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TVS Motor Company expands its global footprint; launches its first TVS Experience Centre in Singapore

TVS Motor Company, a reputed manufacturer of two-wheelers with sales of over three million units globally, today inaugurated its first state-of-the-art TVS Experience Centre in Singapore.

This launch is in line with the company’s global expansion plans. The new TVS Experience Centre will offer a range of TVS Motor’s premium motorcycles including the flagship model, TVS Apache RR310 for racing enthusiasts, and the TVS Apache RTR range for the performance seekers.

The company will introduce diverse products offerings, catering to both personal commuting as well as the delivery premium segment in Singapore. This centre will additionally have vehicle servicing facility, spare parts, and the full range of merchandise to choose from.

The TVS Apache series was born on the racetrack, incorporating learnings from more than 40 years of TVS Racing experience-the factory racing team of TVS Motor Company with a history of 40 years in motorsports. Offering superior products into the market that connect with customers who are also racing enthusiasts, TVS Apache series have always been at the forefront of technology and innovation since its launch in 2005. Through the years, the brand has introduced first-in-segment features & technology to the customers, recording strong year on year export volumes across 80 countries.

TVS Apache has redefined the sports segment by focusing on race performance, making it a highly desirable product for sports enthusiasts. This has resulted in creating a customer base of over 4.8 million across the globe.

Speaking at the occasion, Vimal Sumbly, Head Business-Premium at TVS Motor Company said, “The TVS Apache Series have always been at the forefront of technology & innovation since its launch in 2005 and continue to set a benchmark in the performance segment. The vehicles under the stable of TVS Apache series have offered multiple first-in-segment & best-in-class features & technology to the customers, starting from Fuel injection, ABS, Dual Channel ABS, Slipper Clutch, to the most recent SmartXonnectTM, Ride Modes, LED Headlamp, and democraticing racing. Our expansion into Singapore, with the launch of the TVS Apache series, is instrumental in our premiumisation story and we are confident of widening our community of Apache owners in the country.”

Commenting on the Singapore launch, Rahul Nayak, Vice President-International Business, TVS Motor Company, said, “With many years of commitment to building the international business portfolio, TVS Motor Company has set the benchmark in catering to diverse needs of buyers across the globe. Our launch in Singapore is one step further in expanding globally in achieving our global ambitions.”

Commenting on the showroom launch, J Thangarajan, President Director-PT TVS Motor Company, said, “We are delighted to expand our presence in the ASEAN region, with our new TVS Experience Centre in Singapore with Motorsport Pte Ltd. They have a rich experience in the region and share our values of keeping customers at the core of our offerings. This state-of-the-art experience centre inaugurated here in Singapore will further consolidate our presence in the region. It will pave the way for us to explore newer opportunities in the world of mobility, as we introduce our premium range of two-wheelers: the flagship model TVS Apache RR310 and the TVS Apache RTR series along with a slew of other experiences for the auto enthusiasts in Singapore.”

Herbert Teh, Director- Motorsport Pte Ltd. said, “We will be representing TVS Motor Company with great pride to cater to the Singapore customers. With the product technology and quality of TVS Motor products, combined with our market presence and reach, we are confident that we will meet the customer expectation in the country.”

TVS Motor Company has partnered with ‘Motorsport Pte Ltd (part of the Chong Aik Group)’ who will be the distributors for Singapore Market. Motorsport has strong presence in the region with 6 retail outlets and 8 warehouses. Established in 1994, they currently have exclusive distributorship for more than 40 brands, whilst also being the stockiest for genuine parts, apparels, and motorcycle accessories.

TVS Motor Company is a reputed two and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, championing progress through Sustainable Mobility with four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Mysuru and Nalagarh in India and Karawang in Indonesia. Rooted in our 119-year legacy of Trust, Value, and Passion for Customers and Exactness, we take pride in making internationally aspirational products of the highest quality through innovative and sustainable processes.

We are the only two-wheeler company to have received the prestigious Deming Prize. Our products lead in their respective categories in the J.D. Power IQS and APEAL surveys. We have been ranked No. 1 Company in /the J.D. Power Customer Service Satisfaction Survey for consecutive four years. Our group company Norton Motorcycles, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the most emotive motorcycle brands in the world. Our subsidiaries in the personal e-mobility space, Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG) and EGO Movement have a leading position in the e-bike market in Switzerland. TVS Motor Company endeavours to deliver the most superior customer experience across 80 countries in which we operate.

