plants that wouldrequire by the Mother Earth insaving this environment. Manychose to go for fruit saplings whileraavi (peepal), vepa (neem) plantswere also put in extensively.

Reason: If fruit trees grow, notjust us but our future generationstoo will derive benefit out of it,while trees like raavi and vepagive more oxygen back to the earththan the intake of carbon dioxide,kill viruses in the air making all ofus healthier. Few went for plantsthat would match their respectivebirth stars. KCR garu chose toplant Rudraksha tree as a symbolof divinity, prosperity and blessingto the state. The happiest momentwas when he deeply appreciatedthe efforts of all of us and his kindwords encourage me to do moresuch events in future.

And there is more to thisgood news. Our efforts founda place in Vishwaguru WorldRecord and is widely writtenin vernacular, national andinternational media. Otherday, I met honourable vice-president and Rajya SabhaChairman Sri VenkaiahNaidu garu and gave him thecopy of VrukshaVedam.

He enthusiastically learntabout Green India Challenge,KotiVruksharchana andappreciated all ourendeavours. The vice-president while flippingthrough the pages,reminisced about hischildhood, the greenery then,agriculture andof course leftin awe of the scenic beautypictures of Telangana.

Reciting a shloka from GoutamaDharma Sastra from the book, hesaid, “One who cuts trees withoutany purpose will suffers onaccount of lack of life- breath.”

KCR garu, Venkaiah Naidugaru and many more eldersirrespective of the parties,religions, communities laudedGreen India Challenge andblessed us to move forward.

And what’s more? On the verynext day ofKotiVruksharchanathe city ofHyderabad has been recognized as“Tree City” of the World by ArborFoundation. This is an honourwhich Hyderabad received alongside 119 countries in the worldand the first city in Southern Asiato achieve this.

Before I conclude, last but notleast – my special thanks toKarunakar, Raaghava andKishore for all their time, workand meticulous planning withoutwhich it wouldn’t have happened.

It means we have work harder,chart a better route and chalk outplans for the Green IndiaChallenge to continue forever. .

WOMEN POWER


Dreams have no gender and sodo achievements. Breaking

stereotypes and claiming victoriesthat place them in echelonsbeyond gender considerationsmany women all over the worldare making this statement acredible observation that willhopefully close in on the gendergap much faster than estimated orenvisioned. Generation EqualityForum, convened by UN womenoperates with the knowledge thatgender equality is still a distantdream with action rarelymatching rhetoric and has thesebeautiful thoughts posted on its

page. “Every day through ourthoughts and actions, and in theway we lead, talk, question andact, we challenge norms,transform habits, change laws,take action and inspire others tocreate a world without genderdiscrimination.” The world’s mostpowerful nation, the United Statesof America may have laggedbehind humbler nations in havingfemale leadership but in its firstfemale Vice-President KamalaHarris many can draw hope andinspiration remembering the oftquoted and extremely popularwords of her mother ShyamalaGopalan. “You may be the first butyou will not be the last”.

All over the world women areexploring new frontiers sendingcritics and detractors into stunnedsilence through the sheer power ofachievement. The obstacles thatthey face have only hardened their

resolve to overcome them. Theappointment of Nagozi Okonjo –Iweala, the first woman andAfrican as director general of theWorld Trade Organization (WTO)a few days ahead of “InternationalWomen’s Day” and her pragmaticapproach to her job augur wellmaking gender inconsequential.Although women as heads of stateremain a minority they havedisplayed tremendous qualities ofleadership during the pandemic.Changing political fortunes andthe rough and tumble of politicshasn’t deterred their spirit. InMyanmar we have Aung San SuuKyi back to confinement afterbeing deposed in a military coupdespite securing 83% mandate forNational League for Democracy.Her struggle through thetumultuous political developmentsunder the shadow of the militaryhas been long and unending. Back

ARUNA RAVIKUMAR

Dreams of womencan come true

Today’s women are excelling in all fields in different ways

NASA’s Dr Swathi Mohan symbolises today’s Indian women

WOMEN POWER


home a Mamata Banerjeedescribed as the Bengal tigress isfighting to retain power givingevery male politician a run for hismoney. Whether you like or disliketheir style or stand in politics wehave more and more women in thepolitical fray.

It was a woman’s voice thatrang out loud and clear andannounced ‘Touchdown confirmed,Perseverance safely on the surfaceof Mars’ as NASA’s Rover,Perseverance landed on thesurface of Mars not long ago. Dr,Swati Mohan the AmericanIndian scientist whose childhoodadmiration for the television show‘Star Trek” led her to dream aboutfinding new and beautiful placeson the universe ultimatelymanifested in her pivotal role inthe Mars mission 2020 asGuidance, Navigation andControls Operation Lead.Associated with the project sinceits inception in 2013, the lady hasbeen garnering attention for herbindi and Indian origin along withappreciation for the toweringaccomplishment of her team. Thisachievement once again bringsfocus on eminent Indian womenscientists like Tessy Thomas, Ritu

Karidhal Srivatsava, MuthayyaVanita and many others. Clearlyspace has been yielded.

