GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN, February, 2002

INDIAN GOVERNMENT RESOLVES ISSUE OF DUAL CITIZENSHIP

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced in early January that the government has resolved the issue of dual citizenship, which would facilitate Indians settled abroad to make their contributions in the progress of the country. "There were problems in resolving the issue. But now the issue has been resolved and I am hopeful that Indians settled abroad would find it suitable," he said after receiving the report of the high level committee on Indian diaspora, headed by noted jurist L M Singhvi. He said, "We are in favor of dual citizenship, but not dual loyalty.'' Vajpayee said that Indians settled abroad should also have loyalty to the countries where they had settled and would fulfill their responsibilities as citizens of those countries. Singhvi said the committee had identified the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, a large part of Europe and Singapore for implementation of dual citizenship. He said the committee recommended dual citizenship within the framework of the Citizenship Act and it did not involve any amendment in the Constitution.

GOPIO welcomes this news. Dual citizenship was passed as a resolution at the First national Convention of Asian Indians in North America held in New York in 1980 which resulted in the formation of the National Federation of Indian Associations (NFIA). At the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin, one major resolution was on "DUAL CITIZENSHIP," as follows: "The Government of India should consider further liberalizing dual nationality privileges for Indians permanently settled abroad on a country-by-country basis after careful consideration of all aspects of the question." GOPIO is extremely pleased that the Singhvi committee has made exactly the same recommendation.

TRIBUTE TO LATE CONGRESSMAN DALIP SINGH SAUND

Over 500 Indian Americans and their American friends gathered on January 13th in Los Angeles to pay their tribute to the first Indian American elected to the United States Congress. Several Indian organizations joined to sponsor the event. A seminar and a gala banquet commemorated the day when Dalip Singh Saund took oath at the nation's capital. Delegates from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, California, British Columbia and Minnesota attended the tribute function. Saund family was at hand to share their joy. The weeks that led to this day saw extensive write ups of Saund's contributions published all over the world in both ethnic and mainstream American press giving broad converge of congressman Saund's pioneer works both as a pioneer and US Congressman. The day began with a seminar entitled "Indian Diaspora: Tale of Indian American Pioneers". Dr. Rajan Anand who had held a very high ranking position during Clinton Administration facilitated the seminar program. Speakers included, Professor Jayasri Hart, Producer & Director of Roots in the Sand; Prof. Karen Leonard of University of California, Irvine and author of books on Indian pioneers; Dr. Harbans Lal, Professor Emeritus, University of North Texas Health Science Center; Dr. Jagat Motowani of New York, author "Global Indian Diaspora", Michael Potts of India West, Maryland State representative Kumar Bharve, and successful physician Dr. Baldev Devgan. The seminar speakers highlighted the heavy odds against Dr. Saund in his fight for his beliefs and how he won all the battles successfully. He succeeded in developing special constituency of all ethnic communities as well as confidence of all American voters who elected him for three terms. Youth were urged to emulate Dr. Saund by seeking public service office at very level. Similarly parents were urged to be proactive in providing appropriate environments for their children to grow in this new world. The seminar was followed by a packed house for PBS documentary "Roots in the Sand" depicting early Indian American pioneers who were mostly Sikhs from Punjab.

The evening reception and a banquet dinner were addressed by invited dignitaries where Saund family members (Ellie Ford, daughter; Eric and Neil Saund, grandsons) were introduced to the audience. Consul General S. Viswanathan spoke on behalf of the Government of India saying that Saund made India and Indians proud. Keynote Speaker, Ujjal Sing Dosanjh, Former Premier of British Columbia spoke at length his experiences in public life and potentials of Indian Americans in their newly adopted home in North American continent. Satveer Chaudhary, Minnesota State Senator paid homage to a century of toils of pioneers from India for their countless achievements. He asked the diaspora generation to dream of becoming the president of USA, Kumar Barve, Maryland State Assemblyman who was the first Indian American elected as State Assemblyman and is a leading candidate for an open seat for US congress spoke about the legacy of late Dalip Singh Saund. Inder Singh President Elect of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin who headed the celebration, in welcoming the guests, himself paid tributes to the legacy of a man who started it all and whose life is a beacon of hope, a source of inspiration and a worthy role model for all Indian Americans. He not only brought two other associations, Indian American Friendship Council and Global Punjabi Diaspora, to actively co-organize the event but also brought several community organizations to participate in the event. For his dedication and commitment, he was recognized and repeatedly applauded as the "first" to organize tribute function for the "first" Indian American congressman, late Dr. Saund. He also brought many "firsts" that included former British Columbia Premier Dosanjh, Dr. Joy Cherian, Kumar Barve and Satvir Chaudhary to the function, who paid their own tribute to the late Congressman Saund.

THIRD GLOBAL INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE

The conference, which was postponed because of the terrorist attacks in New York, is rescheduled for September 12th to 15th, 2002. Please visit www.gopio.net for updates.

September 12-15, 2002, Crowne Plaza Hotel, La Guardia Airport, 104-04 Ditmars Blvd., East Elmhurst, New York 11369, USA

Conference Theme: "People of Indian Origin - Technology, Investment, Business and Networking Opportunities"

Organized By

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) &

GOPIO Business Council

INDIA TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

March 22-23, 2002

Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW Washington DC, Visit our web site: www.nationalfederation.org for details.

Hosted By: National Federation of Indian-American Associations (NFIA)

Sponsored By: U.S.-India Business Council (US-IBC), The World Bank Institute (WBI), University of Georgia (UG), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Indian CEO High Tech Council (ICEO), Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Silicon India (TIE)

DRAFT PROGRAM

Friday March 22, 2002

Morning Session (9:00AM-12: 30 PM)

9:00AM-9:30AM

Conference Opening - Hon. Anthony Williams,Mayor,District of Columbia*

Welcome: Dr. Parthasarathy Pillai, President, NFIA

Conference Goals: Dr. Joydeb Roy, Executive Director, NFIA

9:30AM-11:00AM

Session I: Building Better Trade Relations

Keynoter - U.S. Secretary of Commerce*

Keynoter - Science & Technology Minister of India*

Keynoter - Hon.S.M.Krishna, Chief Minister, Karnataka,India

Remarks - Hon. David S Iannucci, Secretary Maryland Dept.of Business & Economic Development

Panel Discussions: Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Ambassador Frank Wisner(USIBC)*, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia(IMF)

11:00 AM- 11:15 AM

Coffee Break

11:15 AM-12:30 PM

Session II: Trade & Investment

Keynote - Hon. Kenneth W Dam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury*

Panel Discussion:Mr. Lakshman Achuthan, Managing Director, BusinessCycle, NY, Mr. Joydeep Mukherjee, Standard & Poor*,Dr. Michael Clark, Executive Director, USIBC, Mr. Natwar Gandhi, CFO, District of Columbia, Mr. Ajay Malhotra, Minister, Commerce, Embassy of India

I2:30PM - 2:00 PM

Luncheon

U.S.-India Emerging Relationship

Mr. Bobby Jindal. Asst. Secretary, US Dept.of Health and Human Services, Dr. Stephen Cohen, Brookings Institution

Friday March 22, 2002

Afternoon Session (2:00PM-6:00 PM)

2:00PM- 3:30 PM

Session III: Security & Terrorism

Keynoter - U.S. Attorney General*

Keynoter - Ambassador T.P.Sriniwasan, Indian Ambassador to Austria

Panel Discussion: Dr. Anupam Shrivastava , South Asia Program, University of Georgia

3:30PM-6:00 PM

Session IV. Hospitality & Tourism

Panel Discussion: Mr. Niraj Baxi, President-Elect NFIA, Mr. Willaim Hansbury, President, Convention & Tourism Corp., Washington DC, Ms Reba Pitman Walker, President, Hotel Association of Washington DC

6:00 PM-7:30 PM

NFIA Reception

Saturday March 23, 2002

Morning Session (9:00 AM-12:30 PM)

9:00AM-9:20AM: Keynoter - Dr. Sam Petroda, CEO, World-Tel India's role in innovative Technologies

Session V: Trade & Technology Information Technology, Global Capital Market,

9:20AM-10:30 AM: Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Intellectual Properties

Panel Discussion: Mr. Neil Callagan, IBM Corporation, Mr. Arun Bellary, Chairman and CEO of Metro-Optix, Prof. Harbir Singh, Wharton School, Dr. Shantanu Das, CEO, TranSwitch Corporation, Mr. Parth Tiwari, McKinsey & Co. Mr. Sudhakar Senoy, CEO, Information Management Consultants

10:30AM- 10:45 AM: Coffee Break

Session VI: Trade & Technology ROUND TABLE

10:45 AM -12:30 PM: From ideas to products, successful entrepreneurship, promising technology, technology transfer, challenges faced by entrepreneurs of Indian origin in US, A winning business climate for India

Panel Discussion: Dr. Tejas Vakil, Mr. Subhash Patil, Co-Founder TIE*, Mr. Subash C Roy, TranSwitch Corporation, Dr. Pradeep Ganguly, Director, Maryland Business Development, Mr. Prasanta K Biswal, Director, FICCI, Dr. Vaikunth Gupta,*,Dr. Hemant Kanakia*

12:30 PM -2:00 PM

Luncheon Break

U.S.-India Relationship, Ambassador-At-Large Bhisma K Agnihotri , Senator Paul Sarbanes*

Saturday March 23, 2002

Afternoon Session

Session VII: Business Opportunities

2:00 PM-3:00 PM: Emerging Technologies: Business Opportunities and Challenges

Panel Discussion:, Mr. Javad (Jay) K. Hassan, Chairman, AM Communications, Mr. Reggie Aggarwal, CEO Cvent, Dr. T (Kesh)Keshavadas, Professor, SUNY, Buffalo, Mr. Govind Kizhepat, EVP, Globespan, Dr. Sriram Viswanathan, Director of Strategic Investments, Intel Capital

3:00PM-4:00PM: Hidden Treasures: Medical Technology & Biotechnology

Panel Discussion: Dr.Manoj Jain, CEO, Biocore Technologies Inc., Dr.Mohammed Majeed, CEO, Sabinsha Corp., Dr. Sekhar Rao,CEO, Helixity, Dr. Ved Brat, CEO Braton Biotech

4:00PM-4:15PM: Coffee Break

Session VIII: A View from the Community

4:15PM-5:00 PM

Panel Discussion: Mr. Satveer Choudhury, State Senator, Minnesota ,Professor Devesh Kapur, Harvard University, Mr. Neil Patel, Staff Secretary, VP Richard Cheney, Ms. Preeta Bansal, Harvard University

5:00PM-6:00PM: U.S. -India Relations-perspective of business community

Panel Discussion: Dr. Thomas Abraham, President GOPIO, Mr. Swadesh Chatterjee, President, Brandts Instruments, Dr. Joy Cherian, President, J Cherian Consultants, Mr. Kishore Kaul*

6:00PM-7:30 PM:

Social Hour

7:30 PM-9:30 PM: Dinner Banquet

Secretary of State Colin Powell*, Hon. Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation, Congresswoman Connie Morella, Congressmen Ackerman* and Benjamin Gilman*, Dr. Vinod Thomas, V.P.,World Bank, Ms. Marriott*, Dr. Deepak Chopra*

9:30PM-10:30 PM: Entertainment

11:00 AM: Adjournment

* Invited

Please register for the conference today. Further information 301-935-5321/301-935-4824

Reserve the hotel rooms. Omni Shoremam: 202-234-0700, Clarion Hampshire: 202-296-7600.

NEW GOPIO CHAPTERS INITIATED

With the amendments to GOPIO constitution last year, new city-based chapters are being initiated all over the world. The new chapters are already working in New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Harare, Durban and Zurich. GOPIO President Dr. Thomas Abraham recently visited India and initiated GOPIO chapters in Bangalore, Cochin, Trivandrum and Kolkatta.

"By the end of this year we hope to have 35 chapters around the world and this will be something very big for the PIO community and India," said Dr. Abraham. "Within the next 2-3 years, we should be able to develop a great network of GOPIO chapters in all major cities of the world," added Dr. Abraham.

One can initiate a chapter and become part of this global network of people of Indian origin by visiting GOPIO's Chapter Initiative website www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm to get a copy of the guidelines governing GOPIO chapters. Alternately, call GOPIO's International coordinator Dr. Jagat Motwani at 631-421-4688 in USA or send an e-mail to gopio@optonline.net

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BULLETIN BOARD

PIOs are encouraged to publicize businesses and services though GOPIO Business Council Bulletin Board free of charge. Please visit www.gopio.net/wboard/bulletin.htm

OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

Spend a year in India doing public service Indicorps offers competitive fellowships for Indian-Americans interested in spending a year (September 2002 to August 2003) on unique social service projects in India. Fellowships are designed as one-of-a-kind transformational experiences, emphasizing both public service and personal growth. Indicorps, a new non-profit organization, will provide a stipend to 10 fellows who are willing to commit a year to implement service projects established with partner organizations in India. All fellows will participate in a four-week orientation program, share experiences through regular retreats, and are actively supported by Indicorps and partner organizations. Prospective fellows must be at least 50% of Indian origin with a college degree or five years equivalent work experience. The application and more information is available online at www.indicorps.org.

Applications are due April 26, 2002. Email info@indicorps.org or call (858) 483-0933 for more information.