Vikram Kirloskar brought global auto giant Toyota to Karnataka in 1997, when the State wasn’t yet a big name in the global business arena.
Way back in 1997, when Karnataka wasn’t yet a big spot on the global business map, auto major Toyota set up a manufacturing facility at Bidadi, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The man who was instrumental in bringing the Japanese automaker to Karnataka was Vikram Kirloskar who passed away on November 29.
The initial efforts towards bringing Toyota Motor Corp to India were made during the tenure of Chief Minister Veerappa Moily in the early 1990s, and were later followed up by his successor H.D. Deve Gowda. During J.H. Patel’s tenure, Toyota Kirloskar officially started its operations in Karnataka. Thereafter, the business savvy S.M Krishna and his industrious industries minister R.V. Deshpande extended support to the venture.
Although multiple Chief Ministers and their industries ministers were involved in bringing, hosting and settling Toyota at Bidadi, one key person who worked tirelessly from outside was Vikram Kirloskar, who is a mechanical engineering graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.A.
Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said, “He was a dear personal friend, an industry friend and, more importantly, a genuine human being who was always ready with a smile. With the passing of Vikram, a prominent face and a pillar of the business community of Karnataka is no more.”
The Kirloskar family hails from Haveri in the Dharwad region. They have been running various businesses, including automotive engineering, pumps, gensets, and machine tools for over 100 years. Vikram Kirloskar became the mainstay of ‘Karnataka Inc.’ with Toyota Kirloskar in 1997.
Since its inception, Toyota has invested over ₹20,000 crore in Karnataka, and Mr. Kirloskar’s personal commitment in 2010 was ₹1,500 crore.
“He has been a great help in organising Global Investors’ Meet. He and (his wife) Geetanjali came with me for a road show in the U.S. prior to GIM in 2010,” recalled Mr. Nirani.
A doyen of the automotive industry, Mr. Kirloskar was extremely supportive of young people and their business ideas.
Addressing a trade body event that had several youngsters in the audience recently, he said, “You are the future leaders. You should soon be sitting here where I am sitting.”
The fourth-generation entrepreneur of the Kirloskar family leaves behind his wife Geetanjali and daughter Manasi, who works in the company.
Infosys and Intel bagged the Karnataka IT Rathna awards at the 25th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2022 held in Bengaluru, informed a press release.
The awards which were given away at the meet have been instituted by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and are given to companies that have clocked more than ₹10,000 crore in exports.
Minister for IT-BT, Science & Technology Dr C N Aswath Narayan also honoured companies such as TCS, Bosch, Mindtree, and 21 others with the award ‘IT Pride of Karnataka’ for clocking ₹2,000 crore to ₹10,000 crore in exports.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said “Karnataka is clocking exports worth ₹1 lakh crore annually and expressed hope that it would rise to ₹1.5 lakh crore in the next three years and also achieve $1 trillion in the digital economy space.”
However, the Minister expressed anxiousness over the 40% shortage of finances in the current account despite a high turnover in exports from the state. He urged the IT captains to raise exports and reduce imports to maintain a good balance of trade. He also assured the industry that the government will continue to extend its support.
Aravind Kumar and Shailendra Tyagi of STPI, IT Vision group chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan, Additional chief secretary of IT-BT department E V Ramana Reddy, and director Meena Nagaraj were also present at the vent.
– Winners of the ‘IT Pride of Karnataka Awards’:
– Accenture, Amazon Development Centre, Dell, EIT Services, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, IBM, JP Morgan, Juniper Networks, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, SAP Labs, Standard Chartered, VMware and Wipro won the IT Pride of Karnataka awards.
source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline and sub-head edited)
The 19-seater civilian aircraft is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru, in collaboration with CSIR.
One of the major attractions at this year’s Bengaluru Tech Summit is a model of the Saras Mark 2, the upgraded version of the first ever indigenously built civilian aeroplane, the Saras Mark 1.
Almost 20 years after its predecessor’s historic maiden flight, the Saras Mk 2 may soon become a common sight in the skies across the state.