Mona Elthawy activist,feminist and author in her book“The Seven Necessary Sins forWomen and Girls” calls for arevolution and contextuallysuggests seven qualities of anger,attention, profanity, ambition,power, violence and lust as pre-requisites for women calling themsins as they have so far been theprovenance of men. “Therevolution does not begin in themiddle. The middle is toocomfortable, and too invested, inthe status quo” she states.Whether it is for women’s rights,climate change, or freedom fortheir nation, the role of femaleactivists has been humungous.The arrest of 22 year old DishaRavi on charges of sedition andthe killing of Human rightsactivist Karima Baloch whorelentlessly fought for the freedomof Balochistan from Pakistanhighlighting human rightsviolations outline the dangersassociated with activism andreiterate the fact that associatingwith a cause can be a choice thatwomen make.

” At 14, I boarded the trainfrom my village and left forMumbai. I didn’t know where itwould lead me but I know I wasmeant to achieve great things.”Femina Miss India Runner upManya Singh’s post on herjourney right up to the fairy taleending with the crown on her headis stuff that dreams are made of.Part time jobs, extreme poverty,and rejected auditions did notdeter the young lady who receivedunstinted support from her autodriver father and beauticianmother. She now treads the pathof success as a confident Diva. Herawe inspiring success is thetriumph of the human spirit everenduring, persevering andworking towards making dreamsa reality.

We know that the suffering ofwomen and girls in a patriarchalsociety continues unabated andthat there are still countlessvictims of gender discriminationall around us. However with moreempowered women claiming theirrightful place in society, we getnearer to the goal of adiscrimination free society. Thepath is long and winding butsurely we will get there..

Myanmarese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is another global woman of substance

UNLIMITED SPACE


India’s space ambitions to get alarger pie in the multi billiondollar space launch businessbegan with a bang in 2021. After apause during 2020 due to theCOVID19 induced pandemic, theIndian Space ResearchOrganisation ( ISRO) on Sundaysmoothly placed 19 satellites fromBrazil, US and India.

The Brazilian Earthobservation satellite, Amazonia-1,the biggest & main payload soaredto space aboard the Polar SatelliteLaunch Vehicle (PSLV) from theSatish Dhawan Space Port inSriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Itwas the 53rd flight for PSLV, the‘Workhorse’ with an enviablerecord of just a couple of failures

so far.In addition to the commercial

satellites, the ISRO also sent intospace a copy of the Bhagwad Gitaand a photo image of PrimeMinister, Narendra Modi. "Thesatellite is in very good health,"ISRO Chairman K. Sivan saidafter the launch.

The successful launch gives aboost to Brazil’s space programmeas it’s their first, fully developed,earth observation satellite. Therewere also two Indian payloads—‘Satish Dhawan’ satellite and‘UNITYsat’ and 12 SpaceBEEsfrom the US.

Interestingly, it is the firstcommercial mission of NewSpaceIndia Limited (NSIL), anundertaking under theDepartment of Space. It also kickstarts the efforts of Indian startups and private sectorparticipation in Space. The UnionGovernment announced newinitiatives since June 2019opening up space sector to Indian

private industry. The launch of ‘Satish Dhawan

Satellite’ by Space Kidz India,Chennai to study weather andlong range communicationtechnologies is a positivemomentum. UNITY sat is acombination of 3 satellitesdesigned and built by JeppiaarInstitute of Technology,Sriperumpudur (JITsat), G. H.Raisoni College of Engineering,Nagpur (GHRCEsat) and SriShakthi Institute of Engineeringand Technology, Coimbatore (SriShakthi Sat).

However, one disappointmentfor the “PSLV-C51 launch wasthat the country’s first commercialprivate remote-sensing satellite‘Anand’ from Pixxel India, theBengaluru based startup did notmake it. Pixxel India had unveiledplans to develop and launchconstellation of earth observationsatellites.

While India has doneextremely well with its PSLV

India’s space plansbegin with a bang

Somasekhar Mulugu

UNLIMITED SPACE


rocket placing payloads (satellites)upto 1.5 tonnes into the near orbitand generating business, the bigmoney is in the launch of heavierpayloads into the GTO (Geostationary Transfer Orbit).Here, it’s launch vehicle, theGSLV( Geosynchronous SatelliteLaunch Vehicle), is slowly gettinginto the commercial market.

However, big private playerslike the Space X of Elon Musk,Arianespace, upcoming BlueOrigin of Amazon founder, JeffBezos, Virgin Space of VirginAviation founder CharlesBranson, Lockheed Martin are allgetting into space activity with bigplans. Countries like the US,Russia, China, France, Japan areanyway established players.

