Podcasts on everyday happenings
India’s population and the missing links of demographic dividents | Ep.62
Shailaja Chandra, Former Executive Director, National Population Stabilisation Fund and former Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare joins News Brake to discuss India’s population growth and the missing links in demographic dividend.
7: Between Unsubstantiated Claims & Authentic Ayurveda, What Should Consumers Know?
Shailaja Chandra
Over2Shailaja Oct 8, 3:36 PM
Ayurveda has been a part of our daily rituals for generations. Apart from being a system of medicine, it extends its sweep to agriculture, animal health, diet, beauty, and rejuvenation.
This sector especially saw a noticeable growth ever since the onset of the pandemic, with an upsurge of interest in Ayurveda and its capacity to ward off infections by building immunity (Ayurveda, however, is not a cure or remedy for COVID-19).
Be it by using home remedies, decoctions, chyawanprash, herbs like ashwagandha and guduchi or branded drugs sold by thousands of patented Ayurvedic manufacturers – almost every family in India has resorted to the use one or more forms of Ayurvedic medicine.
Immunity boosting became the buzz word around this time, however, unsubstantiated claims made by well known proprietors of Ayurvedic medicines have also led practitioners of modern medicine to question claims of herbal medicines being effective in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
To be sure, India’s traditional knowledge digital library is recognised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. In fact, 35,000 Ayurvedic formulations from the classical Ayurvedic texts have been converted into five UN languages and has been made available to patent claim examiners in the patent offices in Europe, the US, Japan, UK, Canada, and Germany.
Yet, what are the concerns around Ayurvedic medicines, which cautions people against continuous use of these products?
What are the strengths and limitations of Ayurvedic medicines?
Can a collaborative approach between other forms of modern medicine and Ayurveda benefit us?
While we don’t have a simple agreed way of defining safety and efficacy or of Ayurvedic drugs, is it fair to apply the allopathic gold standard of Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) to traditional medicines?
Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Guests:
Dr Kishore Patwardhan, Professor of Ayurveda at Banaras Hindu University;
Dr V Sujatha, Professor of Sociology at JNU, who has penned several books on Ayurveda;
Dr Geetakrishnan, well-known Ayurvedic practitioner who is presently in WHO;
Dr Mael Vogeli, a French emergency medicine doctor who is currently studying the rasa shashtra branch of Ayurveda in Amrita University in Tamil Nadu.
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
6: Despite Ample Sunshine, Why Isn’t India Advancing in Rooftop Solar Power?
Over2Shailaja Sep 24, 11:13 AM
With climate change events and pollution creating havoc year after year, it is in our vested interest to push renewables, non-polluting energy sources like solar and wind to be able to reduce our dependency on thermal power.
But where does the country stand in terms of its solar power availability?
- India’s national solar mission was launched in 2010, when just 10 megawatts of solar power existed. The aim was to increase that to a meagre 20 gigawatts by 2020.
- In 2015, this low target was raised to 100 gigawatts to be achieved by 2022. Of that 60 percent was to be ground mounted and 40 percent was to be from rooftop solar panels.
- By now the overall total solar achievement is 39 gigawatts on the ground and only about 7 gigawatts from rooftop solar panel.
Although the country has notched up several impressive achievements in setting up solar parks on the ground, the use of rooftops to generate solar-based electricity has been rather slow and that makes the target of 100 gigawatts by 2022, hard to achieve.
In Episode 5 of Over2Shailja, the two questions that I seek answers to are:
First, what is holding back owners of colossal vacant terrace spaces — be it in industry, commercial establishments, institutions or households from erecting solar power systems?
Second, with an abundance of sunshine, why has a sustainable option which requires no land and gives a handsome return not taken off?
To discuss the reasons for the gaps and what is being done about it, I speak to four guests from diverse backgrounds — Jeevan Jethani, in-charge of Solar Energy from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Dr Nitin Pandit, who leads ATREE — an energy restoration NGO in Bengaluru; Shravan Sampat, an installer of rooftop systems, and AK Jha who looks after incentivising solar rooftop in the Delhi government.
Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Guests:
Jeevan Jethani, in-charge of Solar Energy from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Dr Nitin Pandit, Director of ATREE — an energy restoration NGO in Bengaluru
Shravan Sampath, CEO of Oakridge Energy
AK Jha, Department of Power, Govt. of NCT of Delhi
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
5: Between Health Crisis & Insurance – What Challenges Does The Middle Class Face?
Over2Shailaja Sep 10, 10:25 AM
The last eighteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the life of millions of Indians. Spurred by this terrible health crisis, thousands of people found themselves face to face with emergency hospital admissions and the maze of pills and insurance payouts that follow.
Excluding the organised sector and those who come under Ayushman Bharat, a minimum of 36-50 crore have no or minimal insurance cover. Even those who have invested in insurance policies found them falling short of their requirements.
But after the COVID-19 experience, there has been a quantum jump in buying of insurance cover.
In this episode, I will be unravelling important health challenges faced by much of the Indian middle class, who are caught between the need for high quality hospital care and the requirement for money and the right insurance cover to make the experience less stressful and more affordable.
My decades’ long experience of having worked in the health ministry and the health sector has enabled me to knit together many loose ends which will tell you where the middle class fits in.
My guests in this episode are, Dr Harsh Mahajan, the President of NatHealth, a federation representing the private health industry, Atul Bansal, a 45-year-old businessman who had recently experienced both the good and the bad of hospitalisation and settling two insurance claims and Saurabh Mishra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Guests:
Dr Harsh Mahajan, President of NatHealth
Atul Bansal, 45-year-old businessman
Saurabh Mishra, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
4 India Gave Its Best at Tokyo Olympics, But How Can We Be A Global Force in Sports?
Shailaja Chandra Aug 27, 12:46 PM
Episode Description:
With a gold, two silvers and four bronzes, the Indian team has given the country the highest medal tally ever in Tokyo Olympics 2020. Not just that, we have seen some record-breaking moments from our athletes with the Indian Women’s Hockey Team playing its first-ever Olympics semi-finals.
Celebrations were in order. But once we saw the dozens of medals being won by other countries, the joy and satisfaction quickly became a story of a glass half-full or half-empty — depending on the mood. The half-full people remain delighted that India delivered its finest performance ever this year. But the half-empty glass critics asked why are our medal tallies lower than countries which only one-tenth of our population.
In this episode, your host Shailaja Chandra asks experts – Do the Indian sport federations that actually manage individual sports have the leadership and resilience needed to be able to excel? How do the federations excel in other countries? Is the funding for sports really sufficient? And how does one get more families to treat sports as something worth trying for and excelling in?
Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Guests: Neelam Kapur, former Director General of the Sports Authority of India; Shashank Atreya, lawyer specialising in sports law; Rani Rampal, captain of the Women’s Hockey Team
Producer: Shorbori Purkayastha
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
3 The Kathak Dancer Who Dons Many Hats — Meet the Multifaceted Shovana Narayan
Aug 13, 10:03 AM 0:0024:56
It’s not easy to combine different aspects of one’s personality seamlessly but Shovana Narayan does exactly that and more. Not only is she a Padma Shri Award-winning Kathak dancer but also a member of the civil accounts service of the Government of India and a European diplomat’s wife.
I got the chance to narrate the anecdotes of her life which led her to where she is now – a stellar Kathak performer and a vivacious storyteller.
In the second episode of the Over2Shailaja, I chat with Shovana Narayan about her life’s journey. From the ordinary to the fascinating — she tells us about how she learnt to conduct classes over Zoom in the pandemic and her quest to uncover old Kathak villages across India. Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Producers: Disoriented Penguin & Shorbori Purkayastha
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
2. India’s Population Can Be An Asset, But Are We Implementing the Right Policies?
Shailaja Chandra Published:Jul 30, 1:26 PM
India’s young population is the envy of a fast-ageing world. By 2040, as many as 1.3 billion people from across the world will be over 60 years of age. This means that the dependency ratio – that is the need to avail support from younger people – will grow, as older people will need assistance from the younger population.
India is superbly placed to be able provide that kind of manpower to so many countries.
Our population alone will become a huge resource for the world, but are we designing policy plans that are needed to be able to think ahead?
