Motivational

3 Coimbatore Boys Have a Plan to Tackle Hunger. It’s so Good They Bagged a $1000 Grant for It….

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Three young boys from Coimbatore have just won an international grant for their project, No Food Waste, which focuses on collecting excess food from events and parties and then distributing among the needy. Here’s more.

In India, over 214 million citizens struggle with hunger, in spite of huge quantities of food being thrown away at various events like weddings and parties.

While many of us still wonder about what can be the solution for this problem, three young boys in Coimbatore have come up with an interesting idea to address the issue.

Meet Padmanaban Gopalan and his two friends, Sudhakar and Dinesh, who started an initiative called No Food Waste. They collect excess food from events like weddings and parties and then distribute it among the hungry in Coimbatore.

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“One day a gaunt elderly lady, emaciated to the bones in a torn saree, approached me for alms, just as I left a wedding reception hall where food was carelessly discarded on used plates simply because the guests could not finish. I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. I had to do something about it,” says Padmanabhan.

Photo: Pollination Project

Padmanabhan and his friends runs a volunteer-staffed hotline for wedding, banquet, and school organizers, who wish to donate their excess food to the needy.

This effort by the trio has now also received support from a US Based NGO, Pollination Project, who have selected No Food Waste as the best initiative among many others nominated from across the world. The team got a $1000 grant from the NGO to work further on the project. Check out their Facebook page for more details.

The winning organization was finalised based on public voting, out of the 150 applicants that the NGO received.

Padmanaban, the boy behind the initiative.

Photo: Twitter

The voting closed on July 17 and No Food Waste won by a margin of 4,000 votes. Generally, winners are chosen after scrutinising the project, but because it was the 1,000th grant, the NGO authorities planned to launch a public voting system.

Prior to this, the team used to spend money out of their own pockets to package the food and deliver it. They tried to contact many sponsors, but no one took them seriously.

To date, the team has donated about 5,100 excess meals to families and individuals. Padmanabhan now wants to expand this initiative to five nearby cities, with an aim of feeding over 5,000 people every month.

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Photo: Facebook

Padmanabhan is also planning to launch a mobile application that will enable people to locate areas where extra food can be donated. To spread the word about the initiative, he also visits schools to conduct No Food Waste audits and spread awareness about the cause. He has already helped over 60 local schools in reducing their food waste.

Kudos to the trio for addressing a big issue in such an amazing way, and congratulations for a much deserved victory.

Source….www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

 

The 79-Year Old Who Knocks on the Doors of the Rich to Collect Medicines for the Poor ….

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At his age, he walks 5-7 kms a day collecting leftover medicines from the rich in Delhi. Meet Medicine Baba, the selfless man who dreams of setting up a medicine bank for those who cannot afford treatment.

Omkarnath Sharma, better known as Medicine Baba, is a retired blood bank technician on a very difficult mission. He wants to start a free medicine bank for the poor and needy.

And for this, he walks around the streets of Delhi, knocking on one door after another, collecting medicines from the upper- and middle-class houses in the city.

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Omkarnath Sharma collecting medicines

Bachi dawai daan me, na ki kudedaan me. Medicine baba ka ek hi sapna, gareebo ka medicine bank ho apna.” (Leftover medicines should be donated, not discarded. Medicine Baba has only one dream, that the poor should have a medicine bank of their own).

This is Medicine Baba’s daily call at the doors of the well-heeled people of Delhi, those who don’t even often know that they have an abundance of unused medicines lying around in their homes.

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Medicine Baba documenting the details of his collection

At an age when many people choose to rest and spend time with their families, Medicine Baba has no plans of hanging up his shoes. He has been working like this since 2008, when an under-construction Delhi Metro bridge in Laxmi Nagar collapsed and Omkarnath witnessed many injured people suffering because of the lack of adequate medical care.

He saw how the nearest hospital turned away patients saying it did not have the required medicines. For no fault of their own, the injured people had to rush here and there to find a place that could provide proper treatment. Omkarnath was shocked.

He found this situation painfully ironic—on the one hand there were no medicines in the hospitals for people who were dying and on the other there were large quantities of usable medicines being discarded by households every day.

He wanted to do something that had never been done before—to collect these medicines and create a bank of medicines for the poor. And so began his journey.

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People come in to take medicines from Omkarnath for free

Omkarnath goes out every morning, takes a bus, and visits a different neighbourhood of Delhi each day. Here he walks around for about 5-7 kms, collecting unused prescription and non-prescription medicines from houses. Over the years, he has been successful in gaining some regular contributors, who sometimes call him to say that he can come and collect the medicines.

