10 medical miracles

1. MATTERS OF THE HEART
First coronary artery graft, 1975
The first successful coronary artery graft was done in 1975 at the Southern Railway Hospital, Perambur, in Chennai by Dr K.M. Cherian. Twenty years later in 1995, aided by the most advanced technology, cardiac care and surgical skills, he performed the first heart transplant at his International Centre for Cardio-thoracic and Vascular Diseases, Chennai. This was made possible only after the legislation for brain death and the law permitting transplantation of human organs was passed in the country. With phenomenal experience and far-sightedness, he also conducted the first bilateral lung transplant, the first paediatric heart transplant as well as the first heart and lung transplant.

2. PRODUCT OF LABOUR
First test tube baby
The first test tube baby in India was born in Kolkata on October 3, 1978. Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay claimed the child was the first through vitrofertilisation.
Ridiculed by the scientific community, the physiologist is heading back to anonymity (India Today, January 1980).
Tragically, he hung himself on June 19, 1981, while his contribution was finally recognised in 2005.

3. SWEET MEDICINE
First genetically-engineered vaccine
In 1997, Shantha Biotechnics, Hyderabad, founded by electronics engineer K.I. Varaprasad Reddy, launched India's first genetically engineered vaccine for Hepatitis-B, at half the price charged by the MNCs in India.

10 space finds of 2009

An article by the National Geographic has listed the top ten space finds of the year 2009.

1. At number 10 is the finding that a new computer model has suggested that the outer crusts of so-called neutron stars are ten billion times stronger than steel, and are in fact, the strongest known material in the universe.
2. The number 9 top space discovery of the year is that Jupiter's moon Europa may harbor fish-sized life in its oceans. A provocative new research suggested that the amount of oxygen in the ocean would be enough to support more than just microscopic life-forms, with at least three million tons of fishlike creatures theoretically living and breathing on Europa.
3. At number 8 is the discovery of 32 new planets outside our solar system, bringing the massive haul of new worlds to more than 400.

10 smartest political moves

1. COALITION UNITES AGAINST MRS GANDHI, MARCH 1977
The people had said a resounding 'no' to the tyranny and oppression which had marked 19 months of Congress rule, said India Today.
The Janata Party-led coalition rode into power on a surge of anger.

2. MRS GANDHI REFUSES BAIL, OCTOBER 1977
Mrs Gandhi staged a political comeback when she refused to seek bail after being arrested on corruption charges by the CBI in October 3, 1977.
India Today stated, In the eyes of her nation's illiterate millions, the Janata Party had become the Big Bad Wolf and Mrs Gandhi had acquired the status of the Joan of Arc.

3. CONGRESS CHOOSES RAJIV GANDHI TO REPLACE INDIRA, DECEMBER 1984
They are quick to realise that their only banner is gone. This is the last chance to come back to power on the sympathy wave (India Today, December 1984). Congress won 401 out of the 508 contested seats the highest since Independence.

10 environment-friendly moves

Starting with the granddaddy of them all, Project Tiger in 1973, to the more recent vehicular pollution norms and the coming up of sustainable architecture, a green agenda has been part of governance much before it became a globally cool movement.
Whether it was creating biosphere reserves or establishing the Ministry of Environment and Forests as well as Environment Impact Assessment Reports, the Government had intent, even if it didn't always have effect, as was clear in the Ganga Action Plan of 1985. The people haven't been passive observers either, spontaneously stepping in when those wielding political power did not seem to care.
From the villagers of Garhwal hugging their trees to keep the axe away in the evocatively named Chipko movement to a 100-day long padayatra across the hills to save the Western Ghats to living for months in submerged homes in the Sardar Sarovar, people power stopped many disasters.There's a long way to go yet; the pressure of population on the environment is only growing, and there are newproblems like global warming, but the road is mapped out.

1. FIRM CLAW
Project Tiger, 1973
The Rs 230-lakh Project Tiger was a Union Government and the World Wildlife Fund joint endeavour in 1973, to check immediate threats to the national animal. It registered a marked increase in most animal populations in the first decade (India Today, December 1983). With 1,550 sq km under its canopy, including 15 sanctuaries and national parks, the project cordoned off a third of this land for conservation activities and demarcated the rest as a buffer area, relocating the villages around.