The Saras Mk 2, a 19-seater multi-purpose civilian aircraft, is being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
“The aircraft is an upgraded version of the Saras Mk 1. It can be used for multiple purposes, including for medical emergencies or in the event of natural disasters. However, it can also help in transporting passengers from Tier-1 cities to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities,” said Naman Dugar, a senior scientist at NAL, who has been involved with the development of the aircraft. He also said that the aircraft will be used for defence purposes as well.
The aircraft has an additional five seats when compared to Saras Mk-1, which had only 14 seats. Dugar says the plane is ideal for carrying passengers to shorter distances, like to nearby cities. With Karnataka’s push towards developing Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the coming years, the aircraft may become an ideal option for the state’s transport needs in this direction.
“There are many larger planes. However, they are developed for long-distance travel and are generally more expensive. In terms of travelling to closer cities by air, for example, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, the Saras Mark 2 will become a sought-after plane. The aircraft does not need much space for take-off and landing,” said Dugar. The development of Saras Mk 2 is expected to be completed by 2024 and make its maiden flight by 2025.
14th edition of Infosys Prize awarded to six persons who each will get a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.
The Infosys Science Foundation on Tuesday announced the winners who include a mathematician tackling challenges in a field sometimes called “the queen of mathematics”, an economist working on governance and accountability, and a law school professor and expert on the Indian Constitution.
The winners are Suman Chakraborty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for engineering and computer science; Sudhir Krishnaswamy the vice-chancellor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, for humanities; Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for life sciences; Mahesh Kakade at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for mathematical sciences; Nissim Kanekar at the National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, for physical sciences; and Rohini Pande at Yale University in the US for social sciences, the foundation said.
This is the 14th edition of Infosys Prize. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.
Chakraborty has studied how fluids behave in tiny channels to design novel medical devices, including low-cost tools, to detect infectious diseases and a hand-held torchlike device for early diagnosis of oral cancer.
The technology has drawn commercial interest within and outside India. Krishnaswamy was awarded the prize for “his insightful understanding of the Indian Constitution, especially his carefully argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973 that guides and constrains efforts to amend it, while also ensuring its stability in the face of executive and legislative outcomes,” the foundation said.
Vaidya has contributed to understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, including the role of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in causing persistent changes in behaviour induced by early life stress.
The foundation said Kakde has made “outstanding contributions” to algebraic number theory, often called the queen of mathematics that has practical applications in areas such as cryptography or secret communications.
“But I don’t do things with any applications in mind,” Kakde said on Tuesday. His work has yielded proofs for several key conjectures at the heart of modern numbertheory. The conjectures serve as tools to address hard math problems involving so-called polynomial equations.
Kanekar has received the award for his study of star formation in galaxies eight billion years ago and especially for his work on elusive signatures of atomic hydrogen in distant galaxies that has resolved along-standing astronomical puzzle — why have star births in galaxies declined over time?
Pande’s research on governance, accountability, women’s empowerment, the environment, and the role of credit in the lives of the poor “offer major promise and potential for policy design in emerging economies”, the foundation said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the inaugural special of south India’s first Vande Bharat Express at Krantiveera Sangolli Railway station here.
The train connects Mysuru and Chennai via Bengaluru. This is the fifth Vande Bharat Express train in the country.
It will enhance connectivity between the industrial hub of Chennai, the tech-cum-startup hub of Bengaluru and the famous tourist city of Mysuru, officials said.
The Prime Minister said, “The Chennai-Mysuru Vande Bharat Express will boost connectivity as well as commercial activities. It will also enhance ‘Ease of Living’.”
According to Railway officials, Vande Bharat Express is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH.
It can pick up a speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour.
The country’s first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off in 2019 on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.
On Friday, the Prime Minister also flagged off the ‘Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan’ train, which is operated by Karnataka’s Muzrai Department, under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train policy of Railways.
“It (Bharat Gaurav train) will fulfil the dream of numerous travellers intending to undertake Kashi Yatra,” according to the South Western Railway. The train offers an eight-day tour package at discounted rates for pilgrims.
Official sources said the Karnataka government gives cash assistance of Rs 5,000 to the Kashi Vishwanath Yatra pilgrims. This train covers holy places including Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Karnataka is the first state to take up this train under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ scheme in which the state government and the Ministry of Railways are working together to send pilgrims from Karnataka to Varanasi (Kashi).
The pilgrims will be provided with comfortable stay and guidance for visiting Kashi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj, the statement read.
