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1 . When Passion Meets Responsibility - A quick chat with Neel Ghose.

"Whatever we have done till now, we have done it with zero donations," says Neel Ghose, founder of Robinhood Army, an organisation that works on the strength of its volunteers.

The Robinhood Army (RHA) is a volunteer-based organisation that works towards making food consistently available to everyone who needs it. It collects surplus food from restaurants across and distributes it to the less fortunate. It believes that food is the medium to bring everyone together RHA wants it to be a 'way of life’ or a normal thing for everyone and not just be seen as things good people do. To this date, they have served more than 5.9 million people, 560 kids have gone to school, with 14000+ Robins across 66 cities in 12 countries.

Neel Ghose, co-founder of RHA, was in Hyderabad last month and I got the opportunity to talk to him during one of RHA’s drives. He says that while working in Portugal, he came across an organisation called Re-food, which collects excess food from restaurants and gives it to the less fortunate. "I loved the idea, it is just so simple, not rocket science and anyone can do it," he expressed. When he came back to India in 2014 leaving his job in Portugal, he had discussed this idea with a few of his friends, and that's how it all started.

Why do you call yourself an army?

There is no money involved. RHA is a lot about community and leadership. We think of ourselves as an army that fights hunger. We are an army in the nicest way possible.

How is RHA different from other food-collection operations?

We dont collect donations. Whatever we have done till now, we have done it with zero donations. Restaurants have been one of the best parts. Some of them not just give excess food, but also give freshly cooked food. They have been incredibly generous.

Do you think the wastage of food has reached to its peaks?

I don’t think so. Wastage of food will always be a function of the population of people which is continuously increasing across the world. Also, it’s directly related to income levels of people, which is also increasing. Wastage will continue until people realise how powerful it is to the rest.

How will RHA obtain a wider reach?

My co-founder Arushi Batra is looking after the Asian cities. I’m actively looking into Latin America and Africa. It provides basic knowledge to children to get into government schools and embrace education for the first time and get into the habit of learning. Robinhood Academy creates systems across the world using food as a medium to bring out the best in humanity. To join us, send us a message on Facebook and our local chapter will reach out to you.

2 . Medical Education In India Needs Urgent Reforms

"It is medical school. What were you expecting? I stepped into this journey wide-eyed, ready to tackle the challenges, and there is no going back," says Sneha Kavadi, a final year medical student based in Hyderabad. Medical school indeed is exhausting. It is a long, taxing process to become a doctor. It is perceived as stressful, attributed to the vast material that needs to be learned. The curriculum is often very rigorous and demanding that there have been increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression reported in the fraternity.

According to a meta-analytical study published by the National Library of Medicine, Maryland, USA, stress among medical students ranges from 28.5% - to 78%. "I have my ophthalmology exam in two days, and I had an anxiety attack last night. It is tough to stay motivated," says Anas Zafar, a third-year medical student at Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad.

NEET - A nightmare

What is meant to be the gateway to a successful medical career turned out to be an experience far from pleasant. The magnitude of damage this often-hidden problem can wreak on a student recently came to light when local media reports of Tamil Nadu said several students took their own lives afraid that they hadn't performed well in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). NEET is a mandatory, central-level exam introduced in 2013 for students to get into public and private medical colleges in India. The exam boasts very few chances of success due to its cut-throat competition.

A survey titled, “Suicide deaths among medical students, residents and physicians in India spanning a decade” states that over the years 2010 - 2019, around 358 suicide deaths took place among medical students, residents and physicians. Its data also showed that around seven out of 10 suicides occurred before 30. The critical reasons for suicide were reportedly academic stress and financial issues.

A long road ahead

In the United States, aspirants must complete a four-year undergraduate program and then attend medical school for another four years. Then, one has to spend three to seven years on residency (depending on their speciality) and this takes around 10-14 years to become a licensed doctor. Whereas in India, it takes almost 10.5 years (MBBS+MD+ Super Specialisation). Therefore, if we compare the duration of study between the two countries, the US weighs in more.

Students are forced to decide based on physics, chemistry, botany and zoology - which bear little relation to the subjects taught during MBBS. "It was definitely a huge transition for me to equip myself with medical terminology during my first year of college. I remember suffering from imposter syndrome during my final exams. I took a lot of stress and felt unqualified and incompetent," says Pranitha Yerra, a 24-year-old medical student who is currently pursuing her mandatory internship at Maheshwara Hospital, Patancheru, Hyderabad.

Parental and Peer Pressure

Parental and peer pressure has been crucially related to a student's well-being and stress levels. However, studies correlating the perceived parental and peer pressure haven't been conducted yet.

The sad reality is that aspiring doctors should come to terms with the amount of studying and training required to become a doctor. It is a serious commitment. Dr Yarram Rajeshwara Rao, retired doctor and professor at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Ongole, says, "most medical students are there in their 20s and 30s, which is an influential phase in their personal lives. It can be tough for these students to see their same-aged peers settle down and start families."

Another important aspect of parental pressure is the amount of money the parents spend on medical education in private institutions. The budget for study starts from 30 lakhs to 1 crore and more. Hence, students often push themselves to get through the course and not disappoint their families.

