6 January, 2024, Chennai: Krea University hosted the book launch of Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future by Dr Raghuram Rajan, Member, Governing Council, Krea University and Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Dr Rohit Lamba, Assistant Professor of Economics, Pennsylvania State University. The event was held at Taj Club House in Chennai.
Eminent thought leaders from diverse fields were in attendance, including Lakshmi Narayanan, Chancellor, Krea University, Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister for Information Technology & Digital Services, Tamil Nadu and N Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited.
In the welcome speech, Lakshmi Narayanan, emphasised how over the years, Dr Rajan has gifted ideas, experience, and time to build the foundation of Krea. How in the context of a world that no longer works in silos, Dr Rajan has been a firm believer in creating a space where wholesome education enables young open minds to embark on the journey of becoming thinkers, do-ers and changemakers. The closing remarks were delivered by N Ram and the event included a discussion between the authors and Jude Sannith, Assistant Editor, CNBC-TV18.
Breaking the Mould: Reimagining India’s Economic Future sheds light on India’s economic future, the nation’s own distinct space in the global economy, the future of employment, and innovative ways forward.
April is here, and the temperatures are soaring, summer has announced its arrival. As first of our series in offering the Krea community with simple and actionable tips to sail through the summer, we bring to you five commandments from holistic nutritionist,author, and entrepreneur Shiny Surendran.
This summer especially have been predicted to be intense and taking care of yourself would be important.One good note about this season is we never run out of Vitamin D levels. You might be worried that tanning might be there if you try to get the dose of vitamin D naturally but, to prevent that, you can get the daily dose from the early morning sun. Few of the other tips to manage this burning summer are as follows.
1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Hydration is very essential because due to rise in temperature and humidity, you might be losing a lot of water and electrolytes through sweat. To restore the amount of water lost through sweat, you need to step up your hydration level between 3 to 5 litres. If you are involved in any kind of sports, then your requirements increase furthermore. If you don’t rehydrate yourself, then chances of dehydration symptoms such as poor concentration, lightheadedness, urinary infections, fatigue, and much more can be experienced. The requirements for water can also be met by consuming alternatives such as tender coconut water, fresh fruit juices, diluted buttermilk, rasam, or any infused water.
2. Eating lighter foods
Summer season can directly influence the gut. Your body tries to cope the summer by increasing the blood flow which maintains the body temperature. This results in increased blood flow to the intestine as well results in a lot of gastrointestinal discomforts. So, to prevent this. knowing what you should eat is very essential. Avoiding foods that can cause bloating such as foods rich in sugars, dairy and its by-products including cheese and paneer, and any foods with gluten content and improving the consumption of rice, vegetables, fruits, whole meals, legumes can help in reducing the discomfort.
3. Including plenty of vegetables
As the risk of dehydration, indigestion and deficiencies for vitamins and minerals increases during summers, eating a variety of vegetables plays a key role. Vegetables not only provide you with essential vitamins and minerals but also helps in meeting your overall fluid requirements as well with the hydration that it has. For example, keerai is a super food as it can give your body with enough iron and folate in addition to helping in hydration.
4. Including seasonal fruits
Eating fresh, seasonal fruits are essential as you will be able to enjoy them only during the fruit bearing season. Fruits such as mango, ice-apple, watermelon, kiwi, guava, muskmelon etc can help you to get high amounts of vitamins, mineral and hydration. They not only help in meeting the bodily requirements but also helps to keep your body cool thereby preventing any heat boils from appearing.
5. Snack smart and avoid unhealthy fats
As the digestive system is very sensitive during this period, choosing healthy snacks like seasonal fruits, fresh fruit juices, makhana, popcorn (without any toppings), nuts, drinking nut milk such as almond milk or soymilk or coconut milk, etc will have a positive effect. Unhealthy snacking such as deep fried and fatty foods can impact your body in a negative way leading to frequent bowel opening and discomfort, bloating, nausea thereby affecting your daily routine and quality of life. Summer season is a season for a variety of fruits and vegetables. Eating the seasonal foods can itself serve the highest benefits for your body. Additionally, taking frequent oil baths, maintaining hygiene, maintain lifestyle by keeping yourself active, sleeping on time and waking up for an early sunshine can all help you to have a good quality of life, improve concentration and have good energy levels overall.
Eat fit and stay healthy.
