1. Do your
best today
Friends, I would like to share
with you a great message
given by my teacher from
Kalidasa's Shakuntalam w w w . a b d u l k a l a m . c o m
2000 years ago.
Look to this day!
NOVEMBER 28, 2007 T H E P U L S E O F I N D I A
For it is life, the very life
of life.
In its brief course Climbing to the top demands strength,
Lie all the verities and whether it is to the top of Mount Everest
realities of your existence;
or to the top of your career.
The bliss of growth IT’S POSSIBLE
The glory of action
16,400 LIVES SAVED
Splendor of achievement,
For yesterday is but a
dream
And tomorrow is only a
vision,
But today well lived,
makes every yesterday a
dream of happiness
And tomorrow a vision of
EMRI becomes a life-line for thousands
hope. By Anantha Krishnan M
THE STORY SO FAR
Look well, therefore to
this day! W
Well,
hat better human service can
one do than saving lives?
that's exactly what
Saved 16,400 lives
Received 5,84,000 emergency calls
Such is the salutation to
the dawn. Hyderabad-based Emergency out of 7.8 million calls
Management and Research 95% calls answered in two rings
Every day is very important
Institute (EMRI) has been doing for Types of emergencies (Medical:
in a student's life. If you do
the best today, you will har- the last two years. And, as this 94%, Police: 5%; Fire: 1%)
piece goes on to the web, EMRI has Ramalinga Raju Venkat Changavalli Types of Medical emergencies:
vest the best.
so far saved 16,400 lives and still optimize response time. "It is the Injuries - 34%, Pregnancy - 17%,
Next, you should also build counting. Thanks to the vision of empathy that the ambulance crew Suicide/Poisoning - 6% Cardiac -
confidence. When I was in Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, founder and and the staff including medical 4%, Respiratory - 3%, Stroke - 5%,
the 5th standard, many of Chairman of Satyam Computers personnel at the call centre exhibit Animal Bite - 3
us used to get less than 40 and Mr Venkat Changavalli, CEO, that translates into a rush of joy Average time taken to reach hospital
marks in mathematics. My EMRI, today the movement has every day after successful comple- from the time of call - 38 minutes
maths teacher evolved a become a life-line for thousands of tion of a call," he added.
method of teaching and cre- accident victims. Care: Emergency Medical
ation of confidence for the HOW IT WORKS?
This Emergency Response Technician (EMT) provides pre-
whole class. He conducted Emergency victim/helper dials hospital care while transporting
a class and gave us an exer- Service operates via a toll-free 108.
number 108. "EMRI is a non-prof- patient/victim to appropriate
cise of 10 problems. In that hospital for stabilization.
it organization and has the distinc- Sense: Communication Officer
exercise, more than 90% of
tion of being India's largest (CO) collects facts, Dispatch Emergency Response Centre
the class including me, got
provider of free pre-hospital care Officer (DO) scopes emergency Physician (ERCP) supports CO,
100 out of 100. That day
under the public-private partner- and assigns strategically located DO, EMT, patient and hospital
onwards our mathematics vehicle (ambulance/police/fire)
performance improved. ship mode. We are currently oper- admission.
Only after a few years we ating in Andhra Pradesh and Reach: Vehicle(s) reach the site EMRI swears by its values which
realized that our teacher Gujarat and are all set to expand within short notice. are: involving people, applying
injected confidence in us, to nationally very soon," Mr Venkat knowledge and making things
feel that "I can do it". Changavalli told billion beats. JOIN THE PARTY happen.
To succeed in life each of "The process of Sense, Reach and Have a success story to share? Its vision: To provide leadership
you has to cultivate the con- Care is a novel approach to rapid- An inspiration that can be and to respond to one million calls
fidence that "I can do it", ly provide pre-hospital care to imbibed? We welcome short a day, and to save one million
then the nation will build those in need. Technology and contributions from you along lives a year nationally by 2010. All
the confidence that "we can empathy form the cornerstone of with a passport-size photo, this, meeting global standards in
do it". the service," Mr Venkat said. complete name, mailing address Emergency Management and
Technology enables the caller to and phone number. Write in at Research and Training.
access the toll-free number unhin- billionbeats@gmail.com Team billion beats will bring
dered and also provides informa- you updates on this noble mission.
tion regarding the location of the Visit http://www.emri.in for more
caller and the field ambulance to THIS IS A 3-PAGE ISSUE details.
