India's Sporting Icon Bowls Over Speech Writers

India's Sporting Icon Bowls Over Speech Writers As a professional communicator and media writer for over 25 years, when I heard India's sporting icon Sachin Tendulkar’s simple farewell-speech in English, I was convinced that nothing can cover up when words come-up from one's heart and emotions. Millions who listened to him could experience the feelings of much revered sportsperson who has been conferred with India's highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna (Gem of India). Every word touched the heart, as he made his fans cry with his speech. His speech, I am sure will be recycled and played again and again. Its effect has dumbfounded those who specialize in speech writing. You might ask what’s special about Sachin’s farewell speech? It was simple and not written by professional speech writers. The American saying if “it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage” was simply thrown to the wind with thousands cheering him all the way as he spoke at the historic Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai on November 16, 2013. All that the master sportsman had in his hand was the list of people whom he wanted to thank! It was not structured in corporate style and there was little formality. He showed that nervousness could be controlled by overcoming the anxiety, not of his own but those of listeners as well. There were no long sentences but the pauses and deep breadths that conveyed the hidden feelings of the maestro before the words came out! His speech reflected everything. Down to earth man, his childhood struggles, his commitment to the game, role played by his parents, friends and the coach who would take him on his scooter all over Mumbai. The touching tribute he paid to his father by saying every time he raised his bat “it was for him”. He expressed his love openly towards his wife by saying she was the best that happened to him and it was with her he had the best partnership even as his team mates chuckled. He assured his children of his support and not as Dad but as father of grown up kids, seeking warmth and guidance. Sincerity oozed from his words when he paid glowing tributes to his team-mates and all those who mattered in his life including the photographers and the media which was unforgivable at times. Remember, the Indian media even bayed for his blood when the master was going through the rough patch. Sachin’s farewell speech was perhaps one of the finest speeches ever by a sportsperson. Normally I am impressed with the speeches made by the American Presidents in style – of course often aided by speech prompters - but Sachin touched me with his words: simple Indian English with life in it! It brought out the Indian values he cherished. His legacy will live on and his speech will continue to inspire generations.

Made in India Copter Clocks 1,00,000 Flying Hours, Boosts India’s Indigenous Development Program

The first indigenous chopper of India, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH –Dhruv) designed, developed, produced and maintained by the state owned Defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to meet the requirement of military and civil operators, achieved a new milestone of flying 100,000 hours today (October 9, 2013). The land mark has been achieved i with the flying of helicopter IA 3104 of 301 Army Aviation Sqn (Spl ops). “It is a proud moment for us that Dhruv has proved its mettle over the years. India is the sixth nation in the world to have the capability to develop helicopters of this class. Dhruv has been exported to Ecuador, Mauritius, Nepal and Maldives”, said Dr. R.K. Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. He also thanked Indian armed forces, BSF and other precious customers for their continued support to this product. “One lakh hours flown by the machine is an awesome feat to achieve. It is a dream machine for any pilot”, said Lt Col Kapil Agarwal who completed the landmark flying hours. ALH is being operated by Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, BSF and state governments since 2002. Currently, more than 132 Dhruv helicopters are serving the Indian Defence Forces. HAL has also built 12 civil variant Dhruv helicopters and they are being used by its customers. The Ecuador Air Force (FAE) operates six Dhruv helicopters with their President choosing to fly in them. Dhruv is extremely useful to the Indian defence forces in meeting the arduous tasks in difficult terrains of Himalayas like Siachen Glacier and Kashmir. It played a key role in rescue operations during Tsunami (2004), flash floods at Leh (2010), earth quake at Sikkim (2011) and the biggest ever helicopter based rescue operation undertaken by Indian defence forces in flood & rain-hit areas of Uttarakhand recently. ALH Dhruv is an all weather helicopter which can carry 10-16 people at heights of 10,000 feet. It is a multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5 tonne weight class and meets Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) specifications. It has demonstrated its capability in long distance flights, vertical climb and in manoeuvring. Role in Uttarakhand: These copters deployed over flood and landslide affected areas in Uttarakhand recently and performed effectively in dropping paratroopers, evacuating stranded people and in supply of food and medicines. The helicopters made hundreds of sorties in the high risk zone overcoming strong winds, visibility and with virtually no space for landing on high terrains. One never knows the exact number of people perished. Initially the UN estimated the death toll to be around 10,000 while some local agencies put the figure much lower. Whereabouts of hundreds are still not known. The rain-ravaged Hindu shrine Kedarnath is the main attraction for millions of devotees, especially for thise northern India. Kedarnath and its surrounding areas suffered the worst in the natural disaster which also left a trail of destruction in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India. The state has some of the highest mountain peaks in the world. Dhruv was the star performer. On many occasions, due to incessant rain IAF pilots could only use Dhruv as it was unsafe for other copters to land. Dhruv helicopters flew for nearly 630 hours during the operation.

