Latest news with #Kalyanaraman
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kalyanaraman becomes latest to leave Maryland Department of Health
Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman testified in March on nursing home inspections to the House Health and Government Operations Committee. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters) The deputy secretary of public health services is leaving the Maryland Department of Health this week after two years serving under the Moore Administration and more than a decade in both private and public health services in Maryland, state officials confirmed Monday. Tuesday will be Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman's last day with the department. 'We thank Dr. Kalyanaraman for raising his hand to serve the people of Maryland — especially through the COVID pandemic — as a dedicated champion for public health,' according to a spokesperson for Gov. Wes Moore. His departure is the latest in a string that began in February, when then-Secretary Laura Herrera Scott left amid several controversies at the department, including oversight issues at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a high-security hospital that has been riddled with complaints of patient abuse and violence. Secretary Meena Seshamani, a former top official with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, took the reins of the department in April. Just last week, Erin McCullen left her position as the department's chief of staff, a position she's held since 2023. McCullen also worked in the department in various positions from 2013 through 2017. Chase Cook also left his job last week as the department's director of communications, following several years in the position. Former CMS administrator takes helm of controversy-laden health department As the deputy secretary of public health services, Kalyanaraman has spoken on a wide variety of health and safety issues throughout the years — from heat illnesses and dental health workforce to bird flu threat levels and more. Before working with the Moore administration, Kalyanaraman served as the health officer for Anne Arundel County from September 2019 through March 2023, leading the county through the COVID-19 pandemic. 'He was a really, really good resource for the issues that we dealt with during COVID,' said Sen. Pam Beidle (D-Anne Arundel), chair of the Senate Finance Committee. 'He was always willing to do a webinar with us and our constituents. I think he did a really good job guiding our county through COVID.' Before his time in local government, Kalyanaraman served from 2012 to 2019 as the chief health officer for Baltimore-based Health Care for the Homeless, a nonprofit that provides health care and housing support to 10,000 people in the region annually. He leaves a health department that's trying to pull itself out of a series of controversies and challenges. During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers grilled Kalyanaraman for answers about one of those controversies — a significant backlog of nursing home annual inspections. Kalyanaraman argued that the department had been making progress on the backlog of state inspections, but lawmakers remain concerned that some facilities had not received annual inspections for over four years, putting vulnerable senior citizens at risk of inadequate care. Kalyanaraman declined Monday to comment on his departure. Neither McCullen nor Cook responded to a request for comment. But McCullen said in a social media post about her departure from the health department that she was 'filled with immense gratitude for the privilege of serving alongside such dedicated public servants.' 'The experience has been invaluable, and I am forever thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the health and well-being of Marylanders alongside some of the best people you will ever meet,' she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Gold in Our Veins
New Delhi: In Thrissur, Kerala, the Kalyanaraman family has built a jewellery brand that goes beyond gold - it's about trust, family, and a strong connection with their community. Sitting down with Pallavi Goel of ETRetail for the latest edition of Digital Cover - Top Shelf, the family - T.S. Kalyanaraman, Managing Director; Rajesh and Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Directors at Kalyan Jewellers , shared their journey from textiles to becoming one of India's most respected jewellery names. T.S. Kalyanaraman, the founder, spoke warmly about their roots. He smiled gently as he said: We are a four-generation business family. My father - T.K. Seetharama Iyer and my grandfather - T.S. Kalyanarama Iyer, were in textile retailing and manufacturing. I started Kalyan Jewellers in 1993, as jewellery came as a natural progression, especially because customers themselves encouraged it. They would say, 'Why not jewellery? We already trust you with textiles.' Our family has been based in Thrissur for over a century, and that longstanding relationship with the community gave me the confidence to make the leap into jewellery retail.T.S. Kalyanaraman At the time, jewellery shopping was quite different - small shops, waiting weeks for orders. The family wanted to change that. T.S. Kalyanaraman explained: The difference was our background in textiles. In that business, customers shop from a ready inventory. Jewellery retail at the time was very different. Small stores, 200–300 square feet, mostly made-to-order. Customers would browse catalogues and then wait 10 to 15 days to receive their jewellery. We flipped that model. We opened a 4,000 square foot showroom with ready-to-buy inventory, like in textiles. And because the Kalyan brand was already well-trusted from our textile days, the response was overwhelming from day one. The growth that followed was steady and strategic. By 2010, Kalyan Jewellers had 35 showrooms across Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, and