Latest news with #MrGupta
NDTV
27-07-2025
- General
- NDTV
MiG-21's Final Flight: Why Training, Not The Jet, Failed Air Force Pilots
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is preparing to retire its fleet of Russian-origin MiG-21 fighter jets in September. The aircraft, which played a key role in India's military campaigns, including the 1971 war against Pakistan, has been both celebrated as a formidable war machine and stigmatised as the "flying coffin" due to its high accident rate. With just two months until the final flight on September 19, historian and Indian Air Force expert Anchit Gupta joined NDTV to provide a detailed perspective on the MiG-21's legacy, dissecting its triumphs, challenges, and the reasons behind its controversial nickname. Introduced to the IAF in 1963, the MiG-21 was initially acquired for a specific role: as a high-altitude interceptor designed to counter aircraft like the American U-2 spy plane. Mr Gupta, whose father flew the MiG-21 during his service, recalled the aircraft's distinct roar as a morning alarm at airbases. "The MiG-21 is extremely close to my heart. And I saw my father fly it. We used to live at the bases. That was our alarm in the morning to wake up. I remember 1986 Operation Brasstacks. My father was in Bhuj, going into the trenches and counting the aircraft coming back to the base. So there is an emotion to MiG-21 for all of us," Mr Gupta told NDTV. MiG-21F-13, designated Type 74 from 1963 The IAF operated around 800 to 1,000 MiG-21s over six decades, a scale unmatched by most air forces. Of these, approximately 300 were lost in accidents. "That is a very sobering statistic. But there's no time lapse to that statistic, and therefore, people struggle to make sense of it. I think the answer very much lies in what we did with the aircraft. The aircraft was acquired for a very, very limited role, to be honest. It was a high-altitude interceptor. The original design of the MIG was to intercept the U-2," Mr Gupta said. The aircraft's role evolved far beyond its original design, encompassing ground attack, fighter reconnaissance, air defence, and, critically, jet training -- a role, Mr Gupta said, it was never intended to fulfil. "Flying Coffin" Label: A Misnomer? The MiG-21's reputation as a "flying coffin" stems from its high crash rate. Mr Gupta challenged this label, arguing that the aircraft's accident record is less about inherent flaws and more about systemic issues in pilot training and aircraft acquisition. "It's very much linked to our procurement. Our combat squadron strength went from eight squadrons in 1947 to nearly 40 squadrons in 1965. Now you have sanctioned it, how do you acquire? And so we were huffing and puffing to acquire more aircraft, and MiG-21 came out of nowhere with the USSR saying, 'Listen, I'll do technology transfer, you manufacture it locally.' It was something that really fell into our laps," Mr Gupta told NDTV. The MiG-21 When the MiG-21 entered service, only the IAF's most experienced pilots were assigned to it due to its demanding flight characteristics. The aircraft's small size, limited cockpit visibility, and high landing speed of over 300 km/h made it unforgiving, particularly for novices. The MiG-21U trainer variant was ill-suited for training. The IAF relied on subsonic trainers like the Kiran and Iskra, which were inadequate for preparing pilots for the MiG-21's supersonic performance. The gap between basic trainers and the MiG-21 widened as the fleet expanded from eight squadrons in 1963 to nearly half the IAF's strength by the 1980s. "The biggest difference is speed. The speed at which you are performing the manoeuvres, the actions that you are doing, dramatically changes. That is the biggest difference, whether it is mid-air manoeuvres, whether it is landing or whether it is taking off,' Mr Gupta said. The "Human Error" Factor The IAF's attribution of many MiG-21 crashes to "human error" has often been misunderstood, he added. Mr Gupta explained that human error, in aviation terms, does not necessarily blame the pilot. "Air Force doesn't mean 'human error' in the way people interpret it," Mr Gupta said. "In the simplest form it means that when you've done an accident investigation, you've realised that the accident happened because the pilot in control made a mistake. Now that mistake has a cause behind it. That cause could be training. You have not trained the pilot appropriately. That cause could be inexperience. "That cause could be psychological, that cause could be disorientation, tons of causes behind it." For young pilots transitioning from subsonic trainers to the MiG-21, the lack of adequate preparation was a significant contributor. The stigma of "human error" often compounds the pain for families, who perceive it as blaming the pilot rather than acknowledging systemic issues. "I haven't met a single MiG-21 pilot who said he didn't love the jet," Mr Gupta said. "It's a big regret. They love the aircraft, but they love their colleagues more. And every life lost is a story that remains etched