To face global competition andsecure business as well asaccelerate domestic capabilities,huge funds and privateparticipation is a must. So far, theISRO has achieved big with frugalinnovations and modest budgetsfor its successful Chandrayaan (Moon), Mangalyaan ( Mars)missions. However, the upcomingGaganyaan ( sending humans tospace), Chandrayaan -3 withlander and inter planetaryvoyages require huge funding. Forexample, the Gaganyaan projectneeds Rs10,000 crore funds

alteast. To gain competitive edge,the costs of per kg of payload, hasto be lowered. At present with itshigh volume launches Space X hasbeen able to bring down costs toaround $3000 per kg from over$10,000 per kg about a decade ago.The ISRO has been aiming tobring it down to less than $1000per kg, though it chargesinternational rates now.

Another segment of businessthat’s fast growing is the smallsatellites, especially built bycorporates, research institutes andsmall firms with specific datagathering and applicationobjectives. Luckily, atleast half adozen start ups including SkyrootAerospace, Angkul etc have madegood progress already in the pasttwo years. Ananth Technologies,based out of Hyderabad, whichhas been a consistent partner toISRO has entered into buildingsatellites recently, says PavaluriSubba Rao, its Chairman &Managing Director.

Greater role for Private Sector:There is urgent need for

private sector to invest in creatingnew launch facilities, launchvehicles, satellites and also a widerange of systems and productswithin the country that willensure a competitive edge forIndia in the space business in the

next few decades. The Union Govthas been proactive in itsencouragement so far. But, willthe bureaucracy facilitate ease ofgoing things and enough moneypour in from corporates and risktaking private equity into startups is key issue to look forward toconvert dreams into reality.

On paper, the Government isready to allow the private sector todevelop another space Port inSriharikota for commerciallaunches and use by start ups.Similarly, the ISRO is becomingmore liberal in its engagementeven in key technologies andoutsourcing of development workand joint ventures.

The ISRO has announced abusy schedule of taking up twodozen launches this year. It willaccelerate developments inreusable launch vehicles,Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan-3by early 2022. Meanwhile, theSpace X broke ISRO’s record oflaunching 104 satellites in a singlego with its own Falcon rocketputting into space 143 satellitesrecently. It also has an efficientreusable rocket launcher.

The market is lucrative andmulti billion dollars, but thecompetition is getting intense andIndia has to get its act together atthe earliest..

PM Modi pats ISRO chairman Dr K Sivan

SEMINAR: WARANGAL GROWTH AGENDA-2021


GOLLAPUDI SRINIVASA RAO

Historic Warangal city witnessed a unique andvibrant brainstorming session at Excel India

magazine’s “Leadership Meet, Warangal GrowthAgenda- 2021” held at the Harita Hotel,Hanamkonda on February 15, Monday. This is thesecond such leadership meet after the Nizamabadevent held a month ago on January 10.Telangana Panchayat Raj and Rural

Development Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao,Telangana State Planning Board Vice-Chairman BVinod Kumar, Government Chief Whip and WarangalWest MLA D Vinay Bhaskar, Telangana’s senior IASofficer and Satavahana University in charge vice-chancellor T Chiranjeevulu and Telangana StateCouncil of Higher Education Prof P Papi Reddy wereamong the main guests at the seminar.

Excel India Chief Editor and publisher RamaKrishna Sangem delivered the introductory remarks.Other major speakers at the event included

eminent persons from different fields – ProfJalapathy Rao, agronomist, Ajara Hospitals directorand Indian Medical Association activist Dr Sheshu

Madhav, Aditi Group director and telecom expertSyed Aziz, Kakatiya University dean studies ofcommerce and business management Prof VaraLakshmi, Parish Priest Father Raja, St PetersCollege of Education M Narayana Reddy, KakatiyaHeritage Trust director Prof M Pandu Ranga Rao,Telangana State Small and Marginal Farmers DebtRelief Commission chairman Nagurla Venkateswarluand former vice-chancellor of BR Ambedkar OpenUniversity Prof Seetharama Rao.Surabhi Ajitha, granddaughter of late Prime

Minister PV Narsimha Rao turned up to pay homageto the leader on his birth centenary celebrations.

Excel India editorial board member T Bhaskarwelcomed and anchored the seminar while ExcelIndia Senior Assistant Editor Ram Mohan Pulipatipresented the way forward proposed vote of thanks.Minister Dayakar Rao presented certificates and

cash awards to the students who won first andsecond prizes in an essay writing competition on thetopic of “What is Leadership in Covid times?.The seminar that concluded with a lunch won

wide acclaim from each and every of the speakersand participants.

Excel India’s Warangal Growth Seminara grand success

Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao presenting the 1st prize to Aliya Begum, student ofChaitanya Deemed to be University, Warangal, in an essay writing competition. ‘Excel India’ chief editorS Rama Krishna, editorial advisor T Bhaskar and business head Y Suresh Babu are seen



‘KCR government has done a lot for Warangal growth’

Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Minister

Iam extremely happy that seniorjournalist Mr S Ramakrishna,founder and editor Excel IndiaEnglish news magazine chose ourWarangal city to initiate a timelydebate on the topic of growthagenda.

