G. R. Gopinath

About

Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath is an Indian entrepreneur, retired army officer, author, and the pioneer of low-cost aviation in India. Born on November 13, 1951, in a small village in Karnataka, he joined the Indian Army, serving for eight years and participating in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Retiring at the age of 28, he successfully pursued ecologically sustainable sericulture, earning the prestigious Rolex Laureate Award in 1996 for his innovative practices. Transitioning to the aviation sector, Gopinath co-founded Deccan Aviation in 1997, a helicopter charter service. He revolutionized the Indian aviation industry by launching Air Deccan in 2003, the country's first low-cost airline, making air travel affordable for millions of ordinary Indians. The airline expanded rapidly and was subsequently merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. In 2009, he ventured into the logistics sector by founding Deccan 360, a freight and cargo business. An active public figure and author of the autobiography 'Simply Fly', Gopinath has also contested Lok Sabha elections. He has been recognized globally for his contributions, receiving France's highest civilian honor, the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, in 2006.

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