Global IndianstoryShub Bhowmick: Helping Fortune 500s solve analytics problems through Tredence Inc

Shub Bhowmick: Helping Fortune 500s solve analytics problems through Tredence Inc

Written by: Darshana Ramdev

(May 4, 2024) In today’s data-driven world, companies collect vast amounts of information, hoping to unlock valuable insights. Those insights find their way into reports and presentations but often end up not being used, for a number of reasons. For instance, the reports could be too complex and full of jargon for non-technical people to translate into actionable steps, or have so many potential improvements that teams become overwhelmed and don’t know where to focus. Change can also be difficult and organisations could struggle to adapt their processes or culture to these new insights, even if they might be beneficial to them. This is the gap that Shub Bhowmick and the team at Tredence are hoping to bridge.

For over two decades, Shub Bhowmick has grown as a ‘problem solver, entrepreneur and technology leader’. In 2013, he co-founded Tredence, a data science and AI engineering company that now has over 1000 employees with offices in Foster City, Chicago, London, Toronto and Bengaluru. Their clients include over 30 Fortune 500 companies in a wide range of sectors, as they work specifically towards solving this last mile problem in analytics.

Shub Bhowmick

Discovering the potential in data analytics

After graduating with a B.Tech degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT-BHU, Shub went on to do an MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He has held high ranking positions at Diamond Consultants (currently PwC), Mu Sigma, Liberty Advisor Group and Infosys. His career in data analytics began at a consultancy in Chicago, Diamond Consultants. “Around 12 or 13 years back I was involved in a data analytics practice that Diamond had created, and I was deeply influenced by this experience,” he recalls, in an interview with Nasscom. “I realised for the first time how significantly data management can actually have an impact.”

From there, he moved to Mu Sigma, which he describes as another deeply inspirational experience. “I was able to see how data analytics services are not just an add-on service offering – at Mu Sigma, it was the core and basically the only service offering,” he said. Over a decade ago, Mu Sigma was at the forefront of last mile services in data analytics, and worked to provide actionable business insights for Fortune 500 companies. They offered a range of data analytics services, helping clients collect, clean, analyze and interpret vast amounts of data. They even had their own Art of Problem Solving platform, which is a set of tools designed to help clients translate vast amounts of data into concrete solutions, emphasizing actionable strategies over reports. “They were able to create a very interesting business model around this,” Shub recalls. “The industry was also starting to attract some really good talent and nurture them into future leaders.”

Still, Shub would wonder if there was a better, more efficient way to deliver this service. “Back then, in the analytics industry, most of the companies and providers relied on a manual process, on a value chain that involved pulling data typically into a throwaway MS Office based data file, using Excel for the analysis, some bit of SaaS, Power Point based summary and delivery.” This was a decade ago, when cloud technology was still very new and not really in use. “It was basically a sales automation platform, there was no Azure or Google Cloud,” Shub explains.

The tech-centric approach to business insights

Shub Bhowmick | Global Indian

Around 2012-13, Shub Bhowmick, then based in Silicon Valley, saw an opportunity to start a different kind of data service. “We brought the essence of business analytics, which is the focus on business insights, but we combined that with engineering, to deliver insights in a more efficient, value-driven, adoption-focussed way.” This set them up from the competition too, as they moved away from business analysts and the manual processes towards a more technology centric approach. “We were using big tech to automate portions of the value chain and create greater scale and speed in insights delivery.”

Over the last seven years or so, cloud-based platforms and hyperscalers took the world by storm, and production workloads quickly moved to cloud tech. Tredence Inc didn’t waste time in getting on board, and began developing ‘cloud-centric capabilities to deliver analytics services with a focus on adoption and shortening the time to impact,” the Global Indian explains. “Cloud and data analytics are very much intertwined and will continue to be so in my opinion, as enterprises invest in cloud native AI capabilities,” he adds.

The age of generative AI

The arrival of generative language model Chat GPT was another game changer. “I had never heard the use of the word ‘hallucination’ in my industry until we all came across this explosion created by OpenAI’, Shub said in an interview. “Since then it’s been the only topic everybody’s talking about, especially in technology.” He has watched the ecosystem grow, from a time in Silicon Valley where companies hired AI experts to work in isolated corners of office buildings, to now, where titles like ‘Chief AI officer’ are common, and AI developers are a core arm of big tech.

“We had talked about AI for a long time, we used to call it advanced data science and applied analytics, and just AI for the longest time. Now we call it Generative AI but the idea is not very different,” he says. “It’s about how you take data, information that you already have within your firewall, or leverage other data sources and then help your executives make more meaningful decisions to improve their business.” At Tredence Inc, he says, the team is working on fine tuning foundational models, and prompt engineering systems to cater to their existing clients, and provide them with a wide range of highly customised insights through AI language models. Coding assistance is another important segment, as the industry begins to recognize that generative AI can significantly improve the productivity of all kinds of engineers.