After flagging off the pilgrims’ train Bharat Gaurav Kashi Darshan, Modi tweeted, “I would like to compliment Karnataka for being the first state to take up the Bharat Gaurav Kashi Yatra train. This train brings Kashi and Karnataka closer. Pilgrims and tourists will be able to visit Kashi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj with ease.”
Indian Railways launched the operation of the theme-based Bharat Gaurav train in November last year to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and historical places to the people of India and the world.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled the 108-feet tall statue of the city’s founder Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, which is the “first and the tallest bronze statue of a founder of a city”, as per the ‘World Book of Records’.
Called the “Statue of Prosperity”, it has been built to commemorate the contribution of Kempegowda towards the growth of Bengaluru.
The statue weighing 218 tonnes (98 tonnes of bronze and 120 tonnes of steel) has been installed at the Kempegowda International Airport here.
It has a sword weighing four tonnes.
The project, besides the statue, has a heritage theme park in an area covering 23 acres dedicated to the 16th century chieftain, together costing about Rs 84 crore to the government.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and several of his cabinet colleagues, Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri Math, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, BJP Parliamentary Board member B S Yediyurappa, former Chief Minister S M Krishna, BJP legislators, officials, among others were present at the event.
Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire founded Bengaluru in 1537.
He is revered, especially by the Vokkaliga community that is dominant in Old Mysuru and other parts of southern Karnataka.
Renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar has designed the statue.
Sutar had built the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Bengaluru’s ‘Vidhana Soudha’.
As a precursor to the unveiling, ‘Mruthike’ (sacred mud) was collected from over 22,000 locations across the state, which was mixed symbolically with the mud beneath one of the four towers of the statue.
Twenty-one special vehicles collected the sacred mud in villages, towns and cities during the last two weeks.
With the installation of the statue ahead of the Assembly polls next year, a competition of sorts seems to have erupted between political parties to claim credit for the legacy of Kempegowda, aimed at garnering electoral support from the politically dominant Vokkaliga community.
Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah had earlier said the Congress government led by him was the one which had first planned to install the statue of Kempegowda at the airport.
The 42-year-old Sunak, who is also known as “the son-in-law of Bengaluru” was married to Akshatha Murthy, daughter of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty.
While the Murthys chose to maintain silence over their son-in-law making history, many others from the corporate world expressed their happiness over the development.
Along with corporate giants Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also congratulate Rishi Sunak on being elected as the Britain Prime Minister.
Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, congratulated Rishi Sunak on his victory and his term as the Prime Minister of UK.
Along with congratulating, he also warned that Rishi Sunak is taking over the responsibility at a time when the whole of Europe is going through a difficult time.
“I have met him (Sunak) personally. He is a highly competent person,” Chandrasekhar said. Kamal Bali, the president and managing director of the Volvo Group India said it is a matter of joy that a person of Indian origin is becoming the Prime Minister in the UK.
“Rishi Sunak’s rise shows that anybody has an opportunity in a democratic set-up. It is a good sign, which also shows that capability matters in a democratic country,” Bali told PTI.
The former Infosys Chief Finance Officer V Balakrishnan called it a historic moment. He also said that Britain is an example to the world that a migrant can also become Prime Minister of their country. Britain is a sign of a mature democracy
Former president of the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jacob Crasta regarded it a matter of great pride and honour for Indians.
“It is a pride for us Bengalurians as the son-in-law of Bengaluru is becoming the Prime Minister of the UK,” Crasta told PTI.
He further informed that it is a good news for India as it will create new opportunities for the development of India UK relationship and bring more options for UK technology to come to the country.
Roger Binny becomes the first World Cup-winner to become the president of the BCCI.
Former Indian cricketer Roger Binny has been appointed as the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The 67-year-old was elected unopposed during BCCI’s annual general meeting (AGM), which was held on Tuesday, 18 October, at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah, departing president Sourav Ganguly, treasurer Arun Dhumal and vice-president Rajeev Shukla were all present at the 91st annual general meeting of the board. With his appointment, Binny becomes the first-ever former World Cup-winning to become BCCI’s president.
Jay Shah has been re-inducted as the secretary of the board, while it now remains to be seen whether the BCCI will field a candidate for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) elections.
