President of India - Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Her Excellency - Mrs. Pratibha Patil 

Appointed President of India on 25th July 2007 

In India, the president is considered a mere figure head - referred as Rubber-stamp . 

I had the impression that Pratibha Patil was just a convenient choice for Congress till I happened to come across an article about her in a magazine(  Times??) about how she revolutionized Rashtrapathi Bhavan and brought about an Eco revolution, how she helped 1000s of women folk there to become self-dependent. She was a total change agent. 

I was blown away. She had a choice - just to lead a luxury life , cut some ribbons, give speeches and enjoy all the fruits of being a decorative head of State and here was a woman who worked at grass roots. 

She became a change-agent. ‘ROSHNI’ is an initiative taken on the directions of the President to make the President’s Estate a green, energy efficient and zero waste model township. 

She won my heart and I continue to hold her in high esteem. 78 years old and so energetic - She is a model senior citizen of my country and I salute her courage. 

From where to where she reached in her life!! 

President of India

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil was born on December 19, 1934 in Nadgaon village of Jalgaon District, Maharashtra.

Smt. Patil assumed office as the 12th President of India on July 25, 2007. She is the first woman to have been elected to this august office.

Immediately prior to election as the President of India, Smt. Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan from November 8, 2004 till June 21, 2007.

Education:

Smt. Patil received her early education from RR Vidyalaya, Jalgaon and later obtained her Master's degree in Political Science and Economics from the Mooljee Jetha College, Jalgaon. Later, she obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Government Law College, Bombay (Mumbai). While in college, she took active part in sports, excelled in table tennis and won several shields at various Inter-collegiate tournaments. Even as an MLA, she pursued her studies as a law student.

Professional Career:

Smt. Patil started her professional career as a practicing lawyer at the Jalgaon District Court and simultaneously devoted herself to various social activities, especially, for the upliftment of poor women.

Political Career:

At the young age of 27 years, she successfully contested her first election to the Maharashtra State Legislature from the Jalgaon Assembly constituency. Subsequently she was continuously elected four times as MLA from the Edlabad (Muktai Nagar) constituency till 1985. Thereafter, she served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 1985 to 1990 and later elected as a Member of Parliament to the 10th Lok Sabha in the 1991 General Elections from the Amravati constituency. She enjoys the unique distinction of not having lost a single election that she contested till date.

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil in her long stint in Maharashtra has held various positions both in the Government and the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra. She was:

• Deputy Minister, Public Health, Prohibition, Tourism, Housing and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra from 1967 to 1972,
• Cabinet Minister, Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra from 1972 to 1974,
• Cabinet Minister, Public Health and Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra from 1974 to 1975,
• Cabinet Minister, Prohibition, Rehabilitation and Cultural Affairs, Government of Maharashtra from 1975 to 1976,
• Cabinet Minister, Education, Government of Maharashtra from 1977 to 1978,
• Cabinet Minister, Urban Development and Housing, Government of Maharashtra from 1982 to 1983, and
• Cabinet Minister, Civil Supplies and Social Welfare, Government of Maharashtra from 1983 to 1985.
• While in the Opposition, she also served as the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from July 1979 to February 1980.

While in the Rajya Sabha, Smt. Patil was the Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1988 and also served as the Chairperson, Rajya Sabha from 25.7.1987 to 2.9.1987 when Dr. R. Venkataraman got elected as President of India. She was also the Chairperson, Committee of Privileges, Rajya Sabha and Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1988. While in the Lok Sabha, Smt. Patil was the Chairperson, House Committee.

Public Life:

In her long public life, she has been associated with several institutions in wide ranging capacities. She served as Chairperson, Maharashtra State Water Pollution Control Board from 1982 to 1985. She was also the President, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) from 1988 to 1990. Besides holding the position of Director and Vice-Chairperson, National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies, she also served as Member, Governing Council, National Cooperative Union of India and Chairperson, 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee, Government of Maharashtra.