2. A CLEAN DOMAIN
Neeri, 1974
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) brought to light the case of Hindustan Agro-Chemicals that had set up a chain of chemical units in Bichri, near Udaipur in the 1980s. NEERI put the total damage suffered by the village at Rs 342 crore with the damage to the environment at around Rs 37 crore (India Today, March 1996).

3. LAW OF THE LAND
Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1985
It was a milestone in the history of the Government of India, when in 1980, the Department of Environment was given an autonomous identity. By 1985, it grew into the full-fledged Ministry of Environment and Forests. Since then it has implemented the Coastal Zone Management Plan in Gujarat and defined the terms for environmental clearance for industries.

4. RIGHT RESERVATION
Biosphere Reserves, 1985
Anew concept in conservation made its hesitant debut in the country, in 1985 when the Union Department of Environment finalised the details of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the first of 12 such reserves to be set up in the country, noted India Today in October 1985.Even though the concept was introduced 12 years after its conceptualisation in 1973 by UNESCO, today the number stands at a healthy 14 with reserves like the Sunderbans and Gulf of Mannar.

5. WATERED DOWN
Ganga Action Plan, 1985
It's a symbol of purity for many Hindus but the Ganga today is a foul receptacle of sewage and toxic waste (India Today, January 1997).
The authorities woke up, though belatedly, to its condition and it was in 1985 that the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched the largest clean-up operation in India worth Rs 1,700 crore.
Today the plan is a telling example of how things can go terribly wrong. It had entailed setting up sewage treatment plants, electric crematoria and toilets. GAP has been criticised for misuse of funds, overspending and tardy progress, said India Today in 1997, All the stress points on the Ganga have today been found polluted because of ill-conceived schemes.

6. CHECK POST
Environment Impact Assessment Reports, 1982
It was in 1982 that the Government decided to put a stop to the indiscriminate concretisation by enforcing the Environment (Protection) Act. The enforcers constituted expert appraisal committees under the Environment Impact Assessment Project at the Centre as well as the state level. These were to look into matters concerning environmental flashpoints like the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the Posco steel plant in Paradip, Orissa, and the bauxite refinery project in Kalahandi.

7. THE BENCH'S MARK
Supreme Court activism, 1993
The fate of the 350-year-old Taj Mahal hangs in a delicate balance in Delhi's Supreme Court where judges fight more passionately than the Union Government, observed India Today in February 1994.
The Supreme Court joined the battle against environmental degradation when it ordered the closure of 212 polluting industries in and around Agra, in 1993. Another incident where the judiciary was seen taking up the work of civic agencies was when it ordered the closure of the President's Estate Polo Club, saving the 86,40,000-sq m Central Ridge in the Capital that had a total encroachment of 72 per cent (India Today July 1995).

8. NO SMOKING
Checking vehicular pollution, 1996
For two-wheeler manufacturer Escorts Yamaha, the April 1-deadline for complying with the new autoemission norms was no joke. While the date was fixed three years ago, most companies had assumed that it would be extended by three to six months, said India Today in April 1996. But the Ministry of Surface Transport paid no heed and the norms were implemented to reduce pollution caused by two-and threewheelers that comprised 64 per cent of the pollution in the country.

9. FUEL FOR THOUGHT
CNG, 2001
Delhi could well have the world's cleanest transport system when the entire 10,000-strong CNG-driven fleet is pressed into operation. It will be a world's first too, observed India Today in April 2001.
The Supreme Court in 1998 had moved in favour of the less polluting compressed natural gas, marking a new green era.
But soon the Delhi Government found itself battling allegations of a CNG conversion kit deal .

