GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN

January 2007

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CONTENTS

• GOPIO CONVENTION 2007 IN NEW DELHI JANUARY 5^TH AND 6^TH PRAVASI COMMUNITY SERVICE AWRDS ANNOUNCED
• PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS - JANUARY 7-9, 2007 IN NEW DELHI

• GOPIO SESSION ON ENGAGING PIOs FOR INDIAs DEVELOPMENT

• INDIAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON KOLKATA JANUARY 11-13
• GOPIO JOINS HANDS WITH NORTH GUJARAT UNIV. IN DIASPORA CONF. JAN. 2-4, PATAN, GUJARAT
• PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS US-INDIA PEACEFUL ATOMIC ENERGY COOPERATION ACT OF 2006
• NRI CHILDREN DEPORTED FOR LACK OF PROPER DOCUMENTS
• GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS

• CONGRESSMAN PETER KING CALLS ON US AND INDIA TO WORK CLOSELY TO DEFEAT TERRORISM
• YOUTH AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SHARE THEIR EXPERENCE AT GOPIO-CT NETWORKING LUNCHEON
• TWO NEW GOPIO CHAPTERS TO RECEIVE RECOGNTION SOON

• NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE

• IEEE HONORS INDIAN AMERICAN DR. THOMAS KAILATH
• SIXTEEN BRITISH INDIANS IN THE 2007 HONOR LIST
• TWO INDIAN AMERICANS NAMED TO SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 50
• SUNDAY TIMES NAMES MITTAL AS BUSIENSS PERSON OF THE YEAR
• KRIS KOLLURI BECOMES NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR FOR A DAY
• INDIAN AMERICAN MONTE AHUJA $30 MILLION TO CLEVELAND HOSPITAL
• INDIAN AMERICAN SABITA SINGH BECOMES FIRST SOUTH ASIAN JUDGE IN MASSACHUSETTS

• NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs AND PIOs AROUND THE WORLD

• GLOBAL MEET FOR BIHAR SCHEDULED FOR JAN. 19-21, 2007
• THE FOURTH PRAVASI PUNJABI DIVAS SCHEDULED FOR JAN. 11, 2007
• NRI/PIO REMITTANCE TO INDIA REACHED TOP WORLDWIDE POSITION
• IDCA TO MEET IN NEW DELHI, JANUARY 10^TH
• SOCIAL SECUTIRY BENEFITS FOR US RETURNED INDIANS
• LABOR SHORTAGE IN CANADA MAY HELP MORE MIGRATION OF INDIANS
• NEW ZEALAND NEEDS MORE SKILLED IMMIGRANTS

• GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION
• EDITORIAL BOARD

GOPIO CONVENTION 2007 IN NEW DELHI, JANUARY 5^TH AND 6^TH - PRAVASI COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International

GOPIO CONVENTION 2007

January 5^th & 6^th, 2007 New Delhi , India

In Conjunction With

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS 2007

Venue: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Conference Room, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi

(Tel: 91-11 2373876070)

THEME

OVERSEAS INDIANS: Identity Preservation & Adoption of New Values in Pluralistic Societies

Program

Friday, January 5^th, 2007

FICCI Conference Room, New Delhi

9:30 am to 11:00 Noon GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to public)

11:00 am to 5:30pm Registration

11:00 am to 1:00 pm GOPIO General Council Meeting (Not open to public)

1:00 pm. Lunch

2:00 pm to 3:00 pm GOPIO COUNCIL REPORTS (Open to Public)

GOPIO CHAPTER NRI/PIO AREA REPORTS (Open to Public)

North America Dr. Piyush Agrawal, GOPIO Coordinator, USA and Radha Krishan, Incoming President, National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), USA

South America and Caribbean Yesu Persaud, Executive VP GOPIO Intl., Ambassador Krishna Nandoe, President of GOPIO Suriname and Dr. Arnold Thomas, St. Vincent

Europe Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium Conference Report and

Raj Lakha, President GOPIO UK Chapter Reports

Middle East Sunny Kulathakal (Bahrain ), GOPIO Intl. VP for Middle East

Pacific/Ocenia Noel Lal, GOPIO Australia Coordinator, Sydney, Australia

Far East K. Sital, GOPIO South East Asia Coordinator, Hong Kong

Africa Sagie Naidu, GOPIO South Africa Coordinator

3:30 pm to 6:00 pm Indian & PIO MEDIA CONCLAVE

THEME: India & PIO Media Exchange and Deliberation

Chief Guest: To be announced

Moderator & Chair: Munish Gupta Chairman, GOPIO Media Council, Journalist, Media Entrepreneur, created Indias first IPTV platform www.IndiaTVLive.com and first-ever channel for an expatriate population www.PIOTV.com

Co-Chair: San Jay Reddy MD & CEO, RJR BANCORP, GOPIO Los Angeles Chapter President

Inauguration by Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

Keynote Address by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Priya Ranjan Das Munshi

Session A: 3.30 4.50 PM

India & Indian Media Today - Rapid and dynamic changes in Indian Media, its influence on politics, economy, socially & culture

Panelists:

K. S. Sarma - Former CEO Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) and now CEO MAA TV, Hyderabad.

Shekhar Gupta - Editor, Indian Express Group, Delhi.

Anil Srivastava Chief Operating Officer, Radio Today Broadcasting Ltd. (India Today group) and a successful former Radio entrepreneur and RJ from USA.

Manoranjana Sinh Chairperson & MD of Northeast Media Group (Private satellite and cable television and FM Radio channels group)

S. Mitra Kalita Currently on leave of absence from The Washington Post helping set up a new business newspaper in Delhi.

Session B: 5.10 6.30 PM

PIOs in Media. Their Perception of India & Indian Media, and, their role in the global perception of India and bridging Indians and PIOs.

Panelists:

Indira Somani Former CNBC TV News Producer from New York, Ph.D. student and teacher of Broadcast Journalism at University of Maryland.

Raakhee Mirchandani Columnist, New York Post

Tarun Basu Chief Editor, Indo-Asian News Service, New Delhi & Washington, DC

Nawab Khan, Editor, INEP, Brussels

Vinod Dhawan, Chief of Bureau in New Delhi for India Post, San Francisco & New York.

