APJ Abdul Kalam

Born - 15 October 1931

Achievements - This eminent scientist and

engineer has also served as the 11th President of

India from the period 2002 to 2007. APJ Abdul

Kalam is a man of vision, who is always full of

ideas aimed at the development of the country. He

firmly believes that India needs to play a more

assertive role in international relations.

Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer,

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President

of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He is a man

of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the

development of the country and is also often also

referred to as the Missile Man of India. People

loved and respected Dr APJ Abdul Kalam so much

during his tenure as President that was popularly

called the People's President. Read more about

the biography of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam here.

APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and received honorary

doctorates from about 30 universities globally. In the year 1981, the Government of India presented him the nation's

highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan and then again, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in

1997. Before Kalam, there have been only two presidents - SarvepalliRadhakrishnan and ZakirHussain - to have

received the Bharat Ratna before being appointed to the highest office in India.

Read on about the life history of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who are also the first scientist and bachelor to occupy the seat

of the RashtrapatiBhavan. His perspectives on important topics have been enunciated by him in the book 'India

2020'. It highlights the action plans that will help develop the country into a knowledge superpower by the time 2020.

One thing for which he received ample kudos is his unambiguous statement that India needs to play a more assertive

role in international relations.

And Dr APJ Abdul Kalam regards his work on India's nuclear weapons program as a way to assert India's place as a

future superpower. Even during his tenure as President, APJ Kalam took avid interest in the spheres of India's

science and technology. He has even put forward a project plan for establishing bio-implants. He is also an ardent

advocate of open source software over proprietary solutions to churn out more profits in the field of information

technology in India.

Contributed by: - Shubham Kashyap

Amartya Sen

Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen was born on 3 November 1933 in Santiniketan, West Bengal. Besides being a

world-renowned economist, Amartya Sen is also a philosopher. He served as a Master at the Trinity College at

Cambridge University, the first Asian academic to head an Oxbridge college. Currently the Lamont University

Professor at Harvard University, Amartya Sen traces his roots to an illustrious lineage. His father, Ashutosh Sen,

taught chemistry at the Dhaka University. Amartya completed his high-school education from Dhaka in Bangladesh in

1941. After his family migrated to India in 1947, Sen studied at the Presidency College, Kolkata and at

the Delhi School of Economics before moving over to the United Kingdom to complete his higher studies. He earned

his doctorate from the Trinity College, Cambridge in 1959. He has taught at various reputed Universities including the

University of Calcutta, Jadavpur University, Oxford, London School of Economics, Harvard and many others.

His works helped to develop the theory of social choice. In 1981, he published his famous work Poverty and Famines:

An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, where he showed that famine occurs not only due to shortage of food, but

from inequalities in the mechanisms for distributing food. He had personally witnessed the Bengal famine of 1943. He

has done valuable work in the field of development economics, which has had a tremendous influence on the

formulation of the United Nations Development Program's Human Development Report.

He wrote a famous but controversial article in the New York Review of Books titled "More Than 100 Million Women

Are Missing", wherein he analyzed the mortality impact of unequal rights between the genders in the developing

world, mainly Asia, a claim that was contested by many. Thrice married, he is presently married to Emma Georgina

Rothschild, a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award

in 1999. In the same year, he received the honorary citizenship of Bangladesh. He received the Eisenhower Medal,

for Leadership and Service in USA in 2000. In 2002, he was awarded the International Humanist Award by the

International Humanist and Ethical Union.

Contributed by:- Sweta Gupta

Anna Hazare

His only motive in life lies in service of his fellow humans. His fight against corruption has been basically targeted at

uplifting the poor and downtrodden conditions prevailing in rural India. His supporters call him "Second Gandhi". He is

Anna Hazare, an ex-army man and a social activist, recognized and celebrated for his undying support for the

citizens of India to serve them and fight for them against greed and corruption. His journey of four decades, right from

a tenacious army soldier to a social reformer, is regarded as an unprecedented campaign of resurrecting India as a

strong nation. By upgrading the ecology and economy of the Ralegan Siddhi village, sited in drought-prone

Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state, Hazare has played a significant role in transforming this poverty clad

hamlet into one of the richest villages in India. Recently, he has earned name and fame for fighting for the

implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill, the anti-corruption bill drafted by his crusaders to deal with the corruption

prevalent in the government of India at the highest level.

Early Life

Anna Hazare was born as Kisan Baburao Hazare to Baburao Hazare, an unskilled laborer in Ayurveda Ashram

Pharmacy, in the village of Bhingar near Hinganghat city in Bombay Province, presently in Maharashtra. After his

grandfather's death in 1945 who served in the Indian army, his father continued working in Bhingar till 1952, after

which he resigned and returned to his ancestral home in Ralegan Siddhi. Due to financial hardships, Anna Hazare

was looked after by his childless aunt who took him to Mumbai and funded his education. Here in Mumbai, he studied

till class seven and took up employment to support his family. A job that started as selling flowers in Dadar

culminated into owning a flower shop and calling upon two other brothers to Mumbai.

Service in the Indian Army

The Indian soldiers who turned martyrs in the Indo-China War of 1962 urged the government to recruit young Indians

in the Indian army on emergency basis. Highly inspired by patriotism and love for his country, Anna Hazare joined the

Indian Army in 1963, despite not fulfilling the physical requirements. Here began his career as an Indian army soldier,

starting as a truck driver, after successful training at Aurangabad in Maharashtra. When Pakistan attacked India in

1965, he was posted at Khem Karan border, where all his comrades turned martyrs, but Anna managed to survive a

close shave as a bullet just passed by his head. This incident forced him to think upon the existence of humans and

meaning of life and death. Swami Vivekananda proved to be a great inspiration for him, post reading the small

booklet "Call to the youth for nation building" he found at a book stall at the New Delhi railway station. It was at this

point that he decided to dedicate his entire life for serving humanity. He was just 26 at that time. However, having

completed only three years in the army would not have made him eligible for the pension scheme, which is why he

continued to serve in the army for 13 long years, after which he took voluntary retirement from the army in 1975 and

returned to his native place, Ralegan Siddhi. During his tenure as a soldier, he served in different states, like Sikkim,

Bhutan, Jammu & Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh, and Ladakh.

Upliftment of Ralegan Siddhi

During his tenure in the Indian Army, Anna Hazare visited Ralegan Siddhi every year for two months and was highly

moved by the miserable condition of the farmers residing there. On retirement, he went back to this drought-prone

and rain-shadow zone of Ahmednagar district and pledged to develop the village. He came across the novel project

of water management through watershed development undertaken by Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near

Pune. Motivated by the project, he decided to implement the same in his village to eradicate water scarcity. The

project was successful in increasing the ground water level and providing water to 1500 acres of land, instead of the

meager 70 acres previously. As a result, the farmers produced good yield of food grains and the village became self-

sufficient. Eventually, Anna Hazare brought about several economic changes leading to establishment of a school, a

temple, a hostel, and other buildings. Mass marriages, Grains Bank, dairy, cooperative society, self-help group for

women, and youth mandals followed next to give the village a new and improved face. This village became a model

village for numerous other oppressed villages, and has been regarded as a tourist spot for people from across the

country till date.

Social Life

Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA), or People's Movement against Corruption, was started by Anna Hazare

in 1991 as an attempt to fight against corruption that was blocking rural development in India. Hunger strikes became

his tool of protest with high-profile politicians being his target. The movement found 42 forest officers guilty for duping

hundreds of crores through corruption. Even though Anna Hazare handed over the evidences to the government, the

government was reluctant in taking action against the culprits since some officers of the ruling party were themselves

involved in the scam. Distressed and heart-broken, Anna Hazare protested and was imprisoned, a step that was

supported by all social activists and political leaders of all parties, except BJP and Shiv Sena. To force the

government raise charges against another set of political leaders, he began his fast unto death on August 9, 2003,

which ended on August 17, 2003 with the then chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde forming a one-man commission to

find evidence against the convicts.

Right to Information Movement

Envisioning that action against fraudulent ministers and officers was not sufficient to fight back corruption, Anna

Hazare campaigned for the Right to Information Act in 1997 which was turned down by the state government. To

protest against the result, he agitated at Azad Maidan in Mumbai and then traveled across the state to create mass

public awareness. Realizing that the government has turned blind, he went on an indefinite hunger strike in July

2003. His protest compelled the President of India to sign the draft of the Right to Information Act after 12 days of

hunger strike. The act was put to order with effect from 2002 and formed the base for the National Right to

Information Act, 2005.

Lokpal Bill Movement

The most touted protest among all the remonstrations campaigned by Anna Hazare against the Indian government is

the Lokpal Bill Movement, or People's Ombudsman Bill, which was initiated in April 2011. This anti-corruption bill was

drafted by N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India and Lokayukta of Karnataka; Prashant

Bhushan, a senior lawyer at the Supreme Court; and Arvind Kejriwal, a social acitivist, along with other members of

the India Against Corruption movement. The bill included more stringent provisions and wider power than the Lokpal

Bill prepared by the government in 2010. In support of getting the bill approved, Anna Hazare began his fast unto

death on April 5, 2011 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, after his demand for a more independent Jan Lokpal Bill was

rejected by the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Hazare's hunger strike and anti-corruption campaign was supported by thousands of people and social activists, such

as Medha Patkar, Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, and Jayprakash Narayan. The hunger strike ended

on April 8, 2011 after the government agreed to give into the demands. Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh stated that

the bill would be re-introduced in the monsoon session of the Parliament. This resulted in the issue of a notification in

the Gazette of India on April 9, 2011 to form a joint committee, comprising of five nominee ministers of the

Government of India and five nominees of the civil society. The five nominee ministers of the Government of India

included Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, M. Veerappa Moily, Kapil Sibal, and Salman Khursheed. From the civil

society Anna Hazare, N. Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, and Arvind Kejriwal, represented as

the five nominees.

Meanwhile, on 5 June 2011, Swami Ramdev and his followers went on a hunger strike against the issues of black

money and corruption, doubting seriousness of the government in taking measures to eradicate corruption. But they

were forcibly evicted from the Ramlila Maidan by Delhi Police. As a retort, Anna Hazare and other civil society

members boycotted the meeting of the joint Lokpal Bill drafting committee scheduled on June 6, 2011. They even

asked the government to make its stand on the contentious issues related to the proposed draft legislation public.