Shub Bhowmick | Global Indian

In March 2024, Tredence decided to invest 10 percent of its annual revenues in developing GenAi and advanced AI capabilities across engineering, customer experience, machine learning operations, supply chain and other verticals in data analytics. Through this the San-Jose based startup is looking to grow revenues by 40 to 50 percent, Shub Bhowmick told ET. “We’re building AI language models by fine-tuning foundational models. These models need not be large in size, we are using public and proprietary data of our customers to create agents to serve their unique needs in sectors such as retail, consumer goods, healthcare, telecom, banking and financial services and manufacturing.”

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Published on 04, May 2024

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‘Power’ hungry: Vivian Reddy, the Indian mogul who brought electricity to post-apartheid South Africa

(October 9, 2024) Vivian Reddy’s first memories are of the narrow, dusty streets of Greenwood Park, Durban. Born in 1953 into a family of nine children, his father, a schoolteacher, earned a meager R3 a month, barely enough to sustain them. Young Reddy saw the constant financial struggle up close, but it was his father’s unwavering dedication to integrity and service that left a mark on him. “Service to humanity is the best work of life,” his father would say—a mantra that guided Vivian Reddy through his life and business. Hailing from KwaZulu-Natal, Vivian Reddy wears many hats as the founder and chairman of Edison Power Group, a heavyweight in the electrical industry. His business interests include casinos, healthcare, finance, and property development. From being raised in poverty to accumulating an estimated net worth of R1.9 billion, Reddy has come a long way, and been instrumental in shaping the post-apartheid Durban story, as well as the legacy of the Indian diaspora in South Africa. At 71, Reddy is deeply committed to philanthropy in South Africa, supporting initiatives like the Orphans of AIDS Trust Fund and contributing to projects like the Wingen Heights Secondary School and a clinic in eThekwini Metropolitan

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

[caption id="attachment_57577" align="aligncenter" width="542"] Vivian Reddy | South African billionaire | Global Indian Vivian Reddy[/caption]

Humble beginnings

Growing up in apartheid South Africa meant that Reddy, as an Indian, was subject to the institutionalized racial segregation that defined the country from 1948 to 1994. Apartheid confined non-white citizens to specific areas, dictated their education, and barred them from numerous career opportunities. Indians in South Africa, initially brought to the country as indentured laborers by the British in the 19th century, were politically and socially marginalized, despite being very wealthy and contributing significantly to the economy as traders, professionals, and workers.

Vivian Reddy’s parents were committed to education as a way out of poverty. His father’s modest salary from his job as a schoolteacher barely provided for their large family, yet he instilled in Reddy a deep sense of responsibility and service. His mother, a homemaker, managed their household and nurtured her children with strength and patience. “We didn’t have much, but my parents made sure we had the right values,” Reddy recalls. These early values of integrity and service would shape Reddy’s path.

His first job, and confronting apartheid

Reddy’s first job as an electrician came after completing his education at Sastri Park Secondary School. Working at an electrical company in Pietermaritzburg, he quickly rose to branch manager. But apartheid’s discrimination soon reared its head. At a company Christmas party, the management arranged two separate celebrations—one for white workers and one for non-white workers. Outraged by the segregation, Reddy led the non-white workers into the whites-only celebration.

“I couldn’t just sit back and allow this injustice to continue,” Reddy says. His defiance, however, came at a cost. He was fired the following Monday. “Getting fired was painful, but it made me realize that if I wanted to succeed, I couldn’t rely on others to give me opportunities. I had to create my own.” That realization propelled Reddy into entrepreneurship.

[caption id="attachment_57578" align="aligncenter" width="593"] Cutting the ribbon, Vivian Reddy with His Majesty, King Goodwill Zwetithini kaBhekuzulu, Premier of KZN, at the re-opening of the Lakehaven Child and Youth Centre in Durban. Photo: The Bugle[/caption]

Building Edison Power: The Challenges of Being a Non-White Entrepreneur

In 1973, with just R500 and a borrowed bakkie (small truck), the Global Indian started his own electrical company, Reddy’s Electrical. The challenges were immense. Apartheid policies meant that government contracts were out of reach for non-white businesses, and private companies often preferred to work with white-owned firms.

Despite these barriers, Reddy was determined. He realized that his company’s name could be a hindrance in securing work, so he made a strategic decision: he rebranded the company as Edison Power. The name change gave him the credibility he needed to secure contracts with clients who might otherwise have been prejudiced against working with an Indian-owned business.

“People would ask for Mr. Edison,” Reddy recalls. “I would tell them he wasn’t available, but I could assist.” This clever rebranding opened doors, and Edison Power slowly started gaining traction in the industry.

The Big Break: Electrifying South Africa’s Townships

Reddy’s breakthrough came in the early 1990s when South Africa’s township electrification program was underway. Many white-owned companies refused to take on these projects due to safety concerns and political volatility. But Reddy saw it differently.

