Category: Food For Thought

You may be jailed for 7 years if you add this to Gobi Manchurian

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Karnataka government on Monday, March 11, banned the use of artificial colours in Gobi Manchurian and cotton candy. State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the violation of the ban may result in imprisonment for up to 7 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.

Rao said artificial colours were detected in samples collected of Gobi Manchurian and cotton candy across the state. The officials collected nearly 171 samples of these food items from various eateries, he said. The findings revealed that around 107 unsafe artificial colours were found in these dishes.

He said the government has banned the use of prohibited artificial colours, including Rhodamine-B, in Gobi Manchurian and cotton candy. “If anyone is found using Rhodamine-B food colouring agent, then severe action will be taken against them under the Food Safety Act,” Rao said.

Rao added that the consumption of snacks containing artificial colours lead to long-term health risks, including cancer.

Rhodamine B, commonly utilised as a textile dye, lends a vibrant pink hue. The use of rhodamine B in cotton candy, dissolved in water to produce its iconic pink colour, has come under the scanner. While it has various biotechnology applications, including tracing pollutants in water systems and indicating herbicide usage, its presence in food products raises serious health concerns.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu and Delhi governments had banned the use of Rhodamine-B food colouring agent in cotton candy.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coach Soch: Debate or dialogue — this is the contemporary dilemma

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In the 1960 US presidential debate between the candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, many viewers who watched the debate on television believed Kennedy had won, while those who listened to the debate on the radio believed Nixon had won. How so? Prior to the debate, Nixon had recently been hospitalised and was recovering from a knee injury, causing him to appear pale and tired. In contrast, Kennedy appeared confident and well-rested. This demonstrates the power of television in shaping public opinion and the importance of appearance and image, especially in political campaigns.

In the Indian TV space, randomly picking a TV news channel, one will probably see a debate going-on. Many a times, what is supposedly two sides of the arguments  – For and Against the issue, is broken. Not unusual, you may discover, is the role of the News anchor, who appears to lean on one side of the argument as well, thus making a two-horse race into a three-legged contest. 

Quality of News 

If we look back at the era of simple Radio-only era, it brings concept of conversation and clarity of communication. With broadcasting evolving, it was a refreshing change to have India’s first public service TV broadcaster Doordarshan. Soon there were dozens of private channels. Sadly, despite the multitude of TV channels, the increased competition has not led to better quality. The quality of news content has gone down, probably due to insufficient time to get the facts and figures right, and for analysis.

Today, the format of television news across all channels prioritises flashing ticker and noisy debates, rather than news reporting objectively from the field, and analytical presentation with calm and content. Many channels produce irrelevant or emotionally laced debates, often by aggressive anchors who take joy in not allowing their guests to share their views, interrupting them often to share their own laced viewpoints. 

It does serve our interest to dive deeply into such a behaviour. What happened to the Indian culture of discussions being a means of arriving at a knowledgeable debate? Where did we lose our ethos of sharing views, even differing ones, without the need to insult the other views?

Indian Tradition 

The Indic dialectic tradition has stood for higher standards of thinking. Content and context went together for any presentation of views. It also held deep respect for the others. Often, with the support of royalty, these debates were conducted to examine various religious, philosophical, moral and doctrinal issues. Indian wisdom has long held and valued the ‘science of enquiry’ (Aniviksiki). One sub-root of this took the branch of study further and referred to as Nyaya or Logic (the theory of reasons), sometimes even called Tarka-Vidya or Vada-Vidya, (the science of debate or discussion respectively). For the curious detailed narrations of such discussions, debates and dialogues are recorded in Chandogya-Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Prashna-Upanishad. Contestants employed standards such as aptopadesa (reliable assertion), pratyaksa (perception), anumana (inference), and yukti (reasoning). 

The premise of Nyaya is founded on the belief that knowledge is not self-revealing. Humans must make effort through a systematic process to gain correct knowledge and conversely, to abandon incorrect knowledge thereby gaining a clearer perspective of life. Nyaya is the analytical way for a young person in the process of growth to attain equanimity. It instructs, the teachings that have come down to us through traditions must be critically examined before accepting them.

