GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN

October 2004

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CONTENTS

  • EUROPE-INDIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO BE LAUNCHED AT GOPIO CONFERENCE IN BELGIUM
  • NRIs/PIOs SERVE AS INDIAS BRAIN BANK AND BRIDGE OF INDIA TO THE WORLD
  • NFIA BIENNIAL CONVENTION, OCTOBER 29-31, 2004
  • GOPIO-SURINAME PRESIDENT AMBASSADOR KRISHNA NANDOE HOSTED IN NEW YORK
  • NRI MINISTRY RENAMED
  • NRIs/PIOs ACHIVE

·        SOUTH AFRICA NOMINATES ANAND SINGHS YESTERDAY FOR OSCAR

·        NINE NRI/PIO SCIENTISTS IN MITs TOO 1OO LIST

·        NOVEL BY NRI AUTHOR TO BECOME HOLLIWOOD FILM

·        MAMMEN ZACHARIAH APPOINTED TO FLORIA BOARD OF MEDICINE

·        INDIAN AMERICAN NAMED FIRST STUDENT MEMBER OF AMAF

·        INDIAN AMERICAN WINS MacArthur RESEARCH GRANT

·        INDO-CANADIAN ALOK MUKHERJEE ON TORONTO POLICE BOARD

  • ADVANTAGE NRI/PIO
  • AMRISTAR AIRLINKED TO SINGAPORE
  • RESIDENTIAL PLOTS OFFERED TO NRIs/PIOs IN NEW DELHI
  • GOPIO.Connect PARTNERS WITH INDIA DEVELOPMENT COALITION
  • INTEREST ON NRI DEPOSITS IN INDIA NOT TO BE TAXED
  • BRITISH TO HIRE MORE ETHNIC POLICE OFFICERS
  • GOPIO WEBSITE CROSSES 44,000 SINCE INCEPTION
  • GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
  • EDITORIAL BOARD

 

EUROPE-INDIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO BE LAUNCHED AT GOPIO CONFERENCE IN BELGIUM

 

Mr. Jagdish Tytler, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India will inaugurate the GOPIO Conference on NRI/PIO Business Network for Trade and Investment in Brussels on the 4th. October 2004 as the Chief Guest. Dr. Charles Tannock, MEP and the founding Chairman of the Friends of India Group in the European Parliament will deliver the Keynote address. In addition to several speakers of international standing, the conference will also be addressed by Dr. Thomas Abraham and Mr. Inder Singh, Chairman and President of GOPIO International.

 

In order to cater to the long standing need for an institutionalized body to promote trade and investment between India and the 25 nation EU countries, the Europe-India Chamber of Commerce will be launched during the Conference. Dr. Ajit Shetty, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Janssen Pharmaceutica will launch the Chamber which will also be addressed by Mr. Sanjay Dalmia, Chairman of the Dalmia Group of Industries and Mr. Karan Billimoria, CEO of Cobra Beer and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of United Kingdom.  

 

The Conference will be the largest gathering of the NRIs/PIOs in Europe in recent times. So far more than 250 NRI/PIO business and community leaders from 25 countries have already signed up for the Conference. In addition to the inaugural session, there will be technical sessions to discuss issues such raising the social and economic profile of the Indian community in Europe, the Business process Outsourcing, recognition of the economic contribution of the Indian Community in the economic development of Europe . Participation of interested business bodies and Chambers of Commerce in EU countries is also envisaged.

 

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION

Special conference rates (70 Euros, single or double, includes breakfast) for sleeping rooms available at the following hotel, located close to the conference venue.

