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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker,...

Healing Beyond the Clinic

Dr Kirti Samudra “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” This thought by Mother Teresa finds reflection in the life of Panvel-based diabetologist Dr Kirti Samudra, who has spent decades caring not only for her family but also thousands of patients who see her as their guide. As we mark International Women’s Day, stories like hers remind us that women of substance often shape society quietly through compassion, resilience and dedication. Doctor, mother, homemaker, mentor and philanthropist — Dr Samudra has balanced many roles with commitment. While she manages a busy medical practice, her deeper calling has always been service. For her, medicine is not merely a profession but a responsibility towards the people who depend on her guidance. Nagpur to Panvel Born and raised in Nagpur, Dr Samudra completed her medical education there before moving to Mumbai in search of better opportunities. The early years were challenging. With determination, she and her husband Girish Samudra, an entrepreneur involved in underwater pipeline projects, chose to build their life in Panvel. At a time when the town was still developing and healthcare awareness was limited, she decided to make it both her workplace and home. What began with modest resources gradually grew into a trusted medical practice built on long-standing relationships with patients. Fighting Diabetes Recognising the growing threat of diabetes, Dr Samudra dedicated her career to treating and educating patients about the disease. Over the years, she has registered nearly 30,000 patients from Panvel and nearby areas. Yet she believes treatment alone is not enough. “Diabetes is a lifelong disease. Medicines are important, but patient education is equally critical. If people understand the condition, they can manage it better and prevent complications,” she says. For more than 27 years, she has organised an Annual Patients’ Education Programme, offering diagnostic tests at concessional rates and sessions on lifestyle management. Family, Practice With her husband frequently travelling for business, much of the responsibility of raising their two children fell on Dr Samudra. Instead of expanding her practice aggressively, she kept it close to home and adjusted her OPD timings around her children’s schedules. “It was not easy,” she recalls, “but I wanted to fulfil my responsibilities as a mother while continuing to serve my patients.” Beyond Medicine Today, Dr Samudra also devotes time to social initiatives through the Bharat Vikas Parishad, where she serves as Regional Head. Her projects include  Plastic Mukta Vasundhara , which promotes reduced use of single-use plastic, and  Sainik Ho Tumchyasathi , an initiative that sends Diwali  faral  (snack hamper) to Indian soldiers posted at the borders. Last year alone, 15,000 boxes were sent to troops. Despite decades of service, she measures success not in wealth but in goodwill. “I may not have earned huge money,” she says, “but I have earned immense love and respect from my patients. That is something I will always be grateful for.”

Missed Launch?

France’s apparent retreat from India’s Pinaka rocket system underscores the enduring pull of defence sovereignty and the limits of New Delhi’s military export ambitions.

In 2023, when Brigadier General Stéphane Richou of the French Army praised India’s Pinaka rocket artillery system, it seemed a historic deal was in the offing. For India, it was a chance to export a homegrown high-tech weapon to one of Europe’s foremost military powers. But if latest reports are to be believed, that promise appears to be fizzling fast. France has apparently decided to go it alone by choosing to build its own analogue of America’s HIMARS system rather than buy Indian.


The volte-face is telling. Despite years of strengthening defence ties between Paris and New Delhi, underpinned by big-ticket deals such as the Rafale jets and Scorpène submarines, there are limits to the friendship especially when national defence industries are involved. France, like India, has been jolted by the war in Ukraine into rethinking its dependence on foreign arms. Its decision to develop an indigenous multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS), known as Frappe Longue Portée Terrestre (FLP-T), reflects this deeper shift: a rearmament drive rooted in autonomy.


The French Armed Forces currently rely on the Lance-Roquettes Unitaire (LRU), a modified version of America’s M270 MLRS. But the LRU will retire by 2027. In its place, France now plans to field a domestically developed rocket artillery system by 2035. The €600 million program is part of a broader €413 billion French defence budget plan stretching to 2030.


There is a larger geopolitical rationale. HIMARS (the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) has become a battlefield celebrity in Ukraine, famed for its precision and mobility. With ranges of up to 300km for tactical missiles, it has helped Ukraine pulverise Russian supply lines and command posts. But European capitals are wary of over-reliance on American kit, given Donald Trump’s rhetoric of browbeating NATO allies to raise defence spending. This has forced many European nations to reassess their military procurement strategies. In this light, France’s new rocket program is not just a technical upgrade but a statement of strategic intent.


That, alas, is where India’s Pinaka comes up short. Designed as a replacement for the Soviet-era BM-21 Grad, the Pinaka system boasts shoot-and-scoot capabilities. India has deployed it in the Himalayas, and several African and Southeast Asian countries have expressed interest.


The system’s export potential has been championed by the Modi government as a symbol of India’s rise as a defence-industrial power.


Yet for all its virtues, Pinaka was never likely to supplant France’s instinct for defence self-sufficiency. French lawmakers and military planners have made clear that building at home means controlling the supply chain, guaranteeing availability, and safeguarding jobs. Buying Indian would have been cheaper and quicker, but at the cost of long-term autonomy.


This turn of events is not without irony. India and France have been drawing closer for years, aligned by shared concerns over China’s rise, mutual interest in Indo-Pacific stability and a joint distaste for overdependence on America. From nuclear submarines to space cooperation, their partnership has deepened. France remains India’s most consistent supporter in Europe, with President Emmanuel Macron a frequent guest in New Delhi.


But friendship has its limits, especially when defence industries and geostrategic calculations collide. For India, the Pinaka deal is a reminder that technological parity is not the same as market competitiveness. India’s private defence sector, though capable, still lacks the brand trust, after-sales infrastructure, and diplomatic heft that France or the US can muster.


The lesson for India is clear. To win over Western buyers, India will need to do more than showcase operationally effective systems.


France, for its part, is signalling that the era of European dependence on American arms is over. In doing so, it has snubbed India’s best chance yet at a marquee weapons export. But the door is not shut. As India’s systems evolve and as Europe seeks to diversify its defence options, there may yet be room for future collaboration - though not, it seems, on rocket launchers.

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