with a growing reputation for quality and transparency. But things weren't always easy. When they opened their second store in Palakkad, 70 km from Thrissur, they soon realised that each market is unique. Rajesh Kalyanaraman laughed softly as he shared: In the year 2000, we opened our second showroom in Palakkad a town close to Tamil Nadu border, 70 km away from Thrissur. We simply replicated the Thrissur format - same store size, inventory, pricing, and campaigns. But the results weren't as expected. We realised that Palakkad customers had very different preferences. Many were used to shopping in nearby Coimbatore and preferred designs that were more aligned with Tamil taste. They sought greater flexibility in pricing and had a different service expectation from that of the Thrissur customer. Even our advertising had to be tweaked—it needed to be more vibrant and dramatic to appeal to the local mindset. We learnt a critical lesson: to succeed and gain market share, we have to become a hyperlocal brand, instead of being a homogeneous Kalyanaraman This lesson helped as they expanded across India. Ramesh Kalyanaraman, the younger son of the family, said thoughtfully: We took the long view. Our P&L was always in the black, but we hadn't fully realised operating leverage in each state, and we chose not to wait for it. Our ambition was to build a pan-India brand, and we understood that waiting for optimal efficiency in every State would slow us down. We expanded into two to three new states each year, and by 2019–20, we had established a strong national presence. At that point, operating leverage began to take effect across the network. Between the first and second waves of COVID, we listed the company. Following the listing, we began partnering with franchisees, and since then, we've continued to grow our footprint in a strategic and focused manner. In 2015, to fuel their rapid pan-India growth, Kalyan Jewellers secured a significant investment from Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm. As they grew, the family decided to bring in professional management. Ramesh, who joined the business at 19, explained: This brand is at the heart of everything we do. My father started it (Kalyan Jewellers), my elder brother joined for the second showroom, and I followed. But as we moved towards being a national brand, we realised that passion and commitment alone weren't enough to scale operations effectively. We strengthened our structure by building a strong mid-level management team of around 100 people. In 2012, we brought in a professional leadership team, including a COO and other key roles. Today, while we continue to provide strategic direction, the day-to-day operations are managed by this team. Their journey also saw a significant milestone in 2021 when Kalyan Jewellers went public, raising Rs 1,175 crore through its IPO. It was a strong signal to the market about the brand's maturity and future-readiness. The brand's visibility and connect were amplified when it brought on board Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan in 2013. Over the years, the brand's face evolved to include the Bachchan family and a host of other celebrities such as Katrina Kaif, Rashmika Mandanna, Janhvi Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Prabhu Ganesan, and Shiva Rajkumar, helping Kalyan strike a cultural chord across regions and demographics. The family also took a step into e-commerce with their acquisition of Candere. Rajesh said simply: We were strong in offline retail but didn't want to spread ourselves thin building e-commerce internally. So we first invested in Candere, which was run by another promoter, and eventually took full ownership. Over time, e-commerce has shifted to omnichannel, where our offline expertise matters. As of March 31, 2025, Kalyan Jewellers boasts a workforce of 13,439 employees, a presence that is 33 per cent rooted in South India and 67 per cent in non-South zones, and a 7 per cent share in the organised jewellery market. The company's revenue stands at Rs 25,045 crore in FY25 with a profit of Rs 714 crore. It boasts a presence in six countries, with 388 showrooms, including 36 in the Middle East and new outposts in the USA. Looking ahead, Kalyan has its eyes set on further expansion, with 90 new showroom openings planned for FY26. In the backdrop of a double-digit growth, when asked what they want the next generation to take from this legacy, T.S. Kalyanaraman's voice softened: We want them to stay grounded in the values we've always upheld. Times have changed, and this generation's path will be different from mine, but they've seen firsthand the care and dedication we put into building this company, and I hope they embrace its spirit. Remembering the early days of Kalyan Jewellers, Rajesh said: Our journey started from ground up - in our very first showroom, we were just a small team and everyone did everything. That hands-on approach was key to our growth. Back then, with only five employees in our first showroom, if a sixth customer walked in, we didn't wait - we'd step in. For the next generation, it's crucial to understand every part of the business. Even if they start at the top, they need to learn the ropes. Only then will they truly grasp the legacy they're inheriting. Editor's Note: There's something profoundly human in the way the Kalyanaraman family talks about the brand - with warmth, pride, and a kind of affection you don't often find in corporate narratives. When they say 'Kalyan is everything to us,' it's not just a line, but a truth that has shaped their lives and their legacy. It's inspiring to see a brand that started in Kerala - a place with its own unique culture and tastes - grow into a truly pan-India name. The name 'Kalyan' itself carries different meanings across the country, but almost always reflects positivity and prosperity. This cultural resonance has helped them build a brand that feels like family to both the business and its patrons.