About Shiny Surendran
Shiny is an internationally acclaimed sports nutritionist and is the first Indian to be certified with Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition by International Olympic Committee. She is a certified Level 2- Kinanthropometrist from ISAK New Zealand and also an accredited Sports Dietitian from Sports Dietitian Association – Australia. With her profound knowledge in the field of sports nutrition, she has helped 100s of athletes globally, both elite players who have participated in top International Championships as well as young budding athletes, optimize their athletic performance. With her specialisations in sports nutrition, preventive nutrition, Kinanthropometry and Nutrigenomics has helped high profile athletes, celebrities from film industry and several individuals deal with a wide range of nutrition related health problems including competitive athletes and recreational athletes obesity, PCOS, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, digestive disorders, infertility, food allergies etc.
In conversation with Chaarmikha Nagalla on her experiments with all things finance, contributions to the world of content creation, and projects in the pipeline
There’s a spark in Chaarmikha Nagalla’s eyes and her face lights up everytime she talks about finance. “There’s a certain joy that comes with sharing your lessons on finances with others. It’s nice to see them implement your suggestions in their lives and benefit from it,” beams Chaarmikha from the Cohort of 2023 at the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences, Krea University. A student of Economics with concentrations in Computer Science and Business Studies, Chaarmikha’s interest in business and finance intensified during the pandemic-induced lockdown. “I religiously followed a handful of Finfluencers on Instagram and picked up many trade secrets from them. It widened my horizons and shaped my perspective on managing personal finance. I remember investing my first pay cheque of Rs 1,500 from a competition in a mutual fund. Now it has compounded at a good rate and I’ve made a profit,” recollects Chaarmikha, who has been breaking down the ABCs of finance, simplifying jargon and educating her followers on social media.
Of connections and collaborations Budgeting, claiming insurance, investing… Chaarmikha sheds light on an array of topics to help followers make informed decisions. “Financial literacy is key to everyday decision-making. I’m a firm believer of thinking about money in terms of time and time in terms of money. Discussing money must not be frowned upon and information must be accessible to everyone. The wealth of information can be overwhelming but gaining financial fluency allows you to evaluate news, understand trends and business announcements,” reiterates Chaarmikha, who is also the Program Director of Project EIFL (Educate India Financially), where the team collectively envisions a financially literate world by striving to be every youngster’s go-to financial awareness program to intellectually equip themselves.
Alongside finance, her passion for empowerment and entrepreneurship brought her responsibilities and opportunities to create an impact among a larger crowd. Chaarmikha is the President of the Hyderabad Coalition of the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign that works towards bringing a change in the perception of gender dynamics globally. “The more you learn, the more you diversify. Liberal arts does that to you. Also, for me, the drive to work for women’s empowerment comes from personal sentiments given the taboo and stereotypes that I witness as a woman in everyday life. We need to normalise conversations around it,” smiles this two-time TedXSpeaker.
Chaarmikha also previously co-founded The Indian Conclave, a start-up registered under the Government of Telangana; where her team closely worked with educational institutions on leadership cultivation, entrepreneurial interest and public speaking for the youth to be equipped in this unpredictable world. “We identified and taught the key skills that are not taught at schools but are crucial for students to thrive in this competitive environment. We’ve impacted 15,000 students so far,” says a proud Chaarmikha.
Besides this, Chaarmikha’s impressive line of work includes volunteering experiences as part of campaigns and at various organisations. One that Chaarmikha cherishes the most is when she got selected among the 200 creators for the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program. “It was life-changing. I was the youngest from the lot and working alongside intellectual minds from all walks of life boosted my confidence. I got to explore and experiment with the world of content creation. There comes a responsibility with every word you put out there on digital platforms for readers to consume. The internet is a powerful resource and I intend to make the best use of it,” admits Chaarmikha who has her plate full with content creation, data analysis, social media marketing, business development and freelance graphic designing.
Campus diaries Despite wearing many hats, Chaarmikha has always taken the positions held at Krea University seriously and goes the extra mile to give her best to the legacy. The elaborate list includes – Elected Representative of the Connect Club (MUN, Debate and Quizzing societies) for two consecutive years, Student Ambassador of Outreach, Elected Representative of the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences at the University-Wide Committee on the work-study program, Founding Treasurer of the Economics Society and Executive Board member (Public Relations head) of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship club. “When you love your work, you don’t see it as a burden,” she chips in. Chaarmikha actively engages in activities pertaining to innovation and entrepreneurship, mindfulness, nature & outdoors, Connect (MUN, quiz, debate) and sports. “The experience at Krea varies for different people. It’s a platform to grow if you use the opportunity wisely. Most of my content for social media is inspired by Public Policy classes. I learn from the conversations I have with peers and professors everyday. My exposure to disciplines like Design Thinking, Philosophy and Ethics have also transformed my understanding of the world as an individual,” adds Chaarmikha.
