Woman co-pilot of crashed Coast Guard chopper dead
Mumbai: An injured woman co-pilot of an Indian Coast Guard helicopter which had crash landed in Raigad on March 10, has succumbed to her injuries, an official said here on Wednesday.
Hailing from Haryana, Assistant Commandant, Capt. Penny Chaudhary, was on life support system after she sustained severe trauma injuries, and breathed her last on Tuesday evening at the INHS Asvini naval hospital, said Indian Coast Guard spokesperson Commandant Avinandan Mitra.
She suffered head injuries coupled with internal bleeding after a Coast Guard helicopter crashed near Murud in Raigad in Maharashtra, 18 days ago and the rotor hit her head.
At that time, before it developed a technical snag, the ill-fated chopper was on a routine sortie with four people on board, including Deputy Commandant Balwinder Singh, Asst. Commandant Penny Chaudhary and two divers.
Using sheer presence of mind and professionalism, she manoeuvred the chopper away from a populated area of Murud town, to make a safe landing in a rocky portion of the beach.
Not only did she save the lives of the other crew members on board, but also averted what could have been potential disaster if the chopper had crashed on the populated regions of Murud, famed for its beaches, seafood, forts and resorts.
Though she managed to escape from the crashed chopper, she was hit on her helmet by the slow-moving rotor blade soon after it landed on the rocky Nadagram beach.
A native of Karnal in Haryana, Chaudhary had joined the ICG in December 2013 and recorded 555 hours of flying to her credit.
"She was a brilliant, soft-spoken officer, who was popular among her colleagues for her professionalism and social conduct. The young officer will be deeply remembered for by the ICG fraternity for her commendable devotion to duty and selfless service towards the nation," said Mitra in a tribute.
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Binny Bansal steps down from board of PhonePe
New Delhi, Nov 22: Flipkart's co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down from the board of PhonePe, the fintech company said on Friday.
PhonePe also announced the appointment of Manish Sabharwal as an Independent Director and Chair of its Audit Committee.
In this role, Sabharwal will be instrumental in upholding the integrity and effectiveness of PhonePe's financial reporting, internal controls, and risk management practices, he company said in a release.
"PhonePe also announced that Flipkart's co-founder, Binny Bansal has stepped down from its Board of Directors. Binny acquired PhonePe in 2016 and has been on its Board since then," the release said.
Commenting on the board rejig, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe said, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of PhonePe's earliest and staunchest supporters. His active engagement, strategic guidance, and personal mentorship have profoundly enriched our discussions. Binny will be missed!"
Nigam further said that Sabharwal's depth of understanding of India's macro economy, coupled with his leadership in shaping India's policies for education, employment, and employability will be invaluable as PhonePe continues to work ahead towards shared vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Sabharwal is Vice-Chairman of Teamlease Services, India's largest staffing and human capital firm.
Bansal played an instrumental role in Flipkart's acquisition of PhonePe way back in 2016 and had been on its board since then (the payments firm separated from Flipkart in 2022).
