Q. When you founded the TDU, what was your main objective and vision for education?
A. In 1990, we felt that it is important to have an organised database of all medicinal plants so we started a new institute called Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Tradition. It took us years to get it running and we finally managed to do so with the help of Danish government funding. The idea was to create a modern computerised database genetic pool in terms of modern chemistry. Then we started a hospital to treat patients with traditional medicines. We realised that there is a big vacuum here between traditional and modern practices.
Modern medicine does not believe in some of these [traditional] practices because we don't have enough data, experiments and proof. We felt that there is a need for transdisciplinary medicine where we take best of both practices and provide services to large populations in rural areas who have access to traditional medicine but don't have access to modern ones. The university came about as our effort to encourage transdisciplinary sciences.
We have leadership lessons in traditional wisdom as well as in modern business administration. Our idea is to merge the best of modern and traditional to create an integrated knowledge base.
Q. You served as chairman of the National Knowledge Commission. What impact did it have?
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The 50 colleges in 5 countries where most Indians go for MBBS abroad
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After spending lakhs on MBBS degrees abroad, thousands spend years trying to clear the FMGE. That is the only option for Indian graduates of foreign medical colleges to build a career in India
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There has been an increase in nursing institutes over the past two decades but policy gaps, lax regulations, poor pay and opportunities are pushing a large number of nursing staff to seek opportunities abroad
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These are accessible round-the-clock, even on public holidays, have private cabins and booths, kitchen, discussion area and some, even places for napping
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Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC
This father-daughter duo uncovered a scam in NEET admissions in West Bengal
Several generalcategory students had secured admission in medical colleges with forged ST certificates. Ishita Soren spotted the names, and her father followed up
'Forced to take up bonded labour
There's massive resistance to a state policy in Karnataka that requires even private medical college graduates to do one year's mandatory rural service
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Despite NMC orders, many medical colleges still seriously underpay resident doctors and threaten them into silence. In government colleges, stipends can be delayed for months
Why Mizoram wants centre to take over its only medical college
Mizoram got its first state medical college in 2018. In 2023, it asked the union government to take over. Mixed up in this are questions of funding, MBBS seat distribution
