Dinesh Singh Thakur is a trained chemical engineer. He turned whistleblower against Ranbaxy after witnessing large-scale data fraud at the company. His efforts led to Ranbaxy pleading guilty to violating American law before an American court in 2013. The company agreed to pay a penalty of $500 million dollars as a part of its guilty plea. For his actions, he received the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civic Courage and the ACFE Cliff Robertson Sentinel Award. Since 2014, he has advocated for reform of India’s colonial-era Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and has founded an advocacy group called the Citizens for Affordable, Safe & Effective Medicine (CASEM). He is also the founder and President of the Thakur Family Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that provides grants for research on public health and health journalism in India.