Mint
08-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Kalyan Jewellers Q4 Results: Profit jumps 36% YoY to ₹188 crore; dividend of ₹1.50/share announced
Kalyan Jewellers Q4 Results: Kalyan Jewellers, on Thursday, May 8, announced a 36% year-on-year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit to ₹ 188 crore for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). The figure stood at ₹ 138 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations in Q4 FY25 rose 37% YoY to ₹ 6,182 crore, as against ₹ 4,525 crore in the same period a year-ago. The company said its standalone India revenue and PAT for Q4 FY25 came in at ₹ 5,350 crore and ₹ 185 crore, respectively, a growth of 38% and 41%. Middle East business also saw a growth, as the March 2025 quarter revenue rose 26% YoY to ₹ 784 crore. Meanwhile, profit saw a 22% increase to ₹ 12 crore. However, the lifestyle jewellery platform Candere recorded a net loss of 12 crore for Q4 FY25. Its revenue, meanwhile, stood at ₹ 28 crore. For the full financial year, the company recorded consolidated revenue of ₹ 25,045 crore, as against ₹ 18,516 crore in the previous financial year, a growth of 35% YoY. Consolidated PAT for FY25 stood at ₹ 714 crore as against a PAT of ₹ 596 crore in the previous financial year. Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director, Kalyan Jewellers India said, 'We had an excellent start to the current financial year despite continuing volatility in gold prices, carrying forward the momentum in business from the previous financial year." Kalyanaraman added that Kalyan Jewellers witnessed a robust growth in Akshaya Tritiya sales this year, which fell during the first quarter of FY26. "We continue to see encouraging momentum in consumer demand, especially around the wedding purchases during the current quarter,' he added, highlighting sustained buying momentum despite record-high gold prices. Along with the financial results, Kalyan Jewellers' board also declared a dividend of ₹ 1.50 (15%) per equity share of ₹ 10 each for FY25. '… Recommendation of a final dividend of ₹ 1.50 (15%) per equity share of 10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2025, subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting of the Company,' Kalyan Jewellers said in a filing. Ahead of the earnings announcement, Kalyan Jeweller share price ended the session at ₹ 511.30, down 2.17% on the BSE.
Hindustan Times
23-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
IIT Madras celebrates 66th Institute Day, felicitates students, alumni & faculty achievers
Chennai, The Indian Institute of Technology Madras celebrated its 66th Institute Day on Wednesday by felicitating extraordinary achievers among its faculty, researchers, students and alumni. While the institute scaled numerous heights in the last one year, a major feat was the unparalleled achievement of being ranked number one in 'Overall' Category for the sixth consecutive year in NIRF Rankings and in 'Engineering Institutions' category for nine consecutive years from 2016 to 2024, the institute said. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, Chief Executive Officer, Anusandhan National Research Foundation , a 1993 Batch student of IIT Madras, who was the chief guest, was conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award for his immense accomplishments in the field of technology and business in 2021. S Somnath, former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, was also among those conferred with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Speaking on the occasion, Kalyanaraman said the ANRF was envisaged to be one of the pillars of Viksit Bharat 2047. "The goal of the foundation is to be the apex of innovation and collaboration and drive the formation of the next generation of India's human capital,' he said. He further said that the institution derived inspiration from institutions across the world including NRF and DARPA in the U.S. 'We have a special mandate for both public and private institutions. We will be supporting mission-oriented moonshot projects with directed research and directed innovations. The pathway from fundamental research to applied research through the innovation valley of death is arduous but I am delighted to see the innovation ecosystem at IIT Madras. We will be doing programs to support deep-tech start-ups and innovation,' Kalyanaraman said. Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said the last academic year has been both challenging and rewarding, including the conferring of Padma Shri on Pawan Goenka, Chairman, BoG, IIT Madras, and IIT Madras distinguished Alumnus awardee Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, U.S. National Research Foundation. 'Our BS in Data Science and Applications program has been a major success with three students securing top positions in the top 10 of the GATE DA Paper, including AIR 1,' he said. The newly-inaugurated Career Pathway Centre provides students with comprehensive career guidance. Students explore multiple career path options including jobs in industry, civil services, higher studies and entrepreneurship. The institute would soon have incubators for quantum technology, fintech and sustainability. 'Towards Viksit Bharat 2047, we want many of our Alumni to join the civil services and contribute to the growth of the nation. We have launched a structured program to help our students prepare effectively for UPSC,' Kamakoti, said. The Institute Research and Development Awards and Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Early Career Award 2025, Mid-Career awards, Institute Blues 2025 Awards for students, Distinguished Alumnus Awards and Young Alumni Achiever Awards were presented on the occasion.
