As mentioned in our last newsletter, our pre-sea training programme under SIMS is starting from this summer. So far, we are happy to note the enthusiasm from young applicants from various parts of India who are keen to savour this lifetime opportunity. However, the selection of the candidates is designed to be something very special so that we get not only the most meritorious but also the most deserving cadets of the country. Keeping in view that most of such pre-sea prevailing courses in India are commercial and most often has its own interests than providing best training for the cadets, SIMS is set to provide something quite extra-ordinary in terms of quality, infra- structure and future prospects. The cost of such quality is indeed pretty high and in fact, in real terms, much beyond the means of most ordinary Indian parents. It was an extra-ordinary decision taken by the management to absorb such high cost of training for the pioneer batch. Our aim and intention is to select the most deserving candidates for this unique opportunity and prove to the world that given an opportunity such candidate of less fortunate background will turn out to be some of the best seafarers of the industry!