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

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

www.pipavavshipyard.com

U.S. based Food Chain ‘ Pollo Tropical ‘ opens First Restaurant in India . June 2013 .

The Miami – U.S. based Carribean-Inspired ‘ Pollo Tropical ‘ fast-casual restaurant chain formally opened its first restaurant outlet in the Capital located in DLF Place Shopping Plaza, one of the most prestigious shopping and dining centres in New Delhi.

The Pollo Tropical restaurant in New Delhi is the first restaurant of the Company, outside the Americas and marks the brand’s first opening outside the Western Hemisphere.

Their entry into India is associated with the Delhi based Paramount Group headed by their C.E.O.& Executive Director, Manjit Singh Saini. Paramount Group’s associate company Paramount Cuisines Pvt. Ltd is the master franchisee for Pollo Tropical in India.

Paramount Cuisines has plans to open at least ten Carribean themed Pollo Tropical restaurants in the NCR, Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana in the next 4 years.

Indian Army’s First Woman ADC to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief . June 2013 .

Lieutenant Ganeve Lalji , a young officer is set to create history by becoming the first to be appointed as a key aide, the first woman Aide-de-Camps (ADC) to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief.

Lieutenant Lalji will be the ADC to Lt. General Rajan Bakshi, taking over the Central Army Command at Lucknow, from Lt. General Anil Chait on July 01st, 2013.

Lieutenant Lalji, a young military intelligence officer commissioned in September 2011 from the Officers’ Training Academy, St.Thomas Mount in Chennai. She is also a keen adventure enthusiast and has undergone mountaineering and skiing courses at Western Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Manali.

She is a third-generation Army Officer after her father and grandfather.

India’s first Technical University for Women . June 2013 .

The country’s first Tech University ‘The Indira Gandhi Delhi Technological University (IGDTU) exclusively for women was inaugrated by the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, at Kashmere Gate based campus in North Delhi on Thursday, June 13th, 2013.

The Chief Minister released the admission brochure and the Delhi Education Minister A.K. Walia launched its website .

The IGDTU, a state university has now been upgraded from the existing Indira Gandhi Insititute of Technology which was set up as the very first Engineering College for Women in 1998 by the Directorate of Training and Technical Education, Government of N.C.T. Delhi.

The Indira Gandhi Delhi Technological University (IGDTU) is a non-affiliated, teaching and research University catering to women desiring higher education in technology & research , presently administered by the Vice Chancellor Nupur Prakash. The University offers 4 B.Tech courses and 5 M.Tech programmes.

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 Assistant Chief of Naval Staff ( Air Materiel ). July 2013 .

Rear Admiral Srinivas Kanugo assumed responsibility as the First Flag Officer of the newly created post of ‘ Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air Materiel)  [ACNS/AM] at the Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) on Wednesday, July 17th, 2013.

This new post has been created with a single point responsibility for all matters related to aviation technical management of the rapidly growing air arm of the Indian Navy. He will have 3 sub-directorates looking at air logistics, plans/procurement and perspectives and systems engineering, as well as responsibilty for air technical manpower management.

Interestingly Rear Admiral Kanugo will report to the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Pradeep Chatterjee and not the Chief of Materiel, Vice Admiral N N Kumar. This is due to the inherently operational side imperative of air maintenance, which can present an operational tempo different to the other, more traditional arms of the Navy.

The air arm of the Indian Navy operates over 200 aircraft with over 20 different types including fighters, fixed wing maritime reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles etc.

New infrastructure needs of the Indian Navy which recently marked its Diamond Jubilee are being added with new air stations like INS Parundu in Ramnathapuram, INS Baaz in Campbell Bay and several other multiple enclaves across the country. The Air arm of the Indian Navy is growing at a fast pace and the Indian Navy is not restricted to just being a Green Water Navy. ( Green Water means the fleet comprises only battle ships while the Blue Water Navy includes the possession of aircraft as well ).

Rear Admiral Srinivas Kanugo grew up in Hyderabad and did his schooling in many places in the State including a local government school and in Nagarjunasagar. He pursued his Engineering in JNTU College of Engineering, Anantapur. He joined the Indian Navy via his selection to ‘Indian Navy’s University Entry Scheme’ wherein his final years fees was paid by the Navy. Commissioned in 1981 he opted for the aviation stream of the Indian Navy, while the other two streams being submarine and ships. He pursued his Masters from the Institute of Armament Technology, Pune

During his 32 years of commissioned services in the Indian Navy – Rear Admiral Srinivas Kanugo has been Director of the Naval Institute of Aeronautical Technology at Kochi. The Chief Controller of Naval Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service. He held the post of Commodore Superintendent Naval Aircraft Yard – Kochi. He was also the Chief Staff Officer(Technical)at the Headquarter Naval Aviation, and the Principal Director at the Directorate of Naval Air Materiel at the Head Quarter, Ministry of Defence(Navy).

He was awarded Vishist Sewa Medal (VSM) in 2013 for his outstanding service and contribution to the Indian Navy.

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 .