Para-athlete Komal Tyagi sprinting ahead; The economics of domestic labour
By 2024, Komal was close to walking away from the sport entirely. The training centre provided a ground, a coach, and accommodation, but there was an additional financial burden. She needed specialised running spikes, high-protein nutrition, and travel costs.
The big, fat Indian wedding now has a new trend: Mounjaro brides.
Indian brides and, in some cases, grooms seeking to shed extra kilograms before their weddings are seeking clinics that help them lose weight via weight loss drugs such as Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. The GLP-1 medication is the first one to enter India's market for both diabetes and weight loss, per a Reuters article.
While millions of people worldwide are getting weight loss medication, experts advise long-term behavioural changes to keep off the weight.
In other news, several news outlets, including The BBC, USA Today and Daily Mail, fell for a fake social media post that claimed the world's oldest known tortoise, Jonathan, had passed away.
However, Jonathan, who is 193 years old, is alive and the fake post was part of a crypto scam. “Jonathan the tortoise is very much alive," Joe Hollins, a vet who has previously cared for Jonathan, told USA Today. "I believe on X the person purporting to be me is asking for crypto donations, so it's not even an April Fool joke. It's a con.”
From first being pictured in the 1800s to now becoming a victim of a crypto con, Jonathan the tortoise has come a long way!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Para-athlete Komal Tyagi sprinting ahead
- The economics of domestic labour
Here’s your trivia for today: Which French landmark is known for its red windmill?
Inspiration
Para-athlete Komal Tyagi sprinting ahead
At 23, Komal Tyagi is one of India’s most promising visually impaired para-athletes. She is a national champion in both 100 m and 200 m sprints, and was a bronze medallist at the Khelo India Para Games held earlier this year. She has also won several medals in shot put and discus throw since 2016.
Komal, who was visually impaired from birth, grew up in a small village in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district.
Strength:
- “I went to a regular school like everyone else, along with my two blind siblings. But problems arose in school because I couldn’t keep up. Since my family members were not well-educated, they didn’t think of enrolling us in a school for the blind,” she recalls.
- By 2024, Komal was close to walking away from the sport entirely. The training centre provided a ground, a coach, and accommodation, but there was an additional financial burden. She needed specialised running spikes, high-protein nutrition, and travel costs.
- Komal has completed her BEd and is currently pursuing a master’s in political science. She has set her sights high. She wants to compete in the Asian Games and Paralympics.
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The economics of domestic labour
Domestic labour, most of it at least, has been traditionally considered to be a woman’s duty. The job involves making one’s home and surroundings comfortable. Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research, calls it the “care economy” and regards it as the foundation upon which other economies are based. But the care economy does not have many economical benefits.
Kumari was speaking at SheSparks, YourStory’s flagship summit for women, which took place last month.
Key takeaways:
- When Kumari got the opportunity to restructure the International Labour Organization, she was looking at labour density and found out that in India, only 1/3rd of women work.
- In fact, she and her team ran a mathematical estimate on the total unrecognised labour of the care economy in India, and the number came to a whopping $10 trillion.
- Kumari clarified that the only way to move ahead would be by providing economic benefits to such work.
News & updates
- AI boom: Samsung Electronics, which has benefited from soaring chip prices thanks to the AI boom, is expected to see a six-fold jump in operating profit for January-March. The quarterly profit could be shy of what it earned in the whole of the past year.
- Drug tests: For the first time in 28 years, no athlete has been found to have taken a banned substance at an Olympics–at least so far, BBC reports. Over 3,000 samples were collected from almost 2,000 athletes during February's Winter Olympic Games.
Which French landmark is known for its red windmill?
Answer: Moulin Rouge
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