10. GREEN FOUNDATION
Eco-friendly Buildings, 2004
Sustainable architecture is catching on as many organisations realise that environment-friendly architecture also makes eminent economic sense in the long run, said India Today in October 2004. It employs concepts of energy efficiency, water conservation and the use of eco-friendly materials. It has advantages like low cost of power, less waste and easy maintenance. It is due to these reasons that the Indian Green Building Council is targeting 1,000 Leadership in Energy and Environmentcertified buildings by 2010, said India Today in February 2008.

10 most memorable advertisements

1. SIMPLY DELICIOUS
Amul, 1967 to present
My favourite ad character is the Amul girl because she has been around for so many years and yet there is a freshness and topicality that is appealing. It is a simple ad, but something you look forward to seeing what the Amul girl would be up to next. The character too is very appealing, plus there is all that clever word-play on newsy issues. If Amul recognises you, you have made it.
Meenakshi Madhvani, Managing Partner, Spatial Access Solutions

2. BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Ek Titli on national unity, 1977
At that time, anything that was entertaining was such a bonus. The treatment was so new and it brought nostalgia, of our mythical India that we love so much, about grandmothers and mango trees. It was funny, cute and a superb film on national integration. You put it in the middle of the Mumbai carnage and it makes sense. The tune was hummable and people talk about it even today.
Anuja Chauhan, Executive Creative Director and VP, J Walter Thompson

3. RIGHTS IN YOUR FACE
Lalitaji of Surf, 1984
This came out at a time when I was in school and even then I took notice of it. I think it was the first time that I saw a typical portrayal of a middle class, value-conscious and slightly aggressive woman who insisted on getting the right thing. It was much like Doordarshan's crusading Rajni. The actor playing the role of Lalitaji also did a charming job.
Abhijit Avasthi,Executive Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy & Mather

10 top society trends

1. RISE OF THE PUPPIES 1988
What's an ideal puppy marriage? Marrying the video and asking for the bride in dowry.
An ideal puppy evening? One spent between guzzles of scotch and Ghulam Ali.
So said India Today when it wrote about PUPPIES, a new social class of prosperous urban Punjabi who is young. It also coined a new term for what they eventually become, WOOPIES, well-off older Punjabis.2. HEELS ON WHEELS 1989
While it needs a well-heeled woman to be four-wheeled, India Today said in 1989 that the two-wheeler had become the middle-class woman's key to all the opportunities that mobility brings her.
3. THE KITTEN BRIGADE 1990
The kitty party has now become a perfumed arena of one-upmanship, said India Today in 1990. Whose husband travels more?
Who has more tutors for her children?
It also noted, with prescience, that the sisterhood is becoming aninformal trade fair.

10 tech triumphs

The technology of the times was reflected in India Today as the best brains of the nation turned their knowledge into real applications. The Rs 45,000-car was a tad more expensive than planned, but went on to rule the roads. India got a grip on nuclear power, for both energy and diplomacy.
Hi-tech gadgets reached the masses as the communications revolution kicked off.Aspace programme took India to where it had never been before with an impactor carrying the tricolour landing on the moon. In medicine,new frontiers were breached with every passing year. India Today was there every time,as science showed the way to a better future as Indian hospitals attracted global patients, as ordinary citizens connected with each other and the world, and as the Internet reached handheld devices and back pockets.
1. SMALL IS BIG
Maruti to Tata Nano
In 1983, the Maruti 800 revolutionised the way India travelled. Two years later, it was the largestselling car in India, recalled India Today in 2003.
Almost 25 years later, when Tata drove the Nano on to the stage, it was clear that Indian innovation had shifted to a higher orbit, noted India Today in January 2008.
Clearly, good things continue to come in small packages.
2. THE RIGHT CALL
Telecommunications
The modernisation of telephone systems got underway in 1986 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam was established to operate systems in Bombay and Delhi.
There's good news for subscribers: the waiting list of 3.7 lakh in the two cities could disappear by 1990, noted India Today in 1986.
The current situation is best described by this 2006 report: Telecommunication has gone from a total of five million telephone lines in 1991 to five million telephones every month.
3. BLAST FROM THE PAST
Nuclear Energy
India's first atomic explosion, at Pokharan,Rajasthan,on May 18, 1974, may be the last. It raised so much political dust that it has taken three years and a change of government in Delhi to bring it down to earth .
This was the mood of the nation in 1974, captured by India Today. In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests at the Pokhran test range demonstrating its tremendous capability in nuclear technology and science.