As you all know, now theWarangal city is the fastestgrowing city in Telangana statethat was once ruled by the mightyKakatitya dynasty. Taking cuefrom them and also to realize thedream of Mahatma Gandhi on selfreliance, our chief minister KChandrasekhar Rao has beenstriving to develop the entire stateon all fronts.

The welfare or developmentschemes conceived by Mr KCR areall aimed at uplift of allcommunities in the state thatwere neglected for decades untilthe formation of separateTelangana state. “Earlier therewere only 8,690 GramPanchayats, now the rarer 12,751for which the state government is

granting Ts 308 crore per month.Similarly, for urban population,the state government is releasingRs 140 crore per month to providebasic amenities such as sanitationand drinking water amongothers,” Mr Dayakar Rao said.

In the last few years, one haswitnessed that a IT incubatorcentre was established inWarangal city and Rs 11.6 crorewere spent to provide basicinfrastructure to attract more ITcompanies at Rampur nearKazipet town.

In Warangal rural district, thestate government is planning toset up TSIIC – an industrial parkapart from the upcoming megatextile park. Through thisindustrial park, over 13,000thousand people will get directand indirect employment. Thestate government is also pursuingwith the Centre for setting up arailway overhauling centre and150 acre of land has beenidentified near Kazipet already.

On irrigation front, Mr KCRdid a wonder by executing theKaleswaram project thatenvisages an additional ayacut of1.37 lakh acres besides solving thedrinking water problem in scoresof villages across the state. TheSRSP Phase I and II envisagebringing under cultivation anadditional 2.4 lakh acres in thestate.

“The Mission Kakatiya is aunique programme that wonaccolades across the world. It hasrevived thousands of old defuncttanks across Telangana. It hasresulted in increased groundwaterlevel and recharged agriculturalopen wells as per the scientificstudies conducted by variousagencies,” minister Mr DayakarRao explained.

Thanking senior journalist MrRamakrishna, the ministerwanted him to conduct suchdebates all over the state andorganize the same once in a yearin Warangal district.



‘We need to fix our own agendafor growth of Warangal’

B Vinod Kumar, Vice-Chairman Telangana State Planning Board

Recalling his long associationwith Warangal, Telangana

State Planning Board Vice-Chairman B Vinod Kumar saidWarangal was in the forefront ofthe Telangana movement with theimpetus given to by stalwarts likeKaloji Narayana Rao and Prof KJayashankar. Participating in theLeadership Summit: WarangalGrowth Agenda 2021 organised byExcel India magazine, VinodKumar said, "we need to fix ourown agenda for development andgrowth. We should not wait forsomebody to do somethingsomeday. We need to proactivelycreate an agenda and ensure thatit gets executed."

In this direction, Vinod Kumarreminded the promises made inthe Andhra PradeshReorganisation Bill in which itwas promised by the Centre that aCoach Factory would be set up inKazipet." We need to pursue and

put all our efforts to realise thedecades' old dream of the coachfactory," he said.

With regard to social sciences,Warangal is the epicentre for theTelangana movement. "TheDepartment of Economics ofKakatiya University should havea Chair for the TelanganaDevelopment Studies. Newgeneration will get an opportunityto study the historical perspectiveof development under great rulerswho made the Kakatiya regionflourish with art, culture,irrigation, agriculture and valour.It is time for the KakatiyaUniversity to take the forefront fordevelopment of Warangal," VinodKumar said.

Drawing a historicalperspective of irrigation under thegreat rulers of Kakatiya, VinodKumar reminded that thecarrying capacity of the Kakatiyacanal was restored during 2014 to

2016 but could not be expanded.In the growth agenda, the canalneeds to be expanded, redesignedand remodeled to supply water toWarangal and Nalgonda, hesuggested.

In the medicare sector,Warangal has the pride of chesthospital and general hospital."Since the requirement of generalmedicine is on the higher side, letus shift the chest hospital toanother location and convert thisinto a general hospital so that itcan decrease the pressure on theother government hospitals.Another hospital could be plannedin Kazipet," he said.

The Government College ofNursing is providing yeomenservices in paramedical services.It is empowering girls to take up aprofession with pride. They areserving across the country andearning a place of pride forWarangal.



Within a short span of 6 years,we have witnessed

tremendous growth . With the 3-point focus on Neellu, Nidhuluand Niyamakalu, Telangana hasredrawn its road map fordevelopment under the visionaryleadership of Chief Minister KChandrashekar Rao.