For more information, please visit www.tvsmotor.com.

This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

theprint.in

Prototypes of world’s highest rail bridge among others displayed at Indian International Trade Fair

India’s first underwater (subaqueous tunnel) rail system and the world’s highest railway arch bridge, built across the Chenab Bridge in J&K has sparked curiosity among the public.

The ongoing Indian International Trade Fair (IITF) at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, witnessed the Ministry of Railway setting up a sprawling pavilion showcasing all of the railway’s technical advancements on the ironic rail bridge over Chenab and water tunnels. The ministry has highlighted many first-of-its-kind and marvellous facets of Indian Railways, which are attracting crowds of curious visitors.

Exhibiting prototypes of various mega projects, the railway has also exhibited the prototype of the re-developed ‘Ayodhya city railway station, of which the designs are inspired by the Ram Janambhoomi temple’s design.

Sharing details with the media on Tuesday, the Ministry of Railway claimed that various themes have been exhibited with their technological and structural advances through photos, translates and models.

“The model showing the world’s highest rail bridge on Chenab and India’s first underwater rail system, which is being built as part of the East-West Metro corridor of the metro railway in Kolkata, has been drawing huge crowds of curious visitors”, said a senior railway official.

The sports gallery exhibits awards won by the railway teams and an earmarked space showing the historic march of Indian Railways from the old days to the days of manufacturing and running high-speed Vande Bharat trains to the working of bullet trains, has also gathered a lot of onlookers.

“Another most interesting part of the railway’s pavilion is that it has made side walls based on the theme of ‘Azadi Ki Rail Gadi aur Station’ which throws light on the strong connection between freedom struggle and association of railways”, said a railway official. They also added adding that the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station with the design inspired by Lord Rama Janambhoomi temple has proved to be one of the huge crowd-pulling parts at the pavilion.

Besides this, the Ministry of Railways has also displayed the prototypes of its mega Sabarmati multimodal passenger hub and the casting yard of India’s first Bullet train project as part of the Mumbai-Ahmadabad high-speed rail corridor.

Not only this but the country’s first-of-its-kind solar plant at Bina in MP that generates solar power directly to 25 kV overhead electrical equipment to haul trains was displayed apart from the country’s first indigenous semi-high speed Vande Bharat train.

To make the visit of people at the railway pavilion memorable, the Ministry has created a special selfie booth titled ‘I am at Railway station’ for people to click pictures.

newindianexpress.com

Indian wildlife biologist honoured with UN’s highest environmental award

Dr Purnima Devi Barman leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction.

UNITED NATIONS: Indian wildlife biologist Dr Purnima Devi Barman is among the honourees of this year’s Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, accorded for their transformative action to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation.

Barman has been honoured with the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2022 Champions of the Earth award in the Entrepreneurial Vision category.

A wildlife biologist, Barman leads the “Hargila Army”, an all-female grassroots conservation movement dedicated to protecting the Greater Adjutant Stork from extinction.

The women create and sell textiles with motifs of the bird, helping to raise awareness about the species while building their own financial independence.

Barman is also Senior Project Manager of the Avifauna Research and Conservation Division, Aaranyak.

The UNEP website said that at the age of five, Barman was sent to live with her grandmother on the banks of the Brahmaputra River in Assam.

“Separated from her parents and siblings, the girl became inconsolable. To distract her, Barman’s grandmother, a farmer, started taking her to nearby paddy fields and wetlands to teach her about the birds there. I saw storks and many other species. She taught me bird songs. She asked me to sing for the egrets and the storks. I fell in love with the birds,” said Barman, who has devoted much of her career to saving the endangered greater adjutant stork, the second-rarest stork species in the world.

“Barman’s pioneering conservation work has empowered thousands of women, creating entrepreneurs and improving livelihoods while bringing the greater adjutant stork back from the brink of extinction,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

“Dr Barman’s work has shown that conflict between humans and wildlife can be resolved to the benefit of all. By highlighting the damaging impact that the loss of wetlands has had on the species who feed and breed on them, she reminds us of the importance of protecting and restoring ecosystems.”

According to information on the UNEP website, to protect the stork, Barman knew she had to change perceptions of the bird, known locally as “hargila” in Assamese (meaning “bone swallower”) and mobilised a group of village women to help her.

