HEALTH WITH A HEART

DR SWATI PIRAMAL, Vice-Chairperson of the Piramal Group, has been championing causes for better health for years now, for which she has received several recognitions, the latest being the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, the highest French civilian distinction.

- Shraddha Kamdar

When she stepped into the field, not many women were choosing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as career options. Male W representatives dominated these streams. Today, when Dr Swati Piramal looks back at her career of over 40 years, the word 'resilience' comes to mind. She faced a lot of resistance while advocating and emphasising the importance of intellectual property but, soon enough, naysayers understood how imperative it was. That is how the Vice-chairperson of the Piramal group relentlessly worked toward becoming an advocate for major health causes in the country, leading research into and initiatives on new medicines and public health services.

Over the past three decades, the Padma Shri awardee's efforts to provide cost-effective and science-based healthcare globally have significantly contributed to shaping the Indian pharmaceutical industry, and causing it to emerge as one of the largest producers of drugs in the world. As Director of the Piramal Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Piramal Group, Dr Swati is deeply involved in developing innovative long-term and scalable solutions to resolve issues that are critical roadblocks to unlocking India's economic potential. Her work has been recognised with innumerable honours, the most recent being the highest French civilian distinction - the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur - for her contribution to business, science, medicine, arts, culture and Indo-French ties.