Among the other decisions taken during the meeting, Arun Singh Dhumal vacated his position as the treasurer of the board and was appointed as a member of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council. Avishek Dalmiya, the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), was also appointed as an IPL Governing Council member.
Ashish Shelar, the former chief of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), took over as the new treasurer, with former secretary of the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), Devajit Saikia was appointed as the joint-secretary. Assam M Khairul Jamal Majumdar was appointed as an Apex Council member.
Besides confirming the new appointments, the BCCI also approved to conduct the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL in 2023.
Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge became the first non-Gandhi President after 24 years by defeating his opponent Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor by a margin of over 6,000 votes.
Out of the 9,385 votes polled in the Congress presidential polls, Mallikarjun Kharge got 7,897 votes, Shashi Tharoor secured 1,072 votes, and 416 votes were declared invalid, the party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Madhusudan Mistry said.
Kharge won with eight times more votes.
Soon after the election results were announced, Tharoor congratulated Kharge in a letter and termed the election as a ‘true celebration of inner-party democracy.’ “The revival of the party has begun today,” Tharoor said.
Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi had taken over.
With no Gandhi family members in the fray, the election came three years after Rahul Gandhi resigned from the top post citing the Lok Sabha poll debacle in 2019.
Kharge will take charge on October 26.
MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the president was the ‘supreme authority’ in the Congress and whoever got elected to the post would decide on the way forward (for the party). “President is the supreme authority in the Congress and everyone reports to him. My role – I am very clear – Congress president will decide what my role is and how I will be deployed,” he remarked as Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh.
Congress central election authority chairman Mistry on Monday expressed satisfaction with the party’s presidential polls process, saying it was “free, fair and transparent”. He also said it was a secret ballot and no one would get to know who voted for whom.
The election is significant for the party as an internal election to the top post is taking place after nearly two decades.
The last election for the post of Congress chief was held in 2000 when Sonia Gandhi defeated her opponent Jitendra Prasada by an overwhelming majority.
Meanwhile, congratulations poured in for Kharge from many senior leaders and celebrations erupted outside AICC headquarters in the capital.
Earlier in the day, after the counting of votes began, the Tharoor camp alleged extremely serious irregularities in the poll process.
In a letter to CEC Madhusudan Mistry, Tharoor’s campaign team member Salman Soz said, “The facts are damning and the election process in UP is devoid of credibility and integrity.”
He also alleged the use of unofficial seals for ballot boxes and the presence of unofficial persons in polling booths.
Later in a tweet, Soz said that the CEA has assured fair inquiry into the allegations. “After discussions with CEA, we have agreed for the counting to continue and our team looks forward to the results,” he tweeted.
However, in reply to media queries, Mistry said that the CEC has prepared a point-by-point reply to the complaints raised by the Tharoor camp. He also said that the letter shouldn’t have been made available to the public.
Even during the campaign, Tharoor raised allegations of preferential treatment by his senior colleagues several times and approached the CEA on the same.
80-year-old Kharge with more than 50 years of experience in politics was largely seen as the candidate backed by the top leadership in the Presidential election. While Tharoor rooted for reforms in the party, Kharge promised to follow the Udaipur Chintan Shivir resolutions to bring changes in the party.
Kharge, a senior Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, is seen as a hardcore loyalist of the Gandhi family. He resigned as the leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, on October 1, 2022, to contest for the President post of Congress.
Though many senior leaders hailed the election as the beginning of inner party democracy, they also expressed apprehension about the elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and cast doubts that the President would act as a rubber stamp. The immediate challenge for Kharge will be the performance of the party in the upcoming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, said a leader
Of the total 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the party chief in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the AICC headquarters, Mistry had said at a press conference after the polling ended on Monday.
Electors in the Congress presidential polls had been asked to put a tick mark against their candidate in the ballot paper after Tharoor’s team took up with the party’s top poll body the issue of its earlier directive that voters write “1” to reflect their preference. This, the team said, might lead to confusion.
Ahead of the polling, Kharge had said he would have no shame in taking the advice and support of the Gandhi family in running the party affairs, if he becomes its president. Tharoor, meanwhile, said that some colleagues were telling party workers that they know who Sonia Gandhi wants elected”.
