The life-saving dot.

Iodine deficiency is rife in rural India, linked to millions of cases of fibrocystic breast disease and complications during pregnancy.

Pills are available, but not taken because women here are averse to foreign medication.These women needed a simpler solution.

Grey Group Singapore’s idea turned on a traditional habit. Almost every Indian woman wears a bindi – a traditional symbol of beauty that adorns the forehead. Grey Group suggested to their client, Talwar Bindi, that they develop and distribute bindis that double as iodine patches.

Talwar Bindi, with Neelvasant Medical Foundation and Research Centre, introduced The Life Saving Dot, Jeevan Bindi. Each dot dispenses the daily requirement of iodine through transdermal dispersion.

The announcement of Jeevan Bindi made a splash in both the Indian and international media as a breakthrough to save the lives of millions of women across rural India.