February 02, 2026

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GEMS OF INDIA

IN a state-run hospital in Nagaland's Mon district, tuberculosis once followed a predictable path. Patients came late, diagnosis took days or weeks and treatment often began after the disease had already taken root. The hospital did not even have a radiologistThings changed when a compact, battery-operated diagnostic system was installed. The device delivered results in 90 minutes, patients were screened and placed on treatment within a day. No one announced the change in status quo. The system simply began to work better than it had beforeThe India Health Fund, which supported the deployment of that diagnostic tool in Nagaland, was the catalyst for this silent revolution. Founded in 2017 by Tata Trusts and shaped by Ratan Tata's belief

CALL OF THE REWILD

When the NGO iamgurgaon first invited Vijay Dhasmana, a pioneering restoration ecologist, to build the Aravali Biodiversity Park in 2011, he encountered a severely degraded site, ravaged by decades of mining, quarrying, cattle grazing and waste dumping. "The extent of the degradation was striking," he recalls. "It was immediately clear that simple plantation or cosmetic greening would not be enough. We needed a larger vision, one that reflected what Gurugram represents: aspiration." Today, the 392-odd acres of reclaimed wilderness, carved out of an abandoned mining site at the DelhiGurugram border, is one of the largest urban ecological restoration efforts in the regionInstead of conventional landscaping, Dhasmana and his team concentrated on restoring native plant communities and ecological function--"systems that could support life and offer refuge to wildlife," as he puts it. Any scepticism over this approach vanished as the wasteland took shape as a living ecosystem, with over 300 native plant species, a thriving wildlife, including jackals, nilgai, mongoose, and more than 180 bird speciesValidation came in 2016 when the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), in an independent assessment of the project, recognised it as one of India's most exemplary restoration landscapesWith that seal of approval for his ecological methodology, the park became a living classroom and research hub as university students, PhD scholars, policymakers and forest department trainees lined up to study its flora, fauna and ecological processesToday, the park's influence goes far beyond its acreage--as a case study for Haryana's Aravalli Land Restoration Programme and as inspiration for urban ecological consciousness. Underlining Dhasmana's work is the fundamental belief that protection comes first. "We must save what still remains," he says. "Only after safeguarding our landscapes can rewilding truly begin." And, with it, how cities conceive of nature, resilience and sustainable futures.