Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Bday wishes
An impromptu birthday party was organised for the Navy chief on Monday after the Defence Minister accidentally discovered that there was an occasion for celebration. Admiral Nirmal Verma was present at an awards ceremony at DRDO Bhavan that was presided over by Defence Minister A K Antony in the afternoon when a casual remark by a third person revealed that it was Vermas birthday. Just before the function commenced,Antony asked an official to arrange for a cake to celebrate the occasion. The birthday cake appeared in record time and after the function ended,a cake cutting ceremony took place. Senior ministry officials not only got a piece of the cake but also hummed a few lines of the birthday song!
Identity Crisis
The UID Authority has just dropped its plans to identify a celebrity brand ambassador for itself. It is also sharply cutting down on advertisements. The reason is not shortage of funds. Rather,the authority that is handing out a unique identity numbers to Indian citizens is finding it difficult to cater to the huge response from the people coming forward to enroll themselves. Already,there are complaints from people that their calls to the Aadhar the name given to UID call centres are not being answered. The authority has now decided to double the number of staff at its call centre in Bangalore from December.
Ticket to Ride
AT the ongoing India International Trade Fair in Delhi,the Railway Ministry has chosen people-connect as the theme for its stall that showcases passenger innovations,safety and interactive IT solutions. What is attracting the most crowds is a temporary reservation counter installed at the exit area of the stall. Spotting a ticket counter,visitors to the Trade Fair are forming long queues to purchase train tickets. It turns out that this was a deliberate move because last year the cash-strapped Railways sold tickets worth Rs 1.5 lakh per day from this temporary counter at the Trade Fair. It is hoping to sell much more this year.
Needed a Pacemaker
FREQUENT arguments between the Congress and BJP members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum scam prompted committee chairman P C Chacko to turn to CPM member Sitaram Yechury,requesting him to broker peace between the two camps. You should become the peacemaker, Chacko told Yechury. This committee does not need a peacemaker. It needs a pacemaker to keep it going, Yechury is said to have replied.
Jumping the Gun
WHEN it comes to naming projects and weapon systems,the DRDO is next to none. The organisation sent the media into a tizzy on Tuesday morning by announcing the launch of an Agni-IV missile with a range of 3,500 km. This stumped many,given that India only has missiles in the series till Agni-III. It later emerged that the name was given to a version of the Agni-II missile that flunked its first test. While the missile was earlier called Agni-II Prime,it was renamed Agni-IV after a successful test.