on the psyche forever. I think the human element is actually made worse off by how we categorise the loss. To the family or to a civilian, it sounds like we're blaming the pilot, and then the emotion comes out. The guy had barely started flying. This is an unforgiving aircraft, the aircraft has problems, and now you have the audacity to blame the pilot and say 'human error,'" he added. The MiG-21's Combat Record Despite its challenges, the MiG-21's combat record is formidable. During the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the MiG-21FL (Type 77) earned the moniker "runway buster" for its ground attack role, with 240 units manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft was instrumental in India's victory. In 1999, during the Kargil conflict, MiG-21s performed admirably, though the war also saw the loss of Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja in a crash. Post-Kargil, Squadron Leader Prashant Kumar Bundela shot down a Pakistani Atlantique maritime patrol aircraft. In 2019, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison, engaged Pakistani aircraft during the Balakot operation, downing an F-16 despite facing advanced adversaries like AMRAAM-armed F-16s and JF-17s. The Bison variant, introduced in the early 2000s, remains contemporary, equipped with an Israeli jammer, Russian R-77 and R-73 missiles, a partial glass cockpit, and a helmet-mounted sight. Its short scramble time makes it ideal for forward bases like Srinagar, where it outperformed alternatives like the MiG-29. "There's a very interesting point around the 2019 incident. You know, there's a lens people wear which says, 'Why was the MiG-21 there? Why didn't we have the MiG-29? Why didn't we have the Su-30?' People don't know that there was no other aircraft capable of being at Srinagar at that time other than the MiG-21. It has the shortest scramble time to date," Mr Gupta said. The MiG-29 "We have replaced it with a MiG-29 in Srinagar. I hate to say this, but it is not ideal for Srinagar, even today. A MiG-21 today is more ideal than the units we have there because you don't have a gyro, you have a single engine, light it, off you go, and therefore even today in the last 8 to 10 years or longer, MIG-21 has been our Operational Readiness Platform (ORP) guardian. It is the jet that scrambles. You put small detachments across all our forward bases. Imagine with the MIG-21 going away, who's supposed to fill that shoe? Who is supposed to fill that shoe? It's supposed to be the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). It is supposed to be the LCA. I hope it does," he added.
NDTV
26-05-2025
- NDTV
Woman Blames Manager For Viral LinkedIn Post Misidentifying DBS Bank's Ex-CEO
A Singapore woman, who in a LinkedIn post identified a stranger as former DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta, has now broken her silence over the viral claim. This came after Mr Gupta clarified he wasn't in the picture. "Sorry to disillusion you. That isn't me!" he wrote in the comments section of the post. In an interview with 8World News, Janney Hujic, a Singapore resident, claimed her freelance social media manager posted it without her consent to gain traffic. She alleged that the manager, based in the Philippines, even blackmailed her for S$5,000 (approx. Rs 3.08 lakhs) based on the number of likes. Ms Hujic added the freelancer was paid one dollar for every like her posts received. Narrating the incident, Ms Hujic said her manager, whom she hired in March to manage her Instagram and LinkedIn, posted the story without her permission when she was on a cave trip to Vietnam with no internet connection. When she came into the network zone area, she found the freelancer had changed her LinkedIn password and she couldn't log back in, according to a report in Mothership. She even shared the screenshot of the blackmailed message, which was accessed by Mothership, that read, "Post has over 6k engagement. Pay me 5k SGD and I take down. Profile now is down. I changed access and all. When I get paid I give you back access." Ms Hujic said that on her trip, she approached the man, identified as Kumar H Subramaniam, who resembled Mr Gupta. She clicked a picture and shared it as a joke among her friends in a group, which also included her freelance social media manager. When she regained access to the internet on May 24, she found that she was being heavily trolled online. By then, her freelance social media manager had logged her out of her LinkedIn account. Speaking with Mothership, Mr Kumar, the man in the picture, said he was having lunch with a colleague at a cafe in Bali when he was approached. She showed him a picture and asked if he was Mr Gupta. "She and her guy mentioned that they had worked at DBS before and we joked about her pranking her friends that she had bumped into Mr Gupta by chance in public while on their holiday here," he said. "I never, at any point, said that I was indeed Mr Gupta. I never agreed for my picture to promote any business or social ventures on anyone," he said.