With such a rich tradition of dialogue prevalent in India, let us turn our attention to standards of modern day debate. It is not only across TV channels, but also across in-person discussions and on social media, that we seem to behave poorly. We discover that most discourse ends up with deeply polarised viewpoints, and emotionally laced political charge. 

Discussion or decided?

 “A debate is a contest in which the truth is often the casualty.” – Vance Packard

Instead of a truth that needs to be unwrapped or revealed, there is a battle for pushing forward a dominant narrative that builds a moat for the vested interest. It also develops the path for such a biassed agenda, and obfuscates the issues, rather than bring clarity to the subject under discussion. Quickly, there is both labelling and personal attacks, both grossly unfair in the spirit of a dialogue.  

Often disagreement can be a source of good, not ill, even in our polarised age. Of late, disagreement is getting out of fashion. By opting in or opting out of WhatsApp groups, choice of what social media posts one reads, you end up narrowing the diversity of information that you come across. Also, because the algorithms used by social media platforms often prioritise content that is similar to what you have engaged with in the past, they may show you more of what you have already seen or what they think you will like. 

For example, if you opt out of a WhatsApp group that shares news from a particular ideology perspective, you may miss out on important news or opinions that challenge your own views. Similarly, if you only choose to read social media posts that confirm your existing beliefs or interests, you may be less likely to encounter diverse viewpoints or new information. Joseph Joubert rightly argues that the “The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory, but progress.”

But then, there are these worries in such narrow debates: 

Oversimplification: In order to make their points quickly and clearly, debaters may oversimplify complex issues, leaving out important details and nuances. This can lead to a shallow understanding of the issues among viewers.

Polarisation: Debates can often devolve into two sides arguing against each other, with little room for compromise or nuance. This can reinforce a polarised political environment and make it harder to find common ground or solutions.

Emotional manipulation: Debaters may use emotional appeals or personal attacks to win over viewers, rather than relying on facts and evidence. This can lead to a distorted view of the issues and make it harder for viewers to make informed decisions.

Misrepresentation: In some cases, debaters may misrepresent their opponent’s views or twist the facts in order to make their own argument seem stronger. This can mislead viewers and contribute to a climate of distrust and misinformation.

Sadly, in a society where quick reactions are evident than careful analysis, and where it is celebrated as sign of intelligence, shallow nature of constructive discussions fall off the realm of possibilities. It is essentially for our societal positivity, and to celebrate human intelligence, that we need to bring back the essentials of true debate. One that celebrates multiplicity of views, and not base it’s acceptance on the source or the person delivering the views. 

—The authors, Dr. Srinath Sridharan, is an Author, Policy Researcher & Corporate Advisor, and Steve Correa, is Executive Coach, OD Consultant and an Author. The views expressed are personal.  

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Why ‘superfood’ millet is all set to be the new black

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hosted a “millet lunch” in New York on Thursday, December 15. In September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed millets a “superfood.” Before that, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had pitched for including millets in the World Food Programme of the World Bank, calling it the “wonder grain of the world.”

India has been making attempts to put millets back on the “global food map,” create awareness and increase the production and consumption of millets. “As we head into International Year of Millets 2023, a strong message for their greater production, consumption and promotion would help global food security and enhance sustainability in agriculture,” Jaishankar said in a tweet on Friday, December 16.

Delighted to welcome UNSG @antonioguterres and UNSC members for a ‘millet lunch’ in New York today. #IYOM2023 pic.twitter.com/6I0K54LTXj

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) December 15, 2022

This comes as the world is all set to enter the International Year of Millets. The United Nations (UN) has designated 2023 as the Year of Millets for “recognising the value of this crop.” But why are they pushing for the use of millets? According to the global body, millets offer not just health benefits but also has the potential to address climate change and food security. It is affordable, nutritious and suitable for cultivation in dry areas.

