Smitha Verma

Corp Comm. Author. Former journo Ex @letMeBreathe_in @TNIEMagazine, @IndiaToday, Financial Express, Telegraph, Hindustan Times. Bylines @mint_lounge, @viceindia

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

Repeat after me: The language is Malayalam, people who are native of Kerala are Malayalis. Plz don’t get confused!

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

@tehseenp Belated b’day wishes, Tehseen. Wishing you good health and peace, always!

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

This hit hard! “ One day you realise the person who once knew your thoughts now only knows what you accidentally reveal on Instagram stories.” Civil Irony : The quiet grief of adult friendship https://t.co/gUIIM9hhaD

[Vidhi Bhargava @vidhibhargava]

At 1:22 pm, 11 March, near Ashram Flyover, I was hit by a rash, constantly lane-changing @Uber_India / @Olacabs cab (HR38 AK8386). Not wanting to cause a traffic jam in the middle of the road I gestured him to stop on the side but he constantly changed lanes to dodge me and to disappear into the traffic.
I chased the car for 3–4 km, but the driver jumped a signal and fled.
At 1:32 pm I called 100 and 112 (Distress Number). Both calls were disconnected by the operators.
I wonder, what if I was seriously injured and it was a matter of life and death? What is the purpose of emergency numbers if they fail in the moment you actually need them?
Sharing a video of the vehicle changing lanes. Requesting action.
@DelhiPolice @dtptraffic @TrafficGGM #HitAndRun #RoadSafety

[Microsoft India and South Asia @MicrosoftIndia]

India’s legal ecosystem is discovering speed, clarity, and scale through #AI. With Microsoft #Azure and #Microsoft365Copilot, SCC Online and Trilegal are helping lawyers work faster and improve access to legal information for millions. Read more: https://t.co/ywObx5oRPQ

[Veena @veenavenugopal]

How long do you think HDFC Bank will take to transfer the money from your account to your nominee's after you die? Public sector banks get a bad rap, but it's been more than a year and we have not been able to get funds transferred from my now deceased husband's account in the country's largest private bank.
The nominee is our adult daughter, there are no conflicting claims, the paperwork is clear, and yet for more than a year now HDFC has been giving us the run around. Get this paper, get that paper. Each time my daughter comes home for holidays, we have to take 2 days out to go and wait at the bank branch. Today, more than a year after the first application, they said
a) we can't find the paperwork including the death certificate you submitted because the employee you submitted to is not here
b) you have to get a stamp paper and notarise it for the auto debits that hit his account between the date of his death and the date the account was frozen (on the basis of the paperwork in point a, now non-traceable)
c) you have to get HDFC Standard life to sign off because there is an auto debit for an investment from his account. (ME: they are the payee, he is the payer, why does the payee need to approve stopping a standing instruction? Bank: Hamare main aise hi hai). If you wait for 30 minutes, we'll get you the form.
d) after 30 minutes. Sorry, we can't get the form, you have to go to their office and do it.
By now it is 2.45 PM, HDFC Standard life office is at least 35 minutes away. They are open only till 3.30 PM. We are not sure we'll make it there on time. I call their number to ask if the branch is open tomorrow. Person: Sorry, I can't give you the information today, you will have to call and check tomorrow. (To repeat: HDFC Standard Life's call centre cannot tell you if a branch is working or not the following day)
In all, we have spent many hours over many months trying to get this money in a case the bank officials themselves say "should not be complicated". What is worse is for my 20-year-old daughter to relive the trauma of losing her father each time we have to go and explain the case. Just today, we had to speak to three different people and start the story from the beginning. This is not just the bank's inefficiency, it is its utter callousness. (My husband also had money in Indusind Bank. It took one visit and two weeks for that to be transferred).
The other, more important point, is that I have a job, we have the money to continue to pay for our needs without having to immediately access these funds. But I am certain that is not the case for many others. What about them? How can this be the system of a bank whose customers are dependent on it for giving them access to their own money?! It beggars belief.
@HDFC_Bank @HDFCBank_Cares

[Devendra Fadnavis @Dev_Fadnavis]

At the Microsoft AI Tour!

Truly insightful to hear @satyanadella’s keynote on building and scaling AI responsibly for real-world impact and strengthening governance.

@Microsoft
#Innovation #AI #Maharashtra

[Microsoft India and South Asia @MicrosoftIndia]

Maharashtra is strengthening India’s cybercrime response with MahaCrimeOS AI. Built on Azure OpenAI Service, in partnership with Maharashtra Government and MARVEL, the platform equips police with powerful AI tools to tackle cyber crime at scale.
https://t.co/Rv9ofRK1ac

[Satya Nadella @satyanadella]

Was fun to be at a dev event in Bengaluru and demo an app I built recently for deep research with multiple models and decision frameworks...think of it as "chain of debate"... Next stop, Copilot!!

[Dr Mansukh Mandaviya @mansukhmandviya]

Had an engaging discussion with Mr. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. We welcome Microsoft’s commitment to partnering with India to strengthen digital architecture.

Glad to share that the Ministry of Labour & Employment has signed an MoU with Microsoft. This partnership will enable over 15,000 Microsoft partners to onboard the National Career Service portal as job providers. We will also leverage Microsoft’s AI expertise to further establish NCS as a one-stop-solution for international mobility of our skilled workforce.

Under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, India is committed to building an inclusive, technology-enabled ecosystem for social security and welfare, where no one is left behind.

@satyanadella

@Microsoft

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

Feel a connection to a celebrity you don’t know? How often have you felt it? There’s a word for that https://t.co/fmq1BuHC6J

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

@SharmaShradha @TajHotels @tatatrusts लेकिन रेस्तरां में कुर्सी पर पैर रखकर बैठने में तो बुनियादी शिष्टता और स्वच्छता का ध्यान रखना चाहिए। ताज के एक्जीक्यूटिव तो अपना काम कर रहे थे

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

It was a privilege to have worked under the remarkable @SankarshanT, even if only briefly, a badge of honour I carry with pride. Travel well, sir. Telegraph, or rather journalism, would never be the same without you.

[Nilanjana Roy 📚🦊 @nilanjanaroy]

A great and saddening loss. Sankarshan Thakur held on to courage and his conscience when so many sold theirs. He was a gifted writer, the sharpest of political analysts, and kept faith with the people, the country, and the Constitution.

Such a lighthouse of an editor.

[Mohd Shadab Khan @VoxShadabKhan]

I don’t know why it hit me so hard, but watching Col. Sofia Qureshi briefing the nation on #OperationSindoor, my eyes welled up.

Not in pain, but in pride. This is the India I believe in, where duty speaks louder than division and a uniform unites more than any identity ever could.
#IndiaPakistanWar #ColSofiaQureshi

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

The charm that exists in chaos and the kindness that people carry in heart #Turkiye

[Anup Sharma B'Harry @TweetsAnup]

Go beyond breaking news, include all voices. Digital demands speed, but real journalism needs ground stories, not just phones.
Some very interesting discussions on the role of Media, Climate and Eco Anxiety at The Climate Conversations, The Mind Diaries
@JamwalNidhi @sscribbles

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

So @BluSmartIndia has halted bookings on the app. What happens to the existing cash in Blu wallet?

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

@TweetsAnup @Probasibangali Can’t agree more. There’s one mail and that’s about it.

[Anup Sharma B'Harry @TweetsAnup]

As the world grapples with #climatechange, many unsung heroes r leading the fight for sustainability, conservation & environmental justices.

Smitha Verma in her latest book brings forth few outliers from the climate-engaged community. Congratulations & best wishes @sscribbles

[Sam Dalrymple @SamDalrymple123]

The Prettiest Library in India

Rampur library is probably the best preserved early modern library in the country: home to around 30,000 rare manuscripts in Pashto, Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, and even Tamil.

[Smitha Verma @sscribbles]

Come say hello at the #WorldBookFair2025 at the launch of my debut book ‘Climate Underdogs: Chapter India’. Yes, this girl is now a published author!