Perhaps October 1, 2022, turned out to be a red-letter-day for the Mangalurean community in Canada when Canada’s Prime Minister thanked Dr Dorothy Rego BSc, MSc, PhD, MPH in his letter and when she received a prestigious Yeomen Service Award 2022 from the Canadian Canara Vision Inc (CCVI) in recognition of her remarkable contribution in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada.
Dr Dorothy Rego, an immunologist, microbiologist, and public health professional has worked in the field of science for over 15 years. Enormously passionate about science, Dr Rego is especially committed to focusing on the needs and health of others and the most vulnerable.
Message from Prime Minister of Canada
Originally from Gurpur-Kaikamba in the suburbs of Mangaluru, she currently resides in Brampton with her husband, Ronald Rego and two children, Seneca and Roysten. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Botany, Zoology and Chemistry from St Agnes College, Mangaluru in 1991 and Master of Science in Microbiology from Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru in 1994. Dorothy also successfully completed her Master’s cum Doctorate (PhD) in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and MPH (Master of Public Health) from the University of Guelph in 2017.
Dr Rego’s areas of expertise includes disease surveillance, vaccine implementation, gender equality, tobacco control, women’s empowerment, maternal child health, cancer research, HIV prevention, food fortification, anaemia reduction and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. She has 7 peer reviewed publications in highly influential American, British, and Indian journals and an impressive 5 scientific reports and 21abstracts published to add to her already remarkable portfolio. As a scientific researcher, she has worked for Health Canada, Peel Public Health, Global Affairs of Canada, and the Gates Foundation.
Dr Rego was part of the leadership team of Peel Public Health’s response to COVID-19 pandemic. She played a crucial role in conducting high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies.
Pre-pandemic, Dr Rego worked with WHO (World Health Organization) where she conducted a comprehensive review addressing policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries at a global level. Deployed to Africa for HIV work, she took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care.
Prior to her migration to Canada, Dr Rego worked for reputed institutions in India such as CMC Vellore and JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry. Her work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study at JIPMER Hospital was the impetus for her increasing passion in public health.
An amazing and highly intellectual personality like Dr Dorothy Rego does not need any further introduction. After the Award ceremony, I had the unique opportunity to toss a few questions at her as the representative of Daijiworld.com.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. On behalf of Daijiworld.com, I am privileged to interact with you. Tell me how it feels to bag a prestigious Award from a renowned non-profit organization like CCVI for your remarkable contribution to the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science.
A. First and the foremost, I thank God for blessing me with wisdom, humility, and grace. These blessings have enabled me to scale mountains and face challenges. I also thank the CCVI for recognizing my work and bestowing me with the Yeomen Service Award. I am humbled and deeply appreciative of this prestigious award. I admit that my contributions to the field of Scientific Research, Public health and Social Science are still on a small scale; however, I view the award as a way forward to do and be more. This recognition has spurred and inspired me to learn and implement more in my fields of expertise.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your parents, siblings, and your childhood days in the picturesque town Gurpur-Kaikamba in Mangaluru, India?
A. I was raised by my father, late Dominic R J D’Lima. My grandmother, late Lucy D’Lima along with my paternal aunt, Leena D’Lima gave me an amazing childhood. I have only one younger sibling, Don John D’Lima who is an Advocate in Mumbai. My weekend nature walks in the lush greenery of Kaikamba along with my dad in the picturesque Gurpur aroused my curiosity about all things related to science. I still cherish the joys of playing some country games like lagory, kutti donne, jibli and mane aata along with 4 other kids in the neighborhood. It was an unforgettable childhood filled with setbacks, love, adventure, mystery, tragedy, loss, and joy.