Comfort Art Hotel Siru, Place Rogier 1 - 1210 Bruxelles, Belgium

Tl : 00 32 2 206 12 81. Fax : 00 32 2 206 12 86

Rception : 00 32 2 203 35 80; Website : www.comforthotelsiru.com

Send an E-mail requesting accommodation to: art.hotel.siru@skynet.be

 

REGISTRATION

Those interested to attend the conference may register with GOPIO-Belgium, 69, Boulevard Louis Metteswie (bte. 18), 1080 Brussels, Belgium, or by telephone to GOPIO Belgium President Sunil Prasad at 0032-2- 469 2677/ 224 0203, fax at 0032-2- 469 2677 or by email: sunil.prasad@coditel.net or sunil.prasad@icftu.org, Website: www.gopio-belgium.be

 

NRIs/PIOs SERVE AS INDIAS BRAIN BANK AND BRIDGE OF INDIA TO THE WORLD

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Indian Americans to be a "developmental and intellectual bridge" between the US and India so that what was once seen as a brain drain can be a brain bank which the nation could draw on for mutual benefit. PM singh was in New York to address the UN General Assembly on September 23rd.

 

Addressing a group of prominent Indian American CEOs on Thursday, Manmohan Singh commended them for the success and respect they have achieved in the US in the space of one generation. He said the achievements of the community and their reputation for hard work had been instrumental in shaping favorable American perceptions about India and Indians.


"It is this spirit of enterprise and adventure that I want you to inject back into India and I am here to assure you that our government is fully committed to the pursuit of such policies that enable this two-way flow of ideas and opportunities," Singh told the entrepreneurs' delegation.

 

He said he always shared the view of his friend, Columbia University professor Jagdish Bhagwati, that the migration of talent does not necessarily constitute a 'brain drain' but can in fact help create a 'brain bank' "from which we can draw provided we can place at home the required policies and infrastructure".


He said it would be the sincere endeavor of his government to pursue such policies and programs that would enable Indian Americans to have a more productive and creative engagement between the two countries.


He said India wanted to emerge as a competitive manufacturing power as well as a knowledge-driven economy and, as prime minister, he was committed to a reform of the government and to increased investment in infrastructure, especially power, communications, airports and urban amenities.

 

He wanted Indian Americans to play an important role in bringing the knowledge economy in its wider scope in both countries closer. The recent agreements with the US, in what is called the Next Steps in the Strategic Partnership, would lead to closer interaction in the fields of research, higher education and development of India's infrastructure and financial sectors.

 

He urged the community to join the government in its attempt to build a stronger and more open economy that is also committed to the principles of democracy and pluralism.


On his way to New York, Prime Minister Singh also visited UK and addressed the UK Indian community at a reception hosted by the Indian High Commissioner. He lavished generous praise on the Indian Diaspora, particularly in the US and Britain, calling them a "bridge" between their adopted land and India and said the country took "pride in their achievements".


Looking at the huge Indian Diaspora in Britain and the US to promote a more vibrant image of the country overseas, Singh spoke of how the community has become a valuable resource for any Indian government in reaching out to these countries.

 

NFIA BIENNIAL CONVENTION, OCTOBER 29-31, 2004


The 13th Biennial Convention of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA) is scheduled to be held on Friday October 29 through Sunday October 31, 2004. The event is being hosted by the Federation of Indian Community Associations (FICA) of Cleveland, FICA president Satish Parikh is the convener of the convention. It will be held at the SHERATON Cleveland City Center. The program will be filled with stimulating seminars, youth and women sessions and an exhilarating entertainment program.

 

Contact: NFIA President Niraj Baxi, Tel: 408-973-9161, E-mail: nbaxi@nfia.net; NFIA President-Elect Dr. Rajen Anand, E-mail: ranand2@csulb.edu; NFIA Executive Vice President Radha Krishnan, E-mail: RK4155@aol.com or FICA President and NFIA Convention Convener Satish Parikh, E-mail: satish.parikh@wgint.com.

 

 

GOPIO-SURINAME PRESIDENT AMBASSADOR KRISHNA NANDOE HOSTED IN NEW YORK

 

GOPIO hosted luncheon reception and meeting with former Suriname ambassador to the UN and Brazil and currently GOPIO-Suriname President Krishna Nandoe in New York on September 19th. Present at the meeting were many indo-Caribbeans from the New York area. Nandoe spoke on Indians in Suriname and the Caribbean. It was a very informative and interactive session that was consisted of historical, statistical, economic and social perspectives. The discussion was of significant interest to the attendees who asked several pertinent questions and participated with their own commentaries as well.