The group also declared that the future meetings would be attended only if they were telecast live. What followed

next was the grand march on June 8, 2011 at Rajghat, wherein Anna Hazare threatened to go on an indefinite hunger

strike, if the government tried to discredit the joint Lokpal Bill drafting committee and did not pass the bill.

On July 28, 2011, the union cabinet approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, but what came out was a weak version of the

original proposed bill. Not only did the government version kept the Prime Minister, judiciary and lower bureaucracy

out of the ambit of the proposed corruption ombudsman Lokpal, but the drafted bill limited the powers of Lokpal to

being just an Advisory Board. It stated that the Lokpal would have no police powers and no ability to register an FIR

or proceed with criminal investigations. Furthermore, the drafted Lokpal bill affirmed that the Lokpal would have no

power to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It could only probe

complaints forwarded by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Eventually, as expected,

Hazare rejected the government version of the bill and avowed that he would go on an indefinite fast from August 16,

2011 at Jantar Mantar if the government introduced its own version of the bill in Parliament without taking

suggestions from civil society members

Just four hours before the planned hunger strike on August 16, 2011. Anna Hazare was arrested and imprisoned at

Tihar Jail, though he started his fast inside the jail itself. Although he was granted judicial detention after 24 hours, he

refused to come out, asking the government to approve of his demands for an unconditional permission to fast at

Jaiprakash Narain Park. Also, he accepted neither of the two proposals laid down by Delhi Police, which were either

stage a fast for a maximum of three days with a limited number of supporters (5, 000) or return to his hometown in

Maharashtra. Rejecting both the proposals, Hazare preferred to remain in the Tihar Jail until his demands were met,

saying he would leave the jail only if the government unconditionally allowed his protest for a stronger Lokpal Bill.

Succumbing to the mounting pressure, the government of India has agreed for a 15-day fast at the Ramlila Ground,

with no limitation on the number of supporters. Reportedly, a huge mass of supporters is expected to be at the

Ramlila Ground to proffer their support towards this willful and determined social activist and India's "second freedom

struggle" in terms of Anna Hazare.

Awards & Recognition

Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award, 1986

Krishi Bhushana Award, 1989

Padma Shri, 1990

Padma Bhushan, 1992

Shiromani Award, 1996

Mahaveer Award, 1997

CARE International Award by CARE relief agency, 1998

Integrity Award by Transparency International, 2003

Honorary doctorate by Gandhigram Rural University, 2005

Jit Gill Memorial Award by World Bank, 2008

Timeline

1937: Born in Bhingar, Bombay Province

1952: Went to Bombay with his aunt

1963: Selected as a truck driver in the Indian Army

1965: Survived the air attack by Pakistan during Indo-Pakistani War

1975: Voluntarily retired from the Indian Army

1990: Felicitated with the Padma Shri

1991: Launched the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA)

1992: Received the Padma Bhushan

1997: Campaigned for the Right to Information Act (RTI Act)

2003: Began an indefinite hunger strike to get the RTI Act approved

2003: Went on a fast unto death from August 9 to August 17 as a protest against corrupt political leaders

2011: Initiated the Jan Lokpal Bill in April

2011: Arrested on August 16 before heading for the indefinite fast and imprisoned

Contributed by :- Shivam Srivastava

AR Rahman

Born - 6 January 1967

Achievements - AR Rahman holds the credit for

totally overhauling the style in which music was

being made in India. Though with a career

spanning just over a decade, Rahman has already

sold over one hundred million records world-wide

and more than two hundred million cassettes. This

has brought AR Rahman into the category of the

world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.

Allah Rakha Rahman, who is better known as AR

Rahman, is a world-class musician of India. Born

as A. S. Dileep Kumar on 6 January 1967 at

Chennai in Tamil Nadu, AR Rahman holds the

credit for totally overhauling the style in which

music was being made in India. Soundtracks and

scores composed by him for Indian films have a

strong impression of classical, folk, jazz, reggae,

soft rock and other genres. Due to his creative brilliance, AR Rahman is often referred to as the Mozart of Madras by

his fans in India and abroad.

The biography of AR Rahman's career spans somewhere over a decade, but he has already sold over one hundred

million records world-wide and more than two hundred million cassettes. This has brought Rahman into the category

of the world's top 25 all-time top selling recording artists. Though AR Rahman is the undisputed leader in Indian

contemporary music in the present times, he has seen his share of struggle in the professional life.

His father, R K Shekhar, who was a composer, arranger and conductor for Malayalam films died when Rahman was

just 9 years-old and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income. Later there was a turning point

when Dileep Kumar decided to rechristen himself as A R Rahman. This incident happened when Rahman's sister

was very ill once. A Muslim friend suggested if he prayed in a particular mosque, his sister would recover and so did

happen. This caused the entire family to convert to Islam.

The life history of AR Rahman's music career started scaling upwards 1991 onwards when began his own studio and

started making music for advertisements, television channels and so on. Rahman got his very first break into the

Indian film industry when film director, Mani Ratnam offered him a chance to compose music for his Tamil film, Roja

at mere Rs 25,000. This movie turned out to be blockbuster hit and then there was no looking back for A.R. Rahman.

Roja debut made AR Rahman bag the Rajat Kamal award for best music director at the National Film Awards. This

was a historic moment as for the first time ever in Indian film industry, this award was being handed to a first-time film

composer. There was no looking back for AR Rahman after this as film offers just started pouring in. There are now

an impressive number of music tracks created by Rahman and all of them have sold like hot cakes across India and

even abroad. He has made songs for super hit films like Rangeela, Dil Se Taal, Rang De Basanti, Bombay et al.

Contributed by: - Usha Patel

Baba Amte

Born - 26 December 1914

Achievements - Baba Amte is one of the greatest

social reformers India's ever had. He gave his

lucrative career as barrister for social service. He

was so great a person that he dedicated his entire

life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy

patients. Often Baba Amte allowed his body to be

used for carrying out experiments to grow leprosy

germs.

Hailing from a well-to-do family of Jagirdars and

born on 26 December in 1914 at Hinganghat in the

Wardha district of the Maharashtra state,

Murlidhar Devidas Amte is one of the most

remembered Indian social reformers. Even though

he was trained as a barrister and was operating a

successful practice at Warora, yet he gave it all up

to dedicate himself totally into social service when

he noticed the poverty all around him. He was lovingly called Baba Amte.

Infact, the life history of Murlidhar Devidas Amte is full of touching incidents. He was so great a person that he

dedicated his entire life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients. Often Baba Amte allowed his body to be

used for carrying out experiments to grow leprosy germs. His social project at Anandwan adjacent to Nagpur in the

Indian state of Maharashtra is world renowned because it has done a lot to dismiss injustices against leprosy

patients.

Read on more about the biography of Murlidhar Devidas Amte or Baba Amte. In the year 1985, Baba Amte started

the Bharat Jodo or the Unite India movement beginning from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and then again from Gujarat to

Arunachal Pradesh in the year 1988. The main objective was to reinstate peace and whip up environmental

awareness. In the year 1990, Baba left Anandwan to reside alongside river Narmada with the objective to fight

against social injustice to local inhabitants there.

Baba Amte was honored with numerous national and international awards for his selfless service to the society his

entire life. The Government of India presented him with the Padma Shree Award in the year 1971 and then the

Padma Vibhushan in the year 1986. The Welfare of the Disabled award was presented to him in the year 1986 and

Gandhi Peace Prize in 1999. Among the host of international awards Baba Amte got were Damien-Dutton Award in

1983, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 1985 and so on.

Contributed by: - Muzammil Khan

Birju Maharaj

Born: February 4, 1937

Achievement: Well-known exponent of Kathak;

Recipient of Sangeet Natak Academy Award,

Padma Vibhushan, Kalidas Samman, Soviet Land

Nehru Award, SNA Award, Sangam Kala Award.

Pandit Birju Maharaj is a legendary Kathak

dancer. He belongs an illustrious family of dance

masters of the Lucknow gharana. His two uncles

Shambu and Lacchu Maharaj, and his father

Acchan Maharaj were all well-known Kathak

dancers. Apart from Kathak, Pandit Birju Maharaj

is also an accomplished vocalist

Pandit Birju Maharaj alias Brij Mohan Nath Mishra

was born on February 4, 1937. He took training in

Kathak under the guidance of his father, Achchan

Maharaj and uncles Lacchu Maharaj and

Shambhu Maharaj. Birju Maharaj gave his first performance at the young age of seven at Lucknow and after that

there was no looking back.

Birju Maharaj is a multi-faceted personality. Besides his mastery over Kathak, he is also a superb musician,

percussionist, composer, teacher, director, choreographer and a poet. Birju Maharaj has composed many dance

dramas like 'Gobardhan Leela', 'Makhan Chori', 'Malti-Madhav', 'Kumar Sambhav', and 'Phag Bahar'. Birju Maharaj

has also dabbled in films. He composed two classical dance sequence for Satyajit Ray's film 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi' and

choreographed a song for Sanjay Leela Bhansal's film 'Devdas'.

Birju Maharaj is a recipient of several honors and awards. These include: Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Padma

Vibhushan, Kalidas Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, SNA Award, Sangam Kala Award etc. He was also

conferred with two honorary doctorate degrees and the Nehru Fellowship.

Birju Maharaj taught at Sangeet Bharati, Bharatiya Kala Kendra and headed the teaching faculty Kathak Kendra in

Delhi till his retirement in 1998.

Contributed by: - Dr. S K Singh

Chanda Kochhar

In India's male dominated banking sphere, Chanda Kochhar carved a niche for herself. This was no easy task. In her

career which extends to over three decades of experience, she remained strong willed and alert. Her determination to

make it to the top only grew from year to year. Kochhar's career growth can be traced along with the expansion of the

bank over the past several years. She never stuttered in her growth and was one of the few who kept up with the

aggressive development run of ICICI bank. It was her sharp strategic planning which made the ICICI bank the 'Best

Retail Bank in India' for five consecutive years. As per Forbes, It's no wonder then that she has been ranked 20th

amongst the most powerful women in business and in the world. Read on to find out more about how Chanda

Kochhar made it to the top of the corporate pile.