Millets include a diverse group of cereals including pearl, proso, foxtail, barnyard, little, kodo, browntop, finger and Guinea millets, as well as fonio, sorghum (or great millet) and teff, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said. It also listed out some benefits of the cereal in an article.

The benefits of millets | In detail

• Millets have high nutritious value. They are a cost-effective source of iron and good option for people with high-blood sugar. “…ragi contains three times more calcium than any other cereal…Jowar, on the other hand, is a gluten-free grain and the amount of antioxidants in it is about three to four higher than that of other wholegrains,” said Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan, co-founders of Wholsum Foods Pvt Ltd.
• Millet production can support the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and can provide jobs for women and youth.
• The revenue created by production and sale of millets can boost economic growth.
• The risks associated with production shocks can be mitigated with the possibility of a health cereal alternative with millets. Also, growing millets would help countries to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on imported cereal grains.
• Millets are often referred to as climate-resilient crop. They thrive in dry and harsh conditions. They can grow on arid lands with minimal inputs and maintenance. They are tolerant to pests.
• Millets can help to overcome food scarcity in difficult periods. Millets are often the only crop in an arid area which can be harvested in the dry season, the FOA says.
• Also, millets need a third of the water required by rice, Wholsum Foods co-founder said.
• By providing land cover in arid areas, they reduce soil degradation and help support biodiversity and sustainable land restoration.

Millets, the ‘superfood’

The FOA says that dietary preference given to wheat, maize or rice led to the decline in the production of millets. And now, the world needs to produce more food to feed a rapidly growing global population — which is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, and a staggering 9.7 billion by 2050, the United Nations says. “There is a heightened need for crop diversification by promoting crops suitable for cultivation in the toughest of environments,” it says.

PM Modi has time and again mentioned India’s efforts to further popularise millets. He said, “Millets is a superfood. It is not just grown in SCO countries but in several other parts of the world. It is nutritious and a low-cost grain,” PM Modi had said during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit held in September this year.

He said this while highlighting several disruptions that occurred in the global supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Meanwhile, at the G20 high-level seminar in Bali, Indonesia, Sitharaman drew leaders’ focus on millets, saying: “Millets are the wonder grain of the world… I would like to sum it up for you that the World Food Programme, the world is looking at food insecurity. It should not focus all its attention on just wheat and rice and a few pulses. It should look at coarse grains because that was a part of all our lives some time ago.”

Besides this, Dr Nancy Aburto, an agriculture expert at the FAO said, “A renewed focus on boosting the production of millets and highlighting their benefits, is critical to reducing over-reliance on more commonly-grown crops, boosting diverse diets, and food security.”

How growing millets impact India?

Shauravi Malik and Meghana Narayan informed that India is the second largest producer of millets in the world, and so, “the government’s recent action plan to boost the export of millets and value-added products containing the grain is a welcome move”. “It will benefit players across the millet ecosystem and enable the market for millet-based products to grow exponentially,” they said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

From amma-appa to a princess, Koreans and Tamils have loads in common

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tamils and Koreans seem to have more things in common than anyone may have ever imagined. In fact, the seemingly odd couple shares so many cross-cultural similarities — words, grammar, traditions, cuisines, among others — that the link cannot be dismissed as just a coincidence. So we decided to dig deeper.

Words and beyond

Take the words for mother and father in both languages — amma and appa. While it is true that scientists think that the babies first words are those with the ‘m’ and b/p’ sound, which is the reason that most languages have words for mother and father beginning with those syllables, there are other words that are too similar to be a coincidence.

Other words like naal (day), uraam (manure), pull (grass), pudhu (new), sourru (rice) and yerru (plough) are almost the exact same in both languages. These words are not the only ones that are similar in the two languages. Linguists have identified hundreds, if not possibly thousands, of similar words in Tamil and Korean. Apart from the words, the structure of the languages is also similar. Both use the subject-order-verb form and both are agglutive languages.

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Agglutive langagues are those which have “a grammatical process in which words are composed of a sequence of morphemes (meaningful word elements),” explains Britannica.