Ask him if he has any difficulty walking around so much at this age, and he says, “It is difficult, but if you are worried about difficulties and challenges, how will you work?”

He scans the collected medicines carefully, and maintains a record of all of them. Some of these medicines are stored in a small room he has rented next to his house in Manglapuri, New Delhi. Those who cannot afford medicines can visit him here between 4 and 6 pm.

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Medicines in his collection that can be useful to hospitals (like those required for the treatment of cancer), are donated to hospitals like AIIMS, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Hospital, Lady Irwin Medical College, and a few ashrams and dispensaries in Delhi. He says that he donates medicines worth Rs. 4-6 lakhs every month.

Medicine Baba says his main mission is not just to collect medicines. The priority is to create awareness among people so they think twice before discarding useful prescription medicines.

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Out on his mission

For himself personally, the satisfaction that he experiences on seeing people get healed with the help of medicines he donates, is enough. He is proud of his work and this is what gives him the inspiration to keep moving forward despite his age. “I feel so happy when I see them going to work all healed and healthy,” he says

As a retired person, Omkarnath faces difficult times trying to make ends meet sometimes. His family includes his wife, a son, a daughter, and a granddaughter. He manages his work with the help of donations he receives from people from time to time. Other than that, he is also sometimes seen in buses and metros, letting people know about patients who need financial help.

If he manages to collect some money this way, he uses it to donate medical equipment like oxygen tanks, hospital beds, etc.

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Medicine Baba is a blessing for many people. At present, he is trying to help some people suffering from cancer and kidney ailments. He is trying his best to arrange money for their treatment. Moving around in Delhi, wearing an orange shirt that highlights his phone number and his mission in bold, Medicine Baba is a source of hope for many. We can only wish that his dream of setting up a medicine bank gets fulfilled.

To know more about Omkarnath and donate to his mission, you can visit his website here or write to him at helpingbaba@gmail.com or you can call him on +91 9250243298.

Source……..Tanaya Singh….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

5 Things you Need to know about India’s First Space Observatory…

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This mission will study astronomical phenomena, puts India in select group of nations

Astrosat is compared to NASA’s Hubble telescope. Photograph: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday successfully launched the Astrosat satellite. Through this launch, India has joined a select group of countries that have their own space observatory satellite.

Here are five things you need to know about Astrosat.

1.
This is India’s first attempt at setting up an observatory in space, a place from where it can study cosmological phenomena.
2.
The mission is aimed at obtaining data that will help in a better understanding of the universe. The mission is to study astronomical phenomena. Astrosat is carrying five payloads, including an ultraviolet imaging telescope.
3.
Astrosat is generally described as India’s version of the Hubble telescope that NASA had put in space in 1990.

But experts say it is not right to call Astrosat India’s Hubble, as the NASA version is 10 times heavier than Astrosat and is said to cost $2.5 billion, while India’s satellite costs around Rs 180 crore.

4.
Astrosat will put ISRO in a very exclusive club of nations that have space-based observatories. Only the United States, European Space Agency, Japan and Russia have such observatories in space..
5.
For the third time an Indian rocket will be launching seven satellites in a single mission. In 2008, ISRO had launched 10 satellites in one go, including India’s Cartosate-2A satellite.

 

Source….www.rediff.com

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Message for the Day….” What is the Path to Freedom and Happiness…”

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Some people hold the opinion that being employed is bondage, while sitting at home without any specific work is freedom! This is a sign of lack of intelligence. When employed in a job, one obeys their superiors. In the same way, being at home, can anyone escape the demands and compulsions of the family? Even when you are amidst your friends, can you avoid the necessity of acting according to their fancy? Hence, understand that all life is a prison; the differences are merely in the types of imprisonment! You will feel it this way as long as the attitude of identifying yourself with the body is there. On the other hand, the liberated ones will trample down their egoism, discriminate sensual pleasure from real happiness, and perform their duties. They will use duty (Karma) as an aid to help in the destruction of the ego. This is the path to freedom and happiness.

Sathya Sai Baba

Something for you to start your day with a Smile ….

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I Wanted You to Smile, So I Sent You This Video!

Do you want a few minutes of uninterrupted happiness? Then take a minute to enjoy the company of the cutest, furriest little golden labrador puppies. They are so full of life, love and happiness, it’s impossible not to catch it.

Source……www.ba-bamail.com

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ISRO Creates History. Launches India’s First Space Observatory – ASTROSAT ….

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ISRO has successfully launched India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory – ASTROSAT, which is meant to observe distant celestial objects and to gain a more detailed understanding of our universe.

Right after celebrating the completion of Mangalyaan’s first year in the Martian orbit, the Indian Space Research Organization has set yet another milestone today. ISRO got its name etched in the scientific history of the India with the launch of the country’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory – ASTROSAT.

A 50-hour countdown for the launch of the scientific satellite began at 8 am on Saturday.

And the final launch took place at 10 am today from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. –

Source: Twitter

ASTROSAT is an astronomy observatory, a place from where India can study different cosmological phenomena. It is meant to observe distant celestial objects and to gain a more detailed understanding of our universe.

The speciality of ASTROSAT is that with just a single satellite, it enables simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of many astronomical elements.

The 1,513-kg satellite, estimated to have cost around Rs. 180 crore, was launched by PSLV-C30 into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 degree to the equator. This is the 31st flight of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and six small satellites of three foreign countries have also been launched along with ASTROSAT. It is for the first time that the PSLV launcher, which has lifted 45 small and mid-sized foreign satellites till date, is carrying four US Nano satellites. The other satellites are from Canada and Indonesia.

The spacecraft control centre at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore will manage the satellite during its mission life.

While most of ISRO’s spacecraft are for specific applications such as communication, Earth observation and navigation, this is one among the few scientific satellites launched by the country. According to the official release by ISRO, missions of ASTROSAT include the following:

  • To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes
  • Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars
  • Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy
  • Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
  • Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region

ASTROSAT has five payloads which rely on the visible, Ultraviolet and X-rays coming from distant celestial sources.

ASTROSAT in clean room before its integration with PSLV-C30 –

They will gather data for the better understanding of various astrophysical processes occurring in our universe, and will send it to the ground station at MOX. This data will then be processed and distributed by the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC). While most scientific satellites can observe a narrow range of wavelength band, ASTROSAT will observe universe in the optical, ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. All major astronomy institutions and some universities in India will also participate in these observations.

The types and functions of the payloads as described by ISRO are as follows:

The Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT, capable of observing the sky in the Visible, Near Ultraviolet and Far Ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum

Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC, is designed for study the variations in the emission of X-rays from sources like X-ray binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei and other cosmic sources.

Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT) is designed for studying how the X-ray spectrum of 0.3-8 keV range coming from distant celestial bodies varies with time.

Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI), functioning in the X-ray region, extends the capability of the satellite to sense X-rays of high energy in 10-100 keV range.

Scanning Sky Monitor(SSM),is intended to scan the sky for long term monitoring of bright X-ray sources in binary stars, and for the detection and location of sources that become bright in X-rays for a short duration of time.

CONGRATULATIONS @isro! PSLV-C30 successfully launches #ASTROSAT into the orbit. pic.twitter.com/3PlK5BLZWR

— Doordarshan National (@DDNational) September 28, 2015

Source……..Tanaya Singh…www.the better india .com

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Here’s How a Quick Thinking Doctor Saved an Asthmatic Kid’s Life on a Plane….

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When Dr. Guru heard that a child on-board a flight that he was in, was suffering an asthma attack, he quickly made an inhaler out of a plastic bottle. The makeshift instrument gave the much needed relief to the child in no time.

When a 2-year-old child suffered an asthma attack during a flight, thousands of feet in the air, his parents didn’t know what to do since they had accidentally packed his medication in their check-in luggage.

The inhaler available in the flight was for adults, and wasn’t of much use.

It could have been an extremely long and painful journey for the child, had it not been for a fellow passenger who quickly created a makeshift inhaler and saved his life. –

Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 11.18.15 am

The fellow passenger, on the Air Canada flight from Spain to the US, was Dr. Khurshid Guru – Director of Robotic Surgery at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in New York.

When he found out that the child needed immediate medical intervention, he got together a plastic water bottle, a cup, some tape and an oxygen tank to make an inhaler.

He basically converted an inhaler for adults into a paediatric nebuliser, a machine meant to deliver asthma medication by turning it into mist which can then be inhaled through a face mask or mouthpiece.

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He attached the adult inhaler to a hole in the bottle and added an oxygen mask through another opening he had made, so that the child could inhale both simultaneously. To make the instrument more convenient, Dr. Guru took a plastic cup and created a hole in it. He then mounted the cup on top of the bottle so that it could be held against the kid’s mouth and nose.

He asked the parents to keep the cup against the child’s mouth for some time, and half an hour later, his oxygen level was back to normal.

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Dr. Guru said that it is a wakeup call for all the families to keep such medical instruments with them at all times as you never know when the need might arise. The doctor has worked on several high-tech robots to treat patients in the past. –

All pics: Twitter

Source….Shreya Pareek

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When – Muslims Celebrate Eid Inside a Ganpati Pandal….

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Mumbai witnessed a commendable scene during the celebration of Bakra-Eid a few days back. In a country that celebrates some very diverse festivals of different religions, all on the same day, there is one place in the city which brought them together in an admirable manner.

In a step taken by the Seva Sangh Ganeshotsav Mandal in Colaba this Friday, many Muslim devotees were seen performing their prayers inside a Ganpati pandal.

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Source: Facebook 

Initially, people were praying outside the Madrassa Rahamatiya Talimul Quran mosque, which is located right next to the Ganpati pandal. The prayers began at 7 am, but due to lack of space inside the mosque, many people could not get place. When members of the Seva Sangh Ganeshotsav Mandal saw this, they invited them to the pandal so they could pray in peace.

This committee, which organizes Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations every year, has always been very unique and inspiring for people in the region.

“During Ramzan four years ago, which coincided with the Ganesh festival, we had allowed Eid prayers inside the pandal. It may be that some people find this surprising, but it is entirely normal for us. Hindus and Muslims have always lived in unity here. There is no discrimination. Hindus too participate in Muslim festivities”, Seva Sangh member Santosh Nayak told DNA.

The treasurer of the committee, which has 70 members, is a 25-year-old Muslim man named Mehfooz Khan. And 30 other members in the committee are also Muslims. According to the members, around 1,300 people performed their prayers inside the pandal, and with steps like these, they want to spread a strong message of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Kudos to their spirit of unity in diversity!

Source……..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

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‘டிஜிட்டல்’ தொழில்நுட்பத்தைப் பற்றி ‘ஒரு வரி’ யில் பேசி அசத்திய நரேந்திர மோடி…

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கூகுள் சி.இ.ஓ. சுந்தர் பிச்சையுடன் கைகுலுக்கும் பிரதமர் மோடி. | படம்: பிடிஐ.

கூகுள் சி.இ.ஓ. சுந்தர் பிச்சையுடன் கைகுலுக்கும் பிரதமர் மோடி. | படம்: பிடிஐ.

சிலிகான் வேலியில் பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடி பேசுகையில், ஒரு வரியில் எல்லோரும் கவரும் வகையில் டிஜிட்டல் தொழில்நுட்பம் பற்றி பல கருத்துகளை தெரிவித்தார். அதைக் கேட்டு பிரபல நிறுவன தலைமை செயல் அதிகாரிகள் (சிஇஓ) ஆச்சரியம் அடைந்தனர்.

* நீங்கள் விழித்திருக்கிறீர்களா, தூங்குகிறீர்களா என்பது இப்போது முக்கியமில்லை.

* நீங்கள் ஆன்லைனில் இருக்கிறீர்களா ஆப் லைனில் இருக்கிறீர்களா என்பது முக்கியம்.

அமெரிக்காவில் சுற்றுப்பயணம் மேற்கொண்டுள்ள பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடி சிலிக்கான் வேலியில் நேற்று நடந்த டிஜிட்டல் இந்தியா கூட்டத்தில் பேசினார். கூகுள், மைக்ரோசாப்ட், சிஸ்கோ உட்பட பல முன்னணி நிறுவனங்களைச் சேர்ந்த தலைமை செயல் அதிகாரிகள் உட்பட நூற்றுக்கணக்கானோர் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

அவர்கள் மத்தியில் மோடி பேசுகையில், டிஜிட்டல் தொழில்நுட்ப புரட்சி பற்றியும் அதன் பயன்கள் குறித்தும் பல கருத்துகளை ஒரு ஒரு வரியாக எல்லோரையும் கவரும் வகையில் குறிப்பிட்டார். அதன் விவரம் வருமாறு:

* உலகில் ஒவ்வொருவரின் வாழ்க்கை முறையையும் மாற்றியுள்ளது சிலிகான் வேலி.

* உங்களில் பலரை டெல்லி, நியூயார்க், முகநூல், ட்விட்டர், இன்ஸ்டாகிராம் ஆகியவற்றில் சந்தித்துள்ளேன்.

* முகநூல் உட்பட இவைதான் நமது உலகின் அண்டை வீட்டாராக உள்ளன.

* முகநூல் மட்டும் ஒரு நாடாக இருந்திருந்தால், அதுதான் மக்கள் தொகை அதிகம் கொண்ட 3-வது நாடாக இருந்திருக்கும்.

* கூகுள் ஆசிரியர்களை குறைத்துவிட்டது. மிகவும் விரும்பப்படுவதாக உள்ளது.

* ட்விட்டர் எல்லோரையும் நிருபர்களாக்கி உள்ளது.

* போக்குவரத்து விளக்குகள் வேலை செய்ய சிஸ்கோவின் ரவுட்டர்கள்தான் சிறந்தவை.

* நீங்கள் விழித்திருக்கிறீர்களா, தூங்குகிறீர்களா என்பது இப்போது முக்கியமில்லை.

* நீங்கள் ஆன்லைனில் இருக்கிறீர்களா ஆப் லைனில் இருக்கிறீர்களா என்பது முக்கியம்.

* நமது இளைஞர்களின் விவாதம் எல்லாம் ஆண்ட்ராய்டு, ஐஓஎஸ் அல்லது விண்டோஸ் பற்றியதாகவே உள்ளது.

* இவை எல்லாம் சிலிகான் வேலியில் உள்ள உங்களால்தான் சாத்தியமாகி இருக்கின்றன.

இவ்வாறு மோடி பேசினார்.

அவர் ஒவ்வொரு வரிகளாக சொல்லச் சொல்ல, பிரபல நிறுவனங்களின் அதிகாரிகள் ஆரவாரம் செய்து மகிழ்ச்சியை வெளிப்படுத்தினர்.

தன்னுடைய சொந்த வாழ்க்கையை உதாரணமாகக் கூறி, இந்தியாவில் உள்ள கிராம பெண்கள்கூட இப்போது தொழில்நுட்பத்தைப் பற்றி தெரிந்து வைத்துள்ளனர் என்று மோடி மகிழ்ச்சி தெரிவித்தார்.

மோடி மேலும் பேசுகையில் கூறியதாவது:

நீண்ட பயணம் செய்யாமல், சாகசம் செய்யாமல், சிறிய தீவில் உள்ளவர்களைக் கூட தொடர்பு கொள்ள டிஜிட்டல் தொழில்நுட்பம் உதவி உள்ளது. ஆப்பிரிக்காவில் இருந்து கொண்டு செல்போன் மூலம் பணத்தை வேறு ஒருவர் கணக்குக்கு மாற்ற முடிகிறது.

இந்தியாவில் குக்கிராமத்தில் உள்ள ஒரு தாய், தனக்கு பிறந்த குழந்தையை எளிதில் காப்பாற்ற முடிகிறது. குக்கிராமத்தில் உள்ள குழந்தை நல்ல கல்வியை பெற முடிகிறது. இவை எல்லாமே டிஜிட்டல் புரட்சியால்தான்.

சான் பிரான்சிஸ்கோவில் உள்ள ஒருவர், இந்தியாவில் உடல்நலம் இல்லாமல் உள்ள தனது பாட்டியுடன் தினமும் ஸ்கைப் மூலம் பேசி ஆறுதல் சொல்கிறார். விவசாயிகள் தங்கள் நிலத்தின் மதிப்பை அறிந்துகொள்ள முடிகிறது, மீனவர்கள் அதிக மீன்களைப் பிடிக்க முடிகிறது. ‘செல்பி வித் டாட்டர்’ என்ற தலைப்பில் தனது மகளுடன் புகைப்படம் எடுத்து ஹரியாணாவைச் சேர்ந்த தந்தை வெளியிடுகிறார். அதன் மூலம் அனைவரின் கவனத்தையும் கவர்ந்து விழிப்புணர்வு ஏற்படுத்த முடிகிறது.

இவை எல்லாமே சிலிகான் வேலியில் இருந்து கொண்டு நீங்கள் செய்யும் டிஜிட்டல் புரட்சியால்தான்.

இவ்வாறு மோடி பேசினார்.மோடியின் பேச்சைக் கேட்ட பிரபல நிறுவன அதிகாரிகள் ஆச்சரியமும் மகிழ்ச்சியும் அடைந்தனர்.

Source….www.tamil.thehindu.com

Natarajan