Q. Can you please tell us something about your early schooling?
A. My journey into my professional development began from the century old Pompei higher primary school in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Patricia. With great pride, I say that I learnt my first alphabets in this Kannada medium school. With immense gratitude, I mention that Sr.Laetita Bath from the Bethany congregation held my tiny hand and hovered it around the cement doodle to make the correct impression of my first Kannada alphabet. My heartfelt appreciation to Sr.Laetita Bath for her dedication and patience. From 1976 to 1983, I made a lifetime of memories from throwing stones at mango trees, picking Sapodilla aka chikoo’s during recess, chasing snakes in the lush green landscape, drawing well water using a bucket and rope to care for school garden and shedding tears to ‘Punya Koti’ narrative by Lucy teacher. An even more historic memory was walking as a class to meet Mother Teresa at Rosa Mystica grounds in 1980. I was awed by that meeting and inspired by Mother Teresa’s selfless work to do the same in my capacity and give back to the community and people amongst who I grew up. Among all, I did not want to attend classes. My beloved Lucy teacher would narrate this well to the readers in this platform. My teachers (the two Jacintha’s, Lucy, Gracy, Jerry, Jayanthi, Sr Jonett, Sr Shanthi, Sr Selma, the late Stella and Late Natalia,) put heart and soul in imbibing me with wisdom and knowledge. Even though this school’s structure was in a dilapidated condition in the mid 70’s, it did not deter me in carving a niche in building my career.
My next journey began in the Bethany run Rosa Mystica High School (RMHS) in Gurpur under the leadership of the late Sr Mediatrice. RMHS gave me an outstanding education with the best teachers, and they were: Sukanya, Leena, Agatha, Josephine, Yuvaraja, Sunder, Shabaraya, Felix, Shreedhar, Sr Wilma, Sr Helmina, Sr Afflicta, Sr Metilda, the late Sr Olivia and the late Sr Mediatrice. My science teachers inspired me with their extra ordinary teaching skills in Pythagoras Theorem derivation and taxonomical classifications which helped me to further refine my passion to progress in the field of biological sciences.
Q. Can you please tell me how your pre-university / university studies at India’s renowned St Agnes Institutions helped you to achieve the success that you are enjoying today?
A. In 1986, I entered the gates of St Agnes College as a PUC student in the science stream with absolutely zero English speaking skills. St Agnes College under the leadership of Sr Aloysius welcomed me with open arms, making me feel like her own as I came from a background different from most English-speaking students. St Agnes College was so open, welcoming, and reassuring that soon after my first term, I forgot about the past and plunged into new challenges. Over the next 5 years, I grew up intellectually both in wisdom and knowledge. I made friends who remain close to my heart today. I met teachers who shaped me in many ways, and as friendly and accommodating as they were, they always had best the interests for me. I bow with respect to all the signatures of my teachers (Maria, Noeline, Usha Nalini, Leela, Sr Beatrice, Saramma, Bhasker, Nagaveni, the late Kamala Devi, Sr Prem, Leo, Prema, Ronald, Saraswathi, and the late Mohan) imprinted on my lab records which I call my personal treasures. These lab records are maintained in mint condition in my ancestral home. The memories of my education such as the dissection tables of Zoology, the color reactions in chemistry labs, the Botany herbariums followed by robust record work where I tried to grab as many experiences and opportunities as I could are still fresh in my mind. The gallery style classrooms, where curriculum was intense, and marks were earned not handed out. It was here that I was introduced to the art and science of Biology which later metamorphosed me into a microbiologist, immunologist and public health professional with several degrees, awards, and accomplishments with exciting work experiences.
Q. Say something about your family and what motivated you to upgrade your educational credentials in Canada? Did you receive any inspiration from anyone or did anyone play a key role in your professional development?
A. My husband Ronald Rego migrated to Canada in 1996 from Dubai in search of greener pastures. I married Ronald in 1998 and joined him later that year in Canada. When we got married, it was my plan to upgrade my educational credentials. We are blessed with two children, 19-year-old daughter, Seneca and 16-year-old son, Roysten. Both children were born in Ottawa and these children were products of my graduate school in addition to my thesis. We currently reside in Brampton.
In my professional development, I credit my dad as being my single greatest influencer followed by my husband. They are both my heroes. My dad had only my best interest at heart. While growing up I had too many why questions to my dad, most of them were related to science. He was like an encyclopedia for me in an era when technology was absolutely zero. My dad reiterated to me several times what it meant to be a woman in the society and the vulnerability associated with being a woman. My dad insisted that women needed to be empowered with highest level education, dream an exciting career, and reach out to others.
