Hyatt in India Appoints its First Female GM at Hyatt Regency Kolkata . July 2013 .

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Southwest Asia has appointed its first Female General Manager – Ms. Britta Leick-Milde who has taken charge recently of the Hyatt Regency Kolkata.

Reinforcing its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Ms.Britta Leick-Milde’s appointment reflects the unique and personal ways that Hyatt celebrates the strength of its co-workers.

Britta’s hospitality career began 20 years ago at the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel in her native Germany. Subsequently she worked with the Hilton and Kempinski groups. Britta joined the Hyatt family in 2007 as Director of Rooms, Park Hyatt Dubai and was subsequently promoted as ‘ Executive Assistant Manager – Rooms’.

An enthusiastic Indophile she served as Hotel Manager, Grand Hyatt Mumbai for nearly a year before taking up her new assignment as General Manager of Hyatt Regency Kolkata.

www.kolkata.regency.hyatt.com  // www.hyatt.com

India’s First and Only Indian Male Athlete to win Individual Gold in the Commonwealth Games. 1958 .

Milkha Singh the legendary hero is Independent India’s first and only* male athlete to win an Individual gold medal in Athletics Track event at the ‘ 1958 Commonwealth Games ‘ (*as on July 2013) where he won the 400 yards at Cardiff by defeating the favourite Malcolm Fence.

A true champion, a real life hero, a graceful runner Milkha Singh was born in a country, and won medals against all odds in a country that had savoured independence for just 11 years, and where there was no support from any quarter, where facilities were few, contending for medals was then a romantic pursuit.

Milkha Singh a story of guts and glory. A former track and field sprinter was born in Muzaffargah district in Kot Addu tehsil, British India (currently Pakistan) on October 08th, 1935. A village about 10 Km from the city. He was orphaned during partition of India, when his parents, a brother and some sisters died tragically. At the age of 15 in 1947 he moved to Delhi where he lived with his sister Iswar Kaur. Amongst a string of adversities he faced, his temporary home for a month was a platform on Delhi’s railyway station.

In 1951 he joined the Indian Army and while stationed at the Electrical Mechanical Engineering Centre in Secuderabad was introduced to Athletics. The Brigade Meet in Secuderabad was Milkha’s first exposure to a competitive environment where he ran in front of 8,000-10,000 spectators.

Milkha Singh represented India in the 400m competition of the  1956 Melbourne Olympics. It was here that he got the opportunity of travelling by air for the first time in his life during the Melbourne Olympics. In 1958 he set the recrods for the 200m and 400m in the National Games of India held in Cuttack. He represented India in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and came 4th. In the 4th Asiad – 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta (Indonesia) he won the gold in the 400m and in the 400 x 4 relay as well.

Awarded ‘Padma Shri’ India’s 4th highest civilian award in recognition of his sporting achievements.

‘ Flying Sikh ‘ : in 1962 he got the epithet ‘Flying Sikh’ from (then Pakistan President )General Ayub Khan, after defeating Abdul Khaliq, Pakistan’s fastest runner. When he gave away the medals, he whispered to me in Punjabi ” you did’nt run today, you flew ‘. Since then the name crowned and stuck to him ‘ Milkha Singh – The Flying Sikh ‘.

In 1962 Milkha Singh became the Director of Sports in the Punjab Ministry of Education. He retired in 1991 as Director of Sports & Youth Programme , Punjab Government. Married to Nirmal Kaur, a former Captain of the Indian Women’s Volleyball team. They have 3 daughters and one son – Jeev Milkha Singh, Professional Golfer and India’s first Golfer to join the 1988 European Tour. In 1999, they also adopted the 7-year old son of Havildar Bikram Singh, who had died in the Battle of Tiger Hill. He currently lives in Chandigarh and the family run a Trust established in 2003- Milkha Singh Charitable Trust, Chandigarh to help the poor and needy sports persons and their families.

Donated his sporting treasures :

Milkha Singh who in total won 77 of his 80 races, has donated his medals to the nation. They were displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Subsequently they were moved later to a sports museum in Patiala.

Books: (1) Autobiography: The Race of My Life : an Autobiography by Milkha Singh and co-authored by his daughter Sonia Sanwalka – Published by Rupa Publcation.

(2) Film : ‘ Bhaag Milkha Bhaag ‘ (English: Run Milkha Run) a biographical film on Milkha Singh, released nationally in India and worldwide as well on Friday, July 13th, 2013. Produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, script by Prasoon Joshi. Milkha Singh’s role played by actor Farhan Akhtar.

(3) website http://www.milkhasingh.co.in/biography.htm

First Ever Indian Woman Entrepreneur to receive Dubai Government’s ‘ Emirates Women Award ‘ for Business Excellence . May 2013 .

Vandana Kumar Gandhi became the first ever Indian woman entrepreneur to receive the Dubai Government’s coveted and prestigious ‘Emirates Women Award 2013 ‘ (EWA) for ‘Business Excellence ‘.

The award was presented at a glittering gala ceremony held on May 26th, 2013 at The Palace Hotel in Downtown Dubai. Gracing the occasion was Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman & Chief Executive of the Emirates Airline and Group and honorary Patron of Dubai Quality Group (DQG).

The ‘Emirates Women Award’ is an initiative of Dubai Quality Group (DQG) to encourage women, both UAE nationals and residents to be actively involved in social and economic development initiatives in the country.

The India born entrepreneur Vandana Gandhi was the “Overall Winner in the Business Category” for excelling and providing innovation in preschool education . The award selection was made from among several hundred entries by a jury based on various criteria like leadership, strategy, community services and innovation.

Vandana Gandhi is the  Founder & CEO of British Orchard Nursery – the Middle East’s only ISO-certified Nursery chain, with 10 branches across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and including Government franchises. She conceived and introduced ‘GymJuniorz’ – a first of its kind children’s gym & fitness center into the curriculum.

Vandana Gandhi is a versatile personality with varied interests in calligraphy, yoga, scriptural studies, squash, table tennis etc. A Masters in Education with distinction, she is pursuing a Doctor of Education from the University of Birmingham, UK. After initial schooling in Dubai, she completed her Bachelors from Mithibai College, Mumbai and followed up with her Post Graduate Diploma in International Business Adminstration from NMIMS University, Mumbai.

India’s First CRISIL ‘A’ Credit Rating for Solar Power Plant . July 2013.

Astonfield Renewables Resources Ltd., has been awarded the first ever solar power project in India, to receive an ‘A’ class credit rating ” CRISIL A-/Stable ” for its 5 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project based in Osiyan, the north western State of Rajasthan.

The project has been given the A credit rating based on its strong revenue visibility and long term loan facilities by Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL), a division of McGraw Hill Corporation and whose majority shareholder is Standard & Poor’s.

It is one of the first large-scale solar power projects to be operational in India. The project was implemented by renowned technology and services providers. It comprised of thin-film solar PV modules manufactured by T-Solar, while the engineering, procurement and construction(EPC) services were provided by Schneider Electric.

Astonfield, a provider of affordable renewable engery has a total of 4 Solar PV projects in the country with a combined generation capacity of 20.5 MW .

www.astonfield.com

First Commercial order for Polaris India’s ATV’s from Gujarat Police . July 2013 .

Polaris India Pvt.Ltd has bagged its first commercial order in India from Gujarat Police for its model Ranger RZR S 800 All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV).

The RZR S 800 is specifically designed to take on off-road terrain. It has a high revving 760cc fuel injected petrol twin-cylinder engine that puts out 54 bhp. The ATV can catapult the Ranger RZR S from 0-100 Km/h in about 5.4 seconds which is sports/race car category.

The scope of the contract includes on and offsite training, maintenance and after sales support. The vehicle will help Gujarat Police in areas like routine patrols in inaccessible terrains, coastal patrol, rapid pursuit operations, maintaining vigil around sensitive and hi-security zones to name a few.

Speaking on the development Mr. Pankaj Dubey, MD, Polaris India said ” ATV’s are used by Police forces across the globe. This is for the first time that our ATV’s will be used by the police in India. Polaris has demonstrated All- Terrain Vehicles (ATV) to the Defence, Police and Para Military forces, as these can be used in beach patrolling, dense forest, marshy land, rocky and rough terrain “. Polaris India is a fully owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries Inc., a world leader in off-road and  All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV).

First Kashmiri cricketer to be selected for the National India ‘A’ team cricket squad. July 2013 .

Parvez Ghulam Rasool Zargar (Parvez Rasool)scripted history and became the first cricketer from the state of J & K to be selected for the National India ‘A’ Team.

Parvez Rasool was named by the selectors on Friday, July 05th, 2013 for the 5 match ODI series, Zimbabwe tour beginning July 24th .

A technically accompolished cricketer he made his first-class debut for J & K in the 2008-09 season.  Parvez Rasool is a middle-order batsman who also bowls classical off-spin, and has been a trail blazer right through his career. Earlier on this year he was chosen to play the IPL for the Pune Warriors. He played for the ‘Board President’s XI’ and was a standout performer for J & K in the 2012-13 Ranji trophy, ending the season as its top scorer and highest wicket taker. Parvez has taken 46 wickets in 17 first class matches and scored 1003 runs at an impressive average of 30.57 runs.

Rasool said “without the guidance of former Indian Captain Bishen Singh Bedi, his dream would not have been possible”. He also thanked his childhood coaches Abdul Qayoom Bugoo and Rajesh Dhar for his success.

Parvez Rasool – This poster boy of Kashmir cricket, belonging to a second-generation cricket playing family, was born on February 13th, 1989. A son of a humble shop keeper, as a kid he often played cricket on the deserted streets of Bijbehara, a a small town in South Kashmir. Cricket runs in the family which hails from Anantnag district. His father Ghulam Rasool Zargar loves the game and played for the local club whilst his brother Asif represented J&K in domestic T20 championship.

India’s First Gold at the 20th Asian Athletics Championship . July 2013 .

Vikas Shive Gowda (Vikas Gowda) discuss thrower clinched the first gold for India on July 04th the eve of his birthday, amidst much celebration as the crowd listened to the National Anthem being played for the first time in the championship.

He threw the iron disc to a creditable 64.90m in his 4th attempt to win his first gold of the Asian Championship in his 5th appearance. Vikas Gowda had earlier won a silver each in the 2005 and 2011 editions. He holds the national record of 66.28m whilst his season’s best is 65.82m .

Amongst much celebration the home team won 3 medals on the second day at the 20th Asian Athletics Championship held at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, State of Maharashtra, India . As the championship concluded on Sunday, India had acquired a total haul of 17 medals. The tally of 9 for the men and 8 for the womens’ events, making it the first time in the last 5 Asian Championships that Indian men had won more medals than women. The total of 17 medals was India’s best since the 1989 edition in New Delhi.

The 29-year old athlete born on July 05th 1983, in Mysore,Karnataka is an ace discuss thrower and shot putter who trains in the US. He grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the US. His father Shive Gowda coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team.

Vikas Gowda is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the US MCAA National Champion 2006 in Discuss.

Vikas Gowda : Records : (2005) came 2nd in the 2005 Asian championships held in Incheon, Korea / (2010) came 3rd in the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China / (2010) came 2nd in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, India / (2011) came 2nd in the 2011 Asian Championship held in Kobe, Japan / (2013) 1st position, won Gold at the 20th Asian Championship held in Pune, India .

India’s First Private Shipyard to receive Warship Production Licence. October 2010 .

Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company Ltd. became the first Indian private shipyard in the country to receive a Warship production licence and contract to build warships and other naval assets for the Indian Navy from the Indian Government.It is promoted by the SKIL Group. Ocotber 2010.

Pipavav has India’s largest shipyard at the Gulf of Cambay, Pipavav, Rajula in Gujarat on the West Coast. It has India’s largest Dry Dock (662m x 65m) and the Worlds 2nd largest and is capable of accomodating ships of upto 400,000 DWT. Pipavav has India’s largest shipyard cranes. It is in the process of adding another Dry Dock adjacent to the existing facility on the South Western coast of Gujarat.

It is also the first Private company to form a joint-venture with the State owned naval defence major Mazagon Dock Limited. This joint-venture will bid for orders with other private companies from Indian Navy and the Coast Guard.

Pipavav has won many awards

http://www.pipavavshipyard.com