I want a corruption-free India
I least shocked to find India ranked 88thsurveyedlist159
INDIA OF MY DREAMS
was in the of
corrupt countries (according to the TI 2005
Corruption Perceptions Index which
countries published in ManoramaYearbook 2007).
Corruption, which is no less than a social evil like Sati,
has no place in the India of My Dreams. And to make
this dream a reality, corruption has to be removed soon.
Although it looks quite tough, I believe that this can be achieved
with the help of youth.
One important step towards removing corruption is the new
Political Science (Class XI and X) syllabus of NCERT and I am
glad that this will ensure at least a corruption-free future work-
force. Further, corrupt people must be exposed, which has been
done beautifully in the above mentioned textbooks.
Shaumik Daityari, Class 10, Delhi Public School, Duliajan, Assam
Dr Kalam interacts with over a lakh of youngsters during ‘Lead India 2020
Movement’ at Karim Nagar in Andhra Pradesh on November 14. The India of My Dreams is open to schoolchildren. Shoot off your thoughts
new e-paper billion beats was also launched on the occasion. along with a passport-size photograph to: billionbeats@gmail.com

2. S U C C E S S U N L I M I T E D NOVEMBER 28, 2007
Spreading Bangalore sunshine in Salzburg
By Vinaya Hegde D A R L I I N G O N A I R S ET T O S T O R M by the India Radio Forum as the best English
RJ in the entire country. She was also among
M ornings in BangaloreRadioa lovely andFM
are
lacy wisps of fog, hot filter coffee
Vasanthi Hariprakash of
mix of
City 91.1
RJ
Y O U N G G LO B A L L E A D E R S ’ M E ET the four RJs chosen by her organization for a
study tour in London to study best practices
in the UK radio world.
wishing you an exuberant Good Morning on
her breakfast show Good Morning, Bangalore. With being constantly told she's the best in
the profession, how does she guard against a
Bangalore's Sunshine Girl (yes, that's what sense of déjà vu, of having been there, done
she's been dubbed for cheering up the city that, of feeling, 'I've achieved it all… now
every morning) will be spreading some of what?' Vasanthi quickly waves this thought
this sunshine in Salzburg, Austria in the first away with a "Oh no! I am constantly critical
week of December: She is the only Indian of myself. And I am constantly competing
among the 50-odd young achievers chosen against myself since I don't measure myself
from across the globe for the 'Salzburg against anyone. That way, there is no room
Young Global Leaders’ Summit' which aims for complacency."
"to envision how the world should look by
2030". Like her namesake Basanti of Sholay,
Vasanthi is a chatterbox. But is she ever at a
"I am grateful to journalist Sakuntala loss for words? "Oh yes," she says. "When
Narasimhan for mentoring me for the semi- there's admiration on air. When a listener
nar. I am both humbled and thrilled… I will gushes over you, you really don't know
hopefully make India proud," says Vasanthi. what to say without sounding conceited or
Vasanthi, adjudged best english RJ in India, works
Vasanthi, who was a mainstream journalist for Radio City 91.1 FM. cold…"
(Chief Sub-Editor with the Indian Express What is the source of her (by now leg-
Group, Bangalore) strayed into the world of world around her. She has the power to endary!) energy? "Simple: I love what I do. I
radio quite by accident. She walked into the mould the opinion of over 2 million listeners get a thrill out of it every single day."
Radio City studios as a guest: as the through her radio show. Her unique style of
Bangalore co-ordinator of the Network of anchoring has helped her connect one-to-one Considering that a day has only 24 hours,
Women in Media, India (NWMI), she was with the cosmopolitan crowd of Bangalore how does she cope with an early morning
being interviewed on World Press Freedom and has lent dignity to the show." show, home life and a hectic social life? "My
Day. Not long after that, she found herself on mother Vaidehi, husband Hariprakash and
the other side of the mike, so to speak, in the It was therefore no surprise when she won 10-year-old son Aniruddh Kaushik take care
same studios! A short stint at freelance RJ-ing the latest award for Radio Excellence given of the home front," she grins. "The rest is
at AIR helped. easy. And all the technology around has
I listen to Vasanthi’s shows whenev- made life easier."
