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Celebrating Yi's footprint across 34 cities in India

Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

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REPORT

Yi launched its 34th chapter in the country on 04 November 2014

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Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

Yi launched its 34th chapter in the country on 04 November 2014. It was an occasion for the young people of Salem and its vicinity to be part of an organisation like Young Indians and they did turn up in large numbers.

Speaking during the occasion, Srikant S, Immediate Past National Chairman of Yi spoke on the strength of Yi and his journey from being a member of the Yi Kochi chapter and then to become the National Chairman of the organisation. He said that the organisation has evolved over the last decade and said that it was the only organisation in its space in the country and that it will continue to play a larger role in the country. The experience of being part of Yi is something that one should experience and as someone that did, he said that Yi has given a person from Kochi a chance to lead a dynamic organisation.

‘Leading Yi is not only a position, but a large responsibility’ he said and went on to say that it was a peer organisation that gave him the best leadership experience of dealing with like minded people from around the country with different approaches to nation building, but a common passion for the organisation. “Today, I am proud to say that I have friends from around the country and know most of them by their first time. I can pick up a call and speak to someone in Guwahati, Delhi and Srinagar” he said and mentioned that this was the extensive reach of Yi. He also said that it was a wonderful feeling representing the country at global forums like the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance and the Commonwealth Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs.

Speaking in detail about the occasion, he said he had a personal connect with the city of Salem as his forefathers were from this region and that he felt emotionally attached. He called upon the youth of the region to come together in the name of Yi and play an active role in taking the progress of the nation forward.

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Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

Speaking after Srikant, K P Natarajan, Managing Director, K P N Travels India P Ltd and the Chief Guest for the occasion said that it was always a pleasure to be in the company of the youngsters. ‘Every time I see them, I see a lot of energy’ and something that was not prevalent during his times as the youth. “Organisations like Yi give you the opportunity to meet and network with like minded people and this is the biggest strength of this generation. You are all so open minded and willing to learn from each other. When I was growing up, such opportunities were rare” he said and called upon the youth to use such forums to speak with each other and take in the opinions of the others fro issues and challenges. He also mentioned that youth do not consult with each other and take unanimous decisions and therefore face hurdles as they proceed further.

Speaking briefly about his life and the journey, he said that he always had a fancy to buses and would admire them when they used to cross his village. He said that he launched his first bus in 1984 when such transport services were very rare – the first one was launched around the north of the state. He then gradually moved on to buy more buses and also expand his network in transporting goods between cities. As a very popular brand in this sector across the south, he said that one of the qualities that he had inculcated from his experience was to keep up time and be at the venue much in advance to the start of the event. He also said that customer satisfaction was one of the main reasons why he was able to be in business and run a successful one.

To a query on how he keeps his staff motivated, he mentioned that he gives them the freedom and also has created a system wherein the drivers come together and take the company forward – also quoting a few examples of appreciating their good work. Speaking earlier, Rajinikant, a visually challenged person came up to the dais and said that he was employed at KPN travels along with a few others with similar difficulties and wholeheartedly thanked Natarajan for his kind gesture. Natarajan took a cue of the demographic profile of the emerging young Indians and said that India was a nation of unlimited talent. “If this talent has exploited then he said that our perception of business has to change to meet global competition” he said. He gave number of examples of people who became successful entrepreneurs and stand today as inventors of global brands. This he said emerges from a deep desire to be an entrepreneur and a passion to be successful businessman in humourous way he quipped by saying it should not be ‘YI’ but why not ‘I’ only as entrepreneur.

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Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

T Karthikeyan, Chair, Yi (Erode Chapter) & Director, V Thangavel Sons Pvt Ltd said that he was very delighted to see a mixed gathering of entrepreneurs and students and others. He specifically thanked the tireless work done by Salem Yi chapters in making this program a big success by having more than 60 paid members at the time of launch. “As your closest chapter, we look forward to helping you and please do not hesitate to connect with us” he said and the experience of being part of Yi was a very unique one. “This organisation gives you an opportunity to display your creativity and passion into activities that impact the region first and the nation at large. We will have to keep in mind that we are part of a large network of chapters across the country and therefore it is our responsibility to keep the momentum going” he mentioned and also said that his chapter will reach a membership of around 100 members shortly. He also emphasized that it was important to keep the focus

straight and tune the passion of all the members towards a larger vision – and with the backing of the Confederation of Indian Industry, which is India’s largest business association, sky was the limit.

Post this, Srikant announced the name of V Aravinthan, Director, MSV Hospitality Consultants as the Founder Chair of Yi (Salem Chapter) and Pratheep Kumaran, Executive Director, SKS Group of Companies as the Co-Chair of the chapter. Aravinthan walked upto the dais and gave his acceptance speech. He also introduced the Executive Council of the chapter and also spoke about his experiences of being at the Leadership Academy of Yi which was held a few days before the launch at Bandipur.He also mentioned on the experience of connecting with the Co Chairs of other Yi chapters and that there was a lot of takeaway for him. ‘I also feel lucky that I have been able to attend this activity even before I took over as the Chair and that is a huge advantage for me. I am sure it will help me with my job as I start to work with the Salem chapter in the months to come’ he said. Both the Chair and Co Chair were formally welcomed in to Yi through a Yi lapel pin that was pinned on them by Srikant.

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Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

Post the formal session, an interaction with Tarunika Prathap was organised. This also happened to be the first learning session of the chapter immediately after the launch. Tarunika is one of the youngest sports person in the country having represented the country in rowing across the world. All of 17, she is the recipient of numerous medals for her achievements in sports. She has just finished her class 12 this year and took a year break to pursue her passion of Rowing. Tarunikha started rowing at the age of 12 at the Madras Boat Club. At the age of 13, she claimed the gold in the single sculls at the Sub-junior Nationals 2010, beating much more fancied opponents. She replied that performance the very next year in 2011 by claiming the gold again, creating a record of sorts with her back to back gold medals. In 2012, on the merit of

her own performance, she was invited to the National Coaching Camp of the Rowing Federation of India at Hyderabad. During August 2013, she represented India in the Junior Women’s Quadruple Sculls (JW4x) at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Trakai, Lithuania; during October 2013, she represented India in the Junior Women’s Coxless Fours (JW4-) at the 19th Asian Junior Rowing Championships in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and won the Silver Medal; In September 2014, she was at the 20th Asian Junior Rowing Championships in Yilan, Taipei, Taiwan and won the Bronze medal in the Junior Women’s Coxless Pairs (JW2-) and was placed 4th in the Junior Women’s Coxless Fours (JW4-) and in 2014, was at the 17th Asian Games at Incheon-Chungju, Korea in the Women’s Coxless Pairs (W2-). It is also creditable to mention that she was one of the youngest competitors in the entire Rowing Village in Chungju, Korea. This was a very lively session moderated by Srikant during which Tarunikha spoke about her journey and took questions.

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Launch of the Young Indians(Salem Chapter)

S Mohan and KMS Rajesh Kumar, Chairman and Vice Chairman of CII Salem District respectively were present during the occasion and inspired the members of Yi to think big and offered their support, as always. The session ended with a speed networking session between the members of Young Indians of the Salem chapter. Yi wishes the Salem chapter all success.