Aamir tried to destroy India's brand identity: Amitabh Kant

January 19, 2016

Ahmedabad, Jan 19: Actor Aamir Khan damaged the "brand India" while being the brand ambassador of the celebrated 'Incredible India' campaign, a top official has said.

aamirDefending the exit of Khan from the campaign, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Amitabh Kant said the actor, by terming India an 'intolerant country', worked against his role as that of a brand ambassador.

"A brand ambassador promotes a brand. People will come to India and tourist flow will increase only if the brand ambassador of 'Incredible India' promotes the country as 'incredible'," Kant told reporters on the sidelines of a convocation here last night.

"But if the brand ambassador says India is intolerant, he surely is not working as brand ambassador," Kant said.

"The brand ambassador must be the best brand ambassador for promoting and marketing India, he cannot be the destroyer of the brand," he said while replying to a query on removal of Khan from the campaign, without taking the actor's name.

Khan had late last year stirred a controversy after he expressed "alarm and despondency" over rising instances of intolerance in the country in the past few months and said that his wife (Kiran Rao) even asked if they should move out of India as she feared for the safety of their children.

Kant, who was involved in conceptualising Incredible India campaign in 2002 in his capacity as joint secretary, Ministry of Tourism, today tweeted, "Being a Brand Ambassador imposes responsibilities. U can't run down what u're promoting. That's damaging d brand."

Khan actively promoted Indian tourism for a decade as the brand ambassador.

Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma had said Aamir had a contract with advertising firm McCann Erickson and not the government for the campaign.

"Since the contract with the agency is no more, automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists," Sharma had said.

Comments

Muhammed Rafique
 - 
Tuesday, 19 Jan 2016

Who says India is intolerant?

Else Sunny Leone wouldn't have been living and working in India

Goodman
 - 
Tuesday, 19 Jan 2016

Aamir said truth, whether it is difficult to digest the culprits and their sponsors.
He said truth, though he knew he would sacrifice the title.
We are today independent because of such people who stood against atrocities by invaders. Our people got the title of freedom fighters and martyr.
today he has to say the truth against our own men. This is hard truth. To know it, don't go away, just see around you in our own home town of Mangalore. Even now and today.
I request all celebrities like actors, sportsmen should dare to say the truth.

Rahi
 - 
Tuesday, 19 Jan 2016

Another Bhakt on stage, it will go like this till Amir's new film Dangal's release.
They are in full swing after Dilwale.

haaris
 - 
Tuesday, 19 Jan 2016

Who said intolerant now \Amir or his wife\""

HONOR
 - 
Tuesday, 19 Jan 2016

I think We should appreciate Aamir Khan for speaking the TRUTH...
These business man are blind to the killing of dalit, killing of akhlaq, terrorist minister Making BOw bow... Aamir in this case I appreciate for speaking the TRUTh.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 27: Nine throat swab samples that were sent for testing of the coronavirus, have been declared as negative while samples of four more persons are currently being tested, official sources said on Friday.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh said that 2,902 people are under home quarantine in the district as of today while three were admitted to hospitals for observation.

Around 38,051 people have been inspected, so far, here in this district.

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News Network
April 13,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 13: Eminent scientist and NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat said on Monday the number of COVID- 19 cases is not going to go beyond what's being reported daily in India as he maintained that the country is in the process of flattening the curve.

The former Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister said the coronavirus positive cases have seen a sharper rise in the last four-five days because of increase in the number of testing.

"It's a good sign; all those asymptomatic cases lying hidden they are also coming out," Saraswat told PTI. "We certainly had a catalytic factor which was basically this (Nizamuddin) Markaz problem which has actually created clusters at different places and that has also been one of the factors for the kind of rise that has taken place."

But he said India is in a much better shape compared to other nations in the battle against COVID-19. "I can only say that the rate is not going to go beyond what has been going on now, may be 700 to 800 cases per day. So, we are in the process of flattening the curve."

The government's decision to declare nation-wide lockdown has paid dividends, Saraswat, a former chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, said.

Noting that India has seen a series of virus attacks in the last 15-20 years including Chikungunya and Dengue, he said the emphasis now should be on more and more R & D to find vaccines in advance.

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News Network
July 19,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 19: Palakkad Division of Southern Railway that has jurisdiction over Mangaluru Railway region has established a business development unit (BDU) to cater to the transportation of various sectors, including non-bulk goods traffic, namely, white goods, finished products, manufactured products, agricultural produce and raw material.

In a statement issued here on Sunday said that the BDU’s mandate was to facilitate seamless interaction between the Railways on the one hand and industry, trade representatives and rail freight customers on the other at appropriate zonal or divisional levels. The unit was also expected to help expeditious clearance of their proposals for freight movement.

Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Pratap Singh Shami established the BDU in line with the similar unit at the zonal level with other divisions of SR too setting up similar units. Palakkad BDU would work under the supervision of Additional DRM-II CT Sakkeer Hussain while Senior Divisional Operations Manager PL Ashok Kumar was its convener with Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Jerin G Anand, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer KV Sundaresan and Senior Divisional Finance Manager AP Sivachandrar were its members.

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