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Colgate & Haryana govt launch smile mission for 57 lakh pupils
Statewide school drive aims to build healthy smiles and habits
NEW DELHI: Brighter smiles are set to light up classrooms across Haryana as Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited joins hands with the Government of Haryana to take oral health education to 57 lakh school children.
The collaboration expands Colgate’s flagship Bright Smiles, Bright Futures programme, a global initiative that already reaches more than 10 million children annually across India. Now, Haryana’s pupils are next in line for a lesson that promises to last a lifetime.
At its heart, the partnership weaves structured oral health education directly into both public and private schools across the state. The aim is simple yet ambitious: turn brushing from a chore into second nature, and make preventive care part of everyday school life.
“Ensuring the health and well-being of our children is central to our vision for Haryana’s future,” said Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini. “Through this collaboration, we aim to embed preventive oral hygiene practices among students across the state.”
The programme goes well beyond a one-off awareness talk. It includes engaging, age-appropriate sessions led by trained facilitators, lessons on correct twice-daily brushing, timely toothbrush replacement, nutrition guidance and tobacco prevention awareness.
Every participating school will also install a dedicated Oral Health Board, a daily visual reminder that good habits begin with small, consistent steps. Teachers, meanwhile, will undergo training in dental basics so they can reinforce these lessons long after the initial sessions conclude.
To ensure the message travels home, children will receive take-home dental kits and brushing calendars, nudging families to turn bathroom sinks into hubs of healthy routine.
For Colgate-Palmolive India managing director and chief executive officer Prabha Narasimhan, the initiative signals a shift from conversation to commitment. “By embedding Bright Smiles, Bright Futures into Haryana’s educational framework, we are making preventive care a non-negotiable part of a child’s development,” she said.
The scale is striking. Since its inception, the programme has reached over 195 million children in India and more than 2 billion children and families worldwide. Haryana now joins a growing list of states that have partnered with Colgate to put oral health firmly on the school agenda.
“Preventive health education, when delivered consistently and early, creates ripple effects beyond the classroom,” said Colgate-Palmolive India director for ESG and communications Shilpashree Muniswamappa. “Children become ambassadors of healthy habits within their families and communities.”
The kick-off meeting brought together senior state officials and implementation partners, including representatives from the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and IIT Ropar’s iHub AWaDH, underlining the public-private push behind the programme.
In a state known for its sporting grit and agricultural strength, the newest goal is refreshingly simple: healthier teeth, happier children and habits that hold firm long after the school bell rings.
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Boeing appoints Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering function
Seasoned finance leader to steer budgets and strategy across global centres
BENGALURU: Boeing’s finance cockpit has a new pilot, and he is no stranger to turbulence or transformation. Boeing has appointed Barun as head of FP&A for global engineering, placing him at the centre of financial strategy for its worldwide engineering and technology operations.
Based in Bengaluru, Barun steps into a role that is as expansive as it is critical. He will serve as the primary finance lead for Boeing’s Engineering and Technology Centers globally, working closely with executive leadership to shape financial decisions, manage complex budgets, and design scalable finance processes that support the company’s growing engineering footprint.
In a note announcing his move Barun said, “I’m excited to share that I’ve joined Boeing Global Engineering. This opportunity is incredibly meaningful to me not just from a professional standpoint, but also for what Boeing represents globally.” He added that he looks forward to contributing to an organisation that continues to shape the future of aerospace and innovation.
Barun’s mandate spans strategic financial leadership, operational oversight, and stakeholder engagement. From directing large-scale budgets and schedules to influencing long-term organisational goals, the role blends financial discipline with business foresight. He will also lead cross-functional teams and partner with finance colleagues worldwide to support engineering programmes across geographies, including India.
The appointment caps a long stint at Juniper Networks, where Barun spent over a decade, most recently as finance senior manager. There, he led FP&A for global product business units and G&A functions, driving budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning. He also played a key role in enterprise-wide transformation, including spearheading an Oracle to SAP ERP migration and building advanced analytics capabilities using tools such as Tableau and SAP Analytics Cloud.
His earlier career includes finance leadership roles at Sony India Software Centre, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and Mphasis, where he focused on financial planning, governance frameworks, and operational efficiency across global delivery centres.
A chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Barun brings nearly two decades of experience across financial planning, digital transformation, and analytics-led decision making.
His appointment comes at a time when global engineering operations are becoming increasingly complex and distributed, requiring sharper financial oversight and agile planning. With Barun at the helm of FP&A for engineering, Boeing appears to be tightening its financial playbook as it looks to scale innovation with discipline.