My other hero stepped into my life after marriage but when I expressed my desire to upgrade my educational credentials, my husband whole heartedly not only encouraged and supported me but also accepted me as his student wife. He worked extremely hard to make ends meet while I took my backpack and went to the University as a student. In the late 90’s to early 00’s, there were not many options to specialize in public health in Canada, therefore I was left with specializing in basic sciences with an MSc/PhD in Microbiology/Immunology from the University of Ottawa. When Canada opened doors for public health in 2003 after the SARS crisis, I was already halfway through my MSc/PhD programme and I did not want to make a detour to public health. A few years later, it was a turning point in my life, which I call falling in love but with global public health. I decided to make 3-point turn into international public health and wanted another degree, Master’s in Public Health. When I expressed my desire, my husband whole heartedly supported me again. I became his student wife again in my mid 40’s. I am indebted to these two men and will forever be grateful to their selfless love and support.
Q. Because of your outstanding intellectual and service-oriented qualities, we look up to you as the most successful contributor in the field of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Could you tell us the secret behind your success?
A. This entire journey is akin to sailing through a storm and finally surviving the storm to reap the fruits in different continents. There have been turbulent times in this entire journey, but I persevered through all the challenges and triumphed. If I reflect on the journey, I can’t answer how I managed to endure and conquer. Sometimes, I worked too hard and sacrificed my sleep. There were times I stood up to myself to alter the challenges into enriching, rewarding and gratifying experiences. I always believed in myself and had immense confidence in my abilities. Overall, I was vibrant, full of energy, determined with a strong will power, courageous, focused, and confident. These qualities are the secrets behind my success.
Q. Dr Rego you were part of the leadership team of Canada’s Peel Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Could you please tell us what was your role in the implementation of public health interventions?
A. COVID-19 pandemic was a rapidly evolving science and the public health professionals must always be current with science to deliver best interventions for the betterment of the community. It was quite a challenge for us. In the first phase of the pandemic, my role included genomic surveillance to conduct a landscape analysis to identify the emerging variants of concerns circulating in the community. I worked extremely hard with 12-hour rotational shifts consistently to keep the Peel community safe. I quickly transitioned to Mass vaccination Program (MVP) in phase 2 of the pandemic. In MVP, I provided high quality synthesis of evidence which focused on reviewing the existing evidence and disseminating the evidence to decision makers in the implementation of public health interventions and policies. My efforts on identifying knowledge gaps in evidence led to the prioritization of COVID-19 vaccine to high-risk occupational groups in some settings in the Peel region. Also, I provided evidence-based guidance documents to the process management team which facilitated the smooth execution of mass vaccinations in the Peel region. In addition, I closely monitored the reported Adverse Effects Following Immunization (AEFI) that occurred from COVID-19 vaccination and reported these incidents to the regulatory bodies for further follow up.
Q: I learned from various media reports about your unique contribution to the field of Public Health and Social Science in India, Africa, and Canada. Can you please share some of them with a few details?
A. I will use one each example from India, Africa, and Canada to answer this question.
In 1995, I started a very challenging job at the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry, India. JIPMER is the pride of India. It is a government of India enterprise with a state-of-the-art facility and provides free health care. I was appointed to work with children under 10yrs for a vaccine implementation study in Pondicherry. It is so unfortunate that many of these kids in this coastal belt did not even live to celebrate their 10th birthday. They would succumb to some respiratory infections. Therefore, the goal was to visit the schools, collect throat swabs samples from kids to identify the culprit and then determine the next steps. My work began with calling out the tenders, purchases, school visits, sample collections, lab research and report writing. I saw high rates of vaccine preventable diseases among children, lack of advocacy among the public, low vaccine uptake and extreme poverty. This realization ignited a fire in me to give my best to the betterment of health through scientific research. My mentor, Dr Reba Kanungo did an excellent job of mentoring me from onboarding to recharging me whenever I was distracted and unfocused. Her motivational words included, “You are a perfect fit for public health, you work very well in the community, take it forward”. That is where it all began, the passion for public health. My pranam to Dr Kanungo, ‘Guru Devo Bhava’ – teacher is God.