Among her fans is Mr N. R. Narayana
Where does she see herself a few years from
Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys. Says Mr er I can. I notice that she has a now? Vasanthi is philosophic. "I had never
Murthy: "I listen to her shows whenever I genuine desire to make a difference
can. I observe that even on a busy primetime dreamt that I would come this far. And I
radio show, she has created spaces to intro- to the world around her. She has don't know where the Power Above will take
me. All I know is that there is Someone up
duce topics of relevance such as consumer the power to mould the opinion of over above there, holding my hand, showing me
issues, women's health issues and social con-
cerns such as opportunities to care for under-
2 million listeners through her radio show. the way." Amen.
privileged children. I notice that she has a N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys Vasanthi can be contacted at
genuine desire to make a difference to the vasanthih@myradiocity.com
MOON WALK
T he moonfeelingcuriosityand
gered a
has always trig-
evoked a sense of
of awe
sters to get involved in funda-
mental research. Those partici-
pating in the moon mission will
among people all over the world, find it intellectually rewarding.
particularly Indians. In April In the US, during the Apollo
2008, it will not be the same lunar mission between 1969 and
moonrise over India. At night, 1972, students' scores in maths
when the people of this country
look at the sky and observe our S PA C E TA L K and physics shot up and many
took up science courses. This is
closest satellite, it will be with a By Srinivas Laxman what the government of India
sense of pride; the reason — hopes to achieve through the
India will hopefully be on the Space Talk will be a regular feature capturing
success stories from the skies. Aimed at creating Indian moon mission.
moon joining the US and Russia.
An Indian orbiter will be flying awareness on our space programmes amongst The Indian lunar programme is
around the moon at an altitude youngsters, you can make this column interactive and expected to provide an impetus
of 100 km above the lunar sur- update yourselves on the latest happenings out there. for more ambitious planetary
face, and what more a 29-kg explorations. On November 16,
instrument known as the moon time between the earth and the the six foreign payloads, two are an Indian mission to Mars was
impact probe — an idea suggest- moon will be about a fortnight. from NASA, three from the incorporated into ISRO's 11th
ed by former President A.P.J. During take-off the weight of the European Space Agency and one plan.
Abdul Kalam —would have spacecraft will be 1304 kg and from Bulgaria. The mission will ISRO officials say that India just
landed on the moon. the rocket will be an upgraded attempt to locate water and iden- cannot afford to lag behind in
India's much awaited maiden version of the highly-proven tify Helium-3, which if mined the race to the moon, considering
voyage to the moon, designated four-stage Polar Satellite Launch and brought to earth, can pro- that Japan and China have
as 'Chandrayaan-1', was Vehicle. vide electricity for several years. already launched lunar missions.
announced by former Prime Critics of the prestigious moon The data from the lunar orbiter In fact by 2020, both of them
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee mission repeatedly ask why a will be first relayed to the newly- hope to embark on a manned
during his independence day poor country like India should established Deep Space Network, mission. ISRO Chairman G.
address from the ramparts of the go to the moon when Russia, the off the Bangalore-Mysore high- Madhavan Nair, has been quoted
Red Fort on August 15 2003, and US and Europe have already way in a tiny village called as saying that the space agency
was given the green signal by the landed on the lunar surface. The Byalalu. From here it will be will initiate feasibility about a
government in November 2003. answer is that 'Chandrayaan-1', transmitted to ISRO's telemetry, human landing on the moon by
In Sanskrit 'Chandrayaan' means will carry out scientific studies tracking and command centre at India towards the end of 2008.
moon craft. The man who has on those areas which have so far Bangalore. The scientific data 'Chandrayaan-1' will be followed
been entrusted with the challeng- not been examined either by the will be given for analysis to the by 'Chandrayaan-2', in 2011-2012.
ing task of taking India to the US or Russia. If it succeeds it is Indian Space Science Data Centre This will carry a rover which is
moon is very humble person, sure to be rated as one of the which is located at the command
to be jointly developed by India
Mylaswamy Annadurai. greatest scientific achievements centre.
and Russia.
The mission is slated for lift off of India, making every true According to the Indian Space
either on April 9 or April 23, Indian proud of this nation. Research Organisation, the Rs The writer is a Special Correspondent
2008 from the Satish Dhawan The primary role of 386-crore project will provide a with The Times of India, Mumbai
Space Centre, Sriharikota. 'Chandrayaan-1', is scientific lot of opportunities to the and is the author of the book Dr
During launch, the distance study of the moon with the help younger generation as it will Abdul Kalam: Dreams to Reality.
between the earth and the moon of 11 instruments —six from give a strong thrust to basic sci- You can reach him at:
will be three lakh km. The flying abroad and five from India. Of ence and also encourage young- moonmission.srinivas@gmail.com

3. Y O U R P A G E NOVEMBER 28, 2007
I think Dr Kalam's brain is becoming younger as his body
GREAT RESPONSE TO E-PAPER
is getting older! I like his innovative ideas which inspire young
Indians to think and act in positively. I hope billion beats will
imprint the positive image of our great country on young
Indian brains unlike other news papers.
Billion Beats Salam India,
A nation of billion brilliance,
- Dr. K. Prahlad Rao Beats in unison for a want.
As an idea this epaper is fantastic. In terms of implementa-
tion, I think there is a lot that needs to be done. Internet pene-
tration in our country, especially broadband is very low. So this
Desire to guide and be guided,
Desire to flourish, and, be cherished.
“Dream India”, summoned the voice,
we heard your
billion beats...
epaper is not going to reach millions who should be reading it,
especially if this is to be a vehicle to help bridge the urban- “Dare to dream”, is now your choice.
rural divide. You have to find ways to deliver physical copies to Dreams are latent visions, of today…
a majority. Secondly, language is key. Even as an epaper, there Let’s awaken dreams, for tomorrow.
is merit in translating it into other languages. A network (social, May your dreams be your vision, By Anantha Krishnan M & V. Ponraj
physical, educational) has to be created that will ensure that
May your vision be your mission,
this publication reaches the relevant audiences. Sure, all this
will cost and you might have to seek sponsorships. May your mission remain your vision.
May your vision inspire your reason.
O ne email every minute. Every mail
packed with thoughts on taking India
forward. From the time billion beats went
- Milind
I am thoroughly impressed with billion beats. I am a Billion beats nurtures the vision, live on www.abdulkalam.com it has been
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon. I was the Former Head Annunciating unsung heroes is the mission. an avalanche of email to our ID: billion-
and Additional Professor of the Department of Paediatric Chronicle to read and comprehend, beats@gmail.com.
Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Institute of Child Health and Comprehend to inspire and be inspired. To be honest to lakhs of our readers
Hospital for Children which is the largest children's hospital in online, we are still struggling to find a
South East Asia. Now I am the Head of the Department of mechanism to sift through all the emails.
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at K J Hospital Research So, what did India write? Well, India
and Postgraduate Centre, Chennai. Reading through billion wrote with delight, pain, happiness, disap-
beats, I was filled with hopes for a better India. My only regret Deepa Govind hails pointment and hope. And, we at billion
is that I am not in my schooldays. Yet I have the satisfaction from Chennai and is beats are keen to latch on to your hopes and
that I belong to the era of an India soon after its independence, a Virtual Assistant. take this mission forward.
its great men, its tribulations and sorrows and, its growth in
spite of all. It is intensely gladdening to see that we have a While we are overwhelmed by the
leader again who can harness the magnificent power of the response that we received in the last two
youth of India. Do we also have a role in this onward march? weeks, it’s also a huge responsibility thrust
- Dr P S Sreemathi This will give a proper platform to youth to utilize their tal- upon us. A responsibility to be part of your
ents as well as to realize dreams. It is good that you have not dreams. Your voice. Your hope. Finally, we
Today's youth spend a lot of their time on social networking
given any place for politics, crime and negative stories. all head towards the same destination -- a
sites. May I suggest that you upgrade your site with blogs,
- Hridayananda Gogoi
developed and self-sufficient nation that
wikis and chat. This will be a great platform for youth to inter-
celebrates the success of every Indian.
act on issues of national importance. Please program your My suggestion is to circulate hard copies of billion beats to
software to "auto-e-mail" the e-paper to all MPs and MLAs. villages in India. India's villages should have a taste of these An email urged team billion beats to mail
- Dr. Shankara Prasad success stories and be inspired by them. Then we can see copies to politicians so that they become
billion beats was the best gift for the young generation on Vision 2020 very soon. aware of what’s happening in the country.
Nov 14. I wish it would reach each and every youngster, cut- - Vijay Kumar Duvvada But then, our aim is not to take on the system
ting across caste, creed and geographical boundaries. But I or its administrators. We are and we shall
I am a student of BE III year of Instrumentation Engg from
am sorry for those who don't have Net facility. the Institute of Technology & Management, Gwalior. I am very
remain a platform that will portray the bil-
happy to see such an e-paper in our motherland with so much
lion faces of India. Their strengths and suc-
- Ila Sengupta
of motivation and dedication for us youth. India is country of
cess stories will be the fodder for billion
I suggest you ask school and college principals to make
vast richness of culture and tradition. We have also produced
beats.
billion beats a compulsory read in their institutions. Jai Hind.
- Varun Yadav so many science wonders as well, for example Eka, the super Through this initiative we aim to create
computer developed by the Tata group, which is the fastest in networks between people. We will make
I thought true newspapers are just a mirage of mind. Fake,
Asia and fourth fastest in the whole world. But India and some people talk and meet. We will make people
impossible and hard to find. But after I read billion beats I tend
to believe that heart exists in real and beats in me. My deep of the parts of India are defamed. This not because of any out- react and express. We will make people
regards for the one who has given such a noble thought and sider, rather this is due to us only. How can we expect any contribute tirelessly to make India a power
evolved India's first youth motivating newspaper. outsider to respect our motherland if we do not respect it? No to reckon with. It’s a huge challenge. But
outsider will make this country developed; it is our pious duty fear not the challenge, as challenge often
- Amrita Nawal
to make this country developed and prosperous. gifts failure and failure often gives birth to
Awesome e-paper! I hope it expands to more than one seeds of success. And, success seals
- Rishu Anand
page and a complementary copy is delivered to all our MPs strength. Through strength you grow, and
and MLAs (and it be made sure that they read it!) when you grow the Nation moves.
- Saurav Ghoshal
Ever since billion beats hit the web, a
When Dr Kalam's tenure as President of India came to an
cross-section of Indians who have excelled
end I was very upset as I felt my connectivity with a great
in various fields have got in touch asking us
visionary had come to an end. With billion beats it feels like
how they can join this new initiative. It’s
the flow of blood which had stopped has started again.
virtually impossible for us to reply to all. At
- Rita Som the same time we are keen to hold the bold
It's a great idea. But please make sure it's circulated to billion together.
grass-roots level as well. Let real India read it. It can be a vital
tool for making India a world power by 2020. It will be a good idea to form network
groups of scientists, students, IT profes-
- Himanshu Jagga
sionals, engineers, teachers, agriculturists,
Live for oneself, one's neighbourhood and for the whole musicians, journalists, artists, performing
country, and see how we lead the world. artistes, sports stars and the like. You can
- Archana use billion beats to give shape to this idea.
Schoolkids who are exposed to the internet, should be Once specific network groups are formed,
guided to acquire useful knowledge instead of simply brows- we could think of Plan-B.
ing the Net and playing games. I hope billion beats will help. Hope you all have taken note of the catch-
- K.Sairam This sketch was emailed to us by Vasantha line of billion beats. The catchline is: It’s
It is indeed great to have a newspaper bereft of any ugly and Hosabettu, a freelance caricaturist. Contributions Possible.
unpleasant news. Could you add a 'subscribe' suffix to it so that from artists on non-political subjects It’s your paper. And, YOU take the call.
the paper automatically lands in the mailbox if we subscribe? of national interest are welcome. (billionbeats@gmail.com)
- Prashant Sonwaney
billion beats is designed and uplinked to www.abdulkalam.com from Bangalore every fortnight. Chief Editor Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, National Affairs Editor Anantha Krishnan M,
Content Editor V. Ponraj, Copy Curator Vinaya Hegde, Data Coordinator Neelima V, Creative DesignV. Jayaprakash, Stills Robert, INSPIRATION The Bold Billion