Canara Bank Chairman at the 92nd Founders’ Day of PSG
“25th January is an important day in the history of PSG Institutions. It is on this day that my grandfathers registered the deed for PSG & Sons’ Charities 92 years ago marking the beginning of the endeavor,” lauded L. Gopalakrishnan, Managing Trustee of PSG Group, while honoring six alumni of PSG who hailed from various institutions run by PSG Charitable Trust at its 92nd Founders’ Day.
Venkatapathy, Director of Prasanna Exports Pvt Ltd, G. Rajendran, Managing Director of CRI Pumps Pvt Ltd, R.Kumaravelu, Managing Partner of Aquasub Engineering Group of Companies, Ravi Sam, Managing Director of Adwaith Lakshmi Industries Limited, K. Shyam Sundar, Chief Executive Officer of Air India Express Limited and Dr. Swaytha Ganesh, Medical Director of Living Donor Liver Transplant were honored at the event.
While speaking on the occasion, the Managing Trustee said that most of the programmes and institutions of PSG were accredited by accrediting organizations and that the excellence of our institutions and the national recognition were due to the sterling professional performance of our alumni.
He said that the management had taken necessary steps to upgrade the infrastructure in various institutions. “The Management has made significant investment for improving the infrastructure of all the institutions. Our objective is to provide a good environment to learn and offer the necessary skills for robust professional development of students,” he added.
Chief Guest T.N.Manoharan, Chairman, Canara Bank, Bengaluru
“While I commend and applaud the visionary founders for establishing this great institution, I also appreciate the successive board of trustees and faculty for sustaining the growth & excellence of PSG group of institutions, rendering yeoman service, empowering youth and making a difference in their lives,” said T.N.Manoharan, Chairman, Canara Bank, Bengaluru in his special address.
He congratulated the awardees for achieving excellence in their respective fields. He said that there were three kinds of people who lived in the world–those who made wonders happen, those who watched wonders happen and those who wondered what happened.
“These 6 awardees belong to the first category, because they had made wonders happen and PSG institutions had produced many alumni of this caliber, imbibing discipline and gratitude,” he added.
Venkatapathy, Director, Prasanna Exports Pvt Ltd
“The importance of good education can never be overstated. I got this in PSG institutions,” said D. Venkatapathy, Director, Prasanna Exports Limited after receiving the Alumni of the Year Award. He thanked Padma Bhushan Kasturi Srinivasan for being his mentor throughout the course of his life. “It was he who had identified the passion in me when I could not see it myself. He saw my talent and nurtured me in such a way that I stand here today. Everyone needs such a mentor. I’m indeed lucky to have had him,” said Venkatapathy.
“When I came to study here, I wanted to craft and create a new life for myself. I imagined a different future, for which education was the only doorway and I got it from PSG,” he added and noted that the award was a statement of encouragement that he was on the right path.
Rajendran, Managing Director, CRI Pumps Pvt Ltd
“The late K.Gopal, my father, was acclaimed as one of the most sought after molders of the foundry industries during the early years. It is no surprise because my father as young lad had learnt his expertise in PSG Foundry as a molder,” recalled Rajendran stating that his relationship with PSG had started with his father. Rajendran calls himself a proud product of PSG, who holds two patents in his name and he is also one of the representatives of International Standards Organization (ISO) Technical Committee for Pumps.
“All these have become possible because of the qualities imbibed in my student days at PSG, such as culture, discipline, standards, the habit of benchmarking and exceeding the set target,” extolled Rajendran and thanked his teachers who introduced him to engineering technology and enabled him to face the challenges that shaped him to attain this level.
Kumaravelu, Managing Partner,Aquasub Engineering Group of Companies
Kumaravelu, Managing Partner, Aquasub Engineering Group of Companies thanked the PSG Trust for presenting him with the prestigious award. He said that PSG Trust had contributed enormously to society by offering quality education to a lot of people on a vast scale for decades.
“This is a great achievement, because social goals are not easy to achieve by individuals. But, Shri PS Govindaswamy Naidu and his progeny have done it setting a sterling example and are remembered with affection on this Founders’ Day,” said Kumaravelu who also recalled the role of Prof GR Damodran, who founded PSG College of Technology.
Ravi Sam, Managing Director, Adwaith Lakshmi Industries Limited
“My life got molded here for sure,” said Ravi Sam, Managing Director, Adwaith Lakshmi Industries Limited, who humorously remarked that after joining PSG he felt like coming back to India after being a part of a secluded Anglo-Indian school. “During my school days even London was closer than India due to the culture of the very Anglo Indian School that I studied in. But, landing in PSG I really looked at India” he said causing a smile among the audience.
Ravi Sam said that unlike his own family institutions, PSG started working on Corporate Social Responsibility long before the phrase was coined. “These families started giving back to the society from its first generations itself. Running our business is part of our regular deal, but giving back to the society is what we strongly feel about,” he added.
He requested the PSG Group to inform the students that “if it was not for Shri PS Govindaswamy Naidu giving back to society, none of us would have made it here. So, we should continue to give back to society and to our country,” noted Ravi Sam.
Shyam Sundar, CEO, Air India Express Ltd
Getting the Outstanding Alumni Award of PSG Institute is the pleasantest surprise that I have had in many years, says K. Shyam Sundar, who did his management studies in PSG Institute of Management and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Air India Express Limited.
“I consider myself extremely lucky because I had been a part of a batch of 30 students, each one of whom was outstanding in his own way. Some of them have achieved even more than I have. So, it is special,” he said and felt overwhelmed to see the rapid growth of the institution over the years and the amount of prosperity it has spread.
Dr. Swaytha Ganesh, Medical Director of Living Donor Liver Transplant, USA
This prestigious institution has proudly created several thousand leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering, Business, Arts, Medicine and Innovative Research, who is spread across the globe, says Dr. Swaytha Ganesh, Medical Director of Living Donor Liver Transplant, University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, USA.
“It is absolutely a privilege to receive this award, recognition from highly enlightened people. I’m humbled and honored all at the same time,” said Swaytha. She also mentioned that the foundations of her career were laid in PSG IMS&R way back in 1992, undoubtedly. “I wouldn’t be here without the excellent education I had here and the lessons that I had learnt within and beyond the classrooms in those precious years,” she said and thanked her faculty and mentors for it. Swaytha also expressed her gratitude stating that the late GV Duraisamy Naidu was a mentor who had been a great influence in her education and life.