The Lighthouse. The passport the common bond. After acknowledging the. the Reason for their Smile

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1 Edition No.11 5 Pages The Lighthouse Bulletin of The Rotary Club of Madras The passport the common bond After acknowledging the gathering, Mr Ashok Babu, IFS said that one common bond which all of us share in this forum is having a passport. Mr Babu informed that till 2012, the progress made in the passport sector was very little. Even though we came up with more passport offices, we were still following the old British procedures. Things started changing after 1991, when India became more independent in terms of having an open policy, more investments coming in and moreover many Indians travelling worldwide and hence there was a big jump in the number of passports issued, Mr Babu said. Mr Babu pointed out that also the entry of many IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS etc had made the scenario challenging. So the main motivation of bringing IT into any walk of life was due to the efficiency, transparency, speed and accountability it brought in. The main aspect is that we can access information easily at any point of time. Obviously, IT was brought into the Government offices too, and in 2006, the then Govt started the National E-Governance plan. They identified specific projects which could be funded with this plan and the passport office was the Reason for their Smile Wherein our fellow Rotarians and Spouses share their happy moments of this week. Happiness is people and the simplest of moments gives us joy. Madhura, Spouse of Rtn. Ganesh Ananthakrishnan, shares her happy moment of the week with us: An insight into the passport process and its future developments by Mr. Ashok Babu, IFS, Regional Passport Officer, Chennai... one of them. From 2008, TCS was roped in as our IT partner, and are the backbone, as they run the basic facilitation of the process. In 2010,this was launched in Bangalore, Chandigarh and slowly the project was implemented all over India. In 2012, this was done in Chennai. The process and documentation was the same but the way it is done is different. The entire process was reengineered and made more transparent and simpler and making all involved accountable namely the staff, police, etc. Online registration was introduced which helped public to know at what stage the passport is, and if the documentation is perfect, the entire process is completed within 45 minutes. Earlier the applicant was kept in suspense about the process carried but now from the documentation, police verification, dispatch are all transparent and simplified. Another initiative is the introduction of the computerized queue management, specially for the senior citizens, ladies, infants for quicker processing Currently an App has been developed to know the exact date of the police verification which will be implemented in Tamilnadu soon. One big variable that we are closely trying to monitor is the role of agents, and since the passport system is robust, any wrong/misdoings can be tracked within no time. Mr Babu requested everyone to approach the passport office directly for any queries. Since there is always a space for improvement, he welcomed suggestions from the floor for betterment of the service. Then Mr. Babu took questions from the floor and shared his experiences while posted in West Asian countries. Editing courtesy: Rtn. Mohan Raman It was unexpected work that took me to the US early this week. I was really happy since it was not just work, it meant that I could visit my daughter Ananya who studies in the US. For me, that was the highlight of this week and the weeks to come. PRESIDENT Rtn. P. N. Mohan Honorary SECRETARY Rtn. Nikhil Raj IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Rtn. Dr. N.V. Arulmozhi Varman PRESIDENT ELECT Rtn. Ranjit Pratap PRESIDENT NOMINEE Rtn. Dr. Vjaya Bharathi Rangarajan Asst. SECRETARY / BULLETIN EDITOR Rtn. Sandhya Sridhar DIRECTOR CLUB ADMINISTRATION Rtn. R. Rajenderan DIRECTOR YOUTH SERVICE Rtn. M Sesha Sai DIRECTOR PUBLIC IMAGE AND FUND RAISING Rtn. Vikram Chesetty DIRECTOR ROTARY FOUNDATION & INTERNATIONAL SERVICES Rtn. M. Balasubramaniam DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 1 Rtn. Balaji Chinni DIRECTOR SERVICE PROJECT 2 Rtn. Usha Umapathi DIRECTOR VOCATIONAL SERVICE Rtn. S. Ravi TREASURER (CLUB FUNDS) Rtn. Hemant P. Chordia TREASURER (CHARITABLE TRUST) Rtn. Nimish C. Tolia TREASURER (SPECIAL PROJECTS) Rtn. Prabha Srinivasan

2 2page MINUTES September 12, 2017 Sgt-at-Arms IPP Dr, Arulmozhi Varman collared President Rtn PN Mohan, who called the 11th meeting of RCM to order. The Rotary invocation song was played. The minutes of the 5th Sept 17 was duly confirmed. President welcomed Probus Club members, R. Ramakrishnan and Sadagopan, spouses, guests introduced by members, Rotaractors from Rotaract Club of Chennai. President extended birthday and wedding anniversary wishes to the respective Rotarians/spouses celebrating that week and thanked them for their sunshine. The Dandiya teaser was screened. Rtn Vikram Chesetty, Director, Fund Raising said that this year Dandiya will be a rocking one and that great fellowship brings out the best in Rotarians. He thanked members for their contribution in getting sponsors and buying tickets. He said that at this year s Dandiya, the RCM will be raising the bar still higher with great music, food, scintillating prizes and entertainment. He requested those who are yet to buy tickets to do so and join the fun-filled evening in large numbers and witness Rotary at its best. President applauded the great job done by the Dandiya committee. Rtn Anil Srinivasan informed members that 21st Oct 17 is an important day for RCM as it is an occasion of a huge fund raiser at Music Academy. RCM in association with the Sivaji Ganesan family will celebrate the 90th birth anniversary of Shri. Sivaji Ganesan, with a musical program. 9 singers from the film fraternity and actor Kamal Hassan will also be performing on stage. He requested members to buy tickets and invited everyone to attend. He suggested that tickets could be given as a Diwali gift to staff of companies/organisations to support this fund raiser. President added that Rtn Ramkumar had come forward in organizing this event along with the doyens of the film industry, Rtn M Balasubramanian & Rtn T.G. Thyagarajan. Rtn Linesh Sanatkumar, Co-Chair, Outstation Committee said that the outstation trip to Kodai this year was on the 9th Nov 12th Nov 17. He thanked the members who have graciously agreed to host and Rtn PS Jagdish for coordinating the trip. Golf at Kodai is taken care by Rtn Hemant Chordia & Rtn Jacob. He said that the Full Club Fellowship hosted by Rtns Harbinder and Vipin was fabulous with 120 plus Rotarians and their families participating and thanked Rtn Harby & Rtn Vipin for making it a fantastic get-together. Rtr Kiran, Rotaract Club of Chennai requested members to participate/support in their Glitz 2017 fund raising program that they have been organising for 10 years. He said that the funds collected last year were used for providing RO water plants to 4 schools and this year sanitation toilet facility will be set up in 3 schools (12 toilets) for which Rs. 4 lacs was required. He requested the parent club to sponsor and buy tickets priced at Rs. 500 for the Glitz 2017 which is on the 24th Sept 17. President informed members that Rtn. Sandhya Sridhar would be the Asst Secy/ Editor as Rtn. Shaan could not continue due to paucity of time. The President thanked Rtn Sandhya Sridhar for accepting the same. President urged members specially zero percenters to attend the Rotary meetings even though RI has relaxed the rules. He said members could also attend various committee meetings as compensation, so that the attendance percentage of the club will improve. President presented the new corrected plaque to Rtn PDG S. Krishnaswamy as he has completed 50 years in Rotary. Earlier plaque was erroneously made was for 40 years, since the records were not updated. President thanked Rtn M.Balasubramanian for presenting a new camera for club meetings. Secretary Rtn Nikhil Raj announced that the next weekly meeting was on the 19th Sept 17 at the same place, same time. Speaker will be Dr. Sheela Nambiar who will talk on Why you get fat and what to do with it. This is also open to spouses. He also reminded members about the closed door on the 26th Sept 17, when the AGM & EGM will take place. President welcomed the guest speaker of the day Mr. Ashok Babu IFS, Chief Passport officer, who spoke on the topic: Passport in a jiffy. Rtn PP K. Gopal Ratnam requested the guest speaker Mr. Ashok Babu to address the club. Later followed by an interactive session. President presented Mr. Ashok Babu a memento and the Club s 80 year history book A Timeless Legacy on behalf of RCM. Rtn IPP Dr. Arulmozhi Varman thanked Mr. Ashok Babu for his interesting speech and expediting the process of getting the passport nowadays. The meeting was then adjourned. Editing courtesy: Rtn. Sunita Suresh Birthday SUNSHINE 21st Sept Rtn Shakthi Girish 21st Sept Rtn Shivkumar Eashwaran 23rd Sept Rtn Srinivas Garapati 25th Sept Rtn N Prakash 20th Sept Ann Meghana (Rtn Kishor Dandeker) 24th Sept Ann. Mallika (Rtn PP AS Venkhat Ramani) 25th Sept Ann. Meena (Rtn Mohan Kumar Subramanyam) 25th Sept Ann.Priyadarshini (Rtn V Murali) Rtn PP Indra Subramanyam Rtn PP MC Shanker Rtn Vivek A Parachur Rtn Deepak Chander Rtn Pratish Devadoss R`2000 `5081 `2000 `1000 `1000

3 COMMUNITY SERVICE Lighting up lives, via festival gifts FULL CLUB FELLOWSHIP Fun, good food and plenty of bonding The lovely farmhouse of Rtn. Harby and Spouse Bhanu was venue to last week s full club fellowship co-hosted by Rtn. Vipin and Spouse Somna. The evening was marked by great food, lovely music and wonderful warmth from the hosts. Rotarians welcomed the weekend with this evening of fun and camaraderie, with the RCM family who attended unanimously say that they had a really good time! 3page The Rotary Nagar ladies at work With the festival season around the corner, gifting can never be far away. The women of Rotary Nagar have been given job opportunities in the making of gifts for the festive season. Enabling this is Just Light, spearheaded by Ms. Latha, who has given job work to the women of Rotary Nagar. Rotarians are requested to consider these beautifully made gift items as part of their hampers for Navrathri and Diwali, which are priced reasonably and will support this initiative as well. Orders for these festival gifts can be placed by contacting Rtn Anuradha Ganesan or Rtn Balaji Chinni. MORE COMMUNITY SERVICE The bus is here! The dream of Boys Town Society, has been a bus that will ease the commute for the residents. And now the dream is reality. The 50-seater bus, yet to be registered, is with us and will pick up and drop the residents of the Gummidipoondi Boys Town to their government schools Kannankottai and Kavarapettai. At present, 63 boys attend the Kannankottai Government School, while 19 boys from the society attend the Kavarapettai Government School. The bus will soon be registered and utilised. Watch this space for more!

4 4page DISTRICT INTERFACE Will you be part of the Alertathon? Rotary District 3232 brings to you the Run to save a Life Alert-A-Thon on October at the Anna University in Chennai. You have the choice to run 5km (INR 600) or 10km (INR 700). Breakfast is provided after the run and those who finish will take home t-shirts and e-certificates, as well as many more goodies. To register, you may call Rtn. Gopinath on or mail our own Rtn. M. Balasubramanian on avmbalu@gmail.com. INTERNATIONAL NEWS Barry Rasin is President Elect RI RI International President Ian H. S. Riseley has declared Barrey Rasin President Elect. Rasin, a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, will be officially elected at the 2018 RI Convention in Toronto and will become President on July MOMENTS AT MEETING Lively on the back-bench It s our sofa selfie, say the back-benchers who have many an animated discussion of Rotary matters on this hot seat. Lest you think that back-benchers are a tardy lot, this group distinguishes with their regularity and wit. RI President's Message One of the best parts of any Rotary convention is the sheer diversity of the people you see there. Whether you're heading into a breakout session, exploring the House of Friendship, or sitting down for a bite to eat, you'll meet people from every corner of the world, in all kinds of national attire, speaking just about every language. It's a lot of fun, and it's a big part of what makes Rotary great: that we can be so different and stil...l find ourselves so at home together. That spirit of warm community that is so central to Rotary also defines Toronto, our host city for the 2018 Rotary International Convention. Toronto is one of my favorite cities. It's a place where half the population is from another country, where over 140 languages are spoken by 2.8 million residents, and where no one ever seems to be too busy to be helpful. In addition to being clean, safe, and friendly, Toronto is a wonderful place to visit, with its attractive Lake Ontario waterfront, great restaurants, one-ofa-kind museums, and interesting neighborhoods to explore. The 2018 convention already promises to be one of our best ever. Our Convention Committee and Host Organization Committee are hard at work lining up inspiring speakers, great entertainment, fascinating breakout sessions, and a wide variety of activities across the city. There will be something for everyone in Toronto, and Juliet and I encourage you to do what we'll be doing bring your families along for the fun. If you plan early, your convention experience will be even more affordable: The deadline for discounted early registration (there is an additional discount for registering online) is 15 December. As much as Toronto offers to Rotarians, the true draw is, of course, the convention itself. It's a once-a-year opportunity to recharge your Rotary batteries, to see what the rest of the Rotary world is up to, and to find inspiration for the year ahead. Find out more at riconvention.org and find Inspiration Around Every Corner at the 2018 Rotary Convention in Toronto. Ian H.S. Riseley President September 2017 Editor: Rtn. Sandhya Sridhar; Advisor: PP Rtn. Ravi Katari EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Rtn. Mohan Raman, Rtn. Sunita Suresh, Rtn. Shaan Katari Libby, Rtn. Biswajit Babu, Rtn. Shakthi Girish, P S Sridharan Send in your articles, news, write-ups to be considered for publication here on rcmlighthouse@ gmail.com. Be in touch with the Lighthouse, your very own RCM magazine! Take happy, yet meaningful selfies at lunch, send them on to the Editor of the Lighthouse on and see them published here! EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY: Rtn. Asst. Secretary, Rotary Club of Madras, Rayala Towers, 2nd Mezzanine Floor, 158, Anna Salai, Chennai - 2, Ph: Contact the editor at: sandhyasridhar@gmail.com. Design: Visit: Contact club secretariat at: office@rotarymadras.in The Premier Mica Company Inspired by Mica

5 5page Sponsors: RCM s DANDIYA & GARBO RASS 2017 Jupiter Band from Mumbai featuring Saloni and Proful Jethva Photo booth to capture the occasion Delectable Gujarati Food Well-stocked Bar (to-be-paid) Lucky draw with bumper prizes including Chennai Paris USA return ticket for two (taxes to be borne by the winner) A yacht ride into the sea for a family of 8 And many more exciting gifts Spacious Dance Area Stalls of donors Displays Craft sale from our own RCM s projects and Fitness Tracker from Pedal Beat Personalised salon treatment vouchers from Vurve Salon Food vouchers from Ox & Tomato Food vouchers from Old Madras Baking Company For the best dressed couple (above 50 years; and to be given only as a couple prize) Rs. 3,000 for a saree from Silkworm, one customised linen shirt of the recipient s choice, from Bas Menswear Gift vouchers from Rtn. Sakthi Girish Venue: Hyatt Regency Ball Room On 20th September 2017 at 7.30 P.m. Tickets: Rs. 3,500/- Couple Only For Rotarians, Rs. 2,000/- Single On day one, 30 Rotarians, their families and friends get into the dandiya mood at a practise session at Hotel Maris on Friday, Sept 15th... The Superstar Rotarians who brought in our main and associate donors: And the Star Rotarians who donated banners for the fundraisers: Abhay Mehta Nimish Tolia Suresh Kumar S. Nalli Kuppusami Chetty Sunita Suresh Pratish Devadoss Ramakant Akula Krishnamurthy Vijayan P. Suresh AVM Balasubramaniam Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan Suresh Kumar S. Mahendra Parmar M.C. Shankar Harbinder Singh Rattha Bharat Pujara P. S. Jagdish Srinivas Garapati Harikrishnan Balakrishna Rao Ranjith Rathod M.K. Subramaniam Sumit Kalra Rajendran Sabanayagam Natraj Ramaiah S.N. Srikanth Arjun Ananth Aditya Agarwal Hiren Shah Anand Rengaswamy Vikram Chesetty Suresh Kumar S. Archana Shri Sanjay Director Fundraising & PR Chairman Dandiya Committee Co-Chairman Dandiya Comittee Co-sponsors: