GOPIO NEWS
BULLETIN
February 2006
NOTE: GOPIO News is a monthly newsletter of GOPIO International, based in the
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
ORTGANIZATION OF FOURTH PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS
PM MANMOHAN
SINGH INAUGURATES PBD2006 AND PRESENTS OVERSEAS INDIAN CITIZENSHIP
GOPIO RECOGNIZES FIVE WITH PRAVASI
BHARATIYA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS, SUBMITS RESOLUTIONS TO INDIAN GOVERNMENT
VAYALR
GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
GOPIO
NRIs/PIOs
ACHIEVE
GOPIO EXECUTIVE VP IS RECIPIENT OF PRAVASI
BHARATIYA SAMMAN
ARAB MEDIA AWARD GOES TO NRI ISAAC JOHN
TOP ASTRONOMY AWARD GOES
TO INDIAN AMERICAN PHYSICIST
THREE
INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS REACH INTEL SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH
INDIAN AMERICAN CHELLARAJ
NAMED FOR US STATE DEPT. POST
TOP CNNMoney.COM POST GOES TO VIVEK SHAH
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR KAINE
APPOINTS KUNDRA ASST. SECRETARY
INDIAN AMERICAN NIKKI HALEY
NAMED MAJORITY WHIP OF SC ASSEMBLY
TRINA CHAKRAVARTY CROWNED MISS
INIDA WORLDWIDE 2005
NEWS OF
INTEREST TO NRIs AND PIOs
AROUND THE WORLD
YOUNG PIO COUPLE BURNED TO DEATH IN
CATALYST FOR HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE LAUNCHED
YOGHURT
COULD HELP STOP SPREAD OF AIDS
TREES FOR LIFE LAUNCHES
ONLINE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL
CONFERENCE
ON SUSTAINABLE ecoCity DEVELOPMENT IN
US NURSE LICENSING
GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER
FORMATION
EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITORIAL
ORGANIZATION OF FOURTH PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS
In January this year, it was the fourth
consecutive celebration of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) organized by the Ministry of Overseas
Indians (MOIA). The organization of the annual PBD is a very welcome effort on
the part of the Government of India to bring NRIs/PIOs
closer to
Despite
some difficulties encountered by delegates during the event, the Ministry of
Overseas Indians (MOIA) is to be complimented for their sincere and diligent
efforts in planning and organizing the 3-day event. At the same time, the
Andhra Pradesh Government is to be commended for its efforts in laying a red
carpet welcome to the NRI/PIO delegates.
While
MOIA no doubt had the experience to plan and coordinate the event as it had
done so well previously, the new event contractor had to overcome the hurdles
of initial confusion among many delegates, such as timely dissemination of
information at the hotels for registration and/or badge/bag pick-up, venue for
the first day welcome reception (Jan. 6th), program sheet/booklet,
etc.
Thus the difficulties that the delegates experienced need to be
avoided in the future so that the three day event becomes a memorable
experience for the attending NRIS/PIOs who should
repeat their attendance rather than refrain from attending it in the future.
CONFERENCE SESSIONS In order to
appeal to NRIs/PIOs
and to make it more meaningful to them, the focus of Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas should be to discuss issues and
concerns of the NRIs/PIOs, while simultaneously
showing how they can help benefit the mother country with their influence,
skill, ideas and resources. The event can be planned to focus on certain
selected issues, groups or professions. If for example, PBD in 2007 is
organized to focus on bio-technology or nanotechnology where all types of
experts from universities, business, entrepreneurs, industry, etc. are brought
together from various countries to discuss and deliberate for two days, it
would generate a plethora of ideas. If one idea works for an entrepreneur, it
may give birth to another Wipro or Apple.
Alternatively, PBD can continue to be for everybody, as it has been for the
previous four occasions, however it must be planned
well and executed smartly well.
PARTICIPATION FROM DIASPORA YOUTH We
compliment MOIA for starting the Youth Internship program. We need to cultivate
the younger generation to come to the country of their forefathers. For this we
suggest that the Diaspora Youth Internship program needs to be expanded and the
number of internees increased to over 200, particularly during the PBD event.
MOIA should partner with the community organizations and encourage them
to sponsor young people who would need financial assistance in this worthwhile
program.
COMMENTARY GOPIO
recognizes the need and the benefits of the annual Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas event, both to the Government of
India and to NRIs/PIOs around the globe. We are
cognizant of the many positive aspects and the enormous potential that can be
derived from the annual gathering of NRIs/PIOs. We
fully support the continuation of this annual event and make every effort to
promote it for more meaningful NRIs/PIO participation
at every level. We also encourage MOIA to actively engage global, regional and
local grassroots civic organizations to be its partners in planning and
participation to enhance this annual event.
FINAL WORD - GOPIO is committed to help bridge the
strong relationship between
The GOPIO Editorial Team
PM
MANMONHAN SINGH INAUGURATES PBD2006 AND PRESENTS OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP
Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has said at the inauguration
of the Fourth Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas held in Hyderabad On January 7th that India will allow
millions of its nationals working in West Asia to vote for elections back home
as they have a vital stake in the governance of the country. There are more
than three million Indian workers and professionals in
"They
are NRIs who will never become naturalized citizens
of those countries," Singh told the delegates. "Most of them have
immediate families back in
Singh
said their long-pending demand for voting in Indian elections while working in
Singh
said the expatriates had enhanced
"Overseas
Indians have played an extremely important role in global brand building in
this respect," Singh added.
Singh's
comments came less than a fortnight after Indian officials offered overseas
citizenship to millions of people of Indian origin, giving them
opportunities to own land and property and invest in financial markets in
GOPIO
RECOGNIZES FIVE WITH PRAVASI BHARATIYA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS, SUBMITS
RESOLUTIONS TO INDIAN GOVT.
The Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) orgtanized its
Conference 2006 in Hyderabad on January 5th and 6th, in conjunction with Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2006.
With the theme Global Indian Diaspora: Today and Tomorrow, the conference was
inaugurated on January 5th at the Manohar Radisson
Hotel. Prior to the conference inauguration, a scheduled GOPIO session heard
reports on NRI/PIO issues from different countries with large PIO population
followed by a session on Mobilization of Indian Diaspora Resources for Common
Goal.
The first session devoted to the
mobilization of the global NRI/PIO communities and resources for political,
social and economic goals including developmental, philanthropic and
educational activities of the NRI/PIO communities as well as
The conference was inaugurated
on Jan. 5th in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Minster of Finance and health K. Rosaiah and Minister of Irrigation Ponnala
Lakshmaiah. The keynote address was delivered by Lord
Diljit Rana of
The second day of conference
started with presentation by Bernard Baruch College Professor Dr. Parmatma Saran of
Minster for Overseas Indian
Affairs Oscar Fernandes in his speech recognized GOPIOs contribution in mobilizing the community from the
time the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was in
power. He appealed to GOPIO and the delegates present at the meeting to bring
to the attention of the ministry all issues of NRIs/PIOs.
An Awards Luncheon followed at
which GOPIOs PRAVASI BHARATIYA COMMUNITY SERVICE
AWARDS were presented to five NRIs and PIOs who have provided significant community and public
service to the Indian Diaspora around the globe and/or to
GOPIO also passed several
resolutions at the final concluding session chaired by Dr. Piyush Agrawal.
Resolutions Passed
During the 2006 Conference
Resolution 1
RAJYA SABHA SEATS FOR
NON-RESIDENT INDIANS
WHEREAS, the 8.8 million
Non-Resident Indians living outside India constitute an important force and
represent a tremendous resource in intellectual, technical, scientific,
professional, economic, trade, and entrepreneurial excellence with high
potential and interest to contribute to the well-being and prosperity of their
motherland; WHEREAS, the NRI community has emerged as an important factor in
promoting India's interest, in shaping relations between "host" and
the "home" countries and in steering a dynamic shift in India's
economic and political advantage in the world affairs; THEEFORE, GOPIO Urges
the Government of India to nominate a few prominent NRIs
as members of the Rajya Sabha
(the Upper House of Parliament) so as to reinforce and further integrate the
bonds between India and the overseas NRI/PIO community.
Resolution 2
VOTING RIGHTS FOR
INDIAN CITIZENS LIVING OUTSIDE
WHEREAS, more than 40% of the
Indians living outside India are still citizens of India; WHERAS, most of the
countries provide opportunities for their citizens living outside their
countries to participate in the election process of their countries, WHEREAS,
India is yet to establish a mechanism to provide such an opportunity for it's
citizens numbering about 8.8 million of the 22 million Indian Diaspora,
WHEREAS, the NRIs are building country's image and
enthusiastically contributing to the economic development of India, they should
be allowed to exercise their rights of franchise as enshrined in the
Constitution of India and should be able to vote in elections held for state
& federal offices.
THEREFORE, GOPIO Urges the
Government of India to allow availing the NRIs right
to cast the absentee vote and urges the Government of India to initiate the
process of providing voting rights, through a constitutional amendment if
necessary, to Indian citizens living outside India.
Resolution 3
POLITICAL AND HUMAN
RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF NRIs/PIOs
WHEREAS in some countries with large
NRI/PIO population, there are instances of extraordinary level of infringement
of human and political rights including racial discrimination and
unconstitutional means to suppress rights of the persons of Indian origin,
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges Govt. of
India to formulate an effective and comprehensive policy and take proactive
stand in accordance with the UN Charter on Human Rights, where ever and
whenever such violations occur.