Today the “Hargila Army” consists of over 10,000 women.

They protect nesting sites, rehabilitate injured storks which have fallen from their nests and arrange “baby showers” to celebrate the arrival of newborn chicks.

The greater adjutant stork regularly features in folk songs, poems, festivals and plays.

Since Barman started her conservation programme, the number of nests in the villages of Dadara, Pachariya, and Singimari in Kamrup District have risen from 28 to more than 250, making this the largest breeding colony of greater adjutant storks in the world, UNEP said.

“In 2017, Barman began building tall bamboo nesting platforms for the endangered birds to hatch their eggs. Her efforts were rewarded a couple of years later when the first greater adjutant stork chicks were hatched on these experimental platforms,” it added.

Barman said on the UNEP website that one of her biggest rewards has been the sense of pride that has been instilled in the Hargila Army and she hopes their success will inspire the next generation of conservationists to pursue their dreams.

“Being a woman working in conservation in a male-dominated society is challenging but the Hargila Army has shown how women can make a difference,” she said.

UNEP said that since its inception in 2005, the annual Champions of the Earth award has been awarded to trailblazers at the forefront of efforts to protect our natural world.

It is the UN’s highest environmental honour.

To date, the award has recognised 111 laureates: 26 world leaders, 69 individuals and 16 organisations.

This year a record 2,200 nominations from around the world were received.

The other honourees include Arcenciel (Lebanon); Constantino (Tino) Aucca Chutas (Peru); Sir Partha Dasgupta of the United Kingdom and Cecile Bibiane Ndjebet (Cameroon).

newindianexpress.com

Through madness and mayhem, Suryakumar Yadav activates GOD-mode to make ridiculous look easy

Every great sportsperson goes through a phase in career where nothing he seems to do goes wrong. It is, as people call, GOD-mode, a period where irrespective of whatever a player does, he is near invincible. Nothing can stop him. For the great Sachin Tendulkar, it was 1998 and 2010; Virat Kohli experienced the same in 2016. In fact, for years, no one personified this term more than Roger Federer, as he would activate a near cheat-code like comeback en route to asserting dominance over his opponents. He did it for years – ask his fiercest rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Even the younger generation felt his wrath. No one was spared.

Cut to 2022, and the mantle has been taken over by Suryakumar Yadav. He is defining GOD-mode in batting, and how? Playing the kind of cricket only AB de Villiers was known to play. On occasions, even better than ABD. Tim Southee was fielding at long-on when Suryakumar took Lockie Ferguson on, walloping him for four boundaries and a six in the 19th over. By the time he once again defied physics to loft the ball over deep point, Suryakumar had already played a scoop, a ramp and a cut in that over itself, all three shots bringing boundaries. You would imagine that even for Suryakumar, this is the limit. But apparently not, that near impossible shot left Southee stunned as he turned back and shrugged his head in disbelief, while Ferguson could be seen ruffling his hair.

Welcome to modern-age T20 batting. The Suryakumar Yadav school of madness and mayhem. A template of batting where nothing is impossible. Swirl your bat around like a stick and it will still bring you results. At least, that is what a No. 3 should do in T20Is, and not score 40 off 40. Terms like ‘form’ and ‘in the zone’ are highly cliched, but watching Suryakumar bat actually makes you wonder if they are true. And if that doesn’t suffice either, replay the celebration between Surya and Hardik Pandya when he reached his hundred. After the long brotherly hug, Surya, with a beaming smile, raised his bat and took a moment before resuming. But in between that five-second gap during acknowledging the crowd and taking back guard, time stood still. Suryakumar has already reached the summit of the T20 rankings; here he was on top of the world.

A placard held by one of the fans during the match summed it up. There are only three things guaranteed in this word – death, taxes and Suryakumar Yadav scoring runs irrespective of the opposition. And as corny as it may sound, Surya has not given any reason to think otherwise. The consistency with which he has piled runs in T20Is this year is jaw dropping. In 30 matches, 1151 runs with nine fifties, two centuries, 105 fours and 67 sixes. The second best is 83 and 43 respectively, which portrays the huge gulf between Surya and the rest. Out of 191, 111 were Surya’s, while the remaining seven combined to put 69. Of the 27 boundaries struck by India, he hit 18. Just one of the many gobsmacking, godly Surya trivias.

“The confidence is always there. Yeah, I have a few runs behind my back but at the same time, there is a very thin line between you getting complacent also, when you’re coming into any game after scoring runs. I think you have got to do all your processes and routines the same way what you have been doing when you have done well. 99 per cent I try to do the same things on match days like, for example, if I have to do a gym session or I have to eat lunch on perfect timing or I have to take a nap for 15-20 minutes. These are small, small routines I try to do on game days,” Suryakumar replied during the press conference while answering a query from Hindustan Times.

“And when I come to the ground, it feels good and that is my zone. And also, I spend a lot of time with my wife on off days, speak to my parents a lot, the one thing that keeps me grounded always is they don’t talk about the game, we don’t talk about the game at all, and they keep me in a good space. That is the most important thing and I’m happy to stay in that zone for a long time from here on.”

Among all the stunning range of jaw-dropping Suryakumar played at the Bay Oval or even usually plays for that matter, was the flat six he smoked off Southee through the open mid-wicket. The New Zealand quick took pace off but Surya read it almost immediately at the time of release and whipped it over cow corner. At the first glimpse, it was almost as if Hardik Pandya was the one playing it, with that impeccable initial trigger movement of rocking back. In a rarity, the scoop wasn’t Surya’s most eye-catching stroke of the evening.

The frenzy was such that even members from the New Zealand media and support staff couldn’t help but marvel at the genius that was unfolding. Suryakumar creamed inside out sixes off Southee, the lofted thump off pacer Adam Milne and even against the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, the one bowler who has always troubled India in the past with his variation of speed. During the T20 World Cup, Nasser Hussain mentioned how left-arm spin could be the one weakness Suryakumar has. Clearly, the former England captain would reconsider trusting the WhatsApp ground he got all his information from.

“I also get amazed after seeing some strokes when I go back to the room. I obviously watch all the highlights every time even if I don’t do well. I do watch the highlights but yes, even I get surprised sometimes after seeing some shots that I played,” Suryakumar added.

The way Suryakumar is going, it is near-impossible for the selectors to ignore him for the ODIs, maybe even Tests. At 32, Suryakumar has at max three more good years ahead of him and with the 50-over World Cup knocking, and amid all the change that might transpire in Indian cricket in the time to come, Suryakumar can remain the one constant. In an ever-evolving game, Surya is tweaking the definition of range with almost every innings, and if in him, the world gets to witness the first 720-degree player (360 is passé), then so be it. GOD-mode Suryakumar is what is best for Indian cricket.

hindustantimes.com

With 177 million, India largest contributor to global population milestone of 8 billion: UN

India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by next year.

As the world population touched 8 billion on Tuesday, India was the largest contributor to the milestone, having added 177 million people, while China, whose contribution to the next billion in the global population is projected to be in the negative, the UN said.

India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by next year.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in a special graphic to mark the global population reaching eight billion, said Asia and Africa has driven much of this growth is expected to drive the next billion by 2037, while Europe’s contribution will be negative due to declining population.

The world added a billion people in the last 12 years. UNFPA said that as the world adds the next billion to its tally of inhabitants, China’s contribution will be negative.

“India, the largest contributor to the 8 billion (177 million) will surpass China, which was the second largest contributor (73 million) and whose contribution to the next billion will be negative, as the world’s most populous nation by 2023,” UNFPA said.

The UN said that it took about 12 years for the world population to grow from 7 to 8 billion, but the next billion is expected to take about 14.5 years (2037), reflecting the slowdown in global growth.

World population is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and is expected to remain at that level until 2100.

For the increase from 7 to 8 billion, around 70 per cent of the added population was in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

For the increase from 8 to 9 billion, these two groups of countries are expected to account for more than 90 per cent of global growth, the UN said.

Between now and 2050, the global increase in the population under the age 65 will occur entirely in low income and lower-middle-income countries, since population growth in high-income and upper-middle income countries will occur only among those aged 65 or more, it said.

The World Population Prospects 2022, released in July this year said that India’s population stands at 1.412 billion in 2022, compared with China’s 1.426 billion.

India is projected to have a population of 1.668 billion in 2050, ahead of China’s 1.317 billion people by the middle of the century.