The Kakatiya rulers focussedon 3Ts -- Temples, Towns andTanks. The benefits of 3Ts arebeing experienced even now. Thishas made Warangal a city of art,culture, education andagriculture. There was an airportset up in 1930 by the Nizam rulerMir Osman Ali Khan for thebenefit of the trading activity sincethe Sirpur Kagaznagar paper milland Azam Jahi Mills, Warangal,were operational at that time. Butduring the combined State, it wasneglected by the then rulers. Theairport was operational till 1981.It is time to regain the past gloryof the Nizam-era Mamnoor airport

in Warangal.Kazipet is another example like

Mamnoor airport. But gradually,Warangal was ignored once again.It is time to acquire coach factory,wagon manufacturing and fast-lane connectivity with Hyderabad.There is scope to develop Tri-Cities-- Kazipet, Hanamkonda andWarangal. These regionallinkages will make Warangalindependent and make it analternative capital of Telangana.It is already an hub for educationand tourism. The historical placeshave attracted Unesco too. Recentexcavations have revealed the richheritage of Jainism in Warangal.We developed one such site whichis barely 1 km away fromWarangal. It has the potential tobecome a world centre for Jainfollowers. We need to take uprestoration of traditional tanks,enhance lake views, sports andrecreation centres to attracttourists

‘CM KCR giving importance to 3 Ts of Warangal’

Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar, Government Chief Whip and Warangal West MLA

Kaloji Kala Kshetram:Pride of Warangal

With Warangal in ourhearts, we started Kaloji MitraMandali in honour of thelegendary poet and freedomfighter. We approached agovernment during the time ofunited AP urging to allot a 300sq yards to start the mandali.After watching this news on TVscroll, KCR, who was by then inthe midst of Telanganamovement, called me up andsaid: Why are you asking for asmall piece of land. We will havean abundance of land once weachieve a separate state. Afterthe formation of Telangana,KCR sanctioned Rs 55 crore forKaloji Kala Kshetram, where astate-of-the-art auditorium witha seating capacity of 1,000besides an art gallery, libraryand a lecture hall.



Iam delighted to be back here inWarangal and be part of thisexcellent conference where I haveworked as civil servant for eightyears. I have worked in variouscapacities and always held someor other incharge post apart frommy routine posting. As a DRDAproject director, I have initiatedseveral interventions that paid offwell and at one point of time, themembers of Self Help Groups(SHGs) from Warangal went toother states to train the membersof SHGs there. You can imaginethe work we did here. “We arenumber one in the countrysecuring Rs 500 crore institutionalcredit,” he said reminiscing hisexperiences in Warangal district.

When a bank manager inKodakandla refused to give creditto our SHGs, I have tried my bestand even wrote letter to the bankchairman. But, the manager didnot relent. Then I have asked thewomen to stage a silent protestnear the bank and it was coveredin all media. We have sent those

press clippings and photos to thechairman again. Then there wasimmediate response. Soon ageneral manager from Bombaycame here and sorted out theissue. I felt very happy as thisinitiative brought smiles on thefaces of many poor women.

The DRDA encouraged milkproduction in dry area of Jangaonand it was a revolution of sort asfrom mere hundreds of litres to itwent to thousands of litres ofprocurement daily.

Similarly, I am delighted forbeing associated with a modernfuneral ground – Siva Muktidhamnear Padmakshi hillock. When thecloth merachant MahendraKapoor had a bad experiencewhen his mother died, he came upto build one modern funeral place.He broached the idea with me andI it took up with the collector andensured allotment of land. Now itis one of the best places inHanamkonda with lot of greeneryand facilities.

We have also revived the age

old art forms in name of culturalcarnival in Warangal. We broughttogether various traditional castebased artistes and organized acarnival from Kaloji junction todistrict collector office. This wasappreciated by public andprovided a long awaitedopportunity to the artistes toshowcase their performances andearn some money.

When I was collector ofKarimnagar, there some of usconceived and in collaborationwith the private medical colleges,we launched Arogya Raksha forthe poor. This gave the idea toArogyasri programme later thestate government launched.

What I mean to say is thatwhatever your position or capacitybe, if you have commitment to dosomething good, you can alwaysdo. If you want to escape, you havemany reasons. Ultimately, whatwe want is satisfaction at the endof life that only comes from ourdeeds.

‘People of Warangal areconducive for growth’

T Chiranjeevulu, IAS, Satavahana University in-charge Vice Chancellor & Joint Director General, MCR HRD Institute



‘Kakatiya University has potential to grow great’

Prof T Papi Reddy, Telangana State Council of Higher Education chairman

Iam happy to be part of thisconference being held in mydistrict and having beenassociated with the KakatiyaUniversity for over three decades.Unlike other media organizationswho only point out the lacunae,here the management of ExcelIndia has asked us to come upwith solutions as well which are awelcome step.

Warangal has been recognizedas educational hub since long timeas Kakatiya Medical College cameup first in private sector. In 1950s,the Regional Engineering Collegenow the National Institute ofTechnology came up here. TheKakatiya University which was aPG centre in Osmania Universityevolved into university in 1976.

The Kakatiya University hasbeen centre of excellence in some

subjects such as Pharmacy, PublicAdministration and sciences. Thiswas also the centre for many massmovements both Left and neutralmovements such as separateTelangana agitation. The studentsfrom this university played keyrole in all the movements and thisKakatiya University has a distinctidentity in the country. Now thatvibrancy is lost and an eerie ofsilence prevails on the campus.Students and teachers are dividedon different lines which havehampered the academicenvironment further.

However, the present state ofaffairs is not satisfactory asacademics took back seat forvarious reasons. Particularly thesyllabus has become outdated andthere is no match between theinstitution and industry. As a

result, the students were notgetting employment opportunitiesparticularly in private sector. Thesyllabi need to be made relevant tothe needs of modern industry toenhance job potentiality. “It isastonishing to note that even thePost Graduates students lackbasic knowledge of their subjectand general knowledge as well,”he said.

As per my observation manyuniversities in government sectorbecame redundant and now notmany people prefer to pursueeducation in them. They are allopting for private universities.Even those from rural areas arelooking for job potential courses.The poor and downtrodden areready to go a step ahead to pursuecourses that promise themimmediate job.



‘Warangal city can be ahub of medical tourism’

Dr. M Sheshu Madhav, Paediatrician & MD of Ajara Hospitals, Hanamkonda

Delighted to be here thismorning and I am enchanted

with the topic. Indeed I have beenwaiting for such a forum toventilate the grievances of ourmedical fraternity. My strong viewis that there is no point indeveloping state capitalHyderabad anymore as it wasalready saturated.

The state government shouldfocus on developing Warangal city,the biggest city after Hyderabad.There are no adequate health carefacilities in the city despitegrowing day by day. Being close tothe state capital and havingexcellent rail and road connection,the Warangal city has all thepotential for enormous growth inall sectors, particularly the Healthsector. “For a population of 10 lakhin Warangal urban, there are only1500 beds in government sectorand 2,500 beds in private sector.There is a wide gap,” he pointedout.

Since a separate Telanganastate is formed, the governmentshould accord top priority toencouraging the private parties inthe health sector. Similar toTSIPAS, a single window shouldbe created to give permissions forconstruction of nursing homes andclinics without any hassle.

“Few years back, some likeminded doctors have formed asociety to set up a multi specialtyhospital. But there is objectionfrom fire services and then frommunicipal corporation and nextsome other agency. It took a longtime to secure all permissionswhile our investment accruedhuge interest by time wecompleted construction of hospitaland started operations,” Dr SeshuMadhav lamented.

Similarly, the permission tostart a nursing college is still withthe Central government that hasput an embargo for now. We needmore doctors, nurses and

paramedical staff in proportionateto the growing population. Thestate government should give athought to this point as well. Weneed more laboratories anddiagnostic centres and need totrain technicians as the healthsector is witnessing wild growthwith the emergence of newtechnologies.

There is also a wide gap in therural health sector too. The PublicHealth Centres (PHCs) still lackbasic amenities and staff crunchhitting them hard. The fruits ofresearch should reach the ruralPHCs and rural poor shouldbenefit.

Unlike other sectors such astourism and IT, the health sectortoo offers a wide variety of jobsand there is much scope foremployment in the sector. TheWarangal city can be a medicaltourism hub as it has got all thecapacity.



‘Change food habits to changecultivation pattern’

Prof Jalapathi Rao, Agronomist

Farmers are ignored a lot. Forthe inputs and efforts they put

in raising crops they need to getmatching prices. The question ishow to make agriculture andhorticulture profitable for farmerswith minimum inputs is thechallenge. All innovative methodsneed to be utilised to realise thedreams of every farmer.Unfortunately, farmers are forcedto follow the market trends. Theygo by what is in demand. Thusleading to a glut in the marketleading to dismal prices makingtheir lives miserable. They arecaught in these vortex markets,traders and input costs. It is nowonder that they are forced totake extreme steps.

Fortunately, a string of tanksare a great gift to the farmingcommunity in Warangal. Sincewater is available in abundancefarmers have been raising paddy

as the main crop twice in anagricultural year for the pastseveral generations. Now water isan expensive input for agriculture.Water needs to be used optimally.Water resources are depletingdangerously low. States andnations are fighting over water.Alternate crops for paddy needs tobe explored by farmers.

Paddy also attracts hugelabour expenses. Experts' opinionis to bring down paddy cultivationacross the globe. In view of theprime preference to paddy, othergrains are ignored creating anutrient deficit leading to lifestylediseases. India is now knows adiabetic capital. "Vanta marethegani panta maaradhu" (Changefood habits to change cultivationpattern). This is the crux ofmaking India fit. It all boils downto: Eat your food as your medicine,otherwise you have to eat

medicines as your food.Unfortunately, healthy crops

are not giving remunerative pricesto farmers. With growing pressureon making a living with risingprices, farmers are going for twocash crops. Paddy cultivation as asecond crop under borewellirrigation needs to be stopped.There should be self-regulation byfarmers. There is a tremendousconsciousness about health amongpeople.

This just awareness is not justenough. People need to changetheir food habits. They need tocreate a great demand in themarket for healthy grains. Thenpaddy cultivation will graduallycome down. One day, the croppattern will look like a bouquet offlowers. This is the day whenfarmers will be economically fitand people will be fit on all countsof health.



‘Warangal needs bigindustrial growth push’

Syed Aziz, Telecom expert & Director, Aditi Group

Now, I see there is goodconnectivity to city from all

the four corners with good ringroad and beautiful Hyderabad toWarangal road.

Recalling our former presidentDr APJ Kalam Concept - PURA(Provision of Urban Amenities toRural Areas) is a strategy for ruraldevelopment in India That energyself-sufficient talukas/district canbe a new development model forrural India in terms of creation ofjobs and better amenities to itspopulation.

PURA proposes that urbaninfrastructure and services beprovided in rural hubs/Cluster tocreate economic opportunitiesoutside of cities. Physicalconnectivity by providing roads,electronic connectivity byproviding communicationnetworks, and knowledgeconnectivity by establishingprofessional and technical

institutions will have to be done inan integrated way so thateconomic connectivity will beestablished.

Creation of clusters – Thanksto our chief ministerShriK.ChandraShekar Rao garufor making 33 Districts and thesedistricts is going to gain thecluster movement and takinggovernance to the doorstep.

The cluster framework forproviding livelihood opportunitiesand urban amenities to improvethe quality of life in rural areas.

The vision of transformation toa 'developed' Warangal/Telanganacan only be realized if we launch amega mission for empowering therural people. Creation of Physical,electronic and knowledgeconnectivity’s leading to economicconnectivity in villages. Such amodel of establishing a circularconnectivity among the ruralvillage complexes will accelerate

rural development process byempowerment.

The above social inclusion isalready taken place and it isfurther more required tostrengthening the roots of thevillage connectives anddevelopment.

One more important point isthat,like Mumbai – PuneIndustrial corridor

Hyderabad – Warangal furtherto Karminagar can be a goodpotential sector. Unlike Mumbai –Pune,there is valley /ghat and nota levelled land.

I would like to add the pointhere, there is a very big scope forthe Data centers as of nowAmazon is signed and furthermore companies are in pipelineand any one of the data center isbrought into these corridor theemployment and thecommunication to the rural part isgoing to be solved.



“I feelprivileged tobe in Warangalcity to payhomage to mylategrandfather

and former Prime Minister ofIndia PV Narasimha Raotoday. He was always modernin his thoughts and young atheart. We learnt a lot from ourThataiah who used to be akeen observer and enthusiastof many things. Our countrynow needs a visionary leaderlike him whose economicreforms have ushered Indiainto new era.”

- Surabhi Ajitha, Educationist and

granddaughter of late PV

“Afterformation ofTelanganastate, we got awonderfulopportunity torevisit the

great legacy of our Kakatiyarulers whose heritage is stillrelevant to our moderngovernments. We at the trusthave been trying our level bestto unearth the great practicesof Kakaitya rulers who laidimportance to 3Ts -temple,town and tanks which arethree pillars of our rural andagricultural growth andsocietal wellbeing.”

Prof M Pandu Ranga Rao,Director, Kakatiya Heritage

Trust

“The un-precedentedCovid-19pandemic hastaught usmany lessonsand the entire

world is still trying tograpple with the changesthat the virus has brought infor us. We should giveimportance to the medicalfraternity and doctors andother staff who stood in thefront in battling thispandemic and go forvaccination which is goodfor us all. We should step upfunds for health sector.”

Prof G Vijay Kumar, Vice-Principal (Academic),Kakatiya Medical College

“This Covidpandemic hastaught us alot on theimportance ofimprovingour social

sector’s role in overallwellbeing. We from the LodiSociety in Warangal havedone a lot to extend ahelping hand to the needy inrural as well as in urbanareas. Though thegovernments have donetheir best, the non-governmental sectorespecially the philanthropyhasn’t lagged behind insaving the poor.”

-Father Raja, Parish Priest

“We mustrememberthat our lifewill never bethe sameagain afterthe Covid

pandemic. Every sphere ofour education, right from theprimary to higher levels willundergo tremendouschanges in the coming years.Sustainable business modelsand ecological friendly tradeand manufacturing practicesare going to shape up ourfutures. We need to updateour management education.”

Prof P Vara Lakshmi, Dean, Commerce & Business

Management, KakatiyaUniversity.

“This is hightime that wegive properimportance toprimaryeducationwhich is vital

for the growth of any state inthe country. Over the last fewdecades of my experience inWarangal city, we have seenhow our youth need enoughcare and guidance to sharetheir lives. Primary educationand the teachers’ training isan important area where ourgovernments should focustheir attention. Otherwise, wecan’t build growth avenues forour society.”

M Narayana Reddy, Director, St Peters College of Education

“I am very happy to be participating in this Excel India’s leadership meet at Warangal. Thisgreat city which has rich heritage can be a hub of education and other emerging areas of oureconomy. This metropolis with a combined population of around 10 lakh can be developedinto a major growth partner to Hyderabad city, a global hub today. Making KakatiyaUniversity a great place of learning and excellence was one of the aims at the time of itsestablishment, but over the years, due to a variety of factors, the varsity has lost its glory.Now restoring its glory is vital to growth agenda of Warangal.”

Prof Seetha Rama Rao, former VC, BR Ambedkar Open University



“Every citizen can be a leaderin Covid times”

Dr. Pratyusha Raj, MBBS, Kakatiya Medical College, a winner of 1st prize inessay writing competition on Leadership in Covid Times. Excerpts from her essay

It’s not about (being) perfect, it’s about (putting in)effort. And when you bring that effort every singleday, that when transformation happens, that’s howchange occurs. Change starts in your thoughts.Pandemic creates a great opportunity where everyindividual, as a citizen should unrole themselves andwork towards the nation to maintain integrity, toattain significant changes in health sector, to makestrategies which helps in reaching out all thenecessary sources to all the individuals in thecountry.

Every citizen of a nation who has responsibilitiesand who is determined to work for their nation willbe a leader in these times. She/he should work andshould pull together people, getting accurateinformation, fighting misinformation, supportingevery individual belonging to all the sections andmaking sure that important social services thatpeople rely on or keep in touch with the needy people.

In recent times, Covid-19 pandemic had set a verygood example, to demonstrate how crucial the needof every citizen to be responsible.

We need opportunities, situations to understandthe situation, to make happen every decision andevery planning. The leader should understand inter-relational emotion process as devices for internalmotional process. A leader should lead by commands

and controls, leading by objectives and leading by ashared vision.

A main action needed in post-Covid times iscommunicating about the Covid-19 vaccine whichalso involves the goals of World Health Organisation.We must bring equity forward in yourcommunication; make arrangements which clearlyexplain the need of Covid immunisation process.Build relationships with trusted messengers fromdiverse organisation and community groups. Wemust show how the Covid vaccine fits into a largerpublic health strategy.

Leadership qualities include keeping a visionbefore the people on the front and the centre,developing a national deployment and vaccinationplan for Covid vaccine. A leaders should also listexisting and upcoming resources to support Covidvaccine introduction, describe strategies for thedeployment, implementation and monitoring of thevaccine throughout the country. It is essential toidentify target population for the vaccination andprepare the supply chains and manage the healthcare waste.

Leadership is lifting people’s vision to high sights,raising a person’s performance to high standards. It’sabout building of personalities beyond the normallimitations.

Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao presenting the 1st prize to Dr. Pratyusha Raj. ‘Excel India’chief editor S Rama Krishna, Editorial Advisor T Bhaskar and Business Head Y Suresh Babu are seen



IN PICTURESPaying homage to PV

Prof. Papi Reddy at an event poster

Vinod Kumar paying keen attention to a speaker

Ram Mohan proposing vote of thanks Lunch time for VIPs

A view of audienceA view of the audience

Rama Krishna welcoming minister Dayakar Rao

Releasing Excel India February issue

Bhaskar welcoming the dignitaries


PICTURE OF THE MONTH

Statement about ownership and other particulars aboutnewspaper (Excel India) to be published in the first issueevery year after the last day of February

1. Place of publication : Hyderabad

2. Periodicity of its : Monthlypublication

3. Printer’s Name : Sangem B Rama Krishna Nationality : IndianAddress : H.No. 2-2-10/A/1, Flat No. G1,

Surabhi Heaven Apartments, D.D.Colony, Opp. O.U. Gate,Amberpet, Hyderabad,Hyderabad, Telangana.

4. Publisher’s Name : Sangem B Rama Krishna Nationality : IndianAddress : H.No. 2-2-10/A/1,

Flat No. G1, Surabhi HeavenApartments, D.D. Colony, Opp.O.U. Gate, Amberpet, Hyderabad,Hyderabad, Telangana.

5. Editor’s Name : Sangem B Rama Krishna Nationality : IndianAddress : H.No. 2-2-10/A/1,

Flat No. G1, Surabhi HeavenApartments, D.D. Colony, Opp.O.U. Gate, Amberpet, Hyderabad,Hyderabad, Telangana.

6. Names and Sangem B Rama Krishna addresses of : H.No. 2-2-10/A/1, individuals who Flat No. G1, Surabhi Heavenown the newspaper Apartments, D.D. Colony, Opp.and partners or O.U. Gate, Amberpet, Hyderabad, shareholders holding Hyderabad, Telangana.more than one per centof the total capital

I, Sangem B Rama Krishna, hereby declare that theparticulars given above are true to the best of my knowledgeand belief.

Sd/-Date: 1-3-2021 Signature of the Publisher

FORM IV

Printed, Published and Owned by Sangem B Rama Krishna, Printed at : Karmik Press, APHB, Shop No. 35, O.U. Road, Vidyanagar,Hyderabad, Telangana, Published at : H.No. 2-2-10/A/1, Flat No. G1, Surabhi Heaven Apartments, D.D. Colony, Opp. O.U. Gate,

Amberpet, Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana., Editor: Sangem B Rama Krishna, RNI No. TELENG/2014/73881

Yadadri temple of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy in Telangana is completelyre-built with stones. The renovated temple is set to be inaugurated soon

MagnificientTemple

MagnificientTemple

Excel India, March 2021, RNI No. TELENG/2014/73881

NATIONAL ENGLISH NEWS MAGAZINE - Dr Pallavi Gowda

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