Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳

Social Impact Strategist | Advancing Child Rights as a Development & Investment Priority | Communication Specialist @UNICEFIndia, Chennai

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

On Global Menstrual Hygiene Week, the new Kerala Government has made a landmark first policy announcement: introducing three days of menstrual leave for female students.

A significant step towards recognizing menstrual health, dignity, and gender-responsive education, this decision reinforces the importance of creating supportive environments where girls and young women can thrive without barriers.

@vdsatheesan @iprdkerala

🔗 https://t.co/3eH2Jew3ND

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

@cromaretail what a pathetic service you provide ! A simple AC service still not complete even after over a month. Please shut shop if you can’t delivery a simple service

#zipcare sucks !!

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

@cromaretail what a pathetic service you provide ! A simple AC service still not complete even after over a month. Please shut shop if you can’t delivery a simple service

Avoid #zipcare

[Sann @san_x_m]

His name was Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.

In 1930, he was 19 years old. A boy from Madras is boarding a ship to England on a scholarship to Cambridge.

During that sea voyage, he opened his notebook and started calculating.

By the time the ship docked in Southampton, he had worked out something no one in the history of science had understood before.

Stars do not simply fade and die. Stars above a certain mass collapse into themselves with such force that nothing can stop them. Not light. Not time. Not physics as anyone understood it.

What he had discovered on that ship would eventually be called black holes.

He arrived at Cambridge. He spent four years refining his calculations. He showed them to Arthur Eddington. The most famous astronomer in the world at that time. The man who had proven Einstein right.

Eddington watched his progress. Encouraged him. Asked him to present his findings at the Royal Astronomical Society in January 1935.

Then Eddington gave his own presentation immediately after.

He publicly ridiculed Chandrasekhar in front of the entire scientific establishment. He said the theory had no physical meaning. He called it absurd. He used his enormous reputation to crush a 24-year-old Indian student in front of everyone who mattered.

Chandrasekhar left that conference devastated.

He appealed to the president of the International Astronomical Union. He was told not to respond to Eddington publicly.

He left England.

He went to America. To the University of Chicago. He drove 150 miles every week to teach a class of just two students. Those two students were Tsung-Dao Lee and Chen-Ning Yang.

Both of them won the Nobel Prize before he did.

He spent 50 years working quietly. He never stopped.

In 1983, the Nobel Committee called.

53 years after he worked out the existence of black holes on a ship as a teenager, the Nobel Prize in Physics was his.

NASA later named its most powerful X-ray telescope after him.

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The universe he described is real. Eddington was wrong. The boy on the boat was right.

Most Indians have never heard his name.

They should say it every day.

Follow for real stories about Indians who changed the world.

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

Last week, I had the opportunity to engage with media students at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Kochi, on the theme “Storytelling for Change.”

I shared stories that bring to life the realities of children—and the impact we at UNICEF strive to create in their lives.

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

@AmexIndia Hi I emailed you last week, haven’t received a response yet. Doesn’t look like world class customer service

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

Looking for a dynamic comms person in #Chennai.

https://t.co/vEGwrZPzev

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

Led a delegation from the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission to engage with OECD and UNICEF’s Office of Innovation teams in Paris and Stockholm—advancing a partnership to shape a public sector innovation policy and MEL framework. A key milestone for UNICEF Chennai.

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

This is mind boggling tech !! Now companies can anticipate what you want and delivery it as well.

Not very soon, you think of a product, it’s in your hands.

[rvivek @rvivek]

10-minute delivery in India isn't magic. It's really good engineering.

@albinder and @letsblinkit built tech that most people never see.

We went deep on how it works.

[UNICEF Innovation @UNICEFinnovate]

From insight to action, in one week. 🎯

COMPASS Incubation Week 2026 wraps up after days of action-oriented collaboration and practical work to build innovation into how systems operate.
Eight countries now move forward with new capabilities, partnerships, and ideas — embedding innovation into country programmes to accelerate results for children and communities.

COMPASS doesn’t end here. It continues as a shared platform for learning, practice, and long-term systems change across @UNICEF and governments.

Don't miss out 🔎 https://t.co/gec7GKhLBX

[Udhay @Udhaystalin]

A technical collaboration has been formalized through the State Planning Commission with UNICEF Office of Innovation, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), in the presence of Hon'ble Chief Minister @mkstalin at the secretariat today.

This collaboration highlights Tamil Nadu’s strong commitment to strengthening public institutions and governance systems, by embedding evidence-informed innovation practices, and improving public service delivery, especially for children, youth, and vulnerable communities.