New Paper
23-05-2025
- New Paper
S'porean man mistaken for ex-DBS CEO Piyush Gupta says he told woman it wasn't him
A Singaporean man who was wrongly identified as former DBS CEO Piyush Gupta in a viral LinkedIn post has come forward to clarify that he never claimed to be the prominent banker - and had in fact told the woman who posted the photo that she had the wrong person. The man, Kumar H Subramaniam, 58, was thrust into an unexpected online spotlight after LinkedIn user Janney Hujic posted a photo of herself with him on May 19, claiming she had "bumped into" Mr Gupta at a café in Bali. "I glanced across the room and thought, that looks an awful lot like Piyush. Curious, I walked over - and sure enough, it was him," Ms Hujic wrote. The post tagged Mr Gupta and was accompanied by a polished, reflective caption typical of the professional networking site. But the next day, Mr Gupta himself commented: "Sorry to disillusion you. That isn't me!" Despite Mr Gupta's denial, the post remained online and quickly went viral, sparking widespread mockery across social media. Many called it "peak LinkedIn" - a jab at the platform's reputation for overly polished, sometimes performative content. Ms Hujic has not personally responded to the incident, but a member of her team later posted an update on her LinkedIn account. According to the update, Ms Hujic is currently on an expedition in Vietnam's remote Tú Làn Cave, where there is no internet access. She is expected to return online on Sunday to address the situation. The update also clarified that Ms Hujic had used ChatGPT to help refine the wording of her original post, and had tagged Mr Gupta with the genuine belief that it was him - hoping he would respond to her post. Her team stressed that there was no intent to deceive and that she had not knowingly misled anyone. It is unclear whether the mix-up was a genuine mistake or an intentional stunt. In an interview with Mothership, Mr Kumar confirmed that he was the man in the photo and clarified that he had told the woman he was not Piyush Gupta. He explained that he had been having lunch with a colleague at a Bali café when Ms Hujic and a male companion approached him and asked if he was Piyush Gupta, even showing him a photo. "I told them I wasn't," Mr Kumar said, adding that he'd been mistaken for the former DBS CEO more than once. He said the trio even joked about the resemblance, with Ms Hujic saying she might prank her friends. Mr Kumar agreed to a photo but made it clear he never identified himself as Mr Gupta. "She said she used to work at DBS and we had a laugh," he recalled. "But I never, at any point, said I was Mr Gupta - and I definitely did not agree for my photo to be used to promote any business or social venture," he added. He also said that he was surprised to see the photo on LinkedIn the next day, especially after having clarified his identity. Mr Kumar H Subramaniam, 58, in a recent selfie. PHOTO: MOTHERSHIP Mr Kumar, who has lived in Indonesia for 25 years and now works as a teacher in Bali, said he received a contact number from the man accompanying Ms Hujic, but has no plans to reach out. "Why should I call them when I'm not in the wrong? They should be the ones to contact me," he said. He also denied online speculation that he had misled Ms Hujic on purpose or flirted with her: "Some have said I tried to bed her - but she was with her partner or husband." Mr Kumar said his colleague, who was present during the encounter, can vouch for his version of events. Following the viral post, Mr Kumar said he has received a wave of racist comments online - many targeting his ethnicity. "If you read the comments, they mention scam centres, say all Indian men are the same, or use the 'K' word," he said. He added: "This is racism at work. Bald Indian men with glasses look alike?" He added that racism was one of the reasons he left Singapore years ago. "One reason I left was because people would say things like 'Serangoon smells bad'. Now, 25 years later, I'm still getting trolled online" he said. Asked whether he would consider taking legal action, Mr Kumar said he has no plans to sue. "Some have asked me to, but this is just an online storm in a teacup. We all know the news cycle - in a week's time, this will blow over," he said. What he wants, he said, is to take a stand. "I just want people to stop stereotyping and making offensive remarks. That's all." And if you happen to be in Bali? "If you ever see me at the café, just say hi," he said.