Smt. Patil has represented India in various international forum. She attended the International Council on Social Welfare conferences at Nairobi and at Puerto Rico. She was a Member of the AICC(I) delegation to Bulgaria in 1985 and represented as Member, Commonwealth Presiding Officers Conference in London in 1988. She led the Indian delegation to the Conference on the 'Status of Women' in Austria and was a delegate at the World Women's Conference, Beijing, China in September 1995.

Social and Cultural Activities:

Throughout her public life, Smt. Patil has worked actively for the welfare of women and children and the underprivileged sections of society. For their benefit, she established several institutions for them. To name a few, she had set up:

1. hostels for working women in Mumbai and Delhi,
2. an Engineering College at Jalgaon for rural youth,
3. the Shram Sadhana Trust which takes part in multifarious welfare activities for development of women,
4. an Industrial Training School for the visually handicapped in Jalgaon,
5. schools for poor children of Vimukta Jatis (Nomadic Tribes) and for children of Backward Classes in Amravati District and
6. a Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farmer's Training Centre) at Amravati, Maharashtra.

She played a pioneering role in setting up the Mahila Vikas Mahamandal, a Maharashtra State Government undertaking for the development of women.

She was instrumental in organizing music, computer and sewing classes for the poor and needy women at Amravati, Maharashtra. Smt. Patil also organized the Women's Home Guard in Jalgaon District and was their Commandant in 1962.

Family Life:

Smt. Patil is married to Dr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat. Dr. Shekhawat obtained his Ph.D. in the discipline of Chemistry from Haffkine Institute, Mumbai. An educationist and a social worker in his own right, he became the first Mayor of Amravati Municipal Corporation and he has also represented Amravati constituency as its MLA. She has two children, a daughter, Smt. Jyoti Rathore and a son, Shri Rajendra Singh.

Way to Go Ma'm !! 

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Union Minister of State, Commerce and Industry  2009 to .... 

16th March 2012

Today was budget day . The finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee read the budget. As is the usual practice, all media channels vied with each other after the budget speech to get leaders from different  sections of the society to comment/ discuss the budget. 


Jyotir Scindia a young congress politician defended the govt. budget. I was simply amazed at his expertise on the budget ( it was just released an hour ago) , his highly articulate versatile English.    I looked up info about him. 

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Following info is collected from web 

Jyotiraditya Scindia was born Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia to Madhavrao Scindia and Madhavi Raje Scindia. He was born on January 1^st, 1971 in Mumbai. He did his schooling from the prestigious Doon School in India and then went off to do his graduation in United States in Harvard University and MBA from the Stanford University. At present, Jyotiraditya is the member of the 14^th Lok Sabha of India representing the political party, Indian National Congress. He is also the Maharaja of the princely state of Gwalior and a scion of the Scindia royal family.

After doing graduation, he interned with the UN Economic Development Cell and in fact had the distinction of being the only under-graduate intern there. After getting an MBA, he went on to work as an investment bankerwith Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. He also did a course in car racing from the U.S. He is known to be one of the most focused and hard-working students at college and also one of the most dedicated workers at his workplace.

After his father, Madhavrao Scindia, died an untimely death in an unfortunate air crash, the seat in his political constituency fell vacant. Jyotir Aditya Scindia was the natural choice as he knew his constituency well He had campaigned for his father at a mere age of 13! In February 2002, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from his constituency Guna. He won with a margin of 450,000 votes! He was re-elected to the 14^th Lok Sabha when he won the elections in May 2004. In the by-elections of 2007, he successfully defeated the incumbent in Shivpuri-Guna province.

He is married to Priyadarshini Raje Gaekwad Scindia of Baroda and has two children, Yuvraj Mahanaryaman Scindia (born in 1995) and Ananya Raje Scindia (born in 2002). He is known to be a sportsman-politician and is known to have encouraged Indian sports and get them international recognition. Since he has worked in a multi-national environment, he cannot see people sit idle and not work hard enough to get things done. Jyotiraditya Scindia is an avid sportsman himself and is often spotted at polo matches. He is the face of the future of India and with his efforts, the Indian politics will definitely touch new heights.