 

According to Nandoe Indians in Suriname account for 35% of the population, Africans and others on 40%; while Indonesians comprise 25%. The government is always dependent on one or the other groups to govern effectively.

 

There have been substantial effects and influence of globalization on Indians in the Caribbean, and in particular Indians living in Suriname", said Nandoe.

 

With the objective of networking with the global Indian community, Nandoe has proposed to organize PIO conference of the Americas in early July, 2005. "The new globalization further makes it incumbent to hold the July 2005 regional conference in Suriname, with the expectation that it will help with understanding how to interact more on a regional and global basis, and understanding each other", Nandoe continued.

 

GOPIO Suriname wants to tap into the resources of acquired knowledge and experience of Indians in the USA, the Caribbean and other countries, so that Indians in the Indians in Suriname can become more visible and express their unique heritage and aspirations.

 

GOPIO Suriname can be contacted as follows: Harold Ramdhany, GOPIO-Suriname Secretary, E-mail: harold.r.ramdhani@ramsholding.sr

 

NRI MINISTRY RENAMED

 

The Govt. of India has renamed Ministry of NRI Affairs as the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. A notification to this effect has been issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan. In Hindi, the ministry will now be known as `Pravasi Bhartiya Karya Mantralaya.'


Official sources said with the renaming of the ministry, its area of operation would be broadened dealing with issues concerning Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) as well as all overseas Indians, including People of Indian Origin (PIOs).

 

NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE

 

SOUTH AFRICA NOMINATES ANAND SINGHS YESTERDAY FOR OSCAR

A film titled Yesterday produced by leading South African Indian filmmaker Anant Singh the country's nomination for the 2005 Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Picture. The full-length feature film in Zulu language, deals with the trials and tribulations of a rural woman fighting HIV/AIDS. It has already won the inaugural Human Rights Film Award at the 61st Venice International Film Festival

 

The movie 'Yesterday' has been acclaimed at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals and is drawing huge audiences in South Africa which, has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world.

 

NINE PIO SCIENTISTS IN MITs TOP 1OO LIST

 

Nine scientists of Indian origin were named among the world's top 100 young researchers by Technology Review, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The top 100 honor, an annual MIT event, recognizes exceptional talent in fields like biotechnology, medicine, nanotechnology and computing. This years person of Indian origin (PIO) award recipients are as follows:

 

Srinidhi Varadarajan, 31, Director of Terascale Computing Facility, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, conceived and built the world's third-fastest supercomputer from a cluster of 1,100 Apple Macintoshes. The project cost at around $5 million when world-class supercomputers cost $100 million or more.

Anuj Batra, 34, is a Systems Engineer at Texas Instruments. He leads one of the industry's top teams advancing ultra wideband wireless technology, which provides the high speeds needed for streaming-media applications with low power consumption.

Ramesh Raskar, 34, a visiting research scientist at Mitsubishi Electric was named for building large computer display systems that seamlessly combine images from multiple projectors. The computer scientist's image-processing and graphics research may lead to new applications in entertainment, image-guided surgery, and user interfaces.

Chaitali Sengupta, 34, who finds mention in the list, is a Systems architect with Texas Instruments which oversees the architecture of the communication chips. These chips are useful in multimedia cell phones which handle Internet access, video conferencing, and mobile commerce.

Ravi Kane, 32, Assistant professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was selected for creating a highly potent anthrax treatment in which each drug molecule blocks multiple toxin molecules rather than just one. He is now extending the concept to anti-HIV therapies.

Vikram Sheel Kumar, 28, Co-founder and CEO, Dimagi, founded his company in Boston to develop interactive software that motivates patients to manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and AIDS.

Ananth Natarajan, 33, CEO, Infinite Biomedical Technologies, was named for devising technology that enables implantable cardiac devices to detect incipient heart attacks.

Mayank Bulsara, 32, co-founder and CTO, Amber-Wave Systems, worked with material science technology to enhance transistor performance by including germanium atoms in between silicon atoms, making the chip faster along with less power consumption.

Smruti Vidwans, 30, is post-doctoral fellow at university California, San Francisco, worked on finding a cure for tuberculosis by damaging the protein produced by the TB bacteriumn. Vidwans is setting up Phenotypica, a company to fund drugs to combat TB.

 

Sixty-nine men and thirty-one women were selected from a pool of 500 nominations for this year's honor.

 

NOVEL BY NRI AUTHOR TO BECOME HOLLIWOOD FILM


An acclaimed magic realism novel by a California-based Indian writer will soon be made into an $80 million lavish Hollywood production starring Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai. Mistress of Spices, a novel about the dilemmas of fitting in by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is being made into a film by Paul Mayeda Berges, the screenplay writer-husband of British Indian director Gurinder Chadha.

 

MAMMEN ZACHARIAH APPOINTED TO FLORIA BOARD OF MEDICINE


Florida Governor Jeb Bush has appointed Dr Mammen P. Zachariah to the Florida Board of Medicine for four years. Zachariah is co-director, Cardiovascular Laboratories, Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. A staunch Republican, Zachariah is a strong supporter of Governor Jeb Bush and also of his brother, President George W. Bush's re-election campaign.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN NAMED FIRST STUDENT BOARD MEMBER OF AMAF


Arun Mohan, a medical student who distinguished himself as an organizer of medical and humanitarian efforts, has been named the first student member on the American Medical Association Foundations' board of directors. Mohan, a fourth year student at Emory Univ. School of Medicine will be a member for one year to bring the 'fresh perspective' of a future physician to the philanthropic arm of America's largest physicians association.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN WINS MACARTHUR RESEARCH GRANT

 

Indian American Vamsi Mootha is among 23 people who have won "do-what-you-want-with-it" grants of $500,000 each from the MacArthur Foundation. Mootha is an assistant professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, Boston. The grants are considered the pinnacle of achievement in mainly academic fields and are aimed at enabling awardees to carry out research or creative work without any constraints.

 

 

Moorthas interests lie in tapping new data from molecular biology, genetics, and protein chemistry to identify the cause of, and possible treatment for, metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Moorthas interest is in energy metabolism and its research potential. Moortha hopes to channel funds into high-risk research projects that would have been unable to undertake earlier. Some of the funds will be as seed money for initiatives to back study in his field.


The MacArthur Foundation has assets of around $4 billion. It was named after John D. MacArthur (1897-1978), who developed and owned Bankers Life and Casualty Company and other businesses, as well as considerable property in Florida and New York.

 

INDO-CANADIAN ALOK MUKHERJEE ON TORONTO POLICE BOARD

 

Indo-Canadian Alok Mukherjee, a human rights advocate and educator, has been elected to Toronoto's Police Services Board. The decision was made by a split Toronto Toronto City Council.


The appointment has caused a stir within and outside the council with accusations that Toronto Mayor David Miller influenced the choice. Mayor Miller, who Wednesday endorsed the choice, said at a press briefing that Mukherjee was ideally suited to the job.

Mukherjee has been a community activist working for equity and fairness in educational, government and community organizations. Mukherjee is a partner of Partners in Equality and a member of the Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action. He served as acting chief commissioner and vice chair of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, was a member of the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services and also serves as a member of the board of governors of Centennial College. He is active in several community organizations including the South Asian Fellowship, the National Association of Canadians of Origins in India and South Asians Fighting against Racism.

 

ADVANTAGE NRI/PIO

 

AMRISTAR AIRLINKED TO SINGAPORE

 

Singapore Airlines have announced linking Amritsar in Punjab with direct flights to Singapore three days a week, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday beginning Oct 1. The airline will cater to passengers not only headed to Amritsar but also to other places in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Singapore Airlines expects to tap passenger traffic to Singapore and other countries like Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, southeast Asia and Japan.

 

RESIDENTIAL PLOTS OFFERED TO NRIs/PIOs

 

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has come out with a bonanza for NRIs and PIOs, who can make a bid for residential plots in the capital during auctioning. Senior DDA officials told GOPIO India Chapter that the change in the policy for NRIs and PIOs was in keeping with the foreign exchange maintenance act and RBI guidelines. This is to recall FEMA and RBI allow NRIs and PIOs to own residential property in the country. However, they are not allowed to trade in property. The DDA has presumably changed its earlier pol