NDTV
05-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
IIM Student Claims He Got an A+ After Using ChatGPT To Write Project, Sparks Debate
Quick Take An IIM Ahmedabad student went viral for using ChatGPT on a project. Yugantar Gupta received an A+ on an AI-generated marketing report. At IIM Ahmedabad, AI use is allowed, but plagiarism is strictly prohibited. An IIM Ahmedabad student went viral on LinkedIn for claiming he used ChatGPT to complete a marketing project. Yugantar Gupta noted that while plagiarism is prohibited at IIM Ahmedabad, AI use is permitted. To his surprise, an assignment largely generated by AI earned him an A+, a rare grade typically reserved for the top 5% of students. His post sparked a heated debate about the role of AI in education, raising questions about effort, ethics, and the true value of learning. "MBA at IIM Ahmedabad is full of assignments, projects and reports. Plagiarism is completely prohibited, but AI use is allowed. Getting an A+ on any report is difficult at IIM Ahmedabad. Some professors don't give it to anyone at all, as a policy. Most restrict it to the top 5% or fewer. While meaningless, an A+ always feels like a medal," he wrote on LinkedIn. See the post here: For his marketing project on cosmetics, Mr Gupta visited eight stores, observed shoppers, and took voice notes on their behaviour and questions. He then fed these notes into Chatgpt, which generated a polished report that earned him an A+ grade, one of the highest possible marks at IIM Ahmedabad. "For every observation and every interaction, I sent myself a voice note. In excruciating detail. On getting back to campus, I explained to ChatGPT our project requirements and uploaded the entire audio transcript. And out came one of my best graded projects at IIM Ahmedabad (after a lot of heavy editing, of course)," he explained. Mr Gupta noted that the true value lies in generating unique content, such as first-hand observations, stakeholder interviews, surveys, and personal insights, which AI can't replicate. He concluded with three key takeaways for students leveraging AI in academics: focus on reviewing AI-generated content rather than writing it, engage with real people instead of trying to humanise AI output, and seek insights from professionals beyond peer discussions. "And that's how you show that you can do something beyond what AI can on its own. At that moment, I could just remember a quote by Steve Blank, famous within startup circles - "Get out of the building' Real work gets done on the ground, not in front of your laptop," he concluded the post. The post sparked a lively debate, with some users praising Mr Gupta's approach and others expressing scepticism. One user wrote, "AI can accelerate the process, but human curiosity, initiative, and outreach are irreplaceable." Another commented, "I fully agree AI shouldn't be viewed as a cursed entity and rather as a tool to make ourselves more efficient and better. That's what I have been doing at my work. Also it's good to see that IIM Ahmedabad doesn't limit use of AI, would make my life a lot easier!" A third said, "Brilliantly articulated. This is a timely reminder that real value lies in original thinking, conversations, and insights gathered from the field, not just clever prompts or surface-level summaries. AI can accelerate the process, but human curiosity, initiative, and outreach are irreplaceable. Thanks for the push to 'get out of the building' and engage with the real world."
