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Time of India
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
150 trees down, cars crushed: City sees 30 mins of mayhem
Noida: A roof was torn off a kiosk, plaster ripped from a building, and several trees and power poles were uprooted as a powerful storm and rain battered the city for over 30 minutes late on Saturday afternoon. Around 150 tree collapse incidents were reported from sectors 27, 53, 19 and 20. Twenty power and traffic poles were also uprooted, disrupting traffic movement in several stretches. Near DM Chowk in Sector 27, a traffic pole collapsed on a car, crushing its roof. Videos circulating on social media show motorists halt, duck, and cross the broken pole blocking the road. "The wind was strong and caused the pole to collapse. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. We removed the damaged pole, and the driver (of the Kia Seltos) managed to drive the car home. At present, we are managing traffic manually at this crossing and have informed the Noida Authority to replace the pole," said Surendra Singh, traffic sub-inspector. In Sector 27, a tree fell outside Kailash Hospital, blocking the road in front of the facility. The hospital staff and traffic police worked together to clear the obstruction. Another tree was uprooted near Film City in Sector 16, affecting traffic movement towards Sector 18. Videos shared on X showed the roof of a kiosk in Sector 151 being ripped off and blown away in the storm. In Greater Noida West, a large chunk of the plaster collapsed from the 22nd floor of a condominium, Ajnara Homes, during the rain and crashed on a car parked below, severely damaging it. Dinkar Pandey, a resident of the society, told TOI that the incident happened around 5 pm after a strong storm hit. "A large block of plaster from a concrete joint between towers I and J on the 22nd floor collapsed on a Honda Amaze parked in the surface parking area below. The chunk came down with a loud crash, triggering fear among residents," Pandey said. While no one was injured, a video of the incident shared on X showed that the window glass and roof of the car were shattered. A similar thunderstorm on Friday evening blew off the glass doors and windows at Jaypee Aman in Sector 151. Yogesh Singh, AOA president of the society, told TOI that the incident happened around 4.30 pm on Friday. "All flats in the society have PVC sliding doors on the balcony. On Friday evening, the sliding doors came crashing down at a flat on the 10th floor in Tower 23 due to the strong winds. No one was injured, but the damage is massive as the whole PVC pane has detached from the balcony wall, and the flat owners are now in discussions with the builder and maintenance office for repairs," said Singh. Hemant Parmar, a local resident, said there is no other residential society in the neighbourhood, and the society was open from all four sides. Air conditioner units were torn from their mounts due to the gusty winds in a few other flats. Vishal Bhutani, facility manager, said that about 15-20 flats were damaged due to wind and rainfall on Friday. "As per the builder-buyer agreement, the internal damages shall be borne by the flat owner,s while the outer damages shall be borne by the developer. However, since it is a natural calamity, we are holding talks with the residents to get the flats repaired amiably," he said.
