‘Reimagining healthcare is critical and is the way forward’ – 20 quotes on pandemic resilience and collaboration, from Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020
In this compilation, we present insights from industry leaders on transforming healthcare via bio-sciences, digital technology and policy interventions.
The annual Bangalore Tech Summit (BTS) represents the coming together of two earlier events, Bangalore IT.com and Bangalore BIO. Organised by the Government of Karnataka, the event series showcases Bengaluru’s positioning as one of the most sought-after tech destinations in the world.
BTS is has become the platform of choice for tech leaders, policymakers, startups, technocrats, young innovators, investors, social entrepreneurs, and academia. The theme of the 23rd edition of the conference and exhibition this year was Next is Now, and examined the latest contributions of the bio and IT sectors to prepare for the new normal and beyond.
The event was held entirely online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and featured a multi-track conference, exhibitions, innovation showcases, global innovation alliances, workshops, product launches, quizzes, awards and poster exhibits.
Drawn from YourStory’s in-depth coverage of BTS 2020, we present 20 quotes on innovations in the healthcare, telemedicine, bio-science, and bio-technology sectors:
"Reimagining healthcare is critical and is the way forward." - HS Subramanya, Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology
"COVID-19 has brought biotech to the forefront. The whole diagnostic success story happened due to academic institutions and the startup participation." - Renu Swarup, Department of Biotechnology, GoI
"The issue in the country is that the medium-accuracy test is inexpensive and higher-accuracy tests are costly." - Gautam Menon, Ashoka University
"The problem is that traditional testing is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It’s a very slow and linear process." - Manoj Gopalakrishnan, IIT Bombay
"When there is a risk that cases are going to go up, we need to do testing. But we also need a more holistic approach for ourselves and for the community." - Mohan Pandey, Syngene
"We linked epidemiological data with genomic data. The immediate release of data really helped in outbreak response visualisations for us to easily understand what was going on." - Chitra Pattabhiraman, NIMHANS
"The next wave of the Genomics Revolution comes from our ability to ‘write’ on genomes i.e., to edit and modify them and move towards synthetic biology." - Vijay Chandru, Strand Life Sciences
"As India and Karnataka continue to fight the pandemic bravely, it has brought to the fore our strong sense of responsibility, spirit of compassion, spark of innovation, and remarkable resilience." - CN Ashwath Narayan, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister
"Empathy for the pains of the world and the challenges people face makes curiosity like a prayer that makes the world a better place." - Sonam Wangchuk, SECMOL
"Telemedicine service is a must-have for all healthcare organisations." - SK Mishra, SGPGIMS
"Digital health will not replace the conventional system but will supplement and complement it." - Prashant Mathur, ICMR
"Healthcare delivery transformation in India can be achieved through the creation of an open digital health ecosystem. It needs to put a patient at the centre." - Indu Bhushan, National Health Authority, GOI
"The real opportunity in healthcare lies in building tools for doctors. Saving time and increasing revenue are two major needs a doctor has." - Vaibhav Agarwal, Lightspeed India
"The biggest role and the impact that digitalisation will bring in is to create virtual care coordination. Hospitals are bound in space. That’s not how the modern world works anymore." - Viren Shetty, Narayana Health
"Digital health needs access to large global data sets and built at scale to give to end users at affordable rates." - Michelle Perugini, Presagen
"The progress in computation, along with the progress in molecular biology has really transformed the world." - Susan Hockfield, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
"We must take the opportunity to build back better to create a world that is green and clean and sustainable." - Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, Wimbledon
"Especially in difficult times like these, we need to push for innovation for a sustainable economy." - Saskia Bruines, Deputy Mayor of the Hague
"While desalination technology was developed in the United States, it was perfected in Israel." - Avi Jorisch, ‘Thou Shalt Innovate,’
"There is a push of knowledge that comes from R&D labs and universities and a pull which comes from industry. They need to work together to achieve that click." - Ashutosh Sharma, DST, GoI
YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).
Edited by Kanishk Singh