10 things that could happen only in India

1. FREE FALL
Skylab I falling in India
Aportion of the satellite may fall on the earth with a high impact speed (India Today, September 1978). Since it was speculated that the Skylab may fall in south India, it was not uncommon to see people wearing special helmets to protect themselves from the 2,310-kg airlock shroud. In the end, the spacecraft chose to crash into the Indian Ocean near Australia.

2. DARK TALE
Wolves of Pavagada
The year 1983 saw a mystery that has remained unsolved till date. Girl children sleeping next to their parents began disappearing in Pavagada in Karnataka. It was alleged that man-eating wolves were behind it all. There were rumours of these being due to ritualistic sacrifices by a tantrik (India Today, August 1983).

3. FALSE AID
Magic cure for AIDS
Self-styled ayurvedic doctor T.A. Majeed shot into prominence when he claimed to have cured HIV-positive Chitra Soman and her daughter.
He alleged that his findings were being suppressed for ulterior motives (India Today, August 1993).
Soman later died due to full-blown TB as a result of AIDS, and Majeed was never heard of.

Top 10 global takeovers

The battle for control of Dhirubhai Ambani's hard-won empire was the stuff of 24x7 headline news channels, but divisions alone did not define Indian business in the post-liberalisation period.
As the government enabled a degree of progress with infrastructural changes, building roads,developing communication networks and facilitating travel, the corporate world flexed its unused business muscle picking up prestige brands like Tetley Tea and global behemoths like Corus.
But as India emerged victorious in the merger and acquisition game, there were hurdles on the way as well. In many cases,questions were raised about the capabilities of Indian companies. Sometimes, as in the case of Arcelor, it acquired a racist hue.
At other times, it was a question of the fit of an international luxury brand like Jaguar with an Indian company. The Indian economy grew, but not all Indian businesses made the transition from socialist isolation to economic connectedness. Some spilt amicably, others much less so.

1. FIRST AMONG EQUALS
Ram Prasad Goenka
The RPG Group led by 'takeover wizard'R.P. Goenka made a series of acquisitions, kicked off by the Duncan buy in 1959 to the offshore holdings of tyre-maker Dunlop India in 1980, Ceat Tyres in 1982, the Gramophone Co.of India (nowSaregama) in 1986, and Noida Power Company (NPCL) in 1992 among many others.The latest in the list was Canara Electric Controls in 2002. I gamble only in companies, Goenka told India Today in August 1984. Starting in the 1950s, the group patriarch and R.P.Goenka's father, K.P.Goenka, along with his three sons, made over 30 acquisitions in 25 years.

2. THE TREND-SETTER
Manohar 'Manu' Chhabria
Among the original corporate raiders of the country, Dubai-based Manohar 'Manu' Rajaram Chhabria picked up a large stake in Shaw Wallace in 1987 for Rs 35 crore, which remained mired in controversy and was finally sold to arch rival Vijay Mallya 20 years later.
Spending over Rs 300 crore on acquisitions, he bought stakes in companies such as Hindustan Dorr-Oliver, Mather and Platt and Dunlop India.
Hardly any other Indian businessman has climbed to the top 10 league so rapidly. (India Today, January 1989).
3. BLENDING SUCCESS
Ratan Tata
In 2000,Tata Tea took over Tetley Tea, the company which was twice Tata Tea's size and had introduced the world to tea bags, for £271 million via a leverage buyout. Themove turned the company into the world's second-largest tea marketer. While Tata was strong on the production front, Tetley's strengths lay in marketing.
At the time of acquisition,The two companies were merged a year later. The Tetley brand name would give Tata Tea access to markets in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and the CIS countries, said the company's vicechairman, R.K. Krishna Kumar,whose mandate for the acquisition was simple: to eliminate the competition, Unilever. Tata Tea's transformation is an eloquent example of the group becoming market-focused and consumercentric (India Today, February 2003).