In 2018, I was deployed to Africa. I took great pride in working closely with the Kenyan Ministry of Health in implementing HIV self testing program among homosexual men to enhance the timely diagnosis of HIV and linkage to care. This project was truly the best time of my life. My responsibilities were to assess implementation of HIV self-testing program among Men having Sex with Men (MSM) in Kenya. The stakeholders included MSM community, peer educators, outreach workers, health promoters, Kenyan Ministry of Health officials and scientists (infectious disease specialists, mathematical modelers, epidemiologists, and medical anthropologists). The key tasks were to perform an evidence review, administer focus group discussions and quantitative data collection in three counties called Kisumu, Kiambu and Mombasa in Kenya. This data was used in conducting a research design workshop in Nairobi, Kenya which highlighted the planning, organizing, designing, and delivering HIV self-testing program in Kenya. At the end of the research design workshop, I took the lead in the preparation of scientific reports, evidence briefs, research ethics submissions, grant application and a publication in British Medical Journal. It was a very time sensitive programme with numerous complex deliverables, but I was successful in meeting all the deliverables.
During pre-pandemic time, when I was working with Nutritional International in Ottawa, I had a stint with World Health Organization (WHO) in conducting a commissioned review. Our team addressed policy recommendations for anaemia reduction strategies among women of reproduction age in low- and middle-income countries around the world. This 78-page review included an emphasis on nutritional and non-nutritional causes and contributing factors for anaemia. I conducted a secondary data analysis on micronutrient supplements, iron deficiency, anti-natal care, iron folic acid supplements, dietary diversity, food security, deworming, access to water and sanitation to reduce transmission of helminthic infections and use of insecticide treated nets for malaria vector control using data from complex databases. My experience felt as if I was travelling through the 132 countries and conducting landscape analysis to summarize the key issues related to anemia. In this review, we addressed many gaps in and problems with anaemia reduction efforts, identified and described various components required for successful evidence-informed anaemia reduction programmes, and included recommendations for programme implementers and decision-makers, with links to multiple resources and tools that can be contextualized to each country’s situation. This work is published in WHO website. This is my biggest triumph in my contributions to public health.
Q. That’s incredible! Now you have achieved yet another milestone. The Prime Minister has a special mention of you in his letter to CCVI. If I’m correct you are the first Mangalurean to receive such an honor. Don’t you feel so proud to receive such recognition from the Prime Minister of Canada?
A. I was delighted to learn that our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, having learned of my enormous and valuable input into various areas of science has sent an eloquent and wonderfully written appreciation letter to me. This letter will always be treasured by me. A classmate who I am very close to and now residing south of the border joked, “I love your Prime Minister Trudeau but now I envy that you have his letter”. I am humbled to receive this letter of appreciation from our dear Prime Minister Trudeau. And this is yet another incentive to carry forward my plans and goals.
Q. What are your future plans in the sector of Scientific Research, Public Health, and Social Science?
A. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my roots and my birthplace. My childhood, hometown, the schools I attended nurtured me. These are my greatest treasures in life. As I said in the beginning, this award is a way forward. I am looking for avenues and opportunities to give back to the community such as implementing some public health programmes which can benefit the most vulnerable women and children in Mangaluru. My focus will be mostly concentrated on maternal child health. I am currently putting together the resources and doing the groundwork to bring on board the stakeholders to take a deep dive into the program. I want to leave a strong legacy behind. This is my dream, and I am excited to realize these dreams.
Q. What is your message to the younger generation, especially to our community youth?
A. I reiterate the same words of wisdom imparted to me by my dad. Empower yourself with highest level of education, harmonize your available resources, align your goals, build a network, envision an exciting career, and help others. Apart from your core skills, find a hobby or hobbies that motivate you and help you grow as these should be your natural therapeutic release. In my own life, gardening in the summer and cooking authentic Mangalurean food are my natural remedies to relieve my stress. In a nutshell – always dream high, stay ambitious, seek opportunities, work hard, do your due diligence, be honest, do not lose hope and always pray. When you excel in life, stay humble and down to earth, but don’t forget your roots. Give back to the community when you get an opportunity to do so. This is my message to the youth of our community.
Q. What is your message for the people of the west coast in India who are settled in Canada?
A. We should be thankful that we are living in a beautiful multicultural country called Canada. We, the people of the west coast of India, should take pride in keeping our mother tongue, heritage, tradition, and our culture alive. We all have inherited rich traditions that we grew up with, whether they are daily habits, festivities, music, sports, celebrations, or food. We must preserve our traditions by continuously practicing them in the country where we currently reside while adopting new traditions and habits.
A huge heartfelt thanks to you Gerry baab and to Daijiworld for giving me an opportunity to go down the memory.