The road ahead Going forward, Chaarmikha wishes to pursue a career in FinTech. “I either want to pursue a Master’s degree or land a job; as long as it lets me pursue my passion on the sidelines. I will start a digital marketing agency if neither of my plans work out. I would also love to contribute to content houses and their newsletters. Creative economy is another domain of interest. In a week’s time, a few of us are pitching an idea to investors on FinTech. A larger topic I’m also working on is inclusion of women in the financial ecosystem,” offers Chaarmikha, an overview of her plans in the pipeline. True to what Chaarmikha’s LinkedIn profile reveals, she breathes content 24×7. What truly keeps her tank full is taking the time out for self-introspection. “Thinking for yourself and by yourself is crucial for personal growth. This is the mantra that keeps me going,” she sums up.
Quick three with Chaarmikha
What are the best books to start learning about finance?
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason
The Financial Independence Marathon by Vinod Bhat
A tip to keep in mind while consuming information from Finfluencers on social media?
Diversify your sources and be mindful of them so you don’t fall prey to misinformation. Don’t take things blindly, do your groundwork.
How to start saving money?
Investment is the best way forward. Do your research on the benefits of compounding and budgeting. I’d encourage cash transactions so that you are aware of how much you spend.
“It all started seven months ago when I decided to do an internship that aims to help students find their right career routes and make them aware of the opportunities beyond school. Until then, I neither had much awareness of the prospects outside nor was I aspiring to do anything significant. It was after I undertook this internship that the desire to do something worthy started growing. The career path I wished to choose was still very ambiguous. I interacted with a graduate from the University of Hyderabad and her work truly inspired me, at that time I wanted to study something of the same accord. With a dilemma I had on the path I should choose, I started exploring more options. That is when I heard of the concept of liberal education. It was very new to me and I was barely aware of this field or the universities that encourage this sort of education. I started reaching out and interacting with a diverse set of people and based on the information I received, I was completely convinced that this was the right choice for me.”
Liberal education calling
Being a completely new stream, I wanted to get into the best institutions that encouraged this kind of inquisitiveness in us as learners. During my extensive search, one of my cousins strongly recommended Krea as the best choice for me. I hadn’t heard of the university before but after getting a thorough idea of Krea- the Interwoven Learning, extensive non-academic engagements and more, I was deeply impressed with the way of education here. Social studies is the subject that fascinates me the most and something I wish to pursue down my career path too. I have tried engaging in relevant classes and activities, and I am extremely glad that Krea allows and provides a lot of scope to explore the discipline. We have the opportunity to explore varied ideas and perspectives on the subjects which are multi-dimensional and the internships curated for us at NGOs across the country are very helpful. Another area of my interest is Computer Science which has undoubtedly become one of the most essential disciplines in this technology-driven world.
New beginnings at Krea
In addition to that, apart from academics, I have always had a keen interest in in different extracurricular activities. The spectrum of such activities offered at Krea through various clubs is wide-ranging and there is something to do, within and beyond the classrooms at all times. Without much ado, I applied to Krea, and after a the entire process of admissions and eventual joining and orientation, I am now at university. It’s been a month and I thoroughly enjoy each moment of my campus life. I am reassured that I have taken the right decision. Despite the little challenges I face in this new environment, I have people here who are always with me and encouraging me at each step. This is a phase I am delighted to experience.
I am Wahiq Iqbal and I come from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, a beautiful valley nestled between mountains. I am currently a first-year student at Krea University and plan to major in Computer Science. I love designing and also enjoy photography. I am an introvert but I easily open up to people I feel comfortable with.
My journey to Krea
My journey to Krea started in February 2022, when I had just undertaken my 12th class examinations and was worried about my future. I was feeling anxious about getting into a good university. In the process, I was researching on colleges voraciously to see which one would suit me best, and that’s when I suddenly stumbled upon a vlogger, Gauri Goyal who at that time was a third-year student at Krea. She had uploaded a vlog showcasing a full campus tour of Krea and that’s what really piqued my interest to come to Krea.
I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to become as I loved designing but I had chosen science in my 11th and 12th classes. Hence choosing a variety of subjects and keeping avenues open will provide me the flexibility in choosing my pathway in the future. Picking something based on how much you enjoy doing it and find interesting is as good a reason as any, so don’t be afraid to not have your whole life planned ahead of you. I went through the same experience before joining Krea.