The similarity was extensive enough for a linguistic theory that either proto-Dravidian Tamil and Korean had common linguistic roots or that Tamil had somehow influenced the Korean language.

There are other similarities between the two cultures as well. From the love for spicy food to similar dishes like rice cakes, rice puff and lentil cakes being found in both cuisines.

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The princess connection

Finally, there’s the case of Heo Hwang-ok or Princess Sembavalam as she is sometimes called, the first queen of Geumgwan Gayam, a historic kingdom in Korea that existed between 43-532 CE. Princess Sembavalam was thought to have come from India, from Kanyakumari, according to the legends in the Korean collection of tales called Samguk Yusa.

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“There must have been an exchange of cultural habits and cuisines when people from both cultures migrated to each others’ country,” Kyugsoo Kim, the Consul General of Korea to India had said in 2016.

Whatever may be the reason behind this association, it once again underscores the bigger picture that we are all united in our diversities, whatever politicians say.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

View | 5 things cos can consider to motivate and retain women staff

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) have evolved considerably over the past few years. D&I is not just a good thing to do anymore but is a business imperative. With the changing demographics of customers across almost all industries, it has become important for employees to mirror their customers in order to provide a meaningful and superlative customer experience.

There is no ‘one secret ingredient’ for improving inclusion. Organisations must have a holistic, integrated inclusion strategy backed by senior leadership commitment. An organisation’s inclusion strategy cannot be treated as a flavour of the month, instead, it is a journey that requires a sustained multi-year gameplan. Organisations must craft a customised inclusion strategy backed by data and specific actions in order to move the needle.

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Here are five tips organisations can consider attracting, retaining and developing the careers of women in their workforce:

1.Promote women leaders as talent magnets: Studies show that having more women role models in leadership positions can create a safe and supportive network that will encourage more young women to join the organisation. It is, therefore, important to celebrate the success of women who have had thriving careers in the organisation, and getting them to talk about their journeys will inspire existing employees as well as aspirants.

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It is a known fact that the gender ratio significantly and swiftly drops at senior levels. Therefore, organisations must find creative ways to bolster women’s participation at the leadership level. Programs to accelerate the growth and development of top talent, identifying leadership roles, and hiring for niche roles will go a long way towards improving the gender ratio, especially at senior levels.

2.Build ecosystem support: There are a few areas that organisations can focus on to build ecosystem support: 

• Role of managers: Managers play a pivotal role in promoting inclusion, and this tenet can never be underestimated. Managers should act as coaches and confidantes who can spur the careers of women professionals to newer heights. They need to co-create the career paths of women professionals and nudge them to ‘raise their hands’ and make use of opportunities that come their way. Managers must learn to be bias-free and lead with ‘empathy and trust’ to have supportive conversations with women constantly. This practice is even more important in the current situation, where the pandemic has had a significant impact on the D&I dimension in the workplace.
• Learning and development: Organisations should provide sufficient opportunities to enhance the functional skills of their women professionals. These opportunities could be in the form of classroom trainings, peer learnings, or on-the-job power assignments. Leaders and managers should identify creative ways of offering learning opportunities to ensure women don’t feel overwhelmed, especially in the current pandemic situation. Senior women leaders can also lead by teaching emerging women leaders on various topics – this will create a natural networking opportunity for other women colleagues across levels, to interact and learn from one another.
• Best-in-class benefits: Providing best-in-class benefits is an important factor. These benefits can include, but are not limited to, elements such as leave benefits, flexible work arrangements, hybrid working options, and so on. It is also necessary to create a strong workplace culture that will be psychologically safe, so that women can avail of these benefits without any fear of impact on their careers.

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3.Create Employee Resource Groups: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are self-empowered affinity groups that help create a strong ally network for the cause they are supporting. ERGs are usually powerful groups because they can build a positive groundswell and have the potential to create many allies. These groups can support women and enable them to thrive. For example, a buddy network for new joiners can help them imbibe the organisation’s culture and provide them career nudges from women who have experienced success in their own careers. Similarly, inclusion champions can facilitate the re-entry of women into the workforce.

