Ragvendra Kuppuswamy from ITI Central School, Bengalaru has been declared the HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009 Champion at the Grand Finale aired on National Geographic Channel, yesterday evening. Lavanya Krishna from Presidency School, Bengalaru, was the Runner Up. In one of the toughest spelling contests -- HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009 -- teams from Hyderabad, Bengalaru, Delhi and Jaipur battled it out at the Grand Finale to emerge as the Spell Bee Champion.
Ragvendra Kuppuswamy received Rs. 1,00,000 cheque from HDFC Standard Life along with 3 return tickets to the US (Washington) and 3 nights hotel stay for himself and his parents to witness the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Lavanya Krishna received Rs. 50,000 cheque from HDFC Standard Life. HDFC Standard Life also presented gift cheques of Rs 25,000 to each of the semi-final winners.
Mr. Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President and Head Marketing, HDFC Standard Life said, “We congratulate Ragvendra on winning the HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009 competition. We wish him all the best and hope that his success at Spell Bee would enable him to excel in academics and all-round development in his growing years. We are sure that Ragvendra's success will inspire many young minds to improve spellings skills, vocabulary and pronunciations and thereby leading to correct usage of English language which is presently at risk due to increase in use of SMS language.”
“We are extremely satisfied with the stupendous success of HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009,’ conducted in more than 700 schools across 11 cities, with student participation crossing 2,50,000. In line with our brand philosophy, we would continue with our initiatives in educative and informative programmes that create opportunities for development and growth of young minds in future too,” Mr. Tripathy added.
Participants (Grand Finale)
- V. Harish from Kendriya Vidyalaya and Sanchit Shorewala from Delhi Public School represented Delhi.
- Raj Nandini Jain from Rukmani Birla Modern High School & Anupam Rajoria from St. Xavier's School to represented Jaipur
- Ragvendra kuppuswamy from ITI Central School and Lavanya Krishna from Presidency School
- Anurag Gogineni and Aahlad Gogineni from Jubli Hills Public school represented Hyderabad.
‘HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee - India Spells 2009’, a unique and scholarly education series in a fun-filled quiz format under the patronage of Spelling Bee USA, a prestigious annual event in the US with a lineage of 83 years was launched by HDFC Standard Life, one of India’s leading private life insurance companies, in association with the Times of India Group, Cello Pens and Crizal.
For the first time in India, a national spelling contest of this stature was organized. The quiz was conducted in schools across 11 cities, for students from 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th grades. The preliminary rounds were conducted in New Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengalaru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Post the preliminary round 4 semi finals were held in Mumbai.
‘HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009’ was aimed at helping students improve spellings skills, vocabulary, learning concepts, and pronunciations leading to correct usage of English words that will help in their early years of growth and development. The key thought was to engage students on a different competition route - testing their knowledge of spellings, thereby engaging them in the English language practice.
Partnering HDFC Standard Life in this unique and educative venture were - Cello Pens, Crizal- An Esillor Lens, Other partners are – MSN (Online Partner), Make My Trip , National Geographic Channel, Strombs, Xseed, Radio Mirchi ,Kingfisher Airlines, , Gini & Jony and Crosswords.
About HDFC Standard Life:
HDFC Standard Life, one of India’s leading private life insurance companies, offers a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It is a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC), India’s leading housing finance institution and Standard Life plc, the leading provider of financial services in the United Kingdom.
HDFC Standard Life’s Product portfolio comprises solutions, which meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, and Health. Customers have the added advantage of customizing the Plans, by adding optional benefits called riders, at a nominal price. The company currently has 25 retail and 6 group products in its portfolio, along with five optional rider benefits catering to the savings, investment, protection and retirement needs of customers.
HDFC Standard Life’s bouquet of children’s plans includes:
- Children’s Plan
- Unit Linked Young Star II
- Unit Linked Young Star Plus II
- Unit Linked Young Star Champion
These plans offer multiple advantages for the child, such as tax benefits and long-term financial security. The plan is an affordable means to ensure a child’s security and, apart from the parents, it can also be chosen by the grand parents or other relatives of the child. However, its greatest strength is that company continues to make savings on your behalf, in your absence. The savings can be directed 100% towards your policy or 50% towards your policy and 50% will be available for the beneficiary’s regular use until the original Maturity Date.
HDFC Standard Life’s Product portfolio comprises solutions, which meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment, and Health. Customers have the added advantage of customizing the Plans, by adding optional benefits called riders, at a nominal price.