In the first episode of Over2Shailaja, I talk about some crucial aspects of population stabilisation and unravel some myths and misconceptions about population growth. I also talk about an unforgettable initiative that I was a part of, from when I was first Executive Director of the Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (National Population Stabilisation Fund) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Tune in!
Host: Shailaja Chandra
Producers: Disoriented Penguin & Shorbori Purkayastha
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz
Child Marriages Still Persist in India, What Can Change it For The Better?
Image Posted on Updated on
Tune in to Episode 7 of Over2Shailaja with me your host Shailaja Chandra!
Shailaja Chandra Published: 22 Oct 2021, 10:28 AM IST
Episode Description: The controversial Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriage Amendment Bill has once again brought the problem of child marriages in the limelight. The bill which had made registration of all marriages, including child marriages mandatory, was recalled shortly after it was passed as it triggered endless criticism. But since we are on the subject of child marriage, let’s face how deep rooted this problem is. The depraved and illegal practice of child marriage prevails and persists in many Indian states despite the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, which prohibits marriages of girls before they are 18 and boys under 21 years of age. The NFHS data shows the magnitude of child marriage and it ranges from 20 – 40 percent of all marriages in Indian states. Data published by the National Crime Records Bureau also shows that in the year 2020 there was a near 50 percent increase compared to 2019 in child marriages. While this could be because of better reporting, there is an all-round acceptance that the pandemic had indeed accelerated child marriages. Under the Central law, a child can request an annulment of the marriage upto two years after reaching adulthood. Rightly, here the criticism is that the law puts the whole onus on victims – mere kids without financial or social support – to have their marriage be declared void. Child marriages are a social evil which snatches away childhood and development. It is unacceptable that a progressive country cannot stop young girls from being forced to undergo underage marriage. Why should they have to deal with pregnancies and child rearing only because a regressive society wills it that way? While all this paints a bleak picture, in episode seven of Over2Shailaja, I try to delve into how things might change for the better. Tune in! Host: Shailaja Chandra Guests: Dr KC James, the Director of the International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai; Kriti Bharti, Child Rights Activist; Priyank Kanoongo, Chairman of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights; Dr Ravi Verma, Regional Director for the International Center for Research on Women’s Asia Regional Office Editor: Shelly Walia Music: Big Bang Fuzz
925: UP’s Population Control Bill: Coercion As Policy Will Not Work
News and Views
Jul 14, 1:03 PM
On 9 July, the Uttar Pradesh government released a draft of the proposed Population (control, sterilisation & welfare) Bill 2021 with an aim to make a two-child policy mandatory for those who wish to avail government benefits.
Two days later on the occasion of World Population Day, the government also released the state’s population policy saying that the governments aim to bring the birth rate down to 2.1 by 2026 and also reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.
While it is a fact that since Uttar Pradesh along with Bihar makes up for about 23 percent of the whole country’s population making it quite important for population control strategies to be put in place, can the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposed measures achieve its intended goal?
Shailaja Chandra the Former Secretary in the Ministry of Health weighs in on the hotly discussed subject. She also talks about her experience on ground from when she served as the first Executive Director of Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh or National Population Stabilisation Fund. Tune in!
SHAILAJA CHANDRA – Demystifying Governance – S01 EP13
The Civil Services exam is one of the toughest to crack in India, some of the most capable people join the Indian Administrative Service. Yet, the most common complaint heard from a common person is one of poor Governance. What are the gaps? Where does the system work well?In this episode we celebrate Shailaja Chandra. Shailaja was a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for over 40 years. She has held assignments in the Ministries of Defense, Power and Health as well as been posted in multiple states like Manipur, Goa, Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. She was a Secretary, AYUSH to the Government of India and also has been been the Delhi’s only woman Chief Secretary.Shailaja speaks to us about her journey of becoming an IAS officer. The ingredients of success to create large scale change like 11 million cataract surgeries in 5 years or converting all diesel run public transport vehicles into CNG (compressed natural gas). The obstacles and hurdles due to which things breakdown. An insightful insider view on Governance in India.You can read more about on Shailaja Chandra’s blog over2shailaja. If you are interested in launching a podcast and need consulting or post production support, write to kanishka@disorientedpenguin.com.Note – This conversation was recorded over zoom.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/anewkindofcelebrity/message
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