RI President Gordon McInally declared past ­district governors K P Nagesh (RID 3191) and M Muruganandam (RID 3000) as directors for 2025–27.

Are we able to manufacture to the standards that we import, even after decades? The answer is a resounding no. Because when you say technology transfer… I call it an oxymoron…. Technology is a creation that lives in the mind and the heart of the creator. There is no way to transfer that. We are stuck between mindlessly global and hopelessly local. The truth is stuck somewhere between, I would say near the hopelessly local.”

Imagine a world where whispers don’t turn into screams. Where tiny abnormalities are caught before they morph into monsters. This is the transformative power of early detection, especially for breast and cervical cancer. A mammogram could re-write your destiny. A test kit could detect the earliest stage of cervical cancer and hold the key to unlock a healthier future,” says PRIP K R Ravindran.

I simply loved Kerala and can tell you that no available tourist literature captures the entire beauty of Kerala,” gushes Henry Clemens, 18, a Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) student from North Rhine-­Westphalia, Germany, now in India on an RYE programme of RI District 3132. He is living with the family of Abhay Raje Jain from RC ­Ahmednagar Dignity, “but my host club is RC Ahmednagar Midtown.”

Thanks to a long-­standing, sustained partnership between the Rotary Clubs of Thana West, (RID 3142) and Maple Grove, ­Minnesota, US (RID 5950), a clutch of 33 villages in the talukas of Jawahar, Mokhada and Vikramgad, about 125km from Thane, Mumbai, have water for both irrigating their fields and household use.

If the session moderated by PRIP K R Ravindran was titled ‘Frankly speaking,’ the address delivered by RIPN Mario de Camargo at the Bengaluru institute deserved the title ‘Plain speaking’.

Sometimes chance meetings can lead to major initiatives. It was one such encounter that led to the much-feted Mithai Mission of the Rotary Club of Chandigarh, RID 3080. My better-half Usha was travelling to the national capital on the Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi Express in 2016 when she met this dashing young army officer. The affable young man who wore a big smile struck a conversation with Usha. Intrigued, she inquired about the challenges faced by army personnel.

At the Rotary zone institute, two Rotary stalwarts in India, both past RI presidents — Rajendra Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee — were presented lifetime achievements awards.

If as Rotarians concerned about the escalating and relentless humanitarian crisis in Gaza you have been wondering why RI or The Rotary Foundation has not stepped in to provide any humanitarian aid in that conflict zone, as Rotary does during most conflict situations, you have your answer from the very interesting session titled Frankly Speaking at the zone institute in Bengaluru.