I submitted my application form on the last date of the deadline and that too with a lot of typos and errors. For a long time, I didn’t hear anything from Krea and I was losing hope but a few months later when I finally got accepted for the Online Krea Immersive Case (OKIC) round, my happiness knew no bounds. The professors on the OKIC day were so friendly, and I also got to meet fellow aspirants. Before coming to the campus, we had a WhatsApp discussion group where we would get to know each other, our experiences and share varied thoughts.
To speak about my joy at starting my university life, I have to say I was excited to come to university for many reasons. A major one was the independence I would gain, and control over when, how, and where I wish to do things (except lectures of course). Maggi at 1 AM is allowed because no one can stop you (though that’s not healthy, so perhaps the only thing stopping you is your conscience). Another reason was the variety of clubs and committees you can join, anything you can think of, and beyond, it is right here. And if it isn’t already, you can create one and run it yourself. Last but not the least, I am here to learn, and get my degree.
The journey to Krea has been tough but I am incredibly grateful for the fantastic friends I have made, the experiences I have had, and the ones to come.
The blog is written by Rajashree Sadhu. The Author is a MBA student of IFMR GSB at Krea University
“God always have a better plan for us, though the process might be hard and painful!” that’s what my grandfather told me always. Hey wait, I am not writing this article to give you philosophical advices.
But………. Then What?
Well, this abrupt lockdown of the entire world has bought a lot of unexpected dismay in our lives (especially migrant’s workers and not so privileged section of the society). Yet, isn’t that’s what life is, it happens to us when we are busy having other plans.
We are continuously worried and grumbling about negative things that we are facing due to this pandemic- loss of lives(due to Covid-19), job losses, salary cuts, internships cancelled, business at halt, economy is at a standstill, disruption in supply-chain and above all ‘THE GREAT RECCESSION’ (on its way).
But salute to the frontline warriors- doctors, nurses, policemen, sanitation workers and others who are working day in and day out to help us overcome this tough situation. This pandemic coupled with lockdown (which is the only solution to stay safe) has put humanity into a huge test. It’s an opportunity for all of us to serve the under-privileged section of the society who are not able to get their daily bread due to lockdown and no earnings.
Yet some miserable incidents are happening in few places – like pelting of stones at policemen, doctors when they are trying to help us in this pandemic, such incidents are really unforgiving. This is not the time when we should believe in rumors, be arrogant and thereby create violence in society. We all have to fight this together and cooperate with the frontline workers.
This time too shall pass, so we should focus on the positive things that we are experiencing and how can we make the most of the time that is available to us. If you ever felt that you lack time to do the things you wanted to do then this the opportunity. Up-skilling ourselves, improving our fitness, spending time with family these are the things we always wanted to do. Life always comes to us with surprise gifts, blessings and of course hurdles which makes our lives even better.
We neither know how long will this pandemic last nor how long will this lockdown continue, but we can hope that this period will be over really soon. Optimist will always love to see the positive side of things and so if we look deeper we will realize the good things that we are experiencing at this point.
The environmental pollution levels have gone down drastically, rivers are cleaner than we have ever seen before, we are able to breathe fresh air again and a few endangered species have started to appear in few places. This makes us realize that apart from human beings other animals too have equal rights to live in this planet. Nature always has its own healing process but in our rat race to achieve more we forget that, what we are experiencing now is nothing but the collective karma to humankind! Mother Earth will come alive again and it will be more vibrant than ever before.
There is another aspect of this pandemic- a lot of business opportunities will come up. Make in India and manufacturing sectors will be boosted up far more. Every country from now on will try to be self-reliant. The change in consumer behavior will open up new avenues for businesses. Fintech, digital payments, e-commerce will experience a big boom in the days to come. Medical infrastructure will gain more importance than ever before.
Most importantly this lockdown has provided us a huge lesson- no work is small, everyone has its own importance starting from a rag-picker to a top notch celebrity. Today, we should all be grateful to the doctors, paramedical staffs and nurses who are saving millions of lives in this pandemic.
Life always allows some crisis to occur, before revealing its full bright side. As every cloud has silver lining so does everything in life, for a period we are having a tough time but we will be victorious one day. This crisis will give us the zeal to put the best in whatever we do as don’t know when our day is. This Corona Virus will take away a lot of things from us, but in return it will provide us a life time lesson that will help us in the long run.