By institutionalising innovation within government systems, Tamil Nadu is better positioned to respond to emerging challenges and evolving citizen needs, while accelerating meaningful and measurable development outcomes.

@UNICEFinnovate @UNICEFIndia @OECDgov @OECD

[Udhay @Udhaystalin]

ஸ்வீடனில் உள்ள ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சிறுவர் நிதியத்தின் (UNICEF) புத்தாக்க அலுவலகம், தமிழ்நாட்டினை தேர்வுசெய்து, மாநில திட்டக் குழுவுடன் ஆறு மாத காலத்திற்கான முத்தரப்பு ஒப்பந்தத்தினை ஏற்படுத்த முன்மொழிந்துள்ளது.

அந்த வகையில், பொருளாதார ஒத்துழைப்பு மற்றும் மேம்பாட்டிற்கான அமைப்பு (OECD), பொதுத்துறை கண்டுபிடிப்புகளின் கண்காணிப்பகம் (OPSI), ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சிறுவர் நிதியம் (UNICEF – OoI) ஆகிய அமைப்புகளுடன் இணைந்து புதுமையான சமூக பொது சேவைகளை வடிவமைத்தல், ஆய்வு மற்றும் மதிப்பீட்டில் அரசு துறை நிறுவனங்களின் திறன்களை வலுப்படுத்துதல் உள்ளிட்ட பல்வேறு முன்னெடுப்புகள் நடைபெறவுள்ளன.

இதற்கான ஒப்பந்தம், மாண்புமிகு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்களின் முன்னிலையில், கையெழுத்தான நிகழ்வில் நாம் பங்கேற்றோம்.

புதுமைகளையும், சிறந்த நடைமுறைகளையும் ஒருங்கிணைத்து அரசு நிறுவனங்களின் செயல்பாடுகளை அடுத்தக்கட்டத்திதற்கு கொண்டு செல்ல இந்த முத்தரப்பு ஒப்பந்தம் பயன்படும். @DrJeyaranjan

[CMOTamilNadu @CMOTamilnadu]

On behalf of the Planning and Development Department, a tripartite collaboration between the State Planning Commission of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), and the United Nations Children’s Fund – Office of Innovation (UNICEF OOI) was formalised in the presence of the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. @mkstalin.

@UNICEF @UNICEFinnovate @UNICEFIndia @OECDgov @OECD

[Mari Selvaraj @mari_selvaraj]

I watched Homebound, and Director Neeraj, I must say, from the far southern edge of this nation, I embrace you with warmth. ✨❤️

#Homebound
@ghaywan 💐 @NetflixIndia

[UNICEF India @UNICEFIndia]

This #WorldChildrensDay put children at the centre through powerful child-led townhalls in Chennai. More than 150 children — including children with disabilities — engaged political, corporate, and faith leaders on advancing child rights.

MLA Aasan Maulana advocated for child consultations in legislation, while Shankar Venugopal of Mahindra Group expressed the private sector's willingness to adopt child-friendly practices. Faith leaders reiterated their commitment to safeguarding and promoting children's rights.

The event reinforced the need to institutionalise child participation and aligned strongly with UNICEF India’s campaign #TheChildInMe: My Promise to Children — building momentum for sustained cross-sector action in 20.

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

Welcome to the family @KeerthyOfficial !! Your addition marks a new chapter in India’s journey towards realizing the full promise of child rights.

[UNICEF India @UNICEFIndia]

Welcome to the @UNICEF family, Keerthy Suresh. 🩵

We are thrilled to have you as our newest UNICEF India Celebrity Advocate.

Together, we’ll champion the rights and well-being #ForEveryChild in India.

@KeerthyOfficial

[Sam Bandi / సామ్ బండి 🇮🇳 @BandiSam]

At the #CII Conclave on CSR & Affirmative Action in Chennai, I spoke on why investing in children isn’t charity — it’s smart economics.
💡 $1 in early childhood = $4–$13 returns
🎓 +1 year schooling = +9% earnings
🍎 Ending stunting = +11% GDP

#InvestInChildren #UNICEF

[UNICEF India @UNICEFIndia]

Talk about a power walk!

Children join UNICEF India National Ambassadors Ayushmann Khurrana and Kareena Kapoor Khan at the ICC Women’s World Cup for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, showcasing our commitment to children and advocating for their rights.

#CWC25 #PromiseToChildren
@ICC @cricketworldcup

[Cynthia McCaffrey @UNICEFIndiaRep]

Met with Minister Annapurna Devi, @MinistryWCD, at the National Annual Stakeholders Consultation on Safeguarding the Girl Child.

We discussed the progress made & promising practices to advance child rights & access to comprehensive national schemes and services across India.