4.Build sponsor networks: It is said that women get plenty of mentoring and training opportunities, but not adequate sponsorship. Sponsors are individuals who are powerful advocates for women at the leadership table and provide them opportunities, visibility, and influential assignments. They have the potential to ‘lift’ the careers of women professionals in the organisation. Ideally, sponsors are senior-level executives in the organisation who have a voice at the table and are among the key decision-makers.

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5.Promote senior leaders as inclusion champions: Senior leaders should role-model inclusive behaviours and talk openly about their inclusion journeys and pledges. Leaders should provide a safe environment that encourages courageous and uncomfortable conversations on inclusion among employees. Open dialogues that address these difficult questions can promote an organisation’s inclusion journey. In closing, it would be appropriate to quote Brené Brown: “To not have the conversations because they make you uncomfortable is the definition of privilege. Your comfort is not at the center of this discussion”.

(This article is written by Lakshmi R Rajagopal, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Fidelity Investments India)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This Kerala boss thanked his employee of 22 years with a Merc worth Rs 45 lakh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There are bosses from hell like the Better.com CEO, who thought nothing of mass-firing staff via Zoom. And then there are dream bosses, like a Kerala retail store owner, who gifted a Mercedes-Benz SUV worth Rs 45 lakh to a long-time worker as a mark of appreciation.

A.K. Shaji, who owns myG, gave his employee C.R. Anish a Benz GLA Class 220D. myG is an electronics and home appliances retail chain in Kerala. Anish has spent over two decades with the company and held various positions in marketing, maintenance and business development departments. Currently, Anish works as the Chief Business Development Officer in myG.

In a video posted to Instagram, Shaji praised his employee and said that Anish had been a “a pillar of support.”

“Ani has been with me for the last 22 years even before I started myG. He is a strong pillar and a mainstay for me. He has never disappointed me. His brotherly affection and immense focus and dedication towards work supported me a lot. I consider Anish as a partner and not an employee,” Shaji said in the video.

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Shaji’s gesture was not a one-off thing. He had earlier gifted cars to six of his employees. He often sends his employees on expensive foreign trips.

Employers are becoming increasingly grateful towards their employees in the new era of work and corporate environments. Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO of shapewear firm Spanx, had surprised her employees with gifts of two first-class Delta Airlines plane tickets and $10,000 in cash to spend on their trip, in October 2021. The company was celebrating its $1.2-billion deal with private equity firm Blackstone.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

How to live happy and fulfilling life? Some small steps to find inner peace

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Often we look for peace in our outer surroundings, but how many of us try to find peace within ourselves? How many times do we look for ourselves and explore relationships with ourselves so that we can have a peaceful and fulfilling life?

Throughout history, many philosophers and psychologists recommend that to lead a happy life, it is important to find peace within oneself. This involves finding and connecting with our inner self, keeping aside all worldly things. Research studies indicate that only once an individual is able to take a break and learn to live the moment to find peace within, which leads to a deeper connection within themselves. And this kind of self-awareness helps us to move toward self-actualisation, leading to a more meaningful life.

Recently there has been a shift in trend. Many people are now trying to move away from materialistic things and the fast pace of the world toward finding peace within themselves. One of the key ways to attain peace within is to first find ourselves.

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Some small steps to attain peace within are:

– Self-awareness: To find peace, it is important to be aware of oneself first. This involves understanding and getting in touch with our inner self. Often, we don’t tend to feel emotions that don’t give us happiness or shrug off these feelings. But it is essential that we get in touch with our inner self to find peace. The simple trick here is to acknowledge what we are going through, be it good or bad. This gives the strength to find peace and overcome challenges that hinder the process.

– Breathing: A research study indicates the most effective way to calm and take a break is to just breathe. As simple as it sounds, we often overlook this. One way is to practice the 4-4-4-4 breathing, this involves closing our eyes and breathing in for 4 seconds, holding it for 4, breathing out for 4 seconds and again holding for 4 seconds. This can be done anywhere on repetition will we feel calm and it allows us to take a break from things happening around to look on the inside.

