November 11, 2024

-

Premium

HIGH FLYERS

Mapping and surveillance. With demand for UAVs expected to see robust growth this decade, the co-founders believe that they are poised to tap into opportunities for new civil and defence applications, including developing a `Drone as a Service' (DaaS) model ALL IS WELL The early prototype of ideaForge's quadrotor helicopter was featured in the 2009 Bollywood hit 3 Idiots. Today, 75 per cent of its revenue comes from the defence sector and its order book stands at Rs 125 crore

THE GAME CHANGERS

NSPORTS, AS in life, highs and lows are part of the package. For I the disappointment of the ODI World Cup final last November, there was the sterling victory in the T20 World Cup this June, a grand moment of redemption for many who were part of the earlier misadventure. In this year's celebration of our country's best and brightest in sport, we have more than a few who have gone through such trials by fire and come out shining bright. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and teammate Virat Kohli, two giants of our cricketing world, more than redeemed themselves in the Barbados final as did Suryakumar Yadav, who every day seems to revel at making the impos- sible look normal with his batting. Looking away from the cricket pitch, this was not an easy year for our Olympians. Many of our star hopefuls slipped and fell, but here again redemption was the key word. Pistol queen Manu Bhaker made up for Tokyo with not one but two medals. India's hockey team looked good enough for gold, but finally settled for bronze. Captain Harmanpreet Singh had an outsize role in the win, and his 10 goals in the tournament are only part of that storyIn other arenas, the young are taking on the world. International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah, the youngest to serve in the high chair at 35, and D. Gukesh, all of 18 and already a World Chess Championship challenger, are proof again that India's sports future is in safe hands.