New Rupee Symbol and Indian Superstition

Superstition gains currency The recent murder of Indian rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune has led to a massive outpouring of anger, including in debates on TV channels. As a mark of tribute, the Maharashtra government has now pushed an anti-superstition Bill that he had championed for years. But it seems superstition is part and parcel of life, at least in some sections of Indian society. How else can one explain some blaming the new rupee symbol for the rupee’s drastic fall? These people are unwilling to reconcile to the news of rupee touching “historic low” against the major currencies week after week! Sign of growing aspiration In Budget 2010-11, India’s then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee wanted to formalise a symbol for the Indian Rupee (INR) to reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture. Subsequently, the new symbol was approved by the Indian government on July 15, 2010. The country had gone gaga over the selection of the symbol which is a fusion of Roman and Indian Devnagari script. Some called the new symbol a “sign of India’s growing aspiration” while critics dubbed it as needless exuberance, given the economic challenges India had to face. Even now, several G20 nations have not gone for a unique symbol since they want their currency to be globally relevant before taking such a step. Many thought India would not gain anything by internationalising its currency symbol since there are virtually no takers for the Indian currency in the global market or even accept it as reserve currency. Moreover, unlike the US Dollar or Euro, Indian currency is not freely convertible. In fact, India itself does its trade and business mostly in the US Dollars. It is true that India’s near 9 per cent growth was much discussed and praised by economists five years ago. The country had and still has many admirers. However, issues such as rich-poor divide, high unemployment, huge deficit and high inflation were always going to haunt the country at some point. In fact, a UNDP study — two days before the Indian government approved the rupee symbol — pointed out that acute poverty prevailed in eight Indian States, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (the most populated States) together accounting for more poor people than in 26 poorest African nations combined. Only emotive value? Does this mean the new rupee symbol has only emotive value? Some still feel that it is a passing phase and India can and will fix its problems by concentrating on curbing its imports. With a slew of other measures, the rupee may strengthen in due course of time. But this may happen only next year after the results of the general elections are out. Till such time it seems superstitions will have a wild run! (The author is chief of media communications at HAL. Views are personal) (This article was published on August 22, 2013)

India’s Indigenous Dhruv Helicopters Save Lives in Uttarakhand Operations

India’s Indigenous Dhruv Helicopters Save Lives in Uttarakhand Operations

India’s indigenous helicopters produced by the defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and named as Dhruv, Cheetah and Chetak played a leading role in the biggest ever helicopter based rescue operation of Indian defence forces in flood and rain-hit areas of Uttarakhand recently. These copters deployed over flood and landslide affected areas in Uttarakhand performed effectively in dropping paratroopers, evacuating stranded people and in supply of food and medicines. The helicopters made hundreds of sorties in the high risk zone overcoming strong winds, visibility and with virtually no space for landing on high terrains. HAL teams were positioned at Deharadun and Delhi to ensure logistic support for the rescue operations. One never knows the exact number of people perished. Initially the UN estimated the death toll to be around 10,000 while some local agencies put the figure much lower. Whereabouts of hundreds are still not known. The rain-ravaged Hindu shrine Kedarnath is the main attraction for millions of devotees, especially for thise northern India. Kedarnath and its surrounding areas suffered the worst in the natural disaster which also left a trail of destruction in Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state of India. The state has some of the highest mountain peaks in the world. Dhruv which can carry 16 passengers was the star performer. On many occasions, due to incessant rain IAF pilots could only use Dhruv as it was unsafe for other copters to land. Dhruv helicopters flew for nearly 630 hours during the operation and Cheetah and Chetak flew for 520 hours.

“The indigenized helicopters pressed into service by the Army and the Air Force in flood-hit areas have proved their mettle in carrying out rescue and relief operations in highly inaccessible areas. We are proud of it”, says Dr. R.K. Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. The ace cricket star, Harbhajan Singh too was stranded and was flown in the copter. HAL designed, developed and produced Dhruv helicopters have been delivered to the Indian Army, Air Force, Navy and the Coast Guard. They are also exported. The advanced technology features incorporated in the design of Dhruv include hingeless main rotor and bearingless tail rotor; integrated dynamic system encompassing main gear box and upper controls in a single housing; higher powered Shakti engines; integrated architecture display system (glass cockpit); duplex automatic flight control system; redundancy with twin engine, dual hydraulics and controls; 30 min dry running capability of gear boxes; crashworthy bottom structure, landing gear, crew seat and fuel tanks with self-sealing capability; extensive use of composite material on fuselage and rotor system; integration of role and optional equipments such as rescue hoist, stretchers and cargo-hook. Dhurv also has advanced avionics (communication, navigation & surveillance), electrical mission systems. All this makes Dhruv, a versatile multi-mission, multi-role helicopter capable of operating in all-weather and extreme climate conditions ensuring high degree of reliability and survivability.

Dream Comes True for Two at Paris Air Show

Dream Comes True for Two at Paris Air Show Notwithstanding the summer rains which were quite heavy on the first day itself at the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget exhibition centre from June 17 to 23, Air India and Qatar Airways made impact with the display of new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The giant birds were nicely parked on a large space at the world's prestigious Air Show. They attracted the attention of large visitors In fact, the Dreamliner display at Paris was first of its kind in any air show and was significant considering that the aircraft was grounded in January by carriers worldwide due to faulty batteries. "These batteries have been replaced with the new ones and necessary certifications have been obtained. Other teething problems too have been resolved", said the company sources at the Paris Air Show. Many carriers around the world including Air India have started re-flying the planes. AI at present has six aircraft and eight more aircraft are expected to be inducted by December this year. The carrier had placed orders for 27 such planes in January 2006. On the other hand QA took delivery of its sixth Dreamliner directly from Seattle to the show venue. The airliner had unveiled its Dreamliner at the world’s largest aviation event, Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire, UK in July 2012. The showcasing of the flying capabilities was the need of the hour not just for Boeing but as well as for airlines involved to clear the doubts over its safe flying. Touted as the next generation flying machine, Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the latest acquisitions for both the airlines and is expected to shore up the fortunes of AI as the aircraft is fuel efficient and is armed with new technology. The QA is equally excited as it is preparing to announce new routes for the summer passengers of the Middle East. The aircraft features luxurious business class suites. "It has been comfortable flying experience" for most of the flying passengers including this writer.

Indian Budget Stresses on Welfare of Women, Muslims; Praises Business Tycoon Azim Premji

Indian Budget Stresses on Welfare of Women, Muslims; Praises Business Tycoon Azim Premji India’s Finance Minister, Mr. P Chidambaram does not want the country to grow at a fast rate leaving behind women, the backward castes and tribes and minorities mainly Muslims. Pointing out that India is still the third fastest growing country in the world, he told the Indian Parliament “Our goal is higher growth leading to inclusive and sustainable development”, while presenting the Union Budget 2013-14 on Thursday. In line with this he has allocated INR 35.11 billion to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. This is an increase of 12 percent over the budget estimate and 60 percent over the revised estimate of 2012-13. When it comes to education of Muslims, the Maulana Azad Education Foundation is the main vehicle to implement educational schemes and channelize funds to non-government organizations. Its corpus today stands at INR 7.5 billion. With the objective of raising it to INR 15.00 billion during the 12th Plan period (2012-17), the FM has proposed to allocate INR 1.6 billion to the corpus fund. The Foundation also wants to add medical aid to its objectives. “I have accepted that a beginning can be made by providing medical facilities such as an infirmary or a resident doctor in the educational institutions run or funded by the Foundation. I propose to allocate INR one billion to launch this initiative”, he declared. Continuing the tradition of supporting institutions of excellence, the Minister has proposed to make a grant of INR one billion to Aligarh Muslim University along with three others. Mr. Chidambaram proposed to impose a surcharge of 10 percent on persons whose taxable income exceeds INR one billion per year. He justified it with a special praise to India’s Muslim business tycoon, Azim Premji, Chairman of IT giant Wipro Limited, known for his philanthropy. “I believe there is a little bit of the spirit of Mr. Azim Premji in every affluent tax payer. I am confident that when I ask the relatively prosperous to bear a small burden for one year, just one year, they will do so cheerfully”, he added.