Early Life

Chanda Kochhar was born in Jodhpur in Rajasthan on November 17, 1961, but was raised in Jaipur in Rajasthan.

She then joined Jai Hind College in Mumbai for a Bachelor of Arts degree. After completing her graduation in 1982,

she pursued cost accountancy (ICWAI). Later, she did her Master's degree in management studies from the

esteemed Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai from where she received a Wockhardt Gold

Medal for Excellence in Management Studies. In the same year, she won the J.N Bose gold medal for Cost

Accountancy.

Career

In 1984, after her masters, Chanda Kochhar joined 'The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited'

or ICICI Limited as a management trainee. In her initial years in ICICI, she handled project appraisal and monitoring

and various projects in Petrochemicals, Textile and Cement and Paper. In 1994, she became the Assistant General

Manager and was promoted to the post of Deputy General Manager in 1996. She headed the Infrastructure Industry

Group of ICICI. In 1999, she was promoted as the General Manager and became the head of ICICI's 'Major Client

Group' which handled relationships with the top 200 clients of the organization. In 1999, she started handling the

Strategy and E-commerce divisions of ICICI. Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI began its retail business in 2000 and

in the next five years, became the biggest retail financer in India. In 2001, she became the executive director of ICICI

bank. In April 2006, she was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI bank and managed the corporate

and retail banking business of ICICI bank. From October 2007 to April 2009, she was the Chief Finance Officer

(CFO), Joint Managing Director (JMD), and the official spokesperson of ICICI. She was also the head of the

Corporate Center of ICICI bank, the director of the ICICI group of companies, Chairperson of ICICI Bank Eurasia

Limited Liability Company and ICICI Investment Management Company Limited. Chanda Kochhar also held the

positions of Vice-Chairperson of ICICI Bank UK and ICICI Bank Canada and the position of Director of ICICI

International Limited and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited. In May 2009, she was appointed as the

Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of ICICI bank for a term of five years.

Contributions

Chanda Kochhar was a part of the core team when ICICI decided to set the ICICI Bank 1993. In 2000, when the

organisation decided to develop its wings, she decided to keep the bank open for twelve hours in a day when other

banks were open for four to seven hours a day. She was also one of the bankers who came up with electronic

banking and installed 2000 ATM machines all over India. Under Kochhar's leadership, ICICI was awarded the 'Best

Retail Bank in India' in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. In 2002, the bank was given the 'Excellence in Retail Banking

Award'.

Legacy

Chanda Kochhar is one amongst the two women who is the head of an Indian domestic bank. Joining the ICICI bank

as a management trainee, she was instrumental in making ICICI bank the largest retail financer in India. She is an

inspiration to women all over the world.

Awards and Accolades

'Retail Banker of the Year' (Asia - Pacific region) by The Asian Banker, 2004

'Business Woman of the Year' by The Economic Times, 2005

'Rising Star Award' for Global Awards by Retail Banker International, 2006

Featured in the list of '30 Most Powerful Woman Leaders' in business for 8 consecutive years from 2002 to 2010

'Transformational Business Leader of the Year' by All India Management Association, 2010

Ranked 10th in the Fortune's List of 'Most Powerful Women in Business', 2010

Ranked 92nd in the Forbes List of 'Most Powerful Women' in the world, 2010

'Outstanding Woman Business Leader of the Year' award by CNBC TV18, 2010'

Ranked 11th in the List of 'Top 50 Woman in World Business' by the Financial Times, 2010

Padma Vibhushan, 2011

Timeline

1961 - Born in Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

1982 - Completed her graduation and pursued cost accountancy.

1984 - Joined 'The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited' or ICICI Limited.

1994 - Became the Assistant General Manager of ICICI bank.

1996 - Became the Deputy General Manager.

1999 - Took over as the General Manager and became the head of ICICI's 'Major Client Group'.

2000 - ICICI began its retail business under Kochhar's leadership.

2001 - Became the executive director of the ICICI bank.

2006 - Appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of ICICI bank.

2009 - Appointed as the Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of ICICI bank.

2011 - Awarded Padma Vibhushan.

Contributed by: - Sunil Kumar Sharma

Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat is a famous Indian author who penned down novels that hit the market with great success. All of

them were bestsellers since their release and have been filmed by famous Bollywood directors. Chetan Bhagat is

considered a youth icon rather than as just an author. With his vivid and humorous way of depicting stories, he has

inspired reading habits in many young Indians. He is also a good columnist and writes columns for many leading

newspapers. According to him, novels are entertainment tools through which he expresses his views and opinion

about society and the youth. Development issues and national issues are addressed through columns. Chetan's

columns are written in a way that directly points out the issues within our country and in many times it has even

triggered discussions in the parliament. He is not only a good writer but also a motivational speaker and has given

many motivational speeches at many colleges, organizations and companies.

Personal Life

Chetan Bhagat was born in New Delhi in a middle class Punjabi Family on the 22nd day of April, 1974. His father was

an Army man and his mother, a government employee. The major part of his education was done at Delhi. He

studied in the Army Public School, Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi during the years 1978 to 199 after which he chose to do

Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. After pursuing engineering he took up a

management program offered at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Being an outstanding

student, it was no wonder when he was recognized as the "Best Outgoing Student" of his batch by IIM Ahmadabad.

He later got married to Anusha Suryanarayanan in 1998; she was his fellow student at IIM-A. Chetan then went to

Hong Kong along with his family and worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. He worked in Hong Kong

for eleven years and then shifted to Mumbai and started writing. It was his passion. He has four novels against his

name: Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ The Call Center (2005), The Three Mistakes Of My Life (2008) &

Two States (2009). By chance or by choice, titles of all his novels had numbers associated with them. He now leads a

happy life with his wife and twin sons Ishaan and Shyam. Chetan loves to live a simple life watching cartoons with his

children who wish to become super heroes. He is a health conscious person and practices yoga regularly.

Career

Chetan Bhagat published his first novel first novel 'Five Point Someone' in 2004 and this very first venture took him to

the peaks of fame and popularity. The book depicted the story of an IIT student who considers himself to be below

average than all the other students in IIT. This book won the Society Young Achiever's Award and Publisher's

Recognition Award. The story was adopted into a film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and starred famous Bollywood

stars like Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi and Kareena Kapoor. His second book was 'One Night At A Call

Center' and this too was a great success. This book was made into a movie and was named 'Hello' and Chetan

himself wrote the script. The movie was noted by the special appearance of Bollywood star Salman Khan and was an

average hit. His next novel has cricket as the major theme. It is named 'Three Mistakes of My Life'. His fourth book is

named

Contribution

Chetan Bhagat's contribution to the field of entertainment is noticeable. He never confined his literary talents to just

writing novels. As a responsible social person, he also writes columns in newspapers, citing and dwelling on various

social and national issues. Many of his columns were noticed by parliamentarians and triggered serious discussions

in the Indian Parliament. He has addressed issues like corruption by sending an opening letter to Sonia Gandhi and

also has spoken about the political issues that revolved around Baba Ramdev.

Awards and Accolades

He won the Society Young Achiever's Award in 2000 and the Publisher's Recognition Award in 2005. Chetan Bhagat

also a found himself place in the Time magazine's list of "World's 100 Most Influential People" in the year 2010.

Contributed by: - Jitendra kumar

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal

Lakshmi Narayan Mittal (born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel

magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company.

Mittal is the richest man in the United Kingdom, second richest man

in Europe and is presently the sixth richest individual in the world

with a personal wealth of US$31.1 billion. He is the 44th most

powerful person of the 68 most powerful people in the world. One

out of 5 cars in the world is made up of the steel materials of his

steel empire. His daughter Vanisha Mittal's wedding was the most

expensive in the recorded history of the world.

He also presently serves as a board council member of the Prime Minister of India's Global

Advisory Council of Overseas Indians and members in the Advisory Board of the Kellogg

School of Management, Executive Board at Indian School of Business and St. Xavier's College,

Calcutta Alumni Association, London Chapter.

In 2006, Financial Times named him "Person of the Year". In 2007, Time magazine included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".

Early life and education

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born into a Marwari business family in Churu district of Rajasthan,

India. His family moved from (Rajgarh)Sadulpur, Rajasthan to Calcutta in West Bengal. He

graduated from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce

degree in business and accounting with first class. He has two siblings (brothers) named Pramod

Mittal and Vinod Mittal. His father, Mohan Lal Mittal, ran a steel business, Nippon Denro Ispat.

Until the 1990s, the family's main assets in India were a cold-rolling mill for sheet steels in

Nagpur and an alloy steels plant near Pune. Today, the family business, including a large

integrated steel plant near Mumbai, is run by Lakshmi's brothers, Pramod and Vinod, but

Lakshmi has no connection with it.

Mittal started his career working in the family's steel making business in India, and in 1976,

when the family founded its own steel business, he set out to establish its international division,

beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha,

the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender. In 1976, due to differences with his father, mother and

brothers,branched out on his the LNM Group, and he has been responsible for the development

of its businesses ever since. Mittal Steel is a global steel producer with operations in 14

countries.

Mittal pioneered the development of integrated mini-mills and the use of direct reduced iron or

"DRI" as a scrap substitute for steelmaking and led the consolidation process of the global steel

industry. Mittal Steel is the largest steelmaker in the world, with shipments of 42.1 million tons

of steel and profits of over $22 billion in 2004.

Philanthropy

After witnessing India win only one medal, bronze, in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and one

medal, silver, at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Mittal decided to set up Mittal Champions Trust

with US$9 million to support 10 Indian athletes with world-beating potential. In 2008, Mittal

awarded Abhinav Bindra with Rs. 1.5 Crore (Rs. 15 million), for getting India its first individual

Olympic gold medal in shooting.

University education formation

In 2002, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal and Usha Mittal foundation and the Government of Rajasthan

partnered together to establish a university named the LNM Institute of Information Technology

(LNMIIT) in Jaipur as an autonomous non-profit organization. The university will provide

quality education having research focus, so that students graduating out of the Institute can make

significant contributions to the industries and society.

Contributed by: - Amir Khan

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is the pride of Indian music

industry. Blessed with beautiful voice, she is the

most well known Indian vocalist. Highly versatile,

she has sung in more than 20 languages. To

honor and give recognition to her works, Lata

Mangeshkar is also known as the Nightingale of

India. Well, in this article, we will present you with

the biography of Lata Mangeshkar.

Early Life

Lata was born on September 28, 1929 in Indore,

Madhya Pradesh as the daughter of Dinanath

Mangeshkar, who was a classical singer as well

as a theater artist. She was the first child of the

Mangeshkar family. She was born in Indore, but

brought up in Maharashtra. When she was five

years old, she began working as a theater artist in

sangeet nataks. She also started taking singing

lessons from her father.

Lata sang her maiden cinematic song for the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942). Her father did not like the idea of her

daughter singing for the films. So, her song was deleted from the movie. In the year 1942, she lost her father. Due to

sudden demise of her father and unsound financial condition of the house, she decided to play small roles in various

Hindi and Marathi films. She had to take up the acting assignments, despite the fact that, she was not at all fond of

acting. To know the complete life history of Lata Mangeshkar, read on.

Career

In the year 1945, she happened to meet the film producer S. Mukherji through Ghulam Haider. Haider personally

wanted her to be given an opportunity to show her singing talent. However, S. Mukherji did not like her voice and said

no for giving her a chance to sing for his film. At that point of time, Haider promised himself to establish her singing

career in Bollywood. He even said to the producer that, one day will come when all the producers and directors wil l

fall on her feet and beg her to sing in their films.

Lata got her biggest break, when she was given the chance to sing the song "Aayega Aanewaala" for the movie

Mahal. The song was a super duper hit. The period of 1950s witnessed tremendous growth in her career. She rose to

the top in the list of Bollywood singers. She worked with all the famous composers of that era like Shankar Jaikishan,

S D Burman, Naushad, Hemant Kumar, and Salil Chowdhury. Shankar Jaikishan was absolutely stunned by her

voice and used her voice for playback singing in almost all the movies that he got.

The period of 1960s made her the queen of Bollywood playback singing. She sang for almost all the prominent

composers of the industry and set her foothold in Bollywood. Her songs got an overwhelming response from people

all over the country. During the 1970s, Lata recorded songs for Bollywood actress Meena Kumari in the film

Pakeezah, which brought her recognition and popularity. She performed tracks for S.D. Burman's films like Prem

Pujari, Sharmilee, and Abhimaan.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, Lata Mangeshkar worked with the children of the music composers, with whom she

had worked in the past. In the year 1990, Lata established her own production house. Their first and last film "Lekin"

was a total flop. Mangeshkar has also sung some non film songs including ghazals with Jagjit Singh. Lata

Mangeshkar has also sung for Yash Chopra`s films including Lamhe, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Darr, Yeh

Dillagi, and Dil To Pagal Hai. She sang quite a number of Bengali songs with renowned music directors like Salil

Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

Trivia

Lata Mangeshkar has composed music and also produced movies under the name of 'Anand Ghan'.

She is very fond of cooking nice dishes.

She always sings barefoot.

Awards Won

Filmfare Awards (1958, 1962, 1965, 1969, 1993 and 1994)

National Awards (1972, 1975 and 1990)

Maharashtra State Award (1966 and 1967)

Other awards

1969 - Padma Bhushan

1974 - Recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for having sung the maximum number of songs in the

World .

1989 - Dada Saheb Phalke Award

1993 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

1996 - Star Screen Lifetime Achievement Award

1997 - Rajiv Gandhi Award

1999 - NTR Award

1999 - Padma Vibhushan

1999 - Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement

2000 - Lifetime Achievement Award by IIFA in London

2001 - Best Playback Singer of the Millennium (female) by Hero Honda and magazine "Stardust"

2001 - Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award

2001 - Noorjehan Award

2001 - Maharashtra Ratna

Contributed by: - Sandeep Kumar

Mallika Srinivasan

Economic Times Businesswoman of the year

2006, she is a well known entrepreneur of India.

She has always strived hard to reach for skies, but

has deeply rooted her foot into the ground. She is

a strong headed woman, who is leading the

activities of a Company that is involved in macho

business such as tractor manufacturing. She has

been able to rise and stand out above all others

and make a name for herself in the competitive

business world of today. Well, we are talking about

Mallika Srinivasan, director of the Rs 2500 crore

Amalgamations Group Tafe. Mallika Srinivasan is

one of the most successful women CEOs in India.

In this article, we will present you with the

biography of Mallika Srinivasan, so read on…

Life History

Born on November 19, 1959 as the eldest

daughter of industrialist A Sivasailam, she is the pride of her parents. She was always brilliant in academics. She did

her in MA (econometrics) from Madras University. Thereafter, she went abroad to pursue further studies. She did her

MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Married to Venu Srinivasan, the CMD of TVS Motor,

she is living happily with their two children.

In the year 1986, she planned to join the family business. She was made the General Manager of Tafe (Tractors and

Farm Equipment) Company. When she took over the responsibility of furthering the economic wealth and business,

the turnover of the Company was Rs 85 cr. Under the expert guidance of her father and the whole hearted support of

the team, she brought about a major transformation. She converted Tafe into a Hi technology-oriented company,

thereby becoming the initial choice of the farmers. There was a period, when the Company had to face a tough time,

however; even then, the Company invested a huge amount of over Rs 70 crore in the designing and development of

product.

At present, the Company is earning a business over Rs 1,200 cr. It has been a long journey for the Company, which

has witnessed many ups and downs. But, it was the strong determination of this courageous woman that slowly and

steadily made the firm climb the ladders of success. Today, the Company has not only found a niche for itself as the

leading tractor manufacturer, but also expanded its area of operations. It has also entered into others businesses like

engineering plastics, panel instruments, automotive batteries gears, hydraulic pumps, and farm implements.

The company has had a long alliance with Massey Ferguson, which is now a part of Agco. The company is looking

forward to exporting fully constructed tractors to Agco. Presently, Agro has a stake of 24% in the company and the

rest lies with Simpson & Co. Presently, Mallika Srinivasan is serving as the president of premier industrial bodies like

Tractor Manufacturers Association and the Madras Management Association. She is the first lady to have assumed

the role of a president of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She is also a prominent member of the

governing board of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Contributed by: - Shivam Srivastava

Mary Kom

Mary Kom, India’s Magnificent Boxer and Five-time World Champion, Completes her

Olympic Dream with a Bronze

Courtesy: theindiapost.com,Mousumi Kumar Saha,August 9th, 2012

Five-time World Boxing Champion Mari Kom has made India proud by winning Bronze with her valiant effort. She is truly

an inspiration to us all, especially to young women who aspire to pursue sports and athletics in a male-dominating Indian

society. She also became the first Indian woman to participate in Olympics’ first boxing event for women and win a medal. She

has done a praiseworthy job by setting a great example for emerging sports aspirants. When asked what message she had for

the Indian people, the 29 year-old said the following words: “Be tough, go for your passion, work hard and win.”

Early Life Hardships

Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom was born in 1983 on 1st of March into a poor family of farmers. Her parents Mr.

Mangte Tonpa Kom and Mrs. Mangte Akham Kom would work hard in others’ jhum fields to make their living. She had her

adversity and inconvenience and several short as well as long term troubles to stumble upon. She would assist her parents in

fields and shoulder various household responsibilities. However, her never-say-die attitude, strong faith in herself, persistence

and desire for outstanding accomplishments took her to the world from a small and remote Himalayan village.

Boxing as a Career

Mary Kom, Photo: Reuters

Mary Kom developed keen interest in sports from her very early childhood. While in class 6 in Loktak Christian Mission

School, she started dreaming of perusing her athletic career, but she soon realized dreaming would not take her anywhere if

she herself did not take initiative. She came to know about women boxing that was mostly unknown and unpopular those

days and became immediately interested about it. She decided to drop the idea of furthering her studies and resolved to go

ahead with it. She joined Sports Authority of India, Khuman Lampak where she was rigorously trained by mentor and coach

Shri. Ibomcha Singh. Her tremendous potential, true sportsmanship, and perseverance were noticed by Manipur State coaches

Shri. Narjit Singh and Shri. Kishan Singh who took her under their advanced training and taught the deep and details of

boxing. Gradually, Mary became a popular boxer and received very strong support from Khoibi Salam, Vice President of

IABA and Secretary of MABA, and Manipur Boxing Association. In 2005 she was given the post of Sub-inspector of police

by Manipur Government and within 5 years in 2010 she was promoted to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Mary’s modest beginning from a tiny spark in desire that she recognized and nurtured to becoming five time world

champion is worth remembering and praising.

Contributed by: - Vivek kumar

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Born on: 24th November, 1943

Born In: New Delhi, India

Career: Economist

Montek Singh Ahluwalia is a prominent Indian economist who has served the country in various departments.

Recently, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission by the ruling UPA Government.

Montek Singh is considered as the brain behind the successful Governance of the country. Being the chief policy

adviser, Ahluwalia has gained immense respect and reputation from his peers. This Oxford graduate has showcased

his talent and knowledge his in all policies ranging from economics to education. Moreover, Montek Singh has been

the driving force in matters of the liberation program for the last 16 years. In spite of not being a civil servant, Montek

Singh has occupied high rank offices. Formerly, a director at the International Monetary Fund, he is known as the

youngest member of the World Bank to hold a distinguished position of Division Chief. His remarkable and

meritorious work in the field of economics won him the Padma Vibhushan in 2011. To know more about this qualified

economist, glance through the sections below.

Early Life

Montek Singh Ahluwalia was born on 24th November, 1943 in New Delhi. He completed his schooling from St.

Patrick's High School in Secunderabad, Delhi Public School of Mathura Road and Bishop Cotton School in Shimla.

He then went on to St. Stephen's College in Delhi to earn a degree in B.A. (Hons). He also graduated from the Oxford

University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

Further, Montek Singh earned a B.Phil in economics at the same university in Oxford; this degree was later

reconsidered as an M.Phil. Ahluwalia married Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, a fellow economist, with two children namely

Pavan and Aman.

Career

After completing his studies, Ahluwalia began his career in 1968 as an economist at the World Bank in Washington.