News18
09-05-2025
- General
- News18
'Egg Of The Sun': This Rare Japanese Mango Costs More Than Diamonds
Last Updated: At Japan auctions, a single pair of Miyazaki mangoes, known as the "Egg of the Sun", can fetch an astonishing Rs 2.7 lakh (roughly $3,000). As summer's heat settles across the country, so does the seasonal craving for mangoes. But among the baskets of golden Alphonsos and Dasheris lies a rare, ruby-red jewel that has stunned both taste buds and wallets – the Miyazaki mango, widely considered the most expensive mango on Earth. Known poetically as the 'Egg of the Sun", the Miyazaki mango is a marvel of colour and craftsmanship. With its deep crimson skin and lusciously sweet flesh, this mango isn't just a fruit – it's a luxury item cultivated with meticulous care in Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture. Each fruit is pampered from the moment it begins to flower. Pollination isn't left to nature; it's done by hand. Once the fruit begins to grow, it's cradled in individual mesh nets, protecting it from pests and dust while ensuring uninterrupted sunlight for perfect ripening. This intense level of precision farming is what gives the Miyazaki mango its signature look and exceptional taste. Rich in antioxidants, dietary fibre, and natural sugars, the mango boasts a Brix score (a measure of sweetness) of 15 or more – placing it well above average mangoes in both taste and texture. The flesh is soft, buttery, and so decadently sweet that it often replaces dessert entirely. All this care comes at a price. At auctions in Japan, a single pair of Miyazaki mangoes can fetch an astonishing Rs 2.7 lakh (roughly $3,000) especially when they meet the highest quality grade and are labeled as 'Eggs of the Sun'. Their rarity and labour-intensive production process ensure that only a limited number ever reach this elite category. In 2021, Surendra Singh, a farmer from Bihar, made headlines by successfully cultivating Miyazaki mangoes on in India. After importing two saplings from Japan, Singh managed to harvest 21 mangoes in his very first season. His quiet agricultural experiment ignited widespread interest among farmers in growing high-end, exotic fruits. Although Indian-grown Miyazaki mangoes don't yet command the same prices as their Japanese counterparts, their very presence hints at a transformative shift in the country's farming landscape. First Published: May 09, 2025, 17:26 IST
Mint
30-04-2025
- Health
- Mint
The changing face of the Indian healthcare industry: A focus on access, affordability and quality
A growing demand for personalised healthcare, efficiencies in healthcare costs and digital innovations are changing the face of the Indian healthcare industry. There is a strong push towards achieving greater levels of efficiencies in healthcare costs that have burgeoned in India in the past few years, thereby ensuring that quality healthcare becomes more accessible and sustainable. Powering this transformation are rapid advancements in the digital space, which are creating new possibilities in how healthcare is delivered and experienced by both sides – patients as well as providers. In a country as vast and diverse as India, this is expected to address some fundamental challenges, including expanding access to quality healthcare across different geographies ensuring affordability for a much larger section of our population and, at the same time, elevating the quality of healthcare being provided. Global Capability Centres (GCCs) like Optum India, the GCC of United Health Group, are playing a pivotal part in this transformation journey as they move beyond traditional roles focused on cost savings and operational efficiency. In a recent panel discussion, leaders from Optum India – including Rohit Agarwal, Senior Vice President for Transformation, Innovation and Enablement, Abhishek Kumar, Senior Vice President for Operations, Surendra Singh, Senior Vice President for Operations, Madhuri Raya, Vice President of Software Engineering – shared their insights on the pressing issues faced by the Indian healthcare industry and the way forward towards a more human-centered health system, driven by frontline-led innovation and deeply integrated TechOps cultures. Key challenges in healthcare 'I think the three key challenges in healthcare are lower cost, improved access to care and the quality of outcomes. The healthcare cost has been steadily rising over the years. If you were to look at the US, I think it has crossed over 5 trillion more than the inflation in the country,' said Surendra Singh, as he set the context for the discussion. The second challenge – access to healthcare in the remote corners of any country – saw advancements during the pandemic with the introduction of tele-health, which brought your doctor closer home on your smartphone screen. But, this also has its challenges in terms of safety, privacy, and the depth to which teleconsulting can actually provide the right degree of care. Finally, he stressed on the imperative of not just providing care but ensuring its effectiveness. 'Technology has enabled us to manage health outcomes in real time, manage protocols, procedures, best actions, medicine adherence, and so on. We need to continue to strengthen some of these to become more real time, to be able to and also start monitoring health outcomes, rather than just in and out of healthcare facilities. Abhishek Kumar stressed that the core of any healthcare system is the interaction between a physician and the patient. 'Everything around that is really an admin setup to enable that entire process. Unfortunately, what happens today is a lot of time a physician spends doing a lot of admin activities, which is essential to be able to get reimbursements for the care provided. I think moving away from a volume-based care to a value-based care, creating incentive for physicians for delivering value pitches, which means you avoid readmission, you improve medication adherence – that's the broad impact that the entire thing creates.' Addressing challenges using technology However, physicians need the right actionable knowledge in order to offer value-based care to their patients with more personalised healthcare outcomes at reduced costs. For patients, the goal is empowerment through information, so that they can make the right healthcare decisions for themselves. All this is being made possible through technology. Outlining the key technological trends in this space, Madhuri Raya highlighted the potential of tele health to 'increase the accessibility, whether you are in the rural areas or if you are on a mobile' and the transformative impact of emerging tech to 'deliver the personalised care to patients based on their previous markers'. Interoperability, she explained, is crucial for enabling large population health data analysis. There is a preventive and a curative aspect to healthcare, and both of these need to be integrated into the solutions as hyper personalisation enables people to take better care of themselves with the use of data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging tech like smart wearables, which can help with prevention as well as cure with early diagnosis. Innovative solutions for the healthcare ecosystem The panel went on to discuss the key drivers for innovation, which include people, process, technology and data. It starts with an informed and a tech-enabled consumer who can use the internet and understand his/ her health condition, find the right doctor, carry out a price comparison, set up an appointment and make alterations, if needed. 'It is making sure that the entire healthcare experience is in the hands of the consumer at a place and at a time when the consumer needs it. I think that is going to be an absolutely critical trend,' said Rohit Agarwal. The second one is around wellness, which is gaining priority. The third one is a digital platform that helps drive interoperability and the last one is the move towards value-based competency models. Agarwal further felt Optum is a key driver of this change, and said: 'I think Optum is well-positioned to really accelerate and drive this innovation in the healthcare industry. We've got a program that we call Innovate, which is our innovation framework, which really helps us bring together multiple aspects of what really is needed to guide that innovation and is helping us really accelerate innovation.' Synergy between technology and business operations The panellists underscored the critical need for alignment between technology and operations, which is a shift from the historic model wherein technology and operations were two distinct functions operating out of different office spaces. 'If we are able to look at co-location of operations and technology teams, that can drive a lot of synergies, and fill a lot of silos. Getting technology and ops together allows you to be able to make sure that your technology roadmap is linked to the preferences and the requirements of the patient and the provider,' said Kumar. 'The second element is how do you look at adjacent capabilities, and how do you create value out of that? At Optum, we have all the capabilities. We run claims, we do revenue cycle management, we do clinical, pharmacy benefit management. If you look at that, each one of them serves the patient or the provider at some stage or the other. Now, each of them is interconnected,' he further said. Identifying opportunities The healthcare space is dotted with new innovations to tackle challenges around quality and consumer experience. The panel also discussed how leaders can find the right solutions to prioritise. 'Innovation is going to be effective only when it's aligned to the priorities of the enterprise. So it is extremely critical that we make sure that everybody in the organisation understands what enterprise priorities are,' said Agarwal. He also stressed upon the importance of a patient-centric approach and added: 'it is important to make sure that we are putting the consumer at the centre of everything we do that makes sure that we focus on the right real problems, the real pain points.' At Optum, this is done through 'voice of the consumer surveys', 'voice of the employee', and 'voice of the process'. 'We leverage our Innovate framework...a multi-faceted program that brings people, process, technology and data together to make sure that we're able to really focus on the key things and accelerate innovation across the company. Ideas can be everywhere, but ideas really are created or brought together when we have a strong innovation culture. And for me, I think that is the single most important thing,' he said. Developing the Tech organisation Players like Optum offer multiple ways for business teams to stay up to date with this landscape of changing technologies and continued innovation. Raya spoke about Optum Tech University which offers a lot of courses in technology, operational agility, organisational agility, design thinking, customer centricity, and the like. They also organise industry-focused events that 'bring in the industry leaders, our technology partners and our own employees in one explore what we can do for the future of technology'. 'Continuous upskilling and reskilling and the creation of an environment like a sandbox that employees can actually work there, build their systems without disrupting their core functionality' are some of the important steps towards innovation. The panel stressed the importance of building solutions that are scalable. 'A creativity mindset is key when you are building solutions, identifying your stakeholders and engaging with them. I think the diverse perspectives from multiple stakeholders helps in building strong systems,' said Raya. 'Innovation initiatives should be aligned to strategic objectives that they have to be measured against some predefined KPIs, that emphasise the importance of balancing our short-term wins versus long-term value creation,' said Singh. He enlisted some key points that make innovations successful, the first of which is adoption both internally by employees and externally by customers for which they need to be simple and effective. 'I think higher rates of adoption are a true signal that we have really solved a real-world problem, either internally, for our team members or for our members or customers. Second, you will measure them qualitatively as well as quantitatively,' he said. In conclusion, the future of Indian healthcare is linked to the evolution of its GCCs. As these hubs continue to mature, their focus on technological advancement, innovative solutions, and a deeply ingrained patient-first approach will be instrumental in building a healthcare ecosystem that is more efficient and accessible to all but also fundamentally more attuned to the individual needs of every Indian. First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 06:19 PM IST
News18
21-04-2025
- Sport
- News18
Distance Runner Sawan Barwal Seals Asian Athletics Championships Qualification With 10,000m Gold At Kochi
Published By : IANS Barwal clocked 28:57.13 in the men's 10,000m on the opening day of the 28th National Federation Senior Athletics Championship at Kochi's Maharaja's College Stadium. The Army runner's showing bettered the previous meet record of 28:57.90 set in 2007 by Surendra Singh in Kolkata. Army's distance runner Sawan Barwal's prediction of podium finish came true. On his way to the gold medal in the men's 10,000m he improved meet record and also qualified for the May 27-31 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. Barwal clocked 28:57.13 in the men's 10,000m on the opening day of the 28th National Federation Senior Athletics Championship at Kochi's Maharaja's College Stadium. His performance was better than the previous meet record of 28:57.90 set in 2007 by Surendra Singh in Kolkata. The AFI (Athletics Federation of India) qualification time in the men's 10,000m was 29:33.26. 'I'm happy to have won a gold medal with a meet record and also booked a berth for the continental competition in May," Barwal said in the post race interaction. With focus on winning a berth for Asian Championships, the army runner surged ahead with five laps to go. 'I could have done better in the race, but there was no one to challenge me," he added. Abhishek Pal representing Railway Sports won silver with a time of 29:14.86. Pal also dipped below the Asian Athletics qualification time of 29:33.26. Kiran Matre of the Army claimed the bronze medal. He clocked 29:47.62. The women's 10,000m gold went to Maharashtra's international runner Sanjivani Jadhav whose winning time was 33:44.43. Sanjivani missed the Asian qualification time of 33:24.79. Seema of Himachal Pradesh took home silver with a time of 34:55.92. While Beby of Uttar Pradesh settled for bronze. Her time was 34:59.67. In the afternoon session, the focus was on men's javelin throw. Top seven throwers dipped below the Asian qualification mark of 75.36m. However, the day's honour went to Uttar Pradesh talented thrower Sachin Yadav, whose gold medal winning throw was 83.86m achieved in fifth attempt. His other attempts were 78.04, 80.22m, 75.97, 79.69m and 83.67m. There was intense drama in the men's 100m. Punjab's Gurindervir Singh representing Reliance trailed home at the last spot. Pranav Pramod of Railway sports emerged as the fastest male runner of the meet. Pramod's winning time was 10.27 seconds. Telangana's Nithya Gandhe was the fastest female runner of the meet. Her winning time was 11.50 seconds. Finalists were spotted in the men and women's 400m event. Rupal of Uttar Pradesh was fastest in women's 400m semis with a time of 52.65 seconds. Kerala's Manu TS was fastest in the men's 400m with a time of 46.52 seconds. (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - IANS) First Published:
