13-YEAR-OLD FROM AP BECOMES YOUNGEST GIRL TO SCALE EVEREST: Malavath Purna, a tribal student from Nizamabad district in Andhra Pradesh, created history on May 25 by becoming the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mount Everest. She pitched the Bharatiya flag at 6.00am and was closely followed by Sadanapalli Anand, a 17-year-old student from Khammam district.
This is the first time that two poor tribal students from remote areas of Andhra Pradesh braved one of the world’s most unfriendly terrains. Anand and Purna are both students of Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools (APSWRS). Purna is a student of class IX in Thadwai APSWRS. Her parents are daily wage workers. Extremely good in studies and extracurricular activities, she grabbed the opportunity by undergoing a four-stage screening test. During the training programme, Purna got ‘A’ grade by climbing Kanchenjunga and she was finally selected for the Everest. She along with Anand began the hike on April 4 from Kathmandu.
“We are happy that she has set the world record. We know she will go places. She is not only bright in academics, but also in adventure,” Purna’s parents said.
BHARATIYA FIRMS IN FORBES’ MOST INNOVATIVE GROWTH COMPANIES LIST: As many as nine Bharatiya firms have made it to the Forbes World’s 100 most innovative growth companies list. Godrej Consumer Products is ranked 31st globally with an enterprise value of $4.25 billion (Rs 24,850 crore) and an innovation premium of 58.7%. Other Bharatiya firms on the list include ABB India, Marico, United Breweries, Siemens India, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Colgate Palmolive India and Divi’s Labs. ABB India is ranked 37th, with an enterprise value of $2.7 billion (`15,787 crore) and innovation premium of 56.4%. The list has been made on the basis of innovation premium, a measure of how much investors have bid up the stock price of a company above the value of its existing business, based on expectations of future innovative results (new products, services and markets).
HINDU FOUNDATION RECOGNIZES TEACHERS: Teachers from the Simi Valley, Moorpark, Conejo Valley and Oak Park school districts in California USA were recognized on Teachers Appreciation Day on May 10 in Simi Valley on behalf of Hindu Education Foundation. While Dr. Amrit Ram from SVYASA Yoga University, presented a demonstration on Yoga , Chetan Gandhi, a Hindu minister and councilor, discussed the significance of a teacher and yoga in enhancing the quality of life for individuals. Students presented a mosaic of cultural programs with elements from Bharatiya classical dance, martial arts, folk dances and yoga. About 100 people attended the event.
BHARATIYA AIRPORTS NOW AMONGST WORLD’S BEST SERVICE PROVIDERS: New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Mumbai’s Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) have found place in the top five of the best service quality providers in the world.
While IGIA has been adjudged as the second best in the 25-40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category in the world in the Airports Council International’s (ACI) airport service quality (ASQ). CSIA is the fifth best in the list.
Even Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has won the second best service quality award in the 5-15 MPPA category .
18-YEAR-OLD BHARATIYA STUDENT CHOSEN FOR ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION: Zareen Cheema was barely eight when she first saw photographs of aurora australis in all its glory. Since then, it has been her dream to see the phenomenon in person. That desire paved the way for the now 18-year-old’s selection as the only Bharatiya student in the December expedition to Antarctica.
‘Students on Ice’, a research-based expedition to the icy continent, aims at educating students about global issues such as climate change. The Pune girl is also the youngest and among the 44 Bharatiyas out of 705 people selected from around the world in Round 2 of the one-way manned mission to Mars, popularly known as Mars One.