– Mindfulness: We often tend to keep running around, without noticing things happening around us. With the advancement in technology and increasing dependence on it, we often find ourselves glued to gadgets than living in the moment. Mindfulness simply is the skill to stop and smell the roses. It is the ability to be fully present in the moment, being aware of things that are happening around us, processing them fully, and responding appropriately and not having too many things on our platter and not being in touch with ourselves.

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– Gratitude: Often, when we go through our everyday life, we forget to calm down and see the things which are going well for us. To have peace within us, it is important to make a gratitude list, to focus on good things. It could involve making a list weekly or when you feel down to find calmness amid chaos.

– Journaling: To get in touch with ourselves, our thoughts and feeling, journaling can play a crucial role. Often, we are in situations where there is a lot going around and we find it difficult to find peace or process things fully within us. Writing a journal can help to get in touch with our inner self, putting things on paper can increase self-awareness and allow us to process things daily.

– Self-compassion: To find peace is to accept oneself unconditionally. This involves not just liking the parts of ourselves, which are good or socially desirable, but also those which we may not be fond of. It is important to realise the importance of all our traits and behaviours, while being compassionate toward ourselves. One practice to incorporate is daily affirmations, saying some positive statements for self-empowerment. This helps us to appreciate ourselves and feel a deeper connection. For example, just keep repeating to yourself, “I feel safe and loved”.

The best gift we can give to ourselves is being comfortable in our own company that life becomes an experience in itself. As Annie Dillard rightly states, “How we spend our days, is of course, how we spend our lives”. So, let’s not wait for “things to fall into place” to feel better, let’s take the responsibility for our own peace and happiness. Making conscious living a way of life is the key to living a peaceful life. So, adopt these strategies and find peace within, while gaining self-awareness.

–Arushi Malik, Counselling Psychologist at Kaleidoscope – a Unit of Dr Bakshi’s Healthcare. Views expressed are personal.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Coach-Soch: Questions a leader must ask

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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To question is to think. To think is to introspect. To introspect is to seek. To seek is to be aware. To be aware is when the journey begins.

How does one invest in a company or a founder when that individual does not respond to multiple calls or messages, or emails?

Shocking, especially when that founder seeks advice for a special critical project and then becomes unresponsive for weeks. Yet my gut belief about that individual is excellent. 

Before we jump to conclusions, hang on. The special critical project is still active and important for the long-term survival of that organisation. The founder continues having the same organisational challenges and is caught up on some other fires to put out. The founder is highly capable, with a past proven track record. He has high enthusiasm and motivation. 

The individual has accepted that once he gets involved in high-priority work, he forgets the rest. That has a risk of organisation floundering since the individual (leader) ‘oversees’ the rest of the functions. 

Ideally, with his admission, one would assume that the founder would see his “high priority project” through, even if other aspects of the firm get stalled or stuck. 

Yet, there are contradictions here. 

He gets busy with continuing to oversee the rest of the projects, despite having capable leaders in the firm. And the ‘high priority project’ suffers.  

Ask and do? 

What should be the founder do? For example, how does the “priority” tag be assigned to projects? How should the founder look at the delegation of responsibilities? How frequently should those organizational leaders be reviewed? 

Assuming that the founder is a hands-on leader and has an open-door policy, rather more proactively has a constant-walkthrough-office and markets leadership style, how does one carve out space for the other CXOs in the firm? 

How does the founder learn to stick to the core project he is formally driving himself to? Who reviews those milestones? When does the founder start handing over his projects to others in the team to drive? How do one drive accountability and responsive leadership across the organization as a culture?  

Reality is harsher 

After all, a founder cannot be everywhere. 

But the reality of a startup or an organization growing quickly is different. It expects the founder to be omnipresent. 

If the firm is a startup having taken funding from external investors, it is also expected to be omnipotent! 

And the external stakeholders like the media expect the founder to be omniscient as well! 

That’s some high pressure to be this “Omni”-Founder. 

Remember that an organization is not built in a day or a year. Accept that. 

One can’t know everything. Therefore, it is okay to say “I don’t know” and seek answers from others. Superhumans are still not here yet. 

Just be a good individual leader with your strengths and knowing that one can’t know everything. Rest will shape up well. 

–The author, Srinath Sridharan, Corporate Advisor and Independent markets commentator.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BioNTech, Pfizer data suggests boosters may protect against Omicron infection

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test, an early signal that booster shots could be key to protection against infection from the newly identified variant.

The German and US companies said two doses of their vaccine resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but could still be protective against severe disease.

“The first line of defence, with two doses of vaccination, might be compromised and three doses of vaccination are required to restore protection,” BioNTech Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tuereci said at a press conference.

The companies also said they could deliver an upgraded vaccine targeted specifically at the Omicron variant in March 2022 if one is needed.

BioNTech and Pfizer are the first manufacturers of a COVID vaccine to issue an official update on the efficacy of their shot against Omicron.

In samples of blood taken around a month after the third shot the Omicron variant was neutralised about as effectively as two doses neutralised the original virus identified in China.

The Omicron variant, first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong last month, has triggered global alarm about another surge in infections. Cases have already been reported from Japan to the United States and across Europe.

“The new data from Pfizer on vaccine effectiveness against Omicron is encouraging,” U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted on Wednesday. “Anyone who is eligible and has not been boosted should go get a booster today.”

BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin suggested that countries might consider shortening the time period between second and third doses of the vaccine to combat the new variant.

He cited recent moves by countries including Britain to bring the third shot forward to three months after the second shot, from six months previously.

“We believe this is the right way to go particularly if the Omicron is now spreading further, to enable a better level of protection in the winter season,” Sahin said.

Dr. Walter Orenstein, a professor at Vanderbilt and former director of the U.S. CDC’s immunization programs, said he found the data encouraging because it suggests that the current vaccines are still usable against the Omicron.

“We may not have to change the vaccine,” he said. “We may be able to get by with the current vaccine, at least for repression of severe disease.”

OMICRON-SPECIFIC VACCINE

The World Health Organization classified Omicron on Nov. 26 as a “variant of concern” but said there was no evidence to support the need for new vaccines specifically designed to tackle the variant and its mutations.

Nevertheless, the companies said they would continue efforts to bring an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine to market. Work started on Nov. 25.

They said their planned production of 4 billion doses of the Comirnaty vaccine in 2022 was not expected to change if an adapted vaccine was required. BioNTech said that even if an adapted vaccine was available in March, it would not be broadly available for some time, noting that perhaps 25 to 75 million doses of the new vaccine would be ready at first.

Pfizer scientist Kena Swanson said the company is considering also testing two doses of an Omicron-specific vaccine in currently unvaccinated people.

Pfizer and BioNTech’s findings are broadly in line with a preliminary study published by researchers at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa on Tuesday, which said Omicron could partially evade protection from two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and suggested a third shot might help fend off infection.

Research on the new variant is still at an early stage. Laboratory analysis at University Hospital Frankfurt in Germany found the ability to mount an antibody response to Omicron in people who had three shots was up to 37 times lower than the response to Delta.

Even so, two shots of the vaccine may still protect against severe disease, Pfizer and BioNTech said.

The vast majority of surface structures on the Omicron spike protein targeted by the T-cells, which typically emerge after vaccination, are not affected by Omicron’s mutations, they said.

T-cells are the second pillar of an immune response, alongside antibodies, and are believed to prevent severe disease by attacking infected human cells.

For their analysis, the two companies used a virus that was bio-engineered to have the hallmark mutations of Omicron, known as a pseudovirus, and blood was collected from subjects three weeks after a second vaccine dose or one month after a third.

There is no significant data yet on how vaccines from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other drugmakers hold up against the new variant but they are expected to release their own data within weeks.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow