Jamshedpur XLRI confers Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal on Dr Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals – Times of India

Accepting the medal from the Chairman, Reddy said, “It is an honor and I thank you for inviting me to the 66th Annual Convocation of XLRI. In the turbulent 2 years, a beacon of hope was provided by healthcare and I believe that this award is for unsung heroes in this sector. If Covid-19 was a war then these people were truly peace makers and that brings me to today’s heroes.

She also congratulated the students saying, “Today is a very special day in your life it might happen once or twice or four times but each time it’s very special and to graduate from India’s most eminent institute I congratulate to all students, faculties to nurture and care, families who supported and encouraged to study hard and to everybody in the ecosystem to see what you’ve done.”
Reddy talked about the need of Agility & Resilience in today’s era. She said, “Agility is today a mantra which all institutions and workplaces use. Just as we cannot survive without oxygen, corporates also cannot think to survive today without agility. As an institution that is greatly appreciated and forward thinking, agility is hard wired into each one of us. It is not DNA that doesn’t exist. It’s a quality that helps you transform into dire circumstances.”

She added, “Anxiety in the healthcare industry over the last 2 years and a country like ours has coped up with Covid so well that it is now becoming a lesson for universities abroad (Harvard & Boston). I have myself taken a session & talked about India fighting covid and I’m proud to be an Indian. How sustainable we can be, we showed the world.I am proud to be an Indian.”

She also shared some facts like, India has discovered the Covid-19 Vaccine in 4-5 months. 70% of the medical items were earlier imported. Overnight government factories turned to medical factories and they manufactured masks and PPE. India didn’t have enough ventilators and a company called Metronix gave away their patent rights, companies like Tata and Mahendra started manufacturing ventilators and this is a great lesson of giving back to society. The oxygen crisis is also another example.

XLRI also gave 10 students special awards including the XLRI Medal for Social Initiatives, Best All-Rounder Student in memory of Parineet Reddy, and for obtaining the highest CQPI in different streams.

XlRI Director Fr. Paul Fernandes. SJ congratulated the graduating students, He said, “XLRI started with the dream to change the face of the earth in 1948. We thank our Chairman for all his services and constant support for XLRI to rise higher. We thank Dr. Preetha Reddy for accepting our Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for social and industrial peace. My dear students, you will be known for your service to humanity so someday I hope we will be able to honor you for your service to humanity.”

CEO and MD Tata Steel, and Chairman XLRI TV Narendran addressed the graduation ceremony. He said, “The last 2 years have given us a lot of time to reflect on what’s happening around us, exposed us to vulnerabilities and how we dealt with things happening around us. We fool ourselves saying that we are strong, developed and advanced. A virus as small as this had such a big impact. The virus demonstrated that we can find solutions to problems, the way the world fought together and the way people came together to find solutions is incredible. The last 2 years has accelerated us to the future. We have become more inclusive. Local issues become global and global issues impact us locally. India is a potential source but also a potential market.”