Lack of practical exposure during the pandemic

During the pandemic, the closure of colleges and online training had brought unprecedented challenges to medical education. They could not provide adequate clinical exposure and hands-on experience that is deemed to be required once you finish your final year. "I have heard my professors talking about how the Covid-19 batch of doctors would be stunted for a while. We are definitely lacking in many practical skills," says Rahul Barka, a final year MBBS student from Maheshwara Medical College, Hyderabad. He adds, "Sometimes even thinking about performing surgery on a patient in the near future sends shivers down my spine. I think I am not confident enough to do it."

Females more susceptible

Concerning gender, several studies have reported significant differences between male medical students and female medical students. A 2016 systematic review published in the Journal of American Medical Association highlighted that female students (31.5%) tended to have more depression than their male counterparts (25.2%).

Astonishingly, many of our medical colleges do not have a culture of counselling. This calls for increased and dedicated counselling initiatives. Our society also has the stigma of doctors or future doctors seeking psychiatric help is weird. Well, this has to change. If people who are going to make up the healthcare system of the country are facing mental problems, it should be considered as a public health crisis.

Additionally, medical education in India should embrace modern study methods rather than rote learning from big books. The curriculum should be revised in a manner that promotes practical training and competency-based skill development. In the end, medical students are in this to serve society. It's the passion. "It's the passion you have in your heart. If you have it, no matter how long the road is, it's worth all the stress and hard work," says Pranitha.

3 . India's digital gender divide: It starts at home

Patriarchal societies like India still often restrict the use of technology for women and girls, particularly those from underprivileged and marginalised backgrounds. This phenomenon is overlapped by socio-cultural norms that control women’s autonomy and ambitions. Unless this digital gender divide is addressed, our country’s aggressive digitisation won't make ‘real’ progress.

Let us think about the world we live in. The gender inequality that persists around us also replicates in the digital world. There is a glaring gap in women's digital adoption compared to men's that prevail across all social and economic groups in our country. This is the digital gender divide. To make matters worse, we don't talk about it much.

India is predicted to overtake the US as a 'smartphone superpower' by 2025, only behind China, with 1.1 billion smartphone connections. However, connectivity doesn't equal opportunity unless digital literacy barriers are addressed. “Women in India are 15% less likely to own a phone and 33% less likely to use mobile data when compared to male users,” states data from The 2021 Mobile Gender Gap Report. The reasons constraining their digital access and skill are poverty, higher illiteracy of women, low confidence levels in using technology, and safety concerns.

Gendered use of digital devices

The 2021-2023 BBC Media Report's findings show women users using their phones for lesser complicated services like making and receiving phone calls. With low digital literacy, they are less confident performing a new task.

For example, my grandmother, who hails from Rajahmundry, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, still goes to the bank for transactions. When I visited her during the holidays, I tried teaching her how to make cashless payments on GooglePay. She was pretty hesitant to enter her card details on the app.

Therefore, it is imperative to take on a gender-intentional approach to tackle this issue. Before drafting effective interventions to promote digital literacy for women, it is crucial first to consider their 'specific' digital literacy needs.

Intertwined with Patriarchy

Patriarchy runs deep in our roots and reflects workforce participation, a key indicator of our development. The BBC’s report's findings also show usage of social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Youtube is still heavily skewed towards male users.

Not just this, access to digital devices and the internet is often restricted and closely monitored by "gatekeepers," who are usually the men (husbands, in-laws and other family members). They give negative responses such as "waste of time,” "unnecessary expenditure" and "security concerns."

Additionally, women often fall prey to corruption from "bad actors on the internet." Most women users who face online gender-based violence do not seek family support. They resort to limiting their phone use and self-censorship instead of seeking family or legal aid. Data from Web Foundation's 2020 report states that 25% of young women harassed online choose to do nothing about it, citing reasons such as "not worth reporting" and "authorities won't care."

To bridge this gap, digital literacy initiatives need to actively address cyber safety. Also, our government must ensure that legal frameworks for data privacy and safeguarding women online should be put in place using a gender lens to offer protection for women and men.

Addressing the access barriers

In today's world, technology supports female empowerment. It can only come alive when it is rooted in the needs of the society it aims to engage and serve. Increased access to digital technology supports greater digital literacy, providing more opportunities for learning, skill development and better awareness of online risks.

Awareness programs for parents of the girl child may envisage positive perceptions of the internet and technology. It will help them understand how to support their children to stay safe online instead of viewing the internet as a dangerous place.

The rural-urban divide

National Family Health Survey (NFHS) usually contains data on socio-economic and health indicators. But for the first time, in November 2021, it released data on internet access. According to it, the digital divide grows starker between rural and urban women. 51.8% of urban women have accessed the internet compared to only 24.6% of rural women.

The survey also found that Kerala, Goa, and Northeastern states have the narrowest rural-urban divide and the widest in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Setting up community resource centres and internet kiosks close to women's homes for them to access necessary digital literacy training can help reduce this gap. Tata Trusts’-Google initiative's Internet Saathi was launched in 2015. Since then, the program has touched 30 million rural women by providing them with affordable phones and helping them use these digital devices in their local languages. Hence, I firmly believe that change will come sooner or later, but it is in our hands to accelerate the pace of progress.

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