Resolution 4
RESTORE "NOT
ORDINARILY A RESIDENT (NOR)" STATUS FROM TWO YEARS TO NINE ON GLOBAL TAX
OF RETURNING NRIs/PIOs
WHEREAS the NRIs/PIOs
have remarkably contributed to the economic progress & growth by way of
remittances and investment in bank deposits upon their return although the
industrial and stock market investments are ruled by MNCs
& financial institutions;
WHEREAS the interest rate on
deposit is being reduced and the Indian Rupee getting weaker against all major
international currencies resulting in wiping out the investment
benefit;
WHEREAS GOPIO continues to feel
Government is justified taxing any and all incomes generated within
global
income should be reverted back to the 2002 period and earlier. This would
encourage greater cooperation of 22 million NRIs/PIOs,
who form a
considerable
national resource of global network for
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges that the
NOR global tax (under section-6-6) exemption of two years be restored back to
the original nine years, as was the case before the change brought out in the
Finance Bill 2003. Even former Finance Minister had withdrawn a very similar
change in 1998
Resolution 5
PROTECTION OF
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
WHEREAS, PIOs
& NRIs are committed to contribute financially
and otherwise to the growth & progress of
WHEREAS, they have substantially
invested in the Commercial Real Estate, and WHEREAS, the practices and the laws
in
provide
enough relief to the investors when the tenants refuse to honor their
agreements to pay the rents or vacate the premises, and
WHEREAS, the PIOs/NRIs
investors find themselves helpless in protecting their investments,
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges the
Government of India to enact legislation to protect the investors and set a
mechanism where the violations can be brought to the attention of appropriate
state and central authorities for relief.
Resolution 6
MARRIAGE ABUSES
WHEREAS, several incidents have
been brought to the attention of GOPIO and Indian missions abroad about the spousal
abuses where unsuspecting young ladies
from
WHEREAS, GOPIO would assist the
efforts of Government of India to protect its citizens from being abused,
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges the
Government of India to create a mechanism to help these abused and deserted
brides.
RESOLUTION 7
PRICE DIFFERENTIATION
FOR PIOs FOR HOTELS & ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES
WHEREAS, it may be
understandable that those who can afford should pay more, it is a poor policy
to differentiate between the citizens of
NRIs/PIOs by
asking them to pay more for the same Hotel accommodation and for the same
entrance ticket to the archeological sites such as Taj
Mahal, and
WHEREAS, the intent and actions
of PIOs to support
WHEREAS, there is a grave
concern about the feelings of Indians abroad who are against this "double
standard"
THEEFORE, GOPIO urges the
Government of India to stop this discriminatory practice.
RESOLUTION 8
REPEAL THE NEW VCA
CLEARANCE RULES FOR ADOPTION OF ORPHANED CHILDREN FROM
WHEREAS
WHEREAS GOPIO understands and
respects the intent behind the VCA clearance for inter-country adoption
requirements which is to ensure that Indians residing in
WHEREAS the implementation of
the new rule may not significantly increase the pool of local Indian potential
adoptive parents and will have a significant
and
potentially negative impact on the health and long-term development of the
children, and
WHEREAS enforcement of this rule
could greatly increase the amount of time children will spend in orphanages
instead of being available for adoption by
waiting NRI
families, and
WHEREAS the NRI community is
committed in its efforts to adopt orphan children from
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges the
concerned Ministry of the Government of India & CARA to reconsider and
revoke the new mandatory VCA clearance rules which came into effect in November
2003 because they not only make adoption from India significantly harder for NRIs but they also are counter-productive to the interests
of the orphan children in India.
RESOLUTION 9
REHABILITATION OF POOR
INDIAN WORKERS FROM
WHEREAS, so many Indian workers
in the Gulf States have been cheated through "mistaken belief" of
good jobs in the Gulf States, and
WHEREAS, the employers in the
some of
them have landed in Jails, and
WHEREAS, they neither get any
legal help nor they have own resources (in fact, some of them even mortgaged
their houses in
THEREFORE, GOPIO urges the
Government of India to take measures to help in the rehabilitation of these
poor workers through financial and legal assistance.
RESOLUTION 10
PRAVASI BHARATIYA
DIVAS & PROBLEMS AT
WHEREAS
the Bharatiya Pravasi
Divas (PBD) is celebrated around January 9, the date of return of Mahatma
Gandhi to
WHEREAS this time of the year is
much more convenient for the NRIs/PIOs to travel to
break
for students at schools and colleges and in their employment schedule,
thus creating a heavier
traffic, and
WHEREAS
the
travel plans unpredictable, inconvenient and quite often frustrating, and
WHEREAS
technology exists to help minimize flight landing/take-off disruptions to a
minimum.
THEREFORE
GOPIO urges the Government of India to address this issue of fog at
These resolutions were presented
to the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Oscar Fernandes
on Jan. 8th by GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham, GOPIO President Inder Singh
and
VAYALAR
Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singh expanded his cabinet with ninteen new ministers
including a new minister for Overseas Indian Affairs.
Born
in a middle class family in Vayalar village (famed
for the Communist-led uprising of the 1940s) in Alapuzha
district,
A
keen trade unionist,
Now
a Rajya Sabha member,
GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
GOPIO
On November 27th,
2005 a new Chapter of GOPIO was born in The Netherlands. GOPIO Chapter
Amsterdam lifted off in a special inaugural session organised by a new
ambitious team that aims to actively involve the Indians in
During this session the
President of the Chapter Rajindre Tewari
stressed the fact that this chapter wants to cooperate