Heartycongratulations to the Indian scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), the world’s oldest scientific academy in continuous existence. Soumya and Bharat Ratna MS Swaminathan are the first Indian father-daughter duo to get the FRS and Soumya is the second Indian woman to get the honour. Soumya has now entered a privileged league of exceptional scientists.Soumya’s role as chief scientist in the World Health Organization (WHO) helped understand the Covid situation better during the pandemic. Alas Indian newspapers did not give as much page 1 prominence as her achievement deserved.

S Sankaranarayanan, Chennai 40