Fact Box - 9 (Capt. Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath)

It is the same time again when everyone of us talks about elections, Its imlications, repercussions, Goverment and Politics. When i heard the news that besides the regular contenders and champions of different communities (castes), there are few who are contesting for country. It remains to be seen, wheteher they are truly in battle for the country and for being the change they want to see, or just the rhetoric and gimmick to win and rule.

So i heard that Capt. Gopinath is contesting from Suth Bangalore as an independent candidiate. I realized that in my Fact Box series, i didnt post anything form quite sometime. So what better time than this wud be to post his fact box. More so when i got a piece in her own penned down article.

excerpts for you...

Vital Statistics

Spouse	Bhargavi Gopinath
Children	2 daughters: Pallavi and Krithika.
Residence	Bangalore

Education
 I was born in a small village called Gorur in Hassan district of Karnataka. My father was a poor school teacher and a farmer as well. I went to a Kannada-medium school till Class V after which I was selected at the Sainik School in Bijapur which had just been set up to cater to students in Karnataka. Incidentally, I failed the first time I appeared for the entrance exam as the paper was in English of which I did not know a word. My headmaster, however, was a very determined man and he wrote to the defence ministry asking them how they hoped to recruit boys from villages in South India if the paper was held in English and not in their mother tongue. I was able to appear again for the exam, this time in Kannada and that's how I got selected.
Career Highlights
Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath is considered the father of low-cost airlines in India. He was born in a village in Hassan district of Karnataka. A graduate from the National Defence Academy and Indian Military Academy, he served in the Indian Army for 8 years. He started commercial helicopter service in 1996. Understanding the needs of this segment, Capt Gopinath decided to start Air Deccan, the first low-cost, no-frills airline of India in August 2003. The French government has bestowed the award of Chevalier de la legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) on Capt G.R Gopinath. He is also the recipient of several awards such as the ‘Rajyotsava Award’ by the Government of Karnataka, ‘Personality of the Decade Award’ instituted by KG Foundation , ‘Editors Choice Award’ by the Indian Express Trade and Tourism Awards and “Sir M Visvesvaraya Memorial Award” by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry. Captain Gopinath is contesting the Lok Sabha polls as an Independent from Bangalore South Constituency.

Fast Facts

After completing school, I got selected to the NDA (National Defence Academy) and went on to be commissioned in the Indian Army where I spent the next eight years and fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war. I quit the Army to come back to my village and take up farming. I got into sericulture and eco-farming. Later, I set up Deccan Charter, India's first private helicopter charter company which was followed by India's first low-cost airline Air Deccan. My dream was to have an inclusive India with equitable growth for which connectivity was crucial.

I have been involved in different enterprises, in different fields and have managed to build meaningful businesses which contributed to nation-building. Over the past two decades, I have been a critic of several Government policies and systems and have worked with successive Governments on policy for reforms and progressive measures, particularly in the aviation sector.