Other Participants:
Overseas:
Steve Agarwal News Correspondent, Page 3 Tabloid, Washington, DC

Gunjan Taneja Marketing Manager, Nirvana Woman Magazine, USA

Karan Bhatt Nirvana Woman Magazine, Delhi.

Raghbir Goyal India Globe, Washington, DC

India:

Basharat Ahmad, Deputy Director General, Doordarshan International.

Baleshwar Agarwal, Anthar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad

Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik, Community activist and leader

Dr. Kanak Sen Deka, Editor, Agradoot, Assam.

Rajendra Prabhu Veteran Technology Journalist & Columnist.

Shivaji Sarkar, Professor of Journalism, IIMC, Delhi.

K G Suresh PTI

Vinay Thakur The Hindu

Narendra Bhandari Jansatta

Arvind Singh Haribhoomi

Tapan Roy CEO, ATN Bangla

Atul Saraf CEO, Seven Star Health Channel

Guptas Sadhna TV

Subhash Sinha Media Advisor, Gujarat Samachar

O. P. Mehra Freelancer

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Formal Inauguration of GOPIO Conference 2007

Guest of Honor: Dr. L. M. Singhvi, Former Chairman of the Indian Diaspora Committee

Welcome: K.N. Gupta, Conference Chair and President GOPIO India, New Delhi

Welcome: Inder Singh, President, GOPIO International

Greetings: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International

Inauguration Ceremony: Lighting of the Lamp

Chief Guests Speech

Release of the Conference Souvenir

Release of the book by Anand Mulloo

Recognition of Sponsors

Note of Thanks: Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, GOPIO International

8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Reception 

Saturday, January 6^th, 2007

FICCI Conference Room, New Delhi

Conference Theme:

OVERSEAS INDIANS: Identity Preservation & Adoption of New Values in Pluralistic Societies

9:30 am Registration Coffee/Tea

10:00 am to 11:15 am - Session I DIASPORA ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES

Chair: Dr. Jagat Motwani, Chairman, GOPIO Academic Council 

Co-Chair: Prof. Adesh Pal, North Gujarat University, Patan, India

Speakers:

Dr. Kavita Sharma: "Limping marriages and holiday wives."

Dr. Gulshan Sharma "Breakup of NRI Marriages What role can community play?"

Ms. Sandhya Sinha, Chairperson, Political Forum for Women: "Diasporic influence on Indian

women."

Sunny Kulathakal , Bahrain , Civic and Human Rights Violations of NRIs in the Middle East

Prof. Anand Kumar, JNU, "Diasporic Course and Research in Indian universities."

Dr. M.K. Pandey, Prasar Bharti: "Indian Perceptions of NRIs, and Indians as

perceived by NRIs"

11.15 am to 11.30 am Coffee/Tea Break 

11.30 am to 12.45 pm Session II - INDIAN DIASPORA  - ASSIMILATION & PLURALISM

Chair: Ambassador Krishna Nandoe, President of GOPIO Suriname

Co-Chair: Dr. Shekhar Tiwary, Co-Chair GOPIO Roots Committee

Speakers:

Anand Mulloo, Diaspora in Plural societies

Prof. Parmatma Saran/Dr. Rupam Saran, Author and Professor of Sociology, City University, New York -- North American Experience

George Abraham, Singapore   -- Asian Experience

Lord Diljit Rana, House of Lords, London European Experience

Dr. Arnold Thomas, St. Vincents Indian Heritage Foundation Caribbean Experience

12:45 pm to 1:45 pm Lunch 

2:00 pm to 3:15 pm Session III - The NRI-PIO DIVIDE HOW TO BRIDGE THE GAP?

Chair: Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, GOPIO International, New York, NY

Co-Chair: Dr. Chandrashekar Bhat, Prof. of Sociology and Director, Indian Diaspora Institute, Univ. of Hyderabad

Speakers:

Prof Mohan Gautam, University of Leiden, Netherlands

Prof Ganesh Chand, University of Fiji

P.S. Sahai, Former Ambassador of India, New Delhi

Ms. Janis Darbari, UK

3.15 pm to 3.30 am Coffee/Tea Break 

3:30 pm to 4:45 pm Session IV - NRIs/PIOs AND INDIA: DEVELOPING PEOPLE TO PEOPLE RELATIONS

Chair: Prof. Jai Rup Singh Ph.D, Vice Chancellor, GNU, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Co-Chair: Prashant Gupta, Chairman, GOPIO.Connect, Gurgaon, India

Speakers:
Madhu Yaskhi M.P., Member of Lok Sabha, New Delhi - "Overview and Perspective from a Law Maker"
Dr. Y.S. Rajan - Scientist, Technologist, Academic, Writer and Poet and currently Principal Advisor, Confederation of Indian Industries, New Delhi, "People to People Relations in Education and Technology Transfer."

J.C. Sharma, Former Secretary, MEA and currently Executive Trustee of Chiranjiv Bharti Trust, "NRIs/PIOs Networking with Business, Civic and Community Organizations in India."

Dr. Srinivasa Rao, Editor, The Catalyst, New York, "NRIs/PIOs Networking with Developmental Groups.

4:50 pm to 5:30 pm Wrap-up and Adoption of Resolutions

Chair: Dr. Piyush Agrawal, USA Coordinator, GOPIO International 

7:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Reception and Grand Awards Banquet with the Presentation of GOPIOs Pravasi Community Service Awards

7:30 pm to 11:00 pm

Reception, Entertainment and Grand Awards Banquet with the Presentation of GOPIOs Pravasi Community Service Awards

Venue: Ashoka Hotel

Diplomatic Enclave

Chanakaypuri, Delhi, 110021

Telephone 11-2611-0101, 11-2611-6161

GUEST OF HONOR Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi

GOPIO Community Service Awards will be presented to:

• Charan Gill, Canada
• George Abrahams, Singapore
• Nevin P. Megchiani, Bahrain, Middle East
• Wahid Saleh, The Netherlands

Recipients of GOPIO 2007 Pravasi Community Service Awards

Charan Gill, Canada

Charan Gill founded British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism, co-founded Canadian Farm workers Union, President of Progressive Indo-Canadian Community Services Society, and many others. He developed seniors housing project and raised funds towards the purchase price. He was a member Task Force on Race Relations, and organized a conference on race relations. He developed the Colony Farm Project to cultivate 167 acres of land organically and provide a training institute to grow vegetables and fruits organically. Gill has won numerous community service awards such as the Order of British Columbia, Vandusen Community Service Award from the United Way, Human Right Award from MOSAIC, Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and many more.

George Abraham, Singapore

George Abraham has served in various capacities with the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He is Chairman of The GA Group which organizing country-focused seminars, conferences and publications; and the Global Indian Business Network Ltd, which assists cross-border trade and investment within Singapore, India and the region. Abraham serves on various government, civic and community organizations, and launched the Global Indian Business Summit in 2006.

Nevin P. Megchiani, Bahrain, Middle East

Nevin Megchiani has been serving and supporting various educational facilities for the benefit of the NRI community in the Gulf, serving in various capacities in several NRI community organizations He has served as Vice Chairman of the Indian School Bahrain, the first and the largest community school today with more than 6000 students. He also worked towards helping the NRI community children to get admissions in the top class universities in India over the quota system by adding or increasing the NRI quota seating. Mehchiani is the Director of the branch of Birla Institute of Technology of Ranchi which he succeeded in bringing to Bahrain where it established its first International Centre abroad for NRI community children to pursue their degree programs while living with their parents.

Wahid Saleh, The Netherlands

Born in Assam, Wahid Saleh Wahid studied engineering in Kerala, Germany, and The Netherlands. He has served as a Board Member of the Netherlands-India Association, and guided the creation of the Dutch Indian Youth Association (DIYA). He has also served in numerous civic, community and cultural organizations in various executive positions. In April 2002 Wahid was awarded the coveted Dutch honor, Ridder in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau(the Knighthood of the Order of Orange-Nassau). Saleh also authored the book, Indiawijzer-India in Nederland, a reference guide on Indian culture in The Netherlands. For his services to the PIO/NRI community, Saleh was presented with Foundation for Critical Choices for India Silver Jubilee Award. He established the Anwar Qadir Mohammed Salehuddin and Najmun Nisa Memorial Trust for Higher Education in Assam, and donated the required funds for this trust.

GOPIO HONOR ROLL

GOPIO honors outstanding leaders by inducting them to GOPIO Honor Roll for outstanding political leadership and continued support for GOPIO and Indian Diaspora. This year, the inductees are:

Hon. Gov. M. M. Jacob, Governor of Meghalaya

Hon. Dr. Karan Singh, MP, Chairman of ICCR

Hon. Inder K. Gujral, Former Prime Minister of India

They will be inducted to GOPIOs Honor Roll at the finale Awards Banquet.

Conference Registration

Conference Registration Fee: Rs. 1,000. Prior registration is mandatory. Total registration will be limited to 200 delegates. Limited number of Jan. 6^th banquets only registration available at Rs. 600 per person. Those from outside India, please contact GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in the US at 718-353-1900 E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com.

The conference in Delhi coordinated by GOPIO-India president Mr. K.N. Gupta, Tel: (91) 11-4164-2066/9811131588, e-mail: knguptas@hotmail.com Address: D-47 Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110049

Sponsor opportunities are available for Indian businesses interested to reach out to PIOs/NRIs. Limited number of Tabletop Booths will also be available at the venue on January 6^th. Contact Mr. Rajesh Chowdhury, World Premier Productions, Tel: (91) 11-41729540/9818208811.

TITLE SPONSORS OF GOPIO CONVENTION 2007

PLATINUM SPONSOR KINGFISHER AIRLINES owned by Dr. Vijay Mallaya

GOLD SPONSOR PIO TV (www.piotv.com)

COCKTAIL RECEPTION SPONSOR (following the Media Conclave) San Jay Reddy MD & CEO, RJR BANCORP. and President, GOPIO Los Angeles

KINGFISHER AIRLINES

A truly world-class airline in every sense

Efficient yet Warm. Stylish yet Comfortable

Brand new fleet incorporating the latest technology

A crew that has undergone rigorous training program

PIO TV (www.piotv.com)

The only channel for People of Indian Origin on internet

Live Feed 24/7 direct from India

RJR BANCORP

RJR Bancorp is an independent Merchant Bank and financial services holding company that is committed to helping its clients --middle-market and emerging-growth companies, small and large governments, and ultra high net worth individuals-- achieve their strategic and financial goals. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the firm provides Investment Banking, Investment Management, and Investment Advisory services.

Hotel and Internal Travel Arrangements

The Travel Corporation of India (TCI) Pvt. Ltd. has identified different types of hotels for GOPO delegates (visit: http://www.tciconferences.com/gopio/). Those wanting to go for site seeing trips in India, pre- and/or post-convention, TCI could make internal travel arrangements and accommodation. A very special rate of US$130 + Applicable taxes (12.5% of published rate) has been negotiated with Hotel Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi. Contact Narendra Saraswat, Manager  - Business Development & E-Holidays, Travel Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd., 504 - 505, 5th Floor, New Delhi House, 27 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110 001, Tel. +91-11-23317773, 23315834, Fax: +91-11-23316705, 23327468, Email - narendras@tci.co.in

For more information on GOPIO Convention 2007, please contact: GOPIO President Inder Singh in USA at 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran at: 718-353-1900 or by email at ramsaran@aol.com

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS-2007 JANUARY 7-9, 2007 IN NEW DELHI

The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) is organizing PBD 2007 in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Delhi state government. The theme of PBD 2007 has been decided to be 'Rooting for the roots', and will focus on education, healthcare, women, youth and investment. Over three dozen conference sessions (see details at www.pbd2007.org) are planned at the PBD 2007. GOPIO has been helping to put together one session as follows:

GOPIO SESSION ON ENGAGING PIOs FOR INDIAS DEVELOPMENT

A Joint GOPIO Working Session is planned at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2007. The theme is: ENGAGING PIOs FOR INDIAS DEVELOPMENT. The session is scheduled to be held on Sunday, January 7, 2007 from 1430 to 1600 hours at Vigyan Bhavan. The Chief Guest is Hon. Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, and the Guest of Honor is Minister Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Labor & Employment. The moderator is former Ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan. Speakers are GOPIO International Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham (USA), GOPIO International Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran (USA), GOPIO President (Mauritius) Mahyendrah Utchanah, Netherlands PIO Institute Director Dr. Mohan Gautam, and University of Fiji Professor Dr. Ganesh Chand.

For PBD registration, contact: Ms. Rekha Sethi, Senior Director & Head-Special Events, Confederation of Indian Industry, Tel: 91 124 4014086; 4014060-67, Fax: 91 124 4014080, Email: rekha.sethi@ciionline.org, pbd2007@ciionline.org or Mr. Nitin Kumar, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Akbar Bhawan, New Delhi 110 021, Tel: 011 24674141, Mobile : 09868035028, Email: usfs@moia.nic.in OR VISIT www.pbd2007.org

Away But Not Apart

By

Hillol Ray

Dallas, Texas, USA

At the turn of the New Year,

Pravashi Bharatiya Deevosh is here-

While recollections of memories flock,

And those I like to share!

Formative years on my Motherland

Still jingle on the nooks of mind-

So, when I walk on sands of time,

Tales of tale I always find!

Decades of my life have acclimatized

On this new adopted land-

And lifted the veils of India slowly

With a mystic hand!

The rocking chair on which I sit on

Takes me back to my childhood days-

And rekindles my deeper thoughts,

Like the bright sun rays!

O my Motherland, today,

I miss your silhouette touch-

With a fondness of caring me,

To say: thank you so much!

On the hot days of Summer,

I walked on your dusty streets-

Full of haves and have nots,

Getting or missing the royalty treats!

Green meadows of your forests

Ushered in the arrival of Spring-

While I took the morning walk,

Perturbed by the bikers cring!

Childish curiosity drove me to places,

Like your caverns and lakes-

And the flora and fauna of Himalayas

Fascinated me with bright snowflakes!

Dew moistened green grasses

Provoked my eyes and bare hands-

To touch and feel the beauty

Of your vast open lands!

Winding rivers of yours enchanted me

To follow where they mingled with seas-

And soared my dreams in heavenly places,

To look for happiness keys!

Through your ancient temples,

Churches, mosques, and tombs-

You sowed the seeds of secularism

Among knowledge maturing in the wombs!

Via science and technology,

You have achieved the global fame-

And the roles of your political leaders

Swing superpowers in nuclear game!

The sacrifice of your martyrs

To end the long colonization rule-

Makes my head to bow down,

And teaches: non-violence is the tool!

Well, the adopted land of mine today

Has inundated me with material thing-

But spiritual values I seem to lack,

While my despair continues to sing!

With waves of time, I will float away

To rest with eternity in peace-

But the love for you, my Motherland,

Is forever, and assured not to miss!

So, before I conclude,

I must say with a proud voice-

That I am far away, but not apart,

And love you dearly with own choice!!

Hillon Roy can be contacted at Ray.Hillol@epamail.epa.gov

DIASPORA CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN KOLKATTA, JANUARY 11-13

Theme:

Away but not Apart: Evolving Relationships between India and Her Diaspora

Organised by:

Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata, in collaboration with Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Government of India.

Venue: Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata

Duration: 11-13 January 2007

With the late 20^th Century migration of highly skilled Indian professionals, intellectuals and entrepreneurs the Indian Diaspora has come out of the shadows and is today one of the largest and most self-conscious Diaspora in the world. The Conference Away but not Apart: Evolving Relationships between India and her Diaspora aims to explore the changing interaction between India and her Diaspora with intent to generate policy alternatives for the Government of India and is structured around the following eight themes.

Session 1 History of Indian Diaspora Formation

Session 2 Calcutta as a Metaphor in the Indian Diaspora

Session 3 - Indian Culture and the Diaspora

Session 4 - Indian Diaspora Nationalism

Session 5 - Indian Diaspora as a Development Agent

Session 6 Indian Diaspora as a Strategic Asset

Session 7 - Indian Diaspora and the War on Terror

Session 8 Mutual Expectations

34 Scholars from six countries would participate/present papers.

Among them are:

Prof. E. Sridharan: Academic Director, University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India, New Delhi,

Prof. B. B. Bhattacharya: Honble Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Prof. M.K. Gautam: Leiden University, The Netherlands

Prof. Amit Gupta: Air Force War College, Montgomery, Alabama, USA.

Prof. Chandrasekhar Bhat: Director, Centre for Diaspora Studies, Hyderabad

Suchita Ramdin: Head, Department of Folklore and Oral Traditions, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Mauritius

Dr. Pamela Gutman: Honorary Associate of the Dept. of Art History and Theory at the Univ. of Sydney

Selvarajoo Sundram: GOPIO, Malaysia

Dr. Thomas Abraham: Chairman, GOPIO International, Stamford, CT, USA

Shri Malay Mishra: Joint Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India

Professor D.P. Chattopadhyaya, Chairman Centre for Studies in Civilizations, Former Union Minister for Commerce and Former Governor of Rajasthan would deliver the Key note address.

Prof. Muchukund Dubey, Former Foreign Secretary, Government of India would deliver the valedictory address

Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi will inaugurate the Conference on January 11 at 10 AM.

Interested participants may register on or before January 5, 2007. Contact: Dr. Binod Mishra

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD INSTITUTE OF ASIAN STUDIES (An Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India), 5, Ashraf Mistri Lane, (Lovelock Street Opp. Ballygunge Military Camp), Kolkata- 700 019, Telephone: (033) 2454 6581, Mob: 91+9830875066, Fax:(033) 2486 2049, Email: makaias@vsnl.net or makaias@cal.vsnl.net.in or visit http://www.makaias.gov.in

GOPIO JOINS HANDS WITH NORTH GUJARAT UNIV. IN DIASPORA CONF. JAN. 2-4, PATAN, GUJARAT

North Gujarat University at Patan is organizing International Conference on India and Her Diaspora in the South Pacific from January 2-4, 2007 in academic association with GOPIO International. The conference is jointly organized by the University Grants Commission and is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA).

Shri Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs will be delivering the inaugural address. Dr. Jagat Motwani, chair GOPIO Academic Council, Dr. Ganesh Chand, GOPIO Community Service Awardee will be felicitated among others. GOPIO International President Inder Singh would also address the conference.

Many prominent academicians, scholars and writers on Diaspora from various parts of the world would be taking part in the three-day conference. Two persons from GOPIO, Inder Singh and Jagat Motwani would also be reading paper in the conference.

Dr. Adesh Pal of Centre for Indian Diaspora and Cultural Studies of North Gujarat University is the chief organizer of the conference. He can be contacted at adeshpalngu@rediffmail.com

PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS US-INDIA PEACEFUL ATOMIC ENERGY COOPERATION ACT OF 2006

US president George Bush signed into law the "Henry J. Hyde United States- India Peaceful Atomic Energy cooperation Act of 2006" that is expected to end India's nuclear isolation and pave way for a strong US-India alliance in the 21st century on December 18^th at 10.45 a.m. at the White House East Room. President told an excited and partisan audience of supporters that nuclear cooperation would strengthen the partnership between the two largest democracies, aside from other benefits in terms of energy and environment.

"The relationship between the United States and India has never been more vital," Bush said in a 10-minute address that dealt primarily with the big geo-strategic implications of the deal, as against the nuclear-specific grounds on which critics have opposed the deal.

Bush used former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's expression of India and the US being "natural partners" to stress that "rivalries that once kept our nations apart are no more". But Bush also provided ammo for critics of the deal in India by tagging a non-proliferation angle to what was primarily intended to be a nuclear energy deal.

"The bill will help keep America safe by paving the way for India to join the global effort to stop the spread of nuclear weapons," he said.

More than 100 prominent people attended including secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Deputy Secretary Nicholas Burns, key lawmakers, diplomats, analysts, and members of the Indian-American community attended the signing ceremony.

GOPIO had campaigned for the passage of this bill by organizing several town house meetings with several law makers and was represented by its Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham, U.S. National Coordinator Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal, New York Chapter President Lal Motwani, Washington DC National Chapter President Dr. Renuka Mishra and GOPIO Human Rights Council Co-Chairman Dr. Parveen Chopra.

NRI CHILDREN DEPORTED FOR LACK OF PROPER DOCUMENTS

US based newspaper; India Abroad reported that Mumbai Airport immigration officials deported seven-year-old Viraj Shriwardhankar and his three-and-a-half-year-old brother Vrishabh two hours after they landed in India last week. Their parents' plea for a transit or temporary visa was summarily denied.

Vijay and his wife Vaishali Prabhu, both natives of Mumbai who have worked as IT professionals for nine years in Boston, said they 'cried' when they described their experience at Mumbai airport. Both Vijay and Vaishali are Indian citizens and have a Green Card. Their sons are born in the US and hence, American citizens.

The family left Boston on December 11 for a four-week vacation in India by Air France flight 337. 'The Air France agent verified our Green Cards along with our passports but did not ask about the Indian visa for our children who have US passports. At Paris the officials never verified our sons' visa but verified our Green Cards,' Shriwardhankar said.

When the family arrived in Mumbai they realized they had not brought the visas for the children with them. Their elder son has a ten-year Indian visa in an old passport which the family did not carry with them. The younger son has a Person of Indian Origin card. That too the family did not have with them. The family requested an immigration official for temporary or transit visas for the children. They also told the official they could get the documents faxed from Boston.

'The official would not even look at us, let alone hear our pleas,' Vaishali said. 'I have never seen such inhuman behavior.' No one was bothered that the children had already traveled for about 24 hours. 'There was absolutely no humanity shown by the ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) Immigration or Air France officials,' Vijay said.

The official would grant the family only 45 minutes for the documents to be faxed to Mumbai. 'We requested a little more time. But he would not heed us,' Vaishali said.

'I requested my friend in Boston to go to my house and fax the visa papers immediately. She was already on her way to get those papers. I was begging the Immigration ACP and Air France officials to allow us to wait at the airport until officials received the fax but they didn't want to do anything about it and forced us to take the flight at 2:40,' Vijay said.

The officials received the fax 10 minutes after the flight departed, the couple discovered later. Commenting on this episode, GOPIO officials said that this was very unfortunate and that India Govt. should take immediate steps to prevent such incidence in future.

GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS

CONGRESSMAN PETER KING CALLS ON US AND INDIA TO WORK CLOSELY TO DEFEAT TERRORISM

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) New York chapter hosted a dinner/talk with Congressman Peter King (R, 3^rd District, New York) at its annual holiday party at the Jewel of Indian Restaurant, Syosset, New York on Sunday, December 17^th. Addressing a house full crowd over 100 people on the topic Global Terrorism, Rep. King said that the USA and India face similar problems on global terrorism and must work closely together to defeat this crucial global problem.

"The Government of India is taking tremendous leadership as an example of how different people and communities work together and do it in a peaceful manner, while maintaining the basic principles of democracy," King said. "Vibrant democracies such as the USA and India share common goals and should count on each other for support and cooperation, King added.

According to King, the basic three steps of cooperation between the USA and India are to keep the economy strong and vibrant, defeat terrorism, and maintain strong democracies. "As in the USA, India is working hard to head off, stop, minimize any attack on itself as we are in this struggle together against global terrorism," said King.

Although King has opposed illegal migration, he was in favor of legal migration of professionals needed to keep up the American economy. King further said, Legal immigration is crucial to the USA and its competitiveness, and I will do all I can to facilitate a smooth application process for those who deserve to be admitted.

During the question/answer session, the issue of the US military aid to Pakistan was raised by several in the audience. Congressman King said that supporting Pakistan has become a necessity to keep up the fight on terrorism.

On the US-India Nuclear Cooperation Act passed by the US Congress, Congressman King said that December 18^th is a great day in the relationship between USA and India as both countries forge stronger bonds.

The chief guest for the evening was Indias Deputy Consul General A.R. Ghanashyam who provided some historical facts on terrorism and how it evolved in its current form. The meeting started with a welcome by GOPIO-New York President Lal Motwani who said that the New York chapter organized several programs in 2006 including a demonstration in front of the United Nations against the government of Trinidad and Tobago for its complicity in not following rule of law in that country. Representative King was introduced by GOPIO International Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham who thanked the Congressman for the US-India Nuclear Cooperation bill early on from the House International Relations committee. GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran in his concluding remarks said that GOPIO will continue to provide such platforms to the PIO community to interact with elected officials.

GOPIO-New York also presented an award of excellence to Shri Prakah Gossai, a spiritual leader and head of the Bhuvaneshwar Group of Mandirs for his extra-ordinary contribution to the promotion and preservation of Hinduism, Indian culture, humanitarianism, and inter-group relations in North America and the Caribbean. Gossai has been recently appointed as an aide to Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo.

For more information and registration, contact GOPIO New York President Lal Motwani 718-470-1026 or E-mail: lmotwani@nyc.rr.com.

YOUTH AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SHARE THEIR EXPERENCE AT GOPIO-CT NETWORKING LUNCHEON

GOPIO-CT hosted its first youth and young professionals networking lunch on December 24, 2006 at Meera Restaurant in Stamford, CT. The panelists included Anand Ahuja, AVP for Strategy at JP Morgan Chase; Nitya Abraham, a final year medical student at NYU; Rishie Raj Laroia a MBA (class of 2007) student Kelley School of Business and Mala Sharma a senior at Boston University representing professionals in business, finance, medicine, and engineering. The emphasis of the afternoon was to meet, network and learn from each other, help in finding a career that one enjoys and then identifying opportunities and mentors early on to set forth on the chosen career path.

Anand Ahuja, an AVP of Strategy at JP Morgan Chase is a graduate from Princeton University. Nine years ago, while in high school, he co-founded Uniquely U. College Essay Consultants (www.uuessay.com). Uniquely U. teaches college bound students as well as those applying to prep schools and graduate schools how to write a personal statement for applications.  At JPMorgan Chase, Anand has been in strategy for over 2 years. Recently, he has developed and implemented a new analyst recruiting program under which fifteen new analysts have been hired. In the hiring process, Anand and his team interviewed over 200 candidates from top colleges. Anand offered his help to the younger members applying to colleges and to those seeking jobs.

Mala Sharma, a senior majoring in manufacturing engineering at Boston University, participated in 5-6 internships at various Fortune 500 companies over the summer and during the school year. These opportunities provided her with a breadth of experience working in various companies that led her to a position at JPMorgan. She obtained her first internship through a non-profit organization called Inroads (www.inroads.org) that especially caters to minority students. The Inroads program is an under-utilized opportunity available to South Asian students. I obtained my first internship after freshman year through Inroads, which would have been otherwise difficult to obtain on my own because of my lack of experience, Mala explained.

Rishie Laroia spoke about initially working in biotechnology and toxicology in various countries for several years before changing career paths and pursuing an MBA at Kelley School of Business. You dont have to necessarily know from the beginning that you want to pursue a career in business. Over the years you find out what you are really interested in. I realized I like business which has led me to business school at Kelley.

Nitya Abraham, a 4rth year medical student at NYU, explained that the best medical students and doctors she has met are the ones who are passionate about what they do. Go into medicine because you truly enjoy it. The training period is long and difficult, but if you enjoy what you are doing, you will excel. She encouraged the students considering a health care profession to shadow and talk to people already in the field. The panelists also advocated innovation and initiative in ones field.

The panel session was moderated by Ankur Ahuja. Ankur graduated from NYU and is currently doing research work at Columbia. Ankur is applying to medical schools and wants to become a pediatrician. Ankur has been actively involved with GOPIO-CT Youth Committee since March 2006.

Yogi Nehra, a young professional, said that he was very pleased to share his personal experience with his peers in terms of his work and graduate school.

The networking event was well received by attendees, who ranged from high school students to working professionals. The turn out was great and people really opened up to each other. I really enjoyed the event and we had great interaction. I am looking forward to the next one, said Ankur Ahuja. This was a great, informal way to meet other Indian kids from my community, Sushil Deshmukh. It was really great to come home from college, meet new people, and enjoy some delicious Indian food said Nitesh Banta. Another student from Bay Path College, Sunaina Hooja said, By attending the GOPIO program, I feel more connected to the youth in the Indian community. Sharon Banta, a young professional said, It is nice to see young South Asians to come together in Connecticut since it has a smaller community and the networking is great. We need to continue to have future events for youth and young professionals

Contact GOPIO-CT President Sangeeta Ahuja at 203-329-9744, E-mail: sangeetaahuja@aol.com or GOPIO-CT Secretary Bhaskar Majee at 203-391-0654, E-mail: bmajee@gmail.com.

TWO NEW GOPIO CHAPTERS TO RECEIVE RECOGNITION SOON

GOPIO International has received duly signed letters of intent to start two GOPIO chapters, GOPIO Ireland and GOPIO Durban in South Africa.

NRIs/PIOs ARCHIEVE

IEEE HONORS INDIAN AMERICAN DR. THOMAS KAILATH

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has selected Dr. Thomas Kailath to receive 2007 Medal of Honor. Currently the Hitachi America Professor of Engineering (Emeritus) at Stanford University, Kailath will receive a gold medal and $50,000 prize at a ceremony in June 2007.

Kailath received a B.E. (Telecom) degree from the College of Engineering, Pune, India, in June 1956, and M.S. and D. Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 1959 and June 1961, respectively. He has also received honorary degrees from Linkoping University (Sweden), Strathclyde University (Scotland), the University of Carlos III, Madrid (Spain), and the University of Bordeaux (France), From October 1961 to December 1962, he worked in the Communications Research division of the Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Pasadena, CA, and also taught part-time at the California Institute of Technology. Since then he has been at Stanford University, He has also held shorter-term appointments at several institutions around the world.

Professor Kailath's research has spanned a large number of disciplines, emphasizing information theory and communications in the sixties, linear systems, estimation and control in the seventies, VLSI design and sensor array signal processing in the eighties, and applications to semiconductor manufacturing and digital communications in the nineties. Concurrently, he contributed to several fields of mathematics, especially stochastic processes, operator theory and linear algebra. He has authored, edited and coauthored several books, including Linear Systems (Prentice Hall, 1980), Indefinite Quadratic Estimation and Control (with B. Hassibi and A. H. Sayed, SIAM, 1999), and Linear Estimation (with A. H. Sayed and B. Hassibi, Prentice Hall), 2000. In the course of his research and teaching, Professor Kailath has mentored over a hundred doctoral and postdoctoral students and authored or co-authored over 300 journal papers. He has received outstanding paper prizes from the IEEE Information Theory Society, the IEEE Signal Processing Society, the European Signal Processing Society, and the IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Kailath is the second Indian American to receive the honor since it was instituted in 1917. Dr. C. Kumar Patel of AT&T bell Labs, is the first Indian American who received such an honor. Kailath is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

SIXTEEN BRITISH INDIANS IN THE 2007 HONOR LIST

Sixteen British Indians have been chosen in Britains 2007 honor list. The highest award CBE (Commander of the British Empire) goes to Ramniklal Solanki, founder of Britain's largest Asian publishing house for his services to publishing and to community relations. Solanki has been recognized for his services to publishing and community relations.

Five British Indians find place in the list of OBE (Order of the British Empire). They are Jasminder Singh, founder and Chairman of Radisson Edwardian Hotel Group; Harmesh Lakhanpaul, director, Peterborough Race Equality Council, for services to community relations; Dipesh Jayantilal Shah, formerly chief executive officer, UK Atomic Energy Authority, for services to the energy industry; Rita Sharma, founder and managing director, Best at Travel, for services to the travel industry; and Tom Tar Singh, founder and non-executive director, New Look, for services to the fashion industry.

Ten British Indians selected to MBE (Member of British Empire) are Kanyalal Aswani, GP Waltham Forest, for services to healthcare; Binoy Bhattacharyya, Consultant, West Middlesex Hospital, for services to medicine; Piara Singh Clair, for services to the community in Leicester; Gurdarshan Dhanjal, services to community relations in Bristol, in particular to South Asian families with disabled children; Professor Soraya Dhillon, Chairman, Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust; Krishnarao Koshti, nuclear regulator, Environment Agency, for services to environment; Rajyasree Lodh, formerly administrative officer, Child Support Agency, Dept for work and Pensions; Gurdial Singh Rai for services to Sikh community in Dartford; Ramendra Nath Seth, for services to Rotary International and to the community in Nottinghamshire; and Nirmala Singhvi, services to the community in Watford.

TWO INDIAN AMERICANS NAMED TO SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 50

Three Indian-Americans Prof. Pilickel Ajayan and Prof. Prabhakar R. Bandaru of University California-San Diego have been named to the Scientific American 50 as 2006 leaders in science and technology.

Dr. Ajayan is Henry Burlage professor Materials Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He has been recognized in the materials process category for his work in carbon nanotubes. He was also recently recognized by the Materials Research Society (MRS) medal for his work. Dr. Ajayan created super-resilient springs from carbon nanotubes that might find applications as artificial joints. A metallurgy graduate from Benaras Hindu University, Ajayan received his Ph.D. from North Western University and worked in several corporate labs before joining RPI.

Dr. Bandarus work is in nanotube-based transistors. A professor in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at U.S.-San Diego, Bandaru along with researchers at Clemson University demonstrated a radically new kind of nano-tube based transistor. A graduate of IIT-Kharagpur, Bandaru has a Ph.D. from the materials science and engineering department at U.S.-Berkeley.

SUNDAY TIMES NAMES MITTAL AS BUSIENSS PERSON OF THE YEAR

The Sunday Times has named Lakshmi N. Mittal as its Business Person of 2006. It said it was the year Mittal proved his mettle and deserved the award after his audacious hostile takeover of Arcelor.

Mittal is Britains richest resident (a fortune put at 14.8 billion by the Sunday Times Rich List). He has worlds largest steel company.

KRIS KOLLURI BECOMES NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR FOR A DAY

New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation Kris Kolluri served as the Governor of New Jersey on December 27. He is also the last in the line of succession to the governors seat, and without his presence, the Legislature would have had to appoint a replacement for the vacationing Gov. Jon S. Corzine and three other high-ranking officials who were also out of state.

So Kolluri became the 117th New Jerseyan since 1900 to become acting governor. Kolluri, an immigrant from India, has degrees from Rutgers, Johns Hopkins business school, and Georgetown Law. He worked in several Congressional offices and was acting transportation commissioner for a couple of months before officially taking the post in March.

INDIAN AMERICAN MONTE AHUJA $30 MILLION TO CLEVELAND HOSPITAL

A Cleveland based Indian American businessman Monte Ahuja has donated $30 million to Cleveland's University Hospitals to build what will be called the Ahuja Medical Center -- a full service hospital. The contribution is the highest so far from an Indian American to a chairty, dwarfing the $ 18.5 million that Tampa physician Kiran Patel and his wife Pallavi gave to University of South Florida (USF) last year. Ahuja had earlier given $ 2 million gift in 2000 to Cleveland State University, where he had earned an MBA, and which named a six-story, 120,000 square feet business school building after him.

SABITA SINGH BECOMES FIRST SOUTH ASIAN JUDGE IN MASSACHUSETTS

Indian American attorney Sabita Singh was sworn as Associate Justice of the Massachusetts District Court on December 14^th. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had nominated Singh for the post of District Court judge last October but had to wait till the Governor's Council approved her nomination. She is the first Asian American appointed to the state bench.

Bihar-born Singh is the former founding president of the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston and the current president of the North American South Asian Bar Association. She migrated to the US with her parents as a child and grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended Pennsylvania State University from where she got her bachelor's degree, majoring in the administration of justice, and her law degree from the Boston University School of Law. Later, she clerked with the Massachusetts Superior Court.

NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD

GLOBAL MEET FOR BIHAR SCHEDULED FOR JAN. 19-21, 2007

The Institute for Human Development, New Delhi and The Bihar Times, Patna in collaboration with the Government of Bihar are organising Global Meet for a Resurgent Bihar from 19 to 21 January 2007 at Patna. The overall objective of the Meet is to bring together on one platform, leaders of industry and trade, policy makers, scholars, development practitioners, and social activists to explore opportunities and partnerships for playing effective roles towards the development of Bihar. The Meet shall enable individuals and organisations, concerned with development, to appreciate the situation and forge partnerships for undertaking various initiatives for the development of the state.

More than 500 persons from various parts of the world are expected to participate in the Meet. Mr Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar is the Chief Patron and Mr Sushil Kr Modi, Deputy Chief Minister, is the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Meet. Details of the Meet and information about online registration can be obtained from the website www.globalbiharmeet.com .

Those interested top attend may email confirmation of participation at global.bihar@gmail.com to Mr Prem Chandra, Administrative and Programme Manager, Institute for Human Development, 3^rd Floor, NIDM Building, IIPA Campus, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110 002 (Phone: +91-11-23358166 / 23321610; mobile: +91-9810705500) with a copy to Ms Sujata, The Bihar Times at globalmeet@bihartimes.com (phone: +91-612-2278048).

THE FOURTH PARVASI PUNJABI DIVAS SCHEDULED FOR JAN. 11, 2007

The Govt. of Punjab, NRI Affairs Dept. & the International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry (IPCSI) have planned the 4^th Parvasi Punjabi Divas on Thursday, the 11^th January, 2007 at Hotel Mount view, Chandigarh. 

Chief Ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, J&K, Administrator Chandigarh U.T, leading Corporate, eminent NRIs, investors, entrepreneurs, developers and other eminent dignitaries  are expected to attend the Conference.

The Conference will provide a unique opportunity for exploring avenues for investment, joint collaboration and partnership with Indian corporate and state governments. It will be an excellent forum for business networking.

For more details, you may visit www.ipcsi.org or contact Dr Gulshan Sharma, Secretary General NRI Affairs, IPCSI, by email at invitation@ipcsi.org.

NRI/PIO REMITTANCE TO INDIA REACHED TOP WORLDWIDE POSITION

India and Mexico are neck and neck followed by China in the third place in the world league table of workers remittances. Others such as Philippines are far behind. As a parentage of GDP, however, India is not among the top five. Remittances account for just 3% of the GDP as compared to Lebanon [25%] and Philippines [15%]. That may change because the Indians settled in countries other than Gulf have moved up the value-chain in terms of the profile. There is a growing volume of IT professionals in high income Brackets. In the early 1980s, most remittances were from working class in the Gulf. Now, North America has replaced the Gulf as the most important source of workers remittances, accounting for 44$ of total remittances. Unlike the first wave of semi-skilled workers who went to the Gulf in search of employment during the first oil boom, the new wave

consists of skilled and niche workers in software and other technology-related areas. It is estimated that a large part [52%] of the total remittance of $20 billion is accounted for by high-value remittances exceeding $1000.

IDCA TO MEET IN NEW DELHI, JANUARY 10^TH

The India Development Coalition of America is organizing its 3^rd International Conference, Empowering Grassroots for Sustainable Development in India, following the conclusion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations, and invites the delegates of PBD and others to attend this conference and network with like-minded individuals who are interested in the development of India. The details are as follows:

Date and time : January 10, 9:00 am to 9 pm

Venue: PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry

PHD House, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area

August Kranti Marg, New Delhi 110016

Organizers and Contacts in India: Jay Sehgal, Sehgal Foundation, Gurgaon, 124-239-7621; Prof. Rajendra Prasad, 91 11 265226135, Dr. Mohan Jain, (India), 9312831220 or visit www.idc-america.org info@idc-america.org

SOCIAL SECUTIRY BENEFITS FOR US RETURNED INDIANS

Responding to a long-standing demand of Indian professionals working in the US for a short period, the US has decided to take up the issue of finalizing a tantalization agreement with the Indian Government to ensure that their social security contribution in the US does not go waste. The agreement would ensure that Indians working in the country get the social security benefits that they have paid for in the US in the form of social security tax when they return to India. According to US Under Secretary for International Trade, Franklin Lavin, who was on a visit to New Delhi, the talks are likely to begin soon. His assurance is especially welcomed by software professionals holding H1-B visas who work for a short duration in the US and are hence not able to gain from the social security system. H1-B visa holders are allowed to work in the US for a maximum of six years whereas to get benefits of the US social security system, one has to work in the country for minimum of 10 years.

LABOR SHORTAGE IN CANADA MAY HELP MORE MIGRATION OF INDIANS

Indians on lower end of the skill graph can hope to migrate to Canada which is faced with labor shortage. Small and medium-sized business owners in Canada are complaining that the federal immigration system is not of much help and does not come close to meeting their needs particularly for medium-level positions. In a comprehensive new study, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business [CFIB] Immigration and small business, suggests that better matching of applicants skills with those required in India, including greater focus on trades and medium-skilled job categories, not just professionals, would help address the critical labor shortage situation.

NEW ZEALAND NEEDS MORE SKILLED IMMIGRANTS

New Zealand Government has approved changes to its immigration laws, to ensure it contract skilled workers even as it addresses security concerns. The changes will have to be passed by the New Zealand Parliament. The changes proposed will help New Zealand garner a better share of the skilled worker immigration pie. The New Zealand Cabinet has agreed on a set of proposals for the new immigration law. The immigration Bill to replace the existing 1987 Act will be the first

comprehensive review immigration legislation in 20 years.

GOPIO, LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION

GOPIO is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global organization with chapters in several countries, actively promoting the interests of people of Indian origin worldwide by monitoring and addressing current critical issues of concern, and by enhancing cooperation and communication between groups of Indians living in various countries.

GOPIO Individual Life membership is open to all who believe in the mission of GOPIO. The one- time fee is $5,000 for Platinum Life Membership, $2,500 for Gold Life Membership and $1,500 Silver Life Membership and half the amount for each category for those from developing countries and India.

GOPIO is looking forward to opening chapters in all major cities of the world so as to network people of Indian origin all over the world. If you do not have chapter in your city, please visit GOPIO website (www.gopio.net) and get details of chapter initiation (visit http://www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm). Process involves sending a letter of intent to start a chapter by a committee of five people or more. For more information, contact:

GOPIO President Inder Singh, Tarzana, California, USA, Tel: 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net

GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows, New York City, Tel: 718/939-8194, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com

To become a Life member of GOPIO, visit http://www.gopio.net/membership_form.htm, print and fill up the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO, P.O. Box 1413, Stamford, CT 06904, USA.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chief Editor: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO (Stamford, CT, USA)

Webmasters: Prashant Gupta (Gurgaon, Haryana, India) and Abu Thomas (New Rochelle, NY, USA)

Contributors of this issue: Inder Singh (USA), Ashook Ramsaran (USA), Hillol Ray (USA)

GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO related stories from all over the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or reporter. Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham, Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net

Visit GOPIOs Official site at www.gopio.net or www.gopio.com