According to UNFPA estimates, 68 per cent of India’s population is between 15-64 years old in 2022, while people aged 65 and older were seven per cent of the population.

The report had said that the global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020.

The world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.

China is expected to experience an absolute decline in its population as early as 2023, the report had said.

At the launch of the report in July, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin had said that countries where population growth has slowed must prepare for an increasing proportion of older persons and, in more extreme cases, a decreasing population size.

“China provides a clear example. With the rapid ageing of its population due to the combined effects of very low fertility and increasing life expectancy, growth of China’s total population is slowing down, a trend that is likely to continue in the coming decades,” Liu said.

The WHO pointed out that China has one of the fastest growing ageing populations in the world.

“The population of people over 60 years in China is projected to reach 28 per cent by 2040, due to longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates,” the WHO said.

In China, by 2019, there were 254 million older people aged 60 and over, and 176 million older people aged 65 and over.

In 2022, the two most populous regions were both in Asia: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia with 2.3 billion people (29 per cent of the global population) and Central and Southern Asia with 2.1 billion (26 per cent).

China and India, with more than 1.4 billion each, accounted for most of the population in these two regions.

More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050, the report added.

PTI

telegraphindia.com

Award for understanding of galaxy, statute

14th edition of Infosys Prize awarded to six persons who each will get a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

The Infosys Science Foundation on Tuesday announced the winners who include a mathematician tackling challenges in a field sometimes called “the queen of mathematics”, an economist working on governance and accountability, and a law school professor and expert on the Indian Constitution.

The winners are Suman Chakraborty at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, for engineering and computer science; Sudhir Krishnaswamy the vice-chancellor at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, for humanities; Vidita Vaidya at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, for life sciences; Mahesh Kakade at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for mathematical sciences; Nissim Kanekar at the National Centre for Radio Astronomy, Pune, for physical sciences; and Rohini Pande at Yale University in the US for social sciences, the foundation said.

This is the 14th edition of Infosys Prize. The prize for each category includes a gold medal, a citation, and a cash award of $100,000 or its rupee equivalent.

Chakraborty has studied how fluids behave in tiny channels to design novel medical devices, including low-cost tools, to detect infectious diseases and a hand-held torchlike device for early diagnosis of oral cancer.

The technology has drawn commercial interest within and outside India. Krishnaswamy was awarded the prize for “his insightful understanding of the Indian Constitution, especially his carefully argued account of the importance of the landmark ‘basic structure doctrine’ adopted by the Supreme Court in 1973 that guides and constrains efforts to amend it, while also ensuring its stability in the face of executive and legislative outcomes,” the foundation said.

Vaidya has contributed to understanding the brain mechanisms that underlie mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, including the role of a neurotransmitter called serotonin in causing persistent changes in behaviour induced by early life stress.

The foundation said Kakde has made “outstanding contributions” to algebraic number theory, often called the queen of mathematics that has practical applications in areas such as cryptography or secret communications.

“But I don’t do things with any applications in mind,” Kakde said on Tuesday. His work has yielded proofs for several key conjectures at the heart of modern numbertheory. The conjectures serve as tools to address hard math problems involving so-called polynomial equations.

Kanekar has received the award for his study of star formation in galaxies eight billion years ago and especially for his work on elusive signatures of atomic hydrogen in distant galaxies that has resolved along-standing astronomical puzzle — why have star births in galaxies declined over time?

Pande’s research on governance, accountability, women’s empowerment, the environment, and the role of credit in the lives of the poor “offer major promise and potential for policy design in emerging economies”, the foundation said.

telegraphindia.com

ISRO carries out parachute airdrop test of Gaganyaan programme

The Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of three main parachutes, besides the smaller ACS, pilot, and drogue parachutes, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing.

ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre has conducted the Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT) of its crew module deceleration system for the much-awaited maiden Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme at the Babina Field Fire Range (BFFR) in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh.

The IMAT conducted on Friday marks a significant milestone toward realising the nation’s ambitious Gaganyaan project, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement.

The Gaganyaan deceleration system consists of three main parachutes, besides the smaller ACS, pilot, and drogue parachutes, to reduce the speed of the crew module to safe levels during its landing, the space agency said.

Two of the three main chutes are sufficient to land the astronauts on earth, and the third is redundant, ISRO said adding that the IMAT test simulated the case when one main chute failed to open.

The IMAT test is the first in a series of integrated parachute airdrop tests planned to simulate different failure conditions of the parachute system before it is deemed qualified to be used in the first human spaceflight mission.

In this test, a five-tonne dummy mass, equivalent to the crew module mass, was taken to an altitude of 2.5 kilometres and dropped using the Indian Air Force’s IL-76 aircraft. Two small pyro-based mortar-deployed pilot parachutes then pulled the main parachutes.

The main parachute sizes were initially restricted to a smaller area to reduce the opening shock. After seven seconds, the pyro-based reefing line cutters cut the area restricting line, allowing the parachutes to inflate fully.

“The fully inflated main parachutes reduced the payload speed to a safe landing speed. The entire sequence lasted about 2-3 minutes as the scientists watched the different phases of the deployment sequence unfold with bated breath. There was loud cheer and applause as the payload mass landed softly on the ground and the gigantic parachutes collapsed,” the statement read.

The design and development of the parachute-based deceleration system is a joint venture of ISRO and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

“The overall system design, analytical simulations of parachute deployment and crew module descent under various conditions, the design and development of ordnance devices for parachute extraction and ejection, assembly, mechanical and electrical integration of deceleration system, it’s instrumentation and avionics for conducting this drop tests are done at ISRO’s leading Research and Development centre, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram,” the space agency explained.

Senior ISRO and DRDO scientists and airforce officers were present when the crucial test was done.

“Besides proving the calibre of the scientists of ISRO and DRDO, the test also demonstrated the active coordination between the country’s premier agencies, namely ISRO, DRDO, the Indian Air Force, and the Indian Army,” ISRO said quoting a senior official.

telegraphindia.com

A Kolkata link to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

Transformers from BMC Electroplast in Behala’s Thakurpukur in Qatar stadiums.

A 66-year-old man in Uttarpara in the Hooghly district was among millions in West Bengal who watched on television the dazzling opening ceremony of the Fifa World Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday evening.

But Subodh Kumar Banerjee is not just a football fan. He has had a crucial role in what is arguably the biggest sporting spectacle on the planet.

Transformers built by a firm founded by Banerjee are critical components of the power distribution system in the stadiums hosting the matches.

BMC Electroplast, which has a production unit in southwest Kolkata’s Thakurpukur, has supplied around 3,000 transformers to Qatar.

The transformers are not like the usual ones seen on Kolkata roads — which receive power from plants and supply it to domestic and commercial units.

“Called current transformers (the ones sent to Qatar), the instruments reside in the switchgear boards. They have two main functions. They keep track of the volume of electricity consumed in each feeder line. In case of a short circuit in a supply line, a current transformer helps in switching off supply to that feeder line,” said Banerjee, who did his electrical engineering in 1977, from what was then known as the Regional Engineering College, Durgapur (now called the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur).

The switchgear boards are usually in the underground electrical rooms below the stadiums, he said.

“When I saw the opening ceremony, I felt a sense of ownership. I knew everything would go off smoothly. But until it was over, there was a sense of anxiety,” said Banerjee.

He would have travelled to Qatar for the inauguration but an accident — he slipped and fell in his house — in 2021 led to a fractured left knee. He is still having to use a walker.

Between 2014 and 2018, Banerjee had to visit Qatar three times. “The stadiums were a heap of dust and construction material back then. I don’t remember if they had their names finalised. To see the stadiums now, all decked out, is a surreal experience. I can’t even recall the stadiums I went to,” he said.

But even back then, the scale of the work had Banerjee in awe. The men and machines kept working in the searing heat and amid a sea of dust.

“During the first trip, I was driving to a stadium when the car had a flat tyre. As the driver started to replace it, I rolled the window down. A gust of wind, that felt like fire, hit me. I felt my cheeks burning,” he said.

The transformers built in Thakurpukur were approved by Qatar Electricity & Water Corporation, commonly known as “Kahramaa”, in charge of the implementation of an integrated infrastructure for the tournament.

Banerjee’s firm supplied the transformers via Tamco Switchgear (Malaysia), an erstwhile L&T company but currently controlled by power equipment major Schneider.

“Our company is a vendor of Tamco. We have worked with them before,” said Banerjee.

Designing the prototype and getting the same approved was a tedious process because of the stringent norms of Kahramaa. Job done, now Banerjee wants to watch every bit of the Cup.