Edison Power was one of the first companies willing to take on the massive task of electrifying South Africa’s townships. “We were the only company willing to go into these dangerous areas,” Reddy says. “It was risky, but I knew it was our chance to prove ourselves.” Edison Power’s commitment to these underserved communities not only transformed the lives of millions but also positioned the company as a leading force in South Africa’s electrical industry. This bold move firmly established Reddy as a visionary businessman willing to take calculated risks for the greater good.

Diversifying His Empire

[caption id="attachment_57579" align="aligncenter" width="638"] Vivian Reddy | Oceans Mall | Global Indian Oceans Umhlanga in Durban, owned by Vivian Reddy, known as 'Dubai in Durban', created over 1000 local jobs.[/caption]

As Edison Power grew, so did Reddy’s ambitions. By the late 1990s, Reddy had expanded beyond electrical engineering and ventured into property development, real estate, and casinos. One of his most significant undertakings was the Sibaya Casino, a premier destination that became a cornerstone of his business portfolio.

The casino, situated near Durban, attracted major investment and created hundreds of jobs for local residents. Reddy’s ventures in casinos were not just about profits—they were about transforming the economic landscape of the region. The success of Sibaya Casino marked the beginning of his diversification into other high-value sectors.

Reddy’s most ambitious project to date is the R4 billion Oceans Umhlanga development, a luxury mixed-use property development that includes residential apartments, a hotel, and a shopping mall. This development has not only transformed Durban’s skyline but has also created thousands of jobs and brought international attention to the city. “I wanted to create something that would leave a lasting legacy,” Reddy says.

Mentorship from Nelson Mandela

One of the defining relationships in Reddy’s life was his mentorship under Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president. Mandela’s guidance shaped Reddy’s approach to leadership and community impact. “Mandela taught me that success is meaningless unless you use it to help others,” Reddy reflects.

Vivian Reddy met Nelson Mandela during the post-apartheid era, when South Africa was undergoing massive social and political transformation. Mandela, who became the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994, sought to engage with and mentor influential business leaders across the racial spectrum to help rebuild the country after years of racial segregation and economic inequality.

Reddy, who had already begun making a name for himself as a successful businessman through Edison Power, caught Mandela’s attention through his bold efforts to electrify townships during the apartheid regime—a risky move that not only demonstrated Reddy’s business acumen but also his commitment to social upliftment. Their paths crossed as Mandela began to form relationships with key business figures who could contribute to the rebuilding of South Africa's economy and infrastructure.

Mandela admired Reddy’s determination to succeed despite the restrictions of apartheid and recognized the impact Reddy’s work had on marginalized communities. Through their shared values of integrity and a commitment to improving the lives of others, the two developed a close relationship. Mandela would go on to mentor Reddy, shaping his views on leadership, philanthropy, and the importance of using success to uplift those around him. Mandela’s mentorship reinforced Reddy’s belief that businesses should be a force for good, and that personal success comes with a responsibility to uplift the less fortunate. This relationship would serve as the guiding principle for Reddy’s expansive philanthropic efforts.

We didn’t have much, but my parents made sure we had the right values. - Vivian Reddy

Philanthropy: A Commitment to Uplifting Communities

Reddy’s philanthropic work is as impressive as his business empire. He has donated more than R250 million to various causes, focusing on education, healthcare, and skills development. One of his most significant contributions is the establishment of Wingen Heights Secondary School, a state-of-the-art educational institution aimed at providing high-quality education to children in underserved communities.

Reddy has also heavily invested in healthcare initiatives, particularly in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, where he funded clinics and medical centers to provide essential services to marginalized communities. “I believe that true success is about giving back to the community that helped you succeed,” Reddy explains.

In addition to education and healthcare, Reddy has sponsored multiple skills development programs, helping thousands of young South Africans gain the training and qualifications needed to improve their economic prospects.

[caption id="attachment_57580" align="aligncenter" width="563"] Vivian Reddy | South African billionaire | Global Indian Vivian Reddy with his wife[/caption]

Legacy

Today, Vivian Reddy’s empire spans multiple industries, employing thousands of people across South Africa. .His son, Shantan Reddy, now plays a critical role in running Edison Power, ensuring the continuity of the family legacy. From Edison Power to Oceans Umhlanga, Reddy’s impact on South Africa’s economy is profound. But perhaps more importantly, his legacy of philanthropy and service continues to uplift communities across the country.

Reddy’s journey from a young boy growing up in apartheid-era Durban to one of South Africa’s most influential businessmen is a testament to vision, determination, and a commitment to service. “It’s not about how much you have; it’s about how much you give back,” Reddy says, a reflection of a life dedicated to leaving the world better than he found it.

