INDIA. Mumbai: Lieutenant General Dr. Madhuri Kanitkar, who is serving as the Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff, has been appointed as the vice-chancellor of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik in North Maharashtra. She is set to assume the charge post her retirement in October.
The Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) is an organization responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritization across the different branches of the Indian Armed Forces. It is composed of representatives from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Ministry of External Affairs, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Finance.
Lt. Gen Kanitkar’s appointment was cleared by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is the chancellor of state universities, on Tuesday. She will hold the post for a five-year term or till the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, from the date she assumes the office.
The 61-year-old had obtained her MBBS from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, standing first in the university. She is an MD and DNB in pediatrics. She served as Dean of Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune between January 2017 and May 2019 and has 22 years of experience in teaching and research. She was presented with the best teacher award by MUHS in 2008.
Lt Gen Kanitkar succeeds Dr. Deelip Mhaisekar whose term ended on February 10 this year. Vice-chancellor of the Savitribai Phule Pune University Dr. Nitin Karmalkar was currently holding the additional charge of the post while Dr. Mhaisekar was the acting director of the medical education.
The Governor had constituted a selection committee, under the chairmanship of Justice (retd) Kalpesh Jhaveri, former chief justice of Odisha High Court, to recommend to him names suitable for appointment to the vice-chancellor’s post. Prof Randeep Guleria, director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Saurabh Vijay, secretary of the Medical Education and Drugs department were the other members of the committee.
World Sailing Championship
In another development, Master Adhvait Menon, a 15-year-old student of Class 10 in Navy Children School (Mumbai) has been selected to represent India at the 2021 Optimist World Sailing Championship being held at Riva Del Garda, Italy till July 10, 2021. He is the son of a serving Naval Officer Commander Prasant C Menon.
Master Adhvait Menon, on sailing expedition (Photo credit: Indian Navy).
A promising yachtsman, Adhvait started sailing at the age of 10 and has received awards at various state and national events. He also sails Enterprise and Laser class of boats. Adhvait trains at the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC), Mumbai along with the members of the Navy Sailing Team. He was also the youngest participant at the 2020 YAI National Sailing Championship. He is also an avid runner and stood first at the 2019 Navy Mumbai Half Marathon in the under 14 boys category.
Colaba Military Station Tree Plantation Drive
In the meanwhile, in continuance of its efforts to create and maintain a praiseworthy green cover over Colaba Military Station, Headquarters Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area in collaboration with an NGO ‘Green Yatra’ initiated a tree plantation drive. Officers, JCOs & OR along with their families participated to spread environmental awareness and the need of protecting our flora and fauna.
A tree plantation drive was undertaken at Colaba Military Station in South Mumbai on Tuesday. (Photo credit: Indian Navy).
The occasion was graced by Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA)’s Zonal President Mamta Prashar. Officials from Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area and their families participated. Speaking on the occasion, Zonal President, AWWA said, “These trees are an investment for future generations and shall provide cleaner air by increasing green cover.”
She also thanked Green Yatra for providing saplings for this noble cause. The event was concluded with a resolve of participating in more such initiatives in the future to revitalize the ecological system and ensuring the survivability of the saplings planted.