He worked here for almost 11 years in various positions such as Deputy Division Chief in the Public Finance Division

and Chief of Income Distribution Division in Development Research Centre.

In 1979, he came back to India to serve as an Economic Advisor to the Finance Minister. Noticing his vast

knowledge, the Government of India appointed him as the Additional Secretary and later as a Special Secretary to

Prime Minister.

Montek was appointed as Secretary of Commerce in 1990 and then he became Secretary in Department of

Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Finance. In 1998, Ahluwalia was appointed as the Member of Planning

Commission and Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

In 2001, the Government appointed him as the Director of Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF (International

Monetary Fund). However, he resigned from this position in 2004 to become the Deputy Chairman of the Planning

Commission.

Apart from being an economist, Montek Singh Ahluwalia has also written articles in international journals and books

regarding economical aspects of India and the world. He has also co-authored 'Re-Distribution with Growth: An

Approach to Policy'. Along with writing, Ahluwalia has edited 'Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy: Issues for a

Reforming the Global Financial Architecture' along with Y.V. Reddy and S.S. Tarapore.

Awards And Accolades

Montek Singh Ahluwalia was honored with the 'Doctor of Civil Law' by the University of Oxford in 2008. Following this

accolade, he received the 'Padma Vibhushan' from the President of India in 2011.

Timeline

1943: Montek Singh Ahluwalia was born in New Delhi.

1968: He started his career as an economist at the World Bank in USA.

1975: His book, 'Re-distribution With Growth: An Approach to Policy' was made available in print.

1979: Became the Economic Advisor to the Indian Ministry of Finance.

1990: He was appointed as Secretary of Commerce.

1998: Montek was appointed as a member of the Planning Commission of India.

2001: He was the first director to the newly formed Independent Evaluation Office at the IMF.

2004: He was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and his article 'Reforming the Global

Financial Architecture' was published in London's Economic paper.

2008: The title 'Doctor of Civil Law' was conferred upon him by the University of Oxford.

2011: Montek Singh was bestowed with the Padma Vibhushan by the President of India.

Contributed by: - Anjali Rana

Narayana Murthy

Murthy worked with Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as chief systems programmer and

Patni Computer Systems in Pune (Maharashtra). He started Infosys in 1981 and served as its CEO

from 1981 to 2002 and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. In 2011, he stepped down from the board

and became Chairman Emeritus. On 1 June 2013, Murthy was appointed as Additional Director and

Executive Chairman of the board for a period of five years.

Murthy has been listed among the 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time by Fortune magazine. He

has been described as Father of Indian IT sector by Time magazine due to his contribution to

outsourcing in India.] Murthy has also been honored with the Padma Vibhushan and Padma

Shri awards.

Contributed by: - Shivam srivastava

MF Husain Biography

Born On: September 17, 1915

Born In: Pandharpur, Bombay Presidency

Died On: June 9, 2011

Career: Painter, Writer

Nationality: Indian

It wouldn't be wrong to say that painting was the

life and soul of MF Husain. Blessed with one of the

best gifts of God - art, Husain knew exactly how to

make paintings speak for themselves. Over his

tenure as a painter, he is claimed to have painted

about 60, 000 paintings in topics as diverse as

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the

Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the British Raj, and

motifs of Indian urban and rural life. Maqbool Fida

Husain, popularly known as MF Husain, was,

indeed, one of the prominent figures that India

ever gave birth to. Known for his vigorous

appreciation of God's creations, particularly humans, he went on to create some masterpieces, to be remembered for

lifetime. Such was his scrutiny that he could portray circumstances and situations even with a pencil sketch. He is

considered to be one such individual who blended ethnic and mythological themes to come up with luminous and

incredible art forms.

Early Life

Born in 1915, MF Husain came from a traditional Muslim background. He was born in Pandharpur, Bombay

Presidency in British India. His mother, Zunaib died when he was one and a half years old. Thereafter, his father,

Fida remarried a girl named Shireen and shifted to Indore. Husain was extremely close to his grandfather, from whom

he drew his major inspiration. Unfortunately, his grandfather could not accompany him for long as he passed away

when Husain was just 6. Husain's formal education began at Sidhpur in Gujarat where he underwent 2 years of

rigorous training in Indian religions. From here, he was transferred to an Islamic boarding school, Darul Talaba in

Baroda. However, owing to his miserable performance, his father apprenticed him to a tailor and later to a

draughtsman, hoping that he would pick up a profession. Interestingly, his father was very supportive towards his love

for art. Seeing his possession and passion for art, he even gifted him an Agfa box camera. When Husain was just 16,

his father rented a room in the neighboring house where Husain could paint in complete privacy. He gained interest in

English literature, courtesy his neighbor, Yavar, from where he started reading Shakespeare, John Ruskin, and books

on British painters.

Early Career Life

In 1935, Husain moved to Mumbai for the first time at the age of 20 and took admission in J.J. School of Arts. He

earned his living by painting cinema hoardings and whenever he managed to save some money, he used to travel to

Baroda, Surat, and Ahmedabad to paint landscapes. Since painting hoardings did not give him much of an earning,

he tried his luck in other jobs. Amongst them, working at the toy factory proved to be the best paying job, where he

was engaged in designing and building fretwork toys. After struggling and experiencing hardships for years in

Mumbai, Husain finally received recognition in the late 1940s. Though in 1944, he received an offer from Fantasy for

designing children's furniture and later in 1947 from Kamdars, a famous design company, his initial love remained

painting.

Career as a Painter

In 1947, Husain's painting 'Sunhera Sansaar' was exhibited at Bombay Art Society for the first time. The same year

saw India's independence, after which, he decided to stay back in India. Soon after, Progressive Artists' Group (PAG)

was formed by the artist Francis Newton Souza. Husain was amongst the early members and became the secretary

of the group in 1949. This was just the first step towards the historic success that Husain went on to make later on.

His first solo exhibition was held in Zurich in 1952, followed by a series of successful exhibitions across Europe and

US. In 1971, he was sent a special invitation along with the legendary Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial. He

was nominated at the Rajya Sabha for a term in 1986.

Career as a Filmmaker

Besides earning the title of the most eminent and highest paid Indian painter, Husain also tried his hand at film

direction. His first film 'Through the Eyes of a Painter' produced in 1967 was victorious in bagging the Golden Bear at

the Berlin Film Festival. Husain was so obsessed with the stunning Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit that he

considered her as his muse. He even went ahead to make a film with her, titled 'Gaja Gamini' in 2000. Besides, Dixit

remained the subject of his numerous paintings, which he titled 'Fida'. Apart from Dixit, Husain also made a film titled

'Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities' with Tabu, another Bollywood artiste, in 2004. Amrita Rao and Anushka Sharma are

couple of other Bollywood actress who had cast a charm on Husain.

Controversies

Husain was not just renowned for his exemplary paintings and portrayal of human figures, but he was also the center

of controversies. His nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses or in an allegedly sexual manner captured a lot of

eyeballs but all for the wrong reasons. Although the paintings were created in 1970, they did not become an issue till

1996, until they were published in a Hindi monthly magazine, Vichar Mimansa. The very instant response resulted in

eight criminal complaints against Husain on the pretext of promoting enmity between Hindu goddesses, Durga and

Saraswati, which was dismissed by Delhi High Court. Later in 1998, Hindu groups, like Bajrang Dal attacked his

house and destroyed his paintings. The extent of the protests was such intense that his exhibition due in London was

called off.

In 2004, after the release of his film 'Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities' starring Tabu, he was objected by some Muslim

organizations for using words directly from the Holy Quran in the Qawwali song 'Noor-un-Ala-Noor'. As a result, the

movie was removed from cinema halls, just a day after its release. The complaint, lodged by the All-India Ulema

Council, was supported by other Muslim organizations, such as the Milli Council, All-India Muslim Council, Raza

Academy, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, and Jamat-e-Islami.

Yet again in February 2006, Husain again became the talk of the town when he again painted Bharatmata (Mother

India) as a nude woman across the map of India with different Indian state names on various parts of the body. This

nude portrayal was highly objected by Hindu Jagriti Samiti and Vishva Hindu Parishad, which resulted in the issue of

a non-bailable warrant. Although Husain apologized and withdrew the painting from the auction, the painting was

published on his official website. He left India in 2006 and went on a self-imposed exile, settling in Dubai. Later in

2010, he was offered the citizenship of Qatar, which he readily agreed. Thereafter, he had divided his time between

homes in Qatar and London.

Awards & Recognition

Husain had been honored with India's three most prestigious civilian awards, Padma Shree in 1955, Padma Bhushan

in 1973, and Padma Vibhushan in 1991, for his distinguished contribution in the field of art. His 'Battle of Ganga and

Jamuna: Mahabharata 12' successfully fetched $ 1.6 million in 2008, a world record at Christie's South Asian Modern

and Contemporary Art sale. The same year, he was presented with the esteemed Raja Ravi Verma award by the

Government of Kerala. He was also fortunate enough to have his name included in the list of '500 Most Influential

Muslims in the World', released by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center, Amman, Jordan.

Personal Life

Husain married Mehmoodabibi's daughter, Fazila on March 11th, 1941 in the presence of his father and some close

friends. His wife was a constant support and inspiration who encouraged him to be firm in his beliefs.

Death

Being unwell for over a month, Husain died of a heart attack in London. He breathed his last at the Royal Brompton

Hospital on June 9, 2011; thus, bringing an end to the tenure of a genius and Picasso of India. His body was kept at

Idara-e-Jaaferiya, a funeral parlor at Tooting, to let the public pay their homage to the legendary painter. He was

buried on June 10, 2011 at the Brookwood Cemetery at Woking in Surrey, at the city's outskirts.

Timeline

1915: Born in Pandharpur, Bombay Presidency, British India

1935: Came to Bombay and joined JJ School of Arts

1941: Married Fazila on March 11

1947: Sunhera Sansaar' exhibited at Bombay Art Society for the first time

1947: Joined Progressive Arts' Group (PAG)

1949: Became secretary of PAG

1952: First solo exhibition held in Zurich

1955: Honored with Padma Shree Award

1967: First film 'Through the Eyes of a Painter' won a Golden Bear

1971: Invited at the Sao Paulo Biennial, along with Pablo Picasso

1973: Awarded the Padma Bhushan

1986: Nominated to the Rajya Sabha

1991: Bestowed with Padma Vibhushan

1996: Accused of portraying Hindu deities nude in allegedly sexual manner

2000: 'Gaja Gamini', featuring his muse Madhuri Dixit, was released

2004: 'Meenaxi: A City of Three Cities' was released

2006: Charged with depicting Mother India as a nude woman

2006: Went on a self-imposed exile to Dubai

2008: 'Battle of Ganga and Jamuna: Mahabharata 12' successfully fetched $ 1.6 million

2008: Conferred upon with Raja Ravi Verma Award by the Government of Kerala2010: Accepted Qatar citizenship

2011: Died on June 9 due to a heart attack in London, England

2011: Buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking in Surrey

Contributed by: - Niranjan Prasad

NARENDRA MODI

Narendra Damodardas Modi , born 17 September 1950) is the designated Prime Minister of India,

set to take office on 21 May 2014 after leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a decisive victory

in the2014 general elections. After taking office, Modi will become the first prime minister of India

born after the country's independence. Modi is also the 14th and current Chief Minister of Gujarat,

though he is expected to resign soon to take up the office of Prime Minister.

Modi was a key strategist for the BJP in the successful 1995 and 1998 Gujarat state election

campaigns, and was a major campaign figure in the 2009 general elections, eventually won by

the Indian National Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He first became chief minister

of Gujarat in October 2001 after the resignation of his predecessor, Keshubhai Patel, and following

the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. In July 2007, he became the longest-serving Chief Minister in

Gujarat's history, at which point he had been in power for 2,063 days continuously. He is currently

serving his fourth consecutive term as Chief Minister.

Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and is described as a Hindu

nationalist by media, scholars and himself. He is a controversial figure both within India and

internationally as his administration has been criticized for the incidents surrounding the 2002

Gujarat riots. He has been praised for his economic policies, which are credited with creating an

environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat. However, his administration has also

been criticised for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of the

state.

Contributed by :- Shivam Srivastava

Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, in a middle class

family in the pilgrim town of Tirutani. His father, it is said, did not want his son to

learn English, instead wanted him to become a priest. However, the talents of the boy

were so outstanding that he was sent to school at Thirupati and then Vellore. Later, he

joined the Christian College, Madras, and studied philosophy. Drawn by accident into

philosophy, Radhakrishnan by his confidence, concentration and strong convictions

went on to become a great philosopher.

Philosophy and Life

His first book, "The Ethics of the Vedanta and Its Material Presupposition"', being his

thesis for the M.A. degree examination of the Madras University, published in 1908,

at once established his fame as a great philosopher of undoubted ability. All his later

works are landmarks in their respective fields. Expressing abstract and abstruse

philosophical thoughts in intelligible language is considered very difficult. But Dr.

Radhakrishnan was one of the few who could accomplish this with ease and

simplicity.

To him, philosophy was a way of understanding life and his study of Indian

philosophy served as a cultural therapy. By interpreting Indian thought in western

terms and showing that it was imbued with reason and logic he was able to give

Indians a new sense of esteem, which was overcome by inferiority complex by

imperial forces. But he also made clear to them that their long and rich tradition had

been arrested and required further evolution and he exhorted Indians to cast off much

that was corrupt and abhorrent.

Social Commitment

Dr. Radhakrishnan moved beyond being a mere academic and sought to engage his

philosophical and religious studies in the political and social developments of the

contemporary context.

He believed that in India, the philosopher's duty was to keep in touch with the past

while stretching out to the future. This commitment to society, the crusading urgent

tone in his scholarly writings, the modern note in his interpretations of even classical

texts and his intellectual resistance to the deforming pressures of colonialism gave Dr.

Radhakrishnan a distinct public image. He was a coin minted differently from the

usual run of politicians and academicians.

Evocative Teacher

Far from being a stern and severe intellectual remote from the world, Dr.

Radhakrishnan was a very humane person. Exceedingly popular among his students

right from his early days as a professor at Presidency College, Madras he was an

evocative teacher. He was offered the professorship in Calcutta University when he

was less than 30 years old. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from

1931 to 1936. In 1939, he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu

University .Two years later, he took over the Sir Sayaji Rao Chair of Indian Culture

and Civilisation in Banaras.

Recognition of his scholarship came again in 1936, when he was invited to fill the

Chair of Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford which he

retained for 16 years. His mastery on his subject and his clarity of thought and

expression made him a much sought after teacher. But what made him even more

popular were his warmheartedness and his ability to draw out people. This aspect of

his personality continued to win him countless admirers throughout his long and

illustrious public life.

In the last decades of British rule, his was the most sophisticated and exalted

analysis of Gandhi's work and thought and in free India he provided the ideological

armour for Nehru's foreign policy.

International Acclaim

His commitment to high principles and unfailing dignity lent nobility and moral

authority to all the offices which he held. If in India Dr. Radhakrishnan was a highly

respected figure, abroad he became one of the best-liked public figures of his time. He

earned very early international recognition as a philospher. In 1952, the Library of

Living Philosophers, an institute of world-wide repute, brought out a massive volume

on 'the philosophy of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan' devoted wholly to a critical

appreciation of his philosophical doctrines.

After Independence, this philosophical luminary, who personified the essence of

India yet had a universal vision, became an ideal ambassador to the Soviet Union, for

the nascent nation poised to establish itself in the international arena.

Leading the Nation

In 1952, Dr. Radhakrishnan was chosen to be the Vice President of the Republic of

India and in 1962; he was made the Head of the State for five years. It was the glory

of Indian democracy that an educationist aloof from politics but with an international

acclaim as a profound scholar was placed in the position of the President. And it was

an advantage for a young country like India to have him to interpret its domestic and

foreign policies abroad to expound its outlook and aspirations emphatically and in the

rightway which was much needed in a world of uncertainty and disbelief among

nations.

His appointment as President was hailed by Bertrand Russel who said "It is an

honor to philosophy that Dr.Radhakrishnan should be President of India and I, as a

philosopher, take special pleasure in this. Plato aspired for philosophers to become

kings and it is a tribute to India that she should make a philosopher her President".

History reserved for Radhakrishnan's term of office as President much suspense and

surprise. Within months of his ascendancy in 1962 there was the Chinese invasion.

The nation's morale was dealt a blow but RadhakrishnanÕs voice, firm and resolute

came on the air to reassure a shaken nation:

"Owing to the difficult terrain and numerical superiority of the Chinese, we

suffered military reverses. These have opened our eyes to the realities of the situation.

We are now aware of our inadequacies and are alive to the needs of the present and

the demands of the future. The country has developed a new purpose, a new will".

In 1965, Pakistan violated our Western frontiers. Dr Radhakrishnan in his broadcast

to the nation on September 25, 1965 said, “Pakistan assumed that India was too weak

or too afraid or too proud to fight. India, though naturally disinclined to take to arms

felt the necessity to defend herself when attacked. Pakistan also assumed that

communal disturbances would occur in the country and in the resulting chaos she

could have her way. Her miscalculations must have come to her as a rude shock."

Dr.Radhakrishnan had great faith in Indian democracy. In his farewell broadcast to

the Nation on May 12, 1967, he said that despite occasional forebodings to the

contrary, the Indian Constitution had worked successfully so far. But democracy, he

warned, was more than a system of the Government. "It was a way of life and a

regime of civilised conduct of human affairs. We should be the architects of peaceful

changes and the advocates of radical reform", he said.

Great Teacher

It was in 1962 when Dr. Radhakrishnan became the President of India that his

birthday in September came to be observed as 'Teachers' Day'. It was a tribute to

Dr.Radhakrishnan's close association with the cause of teachers. Whatever position he

held whether as President or Vice President or even as Ambassador,

Dr.Radhakrishnan essentially remained a teacher all his life. The teaching profession

was his first love and those who studied under him still remember with gratitude his

great qualities as a teacher.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was one of his closest friends throughout, said about

Dr.Radhakrishnan: "He has served his country in many capacities. But above all, he is

a great Teacher from whom all of us have learnt much and will continue to learn. It is

IndiaÕs peculiar privilege to have a great philosopher, a great educationist and a great

humanist as her President. That in itself shows the kind of men we honour and

respect."

Bharat Ratna, the highest award of the nation, was conferred on him in 1954 in

recognition of his meritorious service to mankind.

* 5th September, the birthday of Dr. Radhskrishnan, is observed as Teacher's Day.

"A good teacher must know how to arouse the interest of the pupil in the field of study for which he

is responsible. He must himself be a master in the field of study and be in touch with the latest

developments in the subject. He must himself be a fellow traveler in the exciting pursuit of

knowledge."

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, forty miles to the northeast

of Madras, in South India. He was born into a poor Brahmin family. His father Sarvepalli

Veeraswami was employed on a meager salary in the zamindari. His mother's name was Sitamma.

Radhakrishnan's father found it very difficult to educate his son with his meagre income. He also had

a large family to take care of.

But little Radhakrishnan was a brilliant boy. His father did not want him to learn English or go to

school. Instead he wanted him to become a priest. However, the talents of the boy were so

outstanding that his father finally decided to send him to school at Tiruttani itself.

He was highly intelligent and he went through most of his education on scholarships. After his initial

schooling in Tiruttani, he joined the Lutheran Mission School in Tirupati for his high school.

When Radhakrishnan was 16 years old, he joined the Voorhee's College in Vellore. At the same age,

his parents got him married to Sivakamuamma while he was still studying at Vellore.

From Vellore he switched to the Madras Christian College at the age of 17. He chose philosophy as

his major and attained a B.A. and M.A. in the field. In partial fulfillment for his M.A. degree,

Radhakrishnan wrote a thesis on the ethics of the Vedanta titled as "The Ethics of the Vedanta and

Its Metaphysical Presuppositions", which was a reply to the charge that the Vedanta system had no

room for ethics.

He was afraid that the thesis, would offend his philosophy professor, Dr. A.G. Hogg. Instead, Dr.

Hogg commended Radhakrishnan on doing an excellent job.

Professor A.G. Hogg was highly amazed at his intellect at such a young age and said of the thesis,

"This thesis which he prepared in the second year of his study for this degree shows a remarkable

understanding of the main aspects of the philosophical problems, a capacity for handling easily a

complex argument besides more than the average mastery of good English".

Radhakrishnan's M.A. thesis went on to be published when he was just 20.

After he graduated with a Master's Degree in Arts from Madras University, Radhakrishnan accepted

an Assistant Lectureship at the Madras Presidency College in 1909. He was just 21 years old.

In the early years of his teaching life, Radhakrishnan was very poor. He ate his food on banana leaves

and not in a plate, as he could not afford to buy one. Once it so happened that he did not have the

money to buy even the banana leaves. So that day he carefully cleaned the floor, spread the food on it

and ate it.

His salary those days was only about Rs. 17 per month and he had a big family of five daughters and a

son to support. He had borrowed some money and could not pay even the interest on it. He had to

auction his medals to meet his needs.

Right from his early days, he was exceedingly popular among his students. As a professor at

Presidency College, Madras, he was always an evocative teacher. He was offered professorship in

Calcutta University when he was less than 30 years old.

When he was around 40 years old he was called to serve as Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University. He

remained in that post for five years. Three years later, he was appointed the Vice Chancellor of

Banaras Hindu University. In both the jobs Radhakrishnan was well loved for his excellent teaching

ability and his amiability.

Recognition of his scholarship came in 1936, when he was invited to fill the Chair of Spalding,

Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford. He retained the chair for 16 years. His mastery

on his subject, his clarity of thought and expression made him a much sought after teacher. But what

made him even more popular were his warm heartedness and his ability to draw out people. This

aspect of his personality continued to win him countless admirers throughout his long and illustrious

public life.

He was always practical and he had a keen insight into human nature. He was comfortable in the

company of the learned, but had no contempt for those who had been kept bereft of higher

education. He did not feel very much at ease with all sorts of men and enjoyed only the company of

those who he knew intimately.

Once, Radhakrishnan was invited to dine at the residence of H.G Wells. Besides, Wells and Joad,

both of who were Radhakrishnan's good friends, there was one other person present. He was J.N.

Sullivan, who was a well-known writer on scientific subjects.

The talk was continuous and eager and it included science, philosophy, the state of the world, and the

possible collapse of the western civilization. Radhakrishnan spoke very little and was silent most of

the time. He sat there refusing one after another the dishes of an elaborate meal, drinking only

water, and listening intently.

Others, knowing of his reputation as a great speaker and conversationalist, were very surprised at his

silence. Joad later recounted this incident and said, "We were surprised and impressed not so much

because what he did say was always to the point, but because his silence in such a discussion was a

richer and more significant thing that any positive contribution he could have made."

Joad also described Dr. Radhakrishnan as a liaison officer between the East and the West. By

training and temperament, he was peculiarly well equipped to reconcile the conflicts between the

East and the West. Equally at home with Kant and Hegel, Shankaracharya and Ramakrishna

Parmahansa, he was a citizen of the world.

To the West, he seemed to be the typical western intellectual, while the East regarded him as a sage,

who symbolized the ancient wisdom of the Orient. As a conversationalist, he was always thought

provoking and scintillating, but he never tried to monopolize the conversation. He was as good a

listener as a talker. Though words came to him in a torrent, he knew the value of silence - which in

his case was more eloquent than the rhetoric of brilliant men.

Dr. Radhakrishnan was a very straight man, who did not hesitate to call a spade a spade if the

occasion demanded it. His spirit of independence found aggressive expression in a famous encounter

he had in 1942 with the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Sir Maurice Hallett.

Dr. Radhakrishnan, who had gone to Lucknow to protest against the closing of Banaras Hindu

University, of which he was the then Vice-Chancellor, discovered in Sir Maurice an autocrat, who

refused to listen to reason. The Governor lost his temper when Radhakrishnan defended the students

who had been punished for having participated in the struggle for freedom.

Dr. Radhakrishnan rose to the occasion. In words burning with indignation, he gave a bit of his mind

to the Governor. During the 20-minute exchange of hot words, Dr. Radhakrishnan forgot that his job

was that of a lecturer. In a matter of minutes he had become the voice of Indian nationalism.

In 1949, Dr. Radhakrishnan was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union. The appointment raised

many eyebrows because people wondered what kind of an impression Radhakrishnan, a student of

idealist philosophy, would make on Joseph Stalin, an ardent communist.

In 1950, Radhakrishnan was called to the Kremlin to meet Stalin. During the meeting,

Radhakrishnan referring to Stalin's infamous "bloody" purges said, "We had an emperor in India

who, after a bloody victory, renounced war and became a monk. You have also waded your way to

power through force. Who knows that might happen to you also."

Stalin unperturbed by the remark smiled and replied, "Yes, miracles do happen sometimes. I was in a

theological seminary for five years!"

However, a few days before Radhakrishnan's departure for India, Stalin called on Radhakrishnan.

His face was highly bloated and he looked unwell. Radhakrishnan felt really sorry for the notorious

communist and patted him on the cheek and the back.

Stalin was deeply moved by his gesture. He held Radhakrishnan's hand and said, "You are the first

person to treat me as a human being and not as a monster. You are leaving us and I am sad. I want

you to live long. I have not long to live." Stalin died six months later. Thus Radhakrishnan's

considerate gesture led to a relationship between India and the Soviet Union, which flourished for

many years.

In 1952, when he was 64, Radhakrishnan was elected the Vice-President of India. As the Vice-

President, Radhakrishnan had to preside over the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) sessions. Often,

during heated debates, Radhakrishnan would intervene with slokas from the Sanskrit classics or

quotations from the Bible to calm the charged atmosphere.

Nehru on seeing his tact commented later, "By the way in which Radhakrishnan conducted the

proceedings of the Rajya Sabha, he had made the meetings of the House look like family gatherings!"

Dr. Radhakrishnan was honored with the Bharat Ratna in 1954. Around the same time, an 883-page

compilation titled "The Philosophy of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan" was released in America.

In 1956, when Radhakrishnan was 68 years old, his devoted wife, Sivakamuamma, passed away after

sharing more than 50 years of married life.

Radhakrishnan continued to be the Vice-President for two terms. In 1962 he was elected President of

India at the age of 74.

It was in that very same year, when Dr. Radhakrishnan became the President of India that his

birthday in September came to be observed as 'Teachers' Day'. It was a tribute to Dr.

Radhakrishnan's close association with the cause of teachers and to the 28 Great Lives- Leaders of

People great teacher himself. Whatever position he held whether as a President or Vice President,

Dr. Radhakrishnan essentially remained a teacher all his life.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was one of his closest friends throughout, said about Dr.

Radhakrishnan:

"He has served his country in many capacities. But above all, he is a great Teacher from whom all of

us have leant much and will continue to learn. It is India's peculiar privilege to have a great

philosopher, a great educationist and a great humanist as her President. That in itself shows the kind

of men we honor and respect."

Radhakrishnan's tenure as President was marked by the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962, the end

of the Nehru-era with Nehru's death in 1964, and India's victorious performance against Pakistan in

1965 under Lai Bahadur Shastri. All through the years, Radhakrishnan guided each of the Prime

Ministers wisely and helped see India through those trying years safely. Radhakrishnan refused to

continue for another term as President after his term ended in 1967.

At the age of 79, Dr. Radhakrishnan returned to Madras to a warm homecoming. He spent his last

years happily at his house "Girija" in Mylapore, Madras.

Dr. Radhakrishnan died peacefully on April 17, 1975 at a ripe old age of 87.

One of the most striking things about Dr. Radhakrishnan was his versatility. His powerful mind, his

power of speech, his command over the English language, his dedication to work and his mental

alacrity greatly contributed to his success in life. He will truly be missed as a leader and a teacher

who had the wisdom of a sage, detachment of a philosopher and the maturity of a statesman.

India has been celebrating Teacher's Day on 5th September, since 1962. The day commemorates the birthday of Dr

Sarvepalli Radhakhrishnan, a philosopher and a teacher par excellence, and his contribution towards Indian

education system. Dr Radhakhrishnan believed that "teachers should be the best minds in the country". On this day,

we gratefully remember the great educationist, apart from honoring all the teachers that have made our life much

more knowledgeable and fulfilled, as serving as our beacons of light.

The birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakhrishnan came to be celebrated as Teacher's Day when, one day, some of his

students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday. In reply, Dr. Radhakrishnan said, "instead

of celebrating my birthday separately, it would be my proud privilege if September 5th is observed as Teacher's day".

From then onwards, Dr. Radhakrishnan's birthday is observed as Teacher's Day all across India.

Teachers' Day is very important for all the people in India, as the teachers act as foundation for creating responsible

citizens and good human beings. It is impossible to imagine our lives without teachers. They are the cornerstone of

our future. We can never thank our teachers enough for their immense contribution in our life. Teacher's Day is

celebrated to show our acknowledgement and recognition of the hard work put in by our teachers towards our

development.

Schools all over India celebrate Teacher's Day by allowing the senior students to pose as teachers for a day. It is a

fun-filled activity, which is enjoyed by both the acting teachers and their junior students. On this day, students bring

gifts for their most admired teachers as well. It is an equally special day for teachers, as they get to know how much

they are liked and appreciated by their students. Gifts to teachers include flowers, greeting cards and other items.

Some students also write poems and messages for teachers.

Students look forward to Teacher's Day with a lot of anticipation, for the sheer spirit of the occasion. Acting as

teachers, they get a fair idea of the responsibility, so efficiently burdened by their teachers. It requires a lot of hard

work and dedication to be a good teacher and earn the fondness of the students at the same time. Teachers, on this

day, are reminded of their school days and feel nostalgic. All in all, it is celebration mode for everyone!

Contributed by: - Nanda Saxena

Shikha Sharma

Career: Managing Director, CEO, Axis Bank

Starting her career with the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) in 1980, Shikha Sharma was

picked to head the life insurance division of ICICI when it became the first bank in the private sector to get a license

to carry out the business of insurance. She was able to maintain a lead from the first day which helped the

organisation to remain the largest private sector life insurance company in India. Considering ICICI as her second

home, she worked towards the development of the organisation, the growth of which can be considered parallel to

hers. Born to an Army officer, Shikha Sharma maintained discipline in her life and this disciplined showed right

through her career too. In a male dominated financial world, she carved a niche for herself. She is the kind of person

who considers every job that comes towards her as a challenge. It's no wonder then that she was chosen as the CEO

of Axis bank, almost unanimously.

Early Life

Shikha Sharma was born to a soldier who travelled all over India, before settling down in Delhi. She completed her

school education at the Loreto Convent in Delhi and graduated in economics from the Lady Sreeram College, Delhi.

She finished her post graduate diploma in software technology from the National Institute of Software Technology,

Mumbai. She also completed her Masters in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management in

Ahmadabad.

Career

Shikha Sharma started her career with ICICI, India's largest financial service provider in 1980. She joined ICICI right

after graduating from IIM, Ahmadabad. In her 28 year association with ICICI Group, she set up various businesses. In

1992, she set up ICICI Securities which is a joint venture of ICICI and J.P. Morgan. She started setting up various

group businesses for ICICI which included investment banking and retail finance. In 1995, she moved to ICICI

Securities and was deputed to J.P Morgan. In 1997, she rejoined ICICI as the General Manager in charge of

Strategic Planning and Development. In 1998, she became the Managing Director of ICICI Personal Financial

services. Shikha Sharma also served as the Director of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company till April 2009 and

was the Independent Director of ACC limited December 2006 to May 2009. She is the Chief Executive Officer,

Managing Director of Axis Bank Limited and Chairperson and associate Director of Axis Asset Management company

Limited since June 1, 2009.

Contributions

Shikha Sharma made ICICI Prudential what it is today. It is the organization she built from scratch; the leading player

in the life insurance business .In her 28 year old association with the ICICI Group, she was instrumental in setting the

foundation for the bank's personal financial services business. Here, she also launched an innovative micro insurance

cover of 1 dollar a month for poor people in India. In December 2008, under her leadership, ICICI Prudential

commanded a market share of 13 %.

Legacy

Shikha Sharma is one of the two women entrepreneurs who are at the helm of a private bank in India. In a male

dominated banking and insurance sector, she, with her exceptional leadership qualities, made ICICI Prudential, the

largest private insurance company in the country. She has left behind a legacy which is followed by millions of women

aspirants.

Awards and Accolades

'Woman Business Leader' by CNBC TV18, 2007

'Business Woman of the Year' by Economic Times, 2009

Ranked 89th in the list of 'World's 100 Most Powerful Women' by Forbes magazine, 2010

Timeline

1980: Shikha Sharma started her career with ICICI as a project officer.

1992: Set up ICICI Securities which was a joint venture of ICICI and J. P Morgan.

1995: Moved to ICICI Securities and was deputed to J.P. Morgan.

1997: Rejoined ICICI as the General Manager in charge of Strategic Planning and Development.

1998: Became the Managing Director of ICICI Personal Financial Services.

2009: Became the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director of Axis Bank Limited and Chairperson and Associate

Director of Axis Asset Management Company Limited.

Contributed by: - Mohit Chauhan

Success Story of Dr. Pratap Reddy

Achievement: Founder of the Apollo Hospital

Group.

Dr. Pratap Reddy is the founder of the

Apollo Hospital Group, India's first corporate

hospital group. He revolutionized the whole

health care scenario of India and inspired others

to follow the suit. Today, India has over 750

corporate hospitals all over the country.

Dr. Pratap Reddy came to India after serving as the

Chief Resident of the Worcenter City Hospital in

the US to start his practice in Madras with a

modest earning of Rs 100/- per day. The idea to

establish Apollo Group of Hospitals came when

Dr. Reddy lost a patient who couldn't make it to

Texas for an open heart surgery. This inspired Dr.

Pratap Reddy to create world-class medical

infrastructure in India and make it more accessible and affordable to common people. Dr. Reddy's efforts bore fruit when he succeeded in setting up the first center of the

Apollo Hospitals Group in Chennai in 1983.

Dr, Pratap Reddy soon followed this with India’s first hospital consultancy body - the Indian Hospitals Corporation - and

commissioned two more Tertiary Care Centers in India. Since its inception, Apollo has demonstrated that Indian skills are

equivalent to the best centers in the world and has produced world-class results in the most complicated Cadaver Transplant.

Today, the Apollo Hospitals Group has over 22 centers in major cities in India and a combined turnover of over US $ 100

million.

Dr Reddy is now spreading Apollo Hospitals Group to other parts of Asia. The group opened its first clinic in Dubai in

March 1999 and is coming up with projects in Sri Lanka, Africa, Bangladesh, and Oman. Dr. Reddy is currently looking at

secondary health centers in semi urban and smaller cities and has already identified 23 sites for the purpose.

Dr. Pratap Reddy's latest initiatives are "Med Varsity"-a virtual medical university providing total access to experts in the

field of medicine anywhere in the world- and "MEDNET" - Hospital Systems Management package. Both the initiatives are

expected to transform health care sector in India.

Contributed by: - Diwaker Gupta

Vikram Sarabhai

Born: August 12, 1919

Died: December 31, 1971

Achievements: Considered the Father of the

Indian space program; instrumental in establishing

the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in

Ahmedabad in November 1947; was Chairman of

the Atomic Energy Commission. He along with

other Ahmedabad-based industrialists played a

major role in the creation of the Indian Institute of

Management, Ahmedabad.

Vikram Sarabhai was one of the greatest scientists

of India. He is considered as the Father of the

Indian space program. Apart from being a

scientist, he was a rare combination of an

innovator, industrialist and visionary.

Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was born on August 12,

1919 at Ahmedabad in an affluent family of progressive industrialists. He was one of eight children of Ambalal and

Sarla Devi. He had his early education in a private school, “Retreat” run by his parents on Montessori lines. Some of

the great men of India such as Gurudev Rabindranath, J. Krishna Murthi, Motilal Nehru, V. S. Shrinivasa Shastri,

Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana Azad, C. F. Andrews, C. V. Raman et al. used to stay with the Sarabhai

family when they visited Ahmedabad. Mahatma Gandhi also once stayed at their house while recovering from an

illness. Visits by such great men greatly influenced Vikram Sarabhai.

After his matriculation, Vikram Sarabhai proceeded to Cambridge for his college education and took the tripos in

Natural Sciences from St. John's college in 1940. When World War II began, he returned home and joined as a

research scholar under Sir C. V. Raman at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore His interest in solar physics and

cosmic ray led him to set up many observation stations around the country. He built the necessary equipment with

which he took measurements at Bangalore, Poona and the Himalayas. He returned to Cambridge in 1945 and

completed his Ph.D in 1947.

Vikram Sarabhai was instrumental in establishing the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad in

November 1947. The laboratory was established in a few rooms in M.G. Science Institute of the Ahmedabad

Education Society, which was founded by his parents. Subsequently, it got support from the Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Atomic Energy.

Vikram Sarabhai did research on the time variations of cosmic rays and concluded that meteorological effects could

not entirely affect the observed daily variations of cosmic rays; further, the residual variations were wide and global

and these were related to variations in solar activity. Vikram Sarabhai visualized a new field of research opening up in

solar and interplanetary Physics.

The year 1957-1958 was designated as International Geo-physical year (IGY). The Indian program for the IGY had

been one of the most significant ventures of Sarabhai. It exposed him to the new vistas of space science with the

launching in 1957 of Sputnik-I. Subsequently, the Indian National Committee for Space Research was created, of

which Vikram Sarabhai became Chairman.

With active support from Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, set up the first Rocket Launching station (TERLS) in the

country at Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram on the Arabian Coast, as Thumba is very close to the Equator. The first

rocket with sodium vapour payload was launched on November 21, 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly gave

recognition to TERLS as an international facility.

After the sudden death of Homi Bhabha in an air crash, Vikram Sarabhai was appointed Chairman, Atomic Energy

Commission in May 1966. He wanted the practical application of science to reach the common man. He decided to

acquire competence in advance technology for the solution of country’s problems based on technical and economic

evaluation of its real resources. He initiated India’s space programme, which today is renowned all over the world.

Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was awarded with Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Medal in 1962 and Padma Bhushan in 1966.

Vikram Sarabhai passed away in his sleep on December 31, 1971.

Contributed by: - Shobit Gupta

Vinod Khosla

Achievement: One of the co-founders of Sun

Microsystems.

Vinod Khosla is an epitome of Indian success

story at Silicon Valley. He is a venture capitalist

and is better known as one of the co-founders of

Sun Microsystems.

Vinod Khosla came from an ordinary middle class

background. His father was in army. At the age of

16, Vinod Khosla read about the founding of Intel.

This motivated him to nurture dreams of starting

his own technology company. At the age of 20,

after graduating in Electrical Engineering from IIT

Delhi, Vinod Khosla started a soy milk company to

cater to those people in India who did not have

refrigerators. But his venture failed.

Vinod Khosla went to the US and did his Masters in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. His

entrepreneurial ambitions attracted him to Silicon Valley and subsequently he did his MBA from Stanford University in

1980.

After graduating from Stanford, Vinod Khosla founded Daisy Systems with two other founders. Daisy Systems was

the first significant computer aided design system for electrical engineers. The company went on to make huge profits

but driven by the frustration of having to design the computer hardware on which the Daisy software needed to be

built, Vinod Khosla left the company.

In Vinod Khosla, started the standards based Sun Microsystems in 1982 to build workstations for software

developers. Sun was funded by his long time friend and board member John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield &

Byers. At Sun Microsystems, Vinod Khosla pioneered "open systems" and RISC processors. He left Sun

Microsystems in 1985 and joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) in 1986, where he continues to be a

general partner of KPCB funds through KP X.

Vinod Khosla also challenged Intel's monopoly by developing Nexgen/AMD. He also conceptualized the idea and

business plan for Juniper to take on Cisco's dominance of the router market. Vinod Khosla is also one of the founding

fathers of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE), a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals founded in

1992. In 2004, he formed khoslaventures to fund knowledgeable entrepreneurs in their new "social impact" ventures.

Vinod Khosla has a keen interest in nascent technologies that can have a beneficial effect and economic impact on

society. Presently, he is looking into practicality of the use of ethanol as a gasoline substitute.

Contributed by: - Sachin Goel