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My son Hari always says if you want to change the system, get involved, go into politics and bring the change you want.  Young politicians like Jyotir Scindia, Akilesh ( Youngest New Chief Minister of UP at 38 who is also an Engineer )  infuse a lot of hope for my country .  I hope and pray they do not become corrupt and end up like so many others. Hope they have the vision to take India forward to become a developed nation. 

Natco, Bayer and Cancer medication - Way to go India!!

16th March 2012


Govt uses special powers to slash cancer drug price by 97% 

8800:280000 / Month

MUMBAI: In a landmark decision that could set a precedent on how life-saving drugs under patents can be made affordable, the government has allowed a domestic company, Natco Pharma, to manufacture a copycat version of Bayer's patented anti-cancer drug, Nexavar, bringing down its price by 97%.

In the first-ever case of compulsory licencing approval, the Indian Patent Office on Monday cleared the application of Hyderabad's Natco Pharma to sell generic drug Nexavar, used for renal and liver cancer, at Rs 8,880 (around $175) for a 120-capsule pack for a month's therapy. Bayer offers it for over Rs 2.8 lakh (roughly $5,500) per 120 capsule. The order provides hope for patients who cannot afford these drugs.

The approval paves the way for the launch of Natco's drug in the market, a company official told TOI, adding that it will pay a 6% royalty on net sales every quarter to Bayer. The licence will be valid till such time the drug's patent is valid, i.e. 2020. As per the CL (compulsory licence) order, Natco is also committed to donating free supplies of the medicines to 600 patients each year.

Bayer said it was "disappointed" and would "evaluate options to defend intellectual property rights" in the country. In July 2011, Natco had applied for the CL in the Mumbai patent office to make Sorafenib Tosylate for which Bayer has a patent in the country since 2008.

Under Section 84, a compulsory licence to manufacture a drug can be issued after three years of the grant of patent on the product, which is not available at an affordable price. Under the World Trade Organisation TRIPS Agreement, compulsory licences are legally-recognized means to overcome barriers in accessing affordable medicines. This is the first time in the history of the Indian Patents Act, 1970, that the provision under Section 84 has been invoked.

The patent office acted on the basis that not only had Bayer failed to price the drug at a level that made it accessible and affordable, it also was unable to ensure that the medicine was available in sufficient quantities within India. Controller general of patents, P H Kurian, based his decision on Bayer's admission that only 2% of kidney and liver cancer patients were able to access the drug, and its pricing (Rs 2.8 lakh for a month) did not constitute a "reasonably affordable" price.

Since 2005, domestic drug manufacturers have faced formidable barriers in the manufacture of patented drugs, and this has been remedied by the compulsory licensing provision to prevent patent holders from having a monopoly over certain essential medicines.

Interestingly, generic manufacturer Cipla has already launched generic Nexavar (Sorafenib Tosylate) at around Rs 28,000 per 120-capsule pack, and is embroiled in a dispute with Bayer in the Delhi high court.

Economist and intellectual property expert James Love said, "The Bayer price of Rs 34,11,898 per year ($69,000) is more than 41 times the projected average per capita income for India in 2012, shattering any measure of affordability. Bayer tried to justify its high price by making claims of high R&D costs, but refused to provide any details of its actual outlays on the research for Sorafenib, a cancer drug that was partly subsidized by the US Orphan Drug tax credit, and jointly developed with Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Bayer has made billions from Sorafenib, and made little effort to sell the product in India where its price is far beyond the means of all but a few persons."

Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, director of independent healthcare organization, MSF, said, "We have been following this case closely because newer drugs to treat HIV are patented in India, and as a result are priced out of reach. But this decision marks a precedent that offers hope. It shows that new drugs under patent can also be produced by generic makers at a fraction of the price, while royalties are paid to the patent holder. This compensates patent holders while at the same time ensuring that competition can bring down prices."

India Progresses !!