A regular at the Mohun Bagan ground in his school and college days, Banerjee played football and hockey in his youth. His money is on his favourite team this time.

“Brazil are the favourites. This World Cup might be the moment of glory for Neymar. He is Bohemian. But he has class,” said Banerjee, who lives with his wife and son. His daughter is settled in Pune.

Banerjee started the factory with his late friend, Santanu Mitra, in 1980. The two were roommates in the engineering college.

Now, the company has four directors, including Banerjee and Siddhartha Mitra, brother of Santanu Mitra. There are around 100 workers.

Banerjee said that Bengal used to be the hub of the electrical engineering industry when she started. It pains him to see the steady decline in the following decades.

“We are to blame. It is our collective fault,” he said.

telegraphindia.com

Anjan Luthra installed as new Cricket Scotland chair: “Major challenges and opportunities lie ahead”

The former Scotland Under-15, 17 and 19 international, Luthra will take experience in private equity and business into the role. In July, the governing body were found to be institutionally racist.

New Cricket Scotland chair Anjan Luthra has pledged to cleanse the organisation after it was found to be “institutionally racist”.

Luthra has been appointed as Tony Brian’s permanent successor on a two-year deal.

A former Scotland Under-15, 17 and 19 international, Luthra’s main experience comes in private equity and media.

He is the co-founder and chief executive of London-based global media company RAMP. Luthra also created Thrillz, a celebrity video and experience platform.

A chartered accountant having qualified with EY in Scotland, he has experience in restructuring high-profile Scottish firms.

In July, a Plan4Sport Changing The Boundaries report found the governance and leadership of the body, formed in its current guise in 1908, “enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions”.

Investigations were triggered after allegations made by former Scotland off-spinner Majid Haq, the country’s leading wicket-taker, and teammate Qasim Sheikh.

Majid told The Cricketer last month the governing body “still don’t get it” after it emerged they were reluctant to suspend a person accused of racial discrimination from their coaching staff for the T20 World Cup.

Prior to the report being made public, the entire Cricket Scotland board resigned and installing a new board is among Luthra’s priorities.

“The Changing the Boundaries report highlighted serious institutional failings and I am committed to implementing the recommendations and findings from the report as we rebuild the organisation, starting with the appointment of independent board members,” he said.

“Major challenges and opportunities lie ahead and I am excited about what the future holds for Cricket Scotland.”

Interim CS ceo Gordon Arthur added: “The chair will lead the governance review that is one of the major recommendations emanating from ‘Changing the Boundaries’ and provides an important bridge to the International Cricket Council, sportscotland and our other stakeholders.”

thecricketer.com

India takes charge of G20 presidency

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday formally took charge of the G20 presidency from Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali, with the former assuring it will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented.

“Together with every country’s efforts, we can make the G20 summit a catalyst for global welfare,” Modi said at a brief ceremony. In the Bali Declaration to which India had constructively contributed, members deplored in the strongest terms Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and demanded its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the annexed territories. It also deplored Russia’s veiled threats on the use of nuclear weapons, saying it was inadmissible.

“Today’s era must not be of war,” the declaration said, echoing Modi’s remark during his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Samarkand in September. It acknowledged differences among members on the Ukraine war but emphasised the need to adhere to international law, including the protection of civilians caught in conflicts.

Earlier in the day, while addressing a session on digital transformation, Modi said it could be a force multiplier to fight global poverty. “Can we take a pledge together that in the next 10 years we will bring digital transformation into the life of every human being so that no person in the world will be deprived of the benefits of digital technology?’’ Modi added.

On the sidelines of the G20 meet, Modi held bilateral talks with six heads of state — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong and Australian PM Antony Albanese.

One interesting talking point was on how Chinese President Xi Jinping went after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the leaked reports of their bilateral meeting. An agitated Xi was seen saying, “Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper, that’s not appropriate.” Trudeau responded, saying: “We believe in free and open and frank dialogue.” Xi retorted, “Let us create the conditions first.”

UK, India door opens for 3,000 grads
Britain on Wednesday announced the contours of the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme, under which the UK will offer 3,000 places annually to 18-30-year-old degree-educated Indian nationals to come to the UK to live and work for up to two years. The scheme will be reciprocal. The announcement was made after the first bilateral meeting Modi had with Sunak

newindianexpress.com