Manu Balachandran is a writer for Forbes India, based in Bengaluru. At Forbes India, Manu writes on automobiles, aviation, pharmaceuticals, banking, infrastructure, economy and long profiles among many others. He also moderates many of Forbes India's CEO and CXO events and hosts Capital Ideas, a podcast on the most riveting success stories from the business world. He has previously worked with Quartz, The Economic Times and Business Standard in Mumbai and New Delhi. Manu has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University and a degree in economics from the Loyola College. When not chasing stories, he is most likely obsessing over Formula 1 (Read: Lewis Hamilton), historical events and people, or planning long weekend drives from Bengaluru
As a child and teenager, Priya Prakash was overweight, and was relentlessly made fun of and bullied by her classmates. “It was gruelling at times, as people would always make fun of me and I had learnt to accept that my life wasn’t going to change,” says Prakash.
But life did take a turn when she enrolled at a gymnasium soon after graduating from college. Today, she presents a stark contrast to her former self, working out every day, and has even won a silver medal at the Delhi State Weightlifting Championship in her category.
But the wounds inflicted by the emotional trauma of her childhood never quite healed.
It prompted her to start HealthSetGo, a New Delhi-based health care organisation, in 2016 that provides schools with health programmes, education, medical assessments and insurance services. By charging a subscription fee that ranges from ₹500 to ₹1,100 per student, HealthSetGo also conducts annual medical check-ups at schools, the reports of which are sent to parents through the company’s proprietary app.
“A student spends over a decade in school and it is great to provide interventions when needed and teach them about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” says Prakash. “Apart from eyesight and obesity issues, we have also uncovered heart issues in children.”
The company trains teachers on health education, and has turned its attention to spotting macroeconomic trends and policy advocacy on health care for children. It has also begun setting up centres in schools with a full-time nurse.
HealthSetGo has a clientele of 200 schools across the country. Entirely bootstrapped, the team is looking to target 1 million children by 2023. “What Priya has managed to do is digitise the health records of students, allowing parents and the school to constantly monitor them,” says Uttara Singh, director, Shriram Millennium School group. “That helps us plan meals better and take other corrective measures.”