BIC TALKS

Medical Scientist Dr. Gagandeep Kang talks to host Pavan Srinath about ongoing drug development efforts against COVID-19. She discusses the challenges of developing antiviral medicines and lays out the unprecedented efforts taking place to test drugs old and new, against the novel Coronavirus.

In case you missed it, Dr. Kang was previously on Episode 8 of BIC Talks, 'A Quest for Immunity', to talk about vaccine development against COVID-19.

Dr. Gagandeep Kang is a 2016 Infosys Prize laureate, and is currently the Executive Director of the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute. Dr Kang is a key contributor to the understanding of diarrhoeal diseases, rotavirus epidemiology and vaccinology in India, with a stellar career at Christian Medical College Vellore. She is also the Chair of the National Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation and the Vice Chair for the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations.

BIC Talks is brought to you by the Bangalore International Centre. Visit the BIC website for show notes, links and more information about the guest.

Dr. Gagandeep Kang talks to host Pavan Srinath about ongoing drug development efforts against COVID-19. She discusses the challenges of developing antiviral medicines, unpacks the drug discovery process, and talks about the ongoing trials for drugs old and new, against the novel Coronavirus.

Dr. Kang is an award-winning medical scientist and the Executive Director of the THSTI. She was previously on The Quest for Immunity on BIC Talks to talk about vaccines for COVID-19.

Indian Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao and Pakistani singer/writer Ali Sethi engage on the meaning of South Asian identity today. Is there a logic that makes for greater South Asian integration? South Asia is an integer despite the political and security issues that create divergent narratives concerning the region. But there are numerous historical, cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties that link people across the region. This podcast explores the connections. In collaboration with The South Asian Symphony Foundation.

Indian Ambassador Nirupama Menon Rao and Pakistani singer/writer Ali Sethi engage on the meaning of South Asian identity today. Is there a logic that makes for greater South Asian integration?

South Asia is an integer despite the political and security issues that create divergent narratives concerning the region. But there are numerous historical, cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties that link people across the region.

In collaboration with The South Asian Symphony Foundation.

Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited, talks to host Pavan Srinath and Ravichandar about his life as an outsider, now working in an executive role within government. Raj Cherubal is the first Smart City CEO who is not from the Government services. Raj shares what they have been able to accomplish so far, and situates the smart city programme within the larger governance system of a metropolitan city like Chennai.

Chennai Smart City Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV that was set up to house all the smart city initiatives in the city. Before Raj's appointment as its CEO in 2017, he was the director of projects at Chennai City Connect. With a background in physics and nuclear engineering, Raj has been actively involved in civic projects in Chennai and in Indian civil society for over a decade. His past stints include key positions at the Centre for Civil Society and Janaagraha.

Ranjan Kamath is a filmmaker and a theatre practitioner, and at the end of the episode, do listen to Ranjan reading his poem, 'Alone …or Lonely?'

Visit the Bangalore International Centre website for more links and show notes for the episode, and to stay up to date on livestreams, upcoming podcast episodes and future events.

Raj Cherubal, CEO of Chennai Smart City Limited, talks to Pavan Srinath and Ravichandar about his life as an outsider, now working in an executive role within government - he is the first 'non Government service' CEO of a smart city. Raj Cherubal shares what they have been able to accomplish so far, and situates the smart city programme within the larger governance system of a metropolitan city like Chennai.

Don’t miss Ranjan Kamath’s reading of his poem ‘Alone.. or Lonely?’ at the end of this e

Arghya Sengupta from the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, talks to host Pavan Srinath about the Aarogya Setu app. He discusses how the Aarogya Setu ("Health Bridge" or "Bridge to Health") app works, how it can benefit health services as well as app users, its trade-offs on privacy, and how its use should be voluntary and not mandated by rules.

Aarogya Setu is a COVID-19 tracking app launched by the Government of India on April 2, 2020 and has been downloaded over a 100 million times till date.

Arghya and a team from Vidhi assisted the government in drafting a Data and Knowledge Sharing Protocol for the app, which was released on May 11, 2020.

Arghya is the Founder and Research Director of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a legal think tank based in Delhi and Bangalore. Arghya was also a member of the Justice B.N. Srikrishna-led committee of experts on a data protection framework for India.

Visit the Bangalore International Centre website for more links and show notes for the episode, and to stay up to date on livestreams, upcoming podcast episodes and future events.

Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, talks to host Pavan Srinath about the Aarogya Setu app. He discusses how the app works, its benefits to health services and users, its trade-offs on privacy, and how its use should be voluntary and not mandated by rules.

Aarogya Setu is a COVID-19 tracking app that has been downloaded 100 million+ times. A team from Vidhi Legal assisted the government in drafting a data and knowledge sharing protocol for the app.

M.R. Madhavan, President of PRS Legislative Research, talks to host Pavan Srinath about how the Indian State and Union legislatures have been missing in action during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the UK, New Zealand and other democracies have had an active legislature, the Indian parliament was not addressing the pandemic until the lockdown, and has not acted since. Madhavan suggests how India can pass new laws, oversee the executive and carry out its constitutional role during the ongoing pandemic.

MR Madhavan is the President and Co-Founder of PRS Legislative Research, one of India's most unique and impactful think-tanks. PRS tracks the functioning of the Indian Parliament and works with MPs across political parties and MLAs from various states. PRS provides research support to legislators via analysis of legislative issues, by providing fellowships to research assistants and more.

During COVID-19, PRS has been tracking over 4,000 government orders and rules till date across State and Union levels on their website.

Visit the Bangalore International Centre website for more links and show notes for the episode, and to stay up to date on livestreams, upcoming podcast episodes and future events.

M.R. Madhavan, President of PRS Legislative Research, talks to host Pavan Srinath about how the Indian State and Union legislatures have been missing in action during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the UK, New Zealand and other democracies have had an active legislature, the Indian parliament was not addressing the pandemic until the lockdown, and has not acted since. Madhavan suggests how India can pass new laws, oversee the executive and carry out its constitutional role during the ongoing pandemic.