Reading Time: 10 minutes

Shattering stereotypes: Actress Poorna Jagannathan is paving the way for South Asian performers

(June 22, 2023) How many times, while watching a Hollywood movie or American TV show, have you come across a submissive, docile South Asian woman who exists solely to serve and support others? Often depicted as quiet, timid, and lacking individuality, these characters have over the year reinforced traditional gender roles and perpetuated the notion of South Asian women as passive and submissive. While the last few years have seen the rise of several actors, who are challenging these stereotypes and changing the common perception, Indian American actress, Poorna Jagannathan, has always worn her ethnic identity with pride in all the characters she played. The Never Have I Ever actress has been in the business for over two decades now, always portraying strong and fierce female characters. "When I saw the portrayals of South Asian women on film and television, they were really disappointing. They didn’t even come remotely close to the experience of who I was or who the women in my family or the women I’ve been surrounded by my entire life are," the Global Indian actress said in an interview, adding, "Acting is a game of snakes and ladders and if you're a woman of colour, let's

ience of who I was or who the women in my family or the women I’ve been surrounded by my entire life are," the Global Indian actress said in an interview, adding, "Acting is a game of snakes and ladders and if you're a woman of colour, let's just say there are a whole lot more snakes in the game. There's a lot of stereotyping, there's such a limited number of roles available to ethnic actors."

Having worked alongside stars including Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman, Poorna's achievements have garnered recognition on multiple fronts. Goldhouse honoured her as one of the top 100 Most Impactful Asians in America for both 2021 and 2022. The actress has previously been recognised in Femina magazine's esteemed list of "India's 50 most beautiful women", ranking among the top 10, as well as Verve magazine's top 50 most powerful women in India.

The globetrotter

To call Poorna's childhood adventurous, would be an understatement. Born to Vasantha Jagannathan and G. Jagannathan, an Indian diplomat in Tunis, Tunisia, the actress grew up in various countries, including Pakistan, Ireland, India, Brazil, and Argentina. Sharing about how her travels have shaped how she views the world today, the actress said, "During my father's posting in Pakistan we were being followed around by the spies for the first year. One day my dad’s car broke down and he asked them to come and change his tire because he had no idea how to change a tire. They helped us and we became friends. I saw a lot of boundaries collapse early on and a lot of myths dissolve. I have an absurdist worldview when it comes to politics and it comes from my time there."

[caption id="attachment_40413" align="aligncenter" width="623"] Actress | Poorna Jagannathan | Global Indian Poorna and Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies[/caption]

And it was during these travels that the actress first fell in love with the art of performing on stage - something she didn't get a chance to do until later in life. "I was very young when I realised what joy it would be to be on the stage. I was always drawn to the idea of performing and what that could look like. However, I don’t think I got onto a stage until college. I was traveling all of the time and I didn't meet any actors or performers. I never understood what that life could be like but I had a deep desire to tell stories," the actress shared.

Wrestling with dilemma

After completing her studies at the University of Brasília in Brazil, the actress went on to earn her journalism degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Although she started began a Master of Fine Arts in acting at the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University, the actress' first job was in an advertising agency - an industry she continued to work in for 15 years.

[caption id="attachment_40414" align="aligncenter" width="619"] Actress | Poorna Jagannathan | Global Indian Poorna with USA Vice President, Kamala Harris[/caption]

"My journey through corporate America was fantastic - I always had the best accounts, the best bosses, and the best experiences. On the weekends, I would take acting classes and I noticed how I felt so different from my ‘perfect’ job. I was so different in acting class or when I was picking up a script, I felt so full of life force and I felt so depleted of it in advertising. I was good at advertising but I never wanted to get promoted," the actress expressed, "I didn’t want to excel, I couldn’t keep my mind off the scene I was doing on the weekend in my adult acting class. I felt, energetically, I was a different person. I couldn’t deny myself the life force and the joy while acting."

Living the dream

So, she decided to pick up smaller acting roles in various TV shows and movies to satisfy her hunger for performing in front of the camera. But, her big break came with her role as Dr. Maureen Bruckner, in Better Call Saul. "Of all the projects in my career, Better Call Saul was the most unexpected. The production crew was really going for a blonde California-type woman. But my agent remembered that I mentioned being able to speak Spanish and so that's the part I auditioned for. I said something about the diagnosis in English and then started speaking in Spanish. The part was unexpected but fantastic," she shared.

[caption id="attachment_40415" align="aligncenter" width="619"] Actress | Poorna Jagannathan | Global Indian A still from Poorna's play, Nirbhaya[/caption]

While the actress was enjoying working as an actress, an unfortunate incident in India pushed her to conceive, produce and act in the play Nirbhaya - based on the 2012 horrific Delhi gang rape and murder case. The play delved into not only the victim's story but also the real-life rape and sexual violence stories of the women in the show. "Her death was -- for me and so many others -- a point of no return. I realised that our silences make us complicit," the actress said during a press interaction, adding, "So I sought to create a piece of theatre to address an issue that has been silenced for too long." Nirbhaya went on to win the prestigious 2013 Amnesty International Award and was cited as "one of the most powerful and urgent pieces of human rights theatre ever made", by the Sunday Herald.

However, the actress' 'dream-come-true' moment came on the sets of Big Little Lies, as she came face-to-face with Meryl Streep. Speaking about her experience of sharing screen space with Streep, the actress said, "I haven’t quite processed it yet. The ladies were so, so profoundly grateful she had joined the show; she validated the existence of season two. I loved watching her fiercely protect her character and fight off any insinuation that she was the bad guy. I also loved watching her play with her dentures, and seeing how kind she was to everybody. Most of all, I was transformed by what you will see her do in episode seven. We spent a fair amount of time together, and I found out that she has a wicked sense of humour. Working with Nicole, Meryl and all the ladies of this show will remain one of the highlights of my career."

[caption id="attachment_40416" align="aligncenter" width="636"] Actress | Poorna Jagannathan | Global Indian A still from TV show The Night Of[/caption]

Having just finished playing the part of Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar in the critically-acclaimed show Never Have I Ever, the actress plans on pursuing her dreams of narrating unusual and unheard stories. "I think I finally have the guts to tell my specific stories. I come from a family of many, many dysfunctions and I rarely see that on TV. Also, since I am myself an immigrant and to see even more nuanced portrayals of immigrants. We are always on the margins; we are always invisible so trying to center those stories more. I am on the path to bring these stories to life through producing," the actress shared.

Follow Poorna Jagannathan on Instagram, Twitter, and her website

Reading Time: 6 mins

Dr Nayan Kalnad: At the forefront of the digital healthcare revolution

(June 7, 2024) "M-Health, E-Health, we had lots of names for digital healthcare when I first started working in this space. It was very novel and a lot of people were sceptical," Dr Nayan Kalnad says, as he connects with Global Indian from the UK, where he currently lives and runs his digital healthcare company, Avegen. "Do you remember when people said 'digital banking'? Now, it's just banking. You can do your banking work while you're in a car on the way to the airport. That's the kind of change we want to see in healthcare. There should be no distinction between digital and non-digital," he says. Seizing an opportunity Dr Nayan's first turning point came in 2007, when he was introduced to a technology that would change his approach to healthcare. It was an interactive voice response system, part of a pilot project to improve healthcare responses for HIV patients, many of whom avoided going to doctors because of the prevailing stigma. "At that stage, I saw the potential of what this could do, especially because due to my experience of working in clinics," Dr Nayan explains. Surrounded by scepticism, Dr Nayan decided to stick with his instincts anyway,

erience of working in clinics," Dr Nayan explains.

Surrounded by scepticism, Dr Nayan decided to stick with his instincts anyway, and follow through on what he knew would come to become the future of healthcare. Today, Avegen operates around the world and its services have been used by over one million people globally. Their products include cardiac rehab apps, digital HIV-care programmes and maternity monitoring tools.

[caption id="attachment_38122" align="aligncenter" width="330"] Dr Nayan Kalnad, CEO and co-founder, Avegen[/caption]

From medicine to pharmaceuticals

Born in India, Dr Nayan Kalnad was raised in Mangalore, and studied medicine at Kasturba Medical College. He pivoted to pharmaceuticals, joining Pfizer, where he worked mainly in drug development before moving on to Johnson & Johnson."I was working to improve care delivery for HIV-positive patients in India," he recalls. They noticed that patients living with HIV, especially in rural areas, had very limited access to healthcare The stigma surrounding the illness was the main cause - Dr Nayan's team found that HIV+ people preferred to avoid taking health issues to a doctor. "We wondered if we could use IT to solve this problem."

This was around 2007-08 and the team decided to try an Interactive Voice Response system. The user could call a number, enter the number corresponding to the issue and pick out the symptoms. The system would use an algorithm to give them advice and its database already contained information on the drugs the patient had been taking. "The other part was to call the patient and educate them on living with HIV," Dr Nayan explains. "What medicines should they take, what food should they eat? We created a data bank, back in those days. It was my first exposure to using IT within healthcare and I felt like digital technology could help solve challenges that patients, doctors and nurses face."

The digital-healthcare dream

Dr Nayan moved to London to study at London Business School, after which he went back to J&J. By this time, the conglomerate had set up a team to examine how IT could be used in the healthcare context. "We built products for patients who needed cardiac rehabilitation, to try and reduce the risk of a repeat heart attack and to reduce the time heart patients spent in the hospital." The project was piloted in four hospitals - three in the US and one in the UK, "another critical experience," Dr Nayan says. Shortly after, he left J&J to co-found Avegen.

In 2015, Dr Nayan and Neeraj Apte, an engineer with over 20 years of experience in software development, came together to create Avegen. A couple of years were spent exploring the best business structure and fine-tuning their model, before dedicating their efforts to making Avegen the go-to development platform for scalable digital health products. "We were like any startup," Dr Nayan says. "Our initial idea did not work."

That idea was to build a virtual call center for doctors in India. "We were handling about 1 lakh calls per week," he recalls. "It was a call center, basically and it took up all the oxygen in the room." While they were meeting a need, it was not the purpose for which Avegen was created. It was also difficult to scale up. "We had to stop, pivot and return our focus to the original aim - building a digital platform. That pivot happened around 2019 and we re-branded." This was when they build the platform that Avegen continues to use - HealthMachine enables healthcare providers and pharma companies to build, implement and scale their digital health products. It's their way of helping democratise the creation of digital health products, removing the need for a large team and extensive investments in software engineering.

[caption id="attachment_38123" align="alignnone" width="2560"] The Avegen team[/caption]

Expanding the scope of healthcare

"Today we have digital health for pregnancy, HIV, TB, pulmonary arterial hypertension. We have around eight or nine conditions for which we build digital health products," Dr Nayan says, adding, "We have hundreds of thousands of users every month and have deployed it in multiple countries, although our strongest presence is in Europe and India."

Simply put, the idea is to make interaction easier, especially in countries like India where patients travel many miles to see a doctor. The pandemic only reinforced this need. One Avegen product, used by Europe's largest HIV clinic, asks the patient to complete a questionnaire instead of setting up an appointment with a hospital. The information is sent to the clinic, where doctors can decide if the patient needs to come in to the hospital or not. "Often, patients come from very far away, only to be told that they are fine."

Maternity care is another important pillar for Dr Nayan and Avegen. "India has a high maternal mortality rate and some of that is avoidable," he explains. "Expecting mothers need to make regular visits, do blood tests and take folic acid supplements and follow an evidence-based care programme. We want to make it easier for them to do this." Pregnant women need to download the app, which will tell them what to do based on how far along they are, and also connect them with experts. "Good health is not just about what happens within the four walls of the clinic. It's about what happens outside of it. I can get my bloods done at a clinic, but when I go out, do I decrease the salt in my food, or get regular exercise? These are the main drivers of good health. We want to support patients outside and widen the scope of healthcare."

Overcoming challenges

When he first started working in digital healthcare, people didn’t trust the concept. "The common understanding was that healthcare had to be face-to-face; they didn't trust the digital tech, hence didn't use it." However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world's perspective on digital healthcare overnight. "During the pandemic, digital products became essential to the functioning of the healthcare ecosystem," Dr. Kalnad noted.

Avegen collaborated with government bodies and charities to provide digital healthcare solutions during the pandemic, such as supporting 30,000 HIV patients in Mumbai who couldn't access their medication due to lockdowns. "We have come a long way since. In the coming decades, we will see digital health becoming mainstream," Dr Nayan predicts.

The way forward

Despite the progress, Dr Nayan admits there is work to be done. "Scaling and integrating digital healthcare into the existing healthcare system is crucial," he says, adding, "It needs to become accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or socioeconomic status. Digital health should not be for a certain segment of the population; it should be for everyone."

Dr Nayan Kalnad, CEO, Avegen, talks to a colleague

This vision aligns with Avegen's mission as well, which is to provide digital health solutions to all, irrespective of where they live or what healthcare challenges they face. "We believe that healthcare should be a fundamental right. We want to build digital health products that are relevant to the user, easy to use, and engaging. This is done through collaboration with healthcare providers, governments, non-profits, and other stakeholders to bring digital health products to the public."

Nayan Kalnad's journey is a testament to the power of innovation and technology in improving healthcare. His dedication to making healthcare accessible and affordable to everyone has inspired many, and his work with Avegen has shown that digital health services have the potential to transform the healthcare industry.

Follow Dr Nayan Kalnad on LinkedIn and check out Avegen's work here.

Priti Krishtel: Indian-American health justice lawyer is fighting the global patent system

(November 4, 2022) The global pandemic exposed the inaccessibility of general life-saving medicines in developing countries. From basic paracetamol to only-on-prescription Remdesivir, patients across the world suffered from a severe shortage of medicines in the last two years. While many accepted it to be a side effect of the COVID-19 situation, a few decided to stand up and fight against the inequities in the global pharmaceutical system. One such leader is Indian-American health justice lawyer, Priti Krishtel, who recently won the MacArthur Fellowship, unofficially known as the ‘genius grant’, who exposed pharma companies for misusing the patent laws in the United States of America. “By distilling the technical aspects of the patent system to show its sometimes devastating impact on people’s lives, Krishtel is galvanizing a movement to center around people instead of only commercial interests in our medicines patent policy,” McArthur Foundation said announcing this year’s 25 fellowships. The grant carries an $800,000, no-strings-attached grant for individuals who have shown exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more. [caption id="attachment_31359" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Health Justice Lawyer, Priti Krishtel, won the McArthur Grant for exposing the inequities in the patent system to increase access to affordable, life-saving medications

://www.globalindian.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Priti-Krishtel.jpg" alt="Lawyer | Priti Krishtel | Global Indian" width="724" height="474" /> Health Justice Lawyer, Priti Krishtel, won the McArthur Grant for exposing the inequities in the patent system to increase access to affordable, life-saving medications on a global scale[/caption]

For over 20 years now the California-based lawyer has been fighting against big pharmaceutical companies, keeping them from exploiting loopholes in the U.S. patent laws that allow them to keep exclusive rights to medicines for an extended period. Through this, the companies can sell their drugs at high prices without the threat of competition. This means that people and countries in need of medication are often unable to afford it.

Standing for a million lives

The daughter of a pharmaceutical scientist who worked for drug companies, Priti Radhakrishnan was always sensitive towards matters of social justice. After earning an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a law degree from New York University, Priti, like many others, joined a big law firm in Los Angeles. However, her ideas about the pharma patent system came crashing down during her initial days, while she was working on a project in India.

It was personally gut-wrenching for me to know that the drugs had come to market, but they just weren’t getting to the people who needed them, and there was such a huge time lag in making that happen.

The lawyer was leading a team representing HIV-positive clients in court when she noticed that in AIDS cases a diagnosis was a death sentence, nearly every time. While there were antiretroviral therapies available, they were not affordable for her clients. So bad was the condition, that if parents were diagnosed with HIV, they would just hand over their kids to an orphanage. "This early work in India left a permanent mark on my heart," the lawyer said during an interview with Devex, adding, "It was personally gut-wrenching for me to know that the drugs had come to market, but they just weren’t getting to the people who needed them, and there was such a huge time lag in making that happen.”

This motivated the lawyer to co-found the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge, or I-MAK, in 2006. She partnered with Tahir Amin, an expert on intellectual property law, who had formerly represented big corporations and health experts. "The patent system was intended to motivate people to invent by giving them a reward of a time-limited monopoly. But in the last 40 years, that intention has been distorted beyond recognition," the Global Indian said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0BHQIyfEdQ

Explaining how the patent law is abused by big companies, the lawyer said in an NPR interview, "Take the top-selling drug in the country, HUMIRA. After the first patent expired, the company, AbbVie, filed and got so many more patents that they made two-thirds of all their revenue. But what you see in another part of the world, like Europe, is that the price came down because other companies came in as competition.

"So how drug companies are using the patent system, and the fact that patients don't have a voice in the patent system is leading to longer monopolies, higher prices, or drugs not being available at all."

Fighting the system

So far, the lawyers have led teams to stop pharma giant Novartis from patenting the leukemia drug Gleevec, and have twice prevented Abbott Laboratories from patenting the HIV medicines. The organisation has also worked with advocacy groups in various countries to reform the drug development system by involving the affected community in the process. “The system is completely insulated from the human consequences of how it works,” the lawyer said, "So how do we humanise the system? How do we bring it into more proximity with the people it's meant to serve, and evolve it for the better?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3y6_7_5PcQ

The year pandemic stuck marked a pivotal time for the lawyer. With the big pharma companies such as Moderna having monopolies on their products, the reach of COVID vaccines was limited to the developed nations. During her research, the lawyer found that while 55 percent of people in developed countries were vaccinated, only one percent of the population in developing countries had access to any kind of vaccine. She even called out the then US President, Donald Trump's pushing of vaccines for American citizens "the beginning of a new Hunger Games".

"COVID taught us that when the biggest drug companies have monopolies on their products, they will always sell to the highest bidder. They will always price the medication or the vaccines out of reach. For example, Moderna was almost 100 percent publicly funded. But unfortunately, the U.S. government gave away the right to the vaccine. So, now Moderna stands to make $100 billion by the end of this decade, and $40 billion alone by the end of this year. And it was taxpayer funding that helped bring that invention to market," she told NPR.

[caption id="attachment_31363" align="aligncenter" width="680"] Lawyer | Priti Krishtel | Global Indian Priti with her friends[/caption]

Inspired by her father, the lawyer kept fighting against the system, arguing that apart from intellectual property law reform the US government should work towards technology transfer to help manufacture all medicines locally.

A mother to a four-year-old, the lawyer feels that while there is a long way to go to bring these reforms, slowly she can see the changes. "I just don't think that people's ability to heal should depend on their ability to pay. And I think we all can be a part of the solution," says Priti.

Follow Priti Krishtel on Twitter and LinkedIn

Reading Time: 7 mins

A royal feast: Yuvrani Shraddha Bhonsle’s modern touch to Sawantwadi’s culinary heritage

(March 10, 2024) The Japanese word ikigai is used to describe the very passion that gets you out of bed in the morning—your reason for being. One conversation with Yuvrani Shraddha Lakham Sawant Bhonsle and her ikigai is unmissable. Spending 15-day workdays on things she is passionate about—cooking, reviving handicrafts, and living her life to the full—this 32-year-old royal is all about giving her best every single day. Married into the royal family of Sawantwadi that has been ruled by Sawant Bhonsles since 1627, life has taken a huge turn for the Mumbai girl, who, in a real-life fairytale, has seen her transform post-her wedding to Lakham Bhonsle of the Savantwadi clan. Today, she is the chef and owner of the Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel and the Managing Director of Shri Sawantwadi Lacquerwares, which oversees the handicraft business. Energetic, passionate, and realistic, the young scion is all about creating a difference. Be it her unique cuisine that marries traditional Sawantwadi styles and dishes with international recipes or her hands-on approach to running the hotel, she is an exemplary example of modern-day royalty working hard to ensure that the legacy of the past is safeguarded for the future. Chasing her

tyles and dishes with international recipes or her hands-on approach to running the hotel, she is an exemplary example of modern-day royalty working hard to ensure that the legacy of the past is safeguarded for the future.

Chasing her dreams

Growing up in a large Gujarati joint family, Shraddha remembers her childhood with fondness. She recalls, “I grew up surrounded by friends and family; it was a very regular childhood from the 90s.” One person who had a lasting impact on the young girl was the principal of her school, Walsingham House, Mrs. Bindu Mittal, a legendary educator who inspired her to follow her dreams.

Shraddha Bhonsle | Global Indian

Shraddha pursued a business management course, but an instantaneous decision changed her life forever. The Global Indian explains, “It was a spontaneous decision, but something that changed my life. I always wanted to start a restaurant of my own, so I applied for the position of assistant stewardess at the Oberoi Mumbai, and that started my culinary journey.”

She went on to work at the popular Indigo Delicatessen restaurant in Mumbai, where, while she worked to the bone, she picked up the rudiments of running a kitchen. Be it 16-hour shifts, peeling potatoes by the ton, or washing endless vegetables, she did it all. “It was there that I realised that the kitchen is everything to me. A desk job was not something I was suited for, and the kitchen, temperamental as it is, is my home,” she states with a laugh.

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The next step on her journey was studying at the Culinary Institute of America in New York for a 22-month course, where she also met her future husband. As a part of her course, she worked at the Michelin-starred restaurant Oceana, which she calls a life-changing experience.

“Though I was dangerously dehydrated while working there, I picked up both knife skills and life skills there,” she jests and adds, “I understood how an act as simple as picking basil or coriander leaves can add to a dish. The discipline and cleanliness as well as the rigor and passion of running a kitchen I picked up there taught me a lot.”

ALSO READ | Princess Vaishnavi of Kishangarh is working on reviving the lost art

While she returned to India in 2016 to be closer to her family, she went back to the US a year later to be a certified sommelier before getting married in 2019 and moving to Savantwadi.

Princesses diaries

Just an hour’s drive away from Goa, situated in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, on the Goa-Maharashtra border, Sawantwadi is a picturesque town famous for its sleepy forests, kokum, wooden toys, and delicious Konkan cuisine. Moving back and starting a restaurant was at the top of both Shraddha’s and Lakham’s agenda, and the heritage property seemed like the perfect setting for the young couple to start their dreams.

As the chef of the hotel and someone keen on innovation, she brings a unique flair to everything she creates. One dish that perfectly illustrates her culinary journey of bringing the best of the East and West is Sawantwadi Po’Boy.

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She explains, “Po’Boy is a sandwich that originated in the US, so there is American influence (because of my education in the CIA) in terms of the classic French roll bread and a remoulade sauce. There is Asian influence (because of my love for Asian food) in the sandwich in terms of Vietnamese pickles and herbs and a spicy sriracha sauce, and there is Sawantwadi influence in terms of thetcha butter, rava-crusted prawns, and a solkadhi (sauce)”

Along with traditional Maharashtrian heartthrobs like aamti or thatlipeeth, she whips up eclectic dishes like the Sawantwadi Special Eggs Benedict (that pairs House-baked croissant buns with coconut chili chutney and a dry curry leaf chutney) and others using regional produce like cashew and kokum generously championing hyperlocal cuisine.

[caption id="attachment_49818" align="aligncenter" width="549"] Shraddha Bhonsle | Global Indian Yuvraj Lakham Bhonsle Raje and Yuvrani Shraddha Bhonsle[/caption]

One area in which the restaurant distinguishes itself is when Shraddha serves Japanese and Korean dishes for dinner. A huge Ramen fan, she makes her own noodles and says, “I love these cuisines as they are very palatable to Indians. They are slow-cooked and are served with local ingredients. I want people to leave thinking they have never tasted food like what we make.”

That is something she is succeeding at, given that the Palace is slowly but surely gaining favor with gourmands, food aficionados, and new-age Indian travelers who go for experience as much as for sightseeing.

ALSO READ | A Begum from the Asaf Jahi dynasty is on a ‘royal’ mission

Given Shraddha’s extrovert nature, was it easy for her to adjust herself to the pace of a small village after the hectic life in Mumbai? She smiles. “It took me a while, of course, but now I have my work and my friends in Goa (which is an hour’s drive) apart from my family.”

Culinary royalty

Working with her husband (who is a baker and a pastry chef), the duo has simple ground rules. While he takes care of the finances, she is in charge of management, and when it comes to their first love, food, they agree to disagree. She shares, “We are friends first and foremost, so we decided that the cold kitchen is his territory while the hot kitchen is mine. While we do confer with each other on the dishes and respect each other’s decisions, we ensure that we never interfere with each other.”

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The future is all charted out for the enterprising entrepreneur: to extend the number of suites in the hotel from six to ten, to convert the family’s erstwhile summer palace (in Amboli, which is a half hour’s drive from the palace) to an eco-resort, and to expand her kitchen garden.

Given her penchant for ikigai, one can see Yuvrani Shraddha Lakham Sawant Bhonsle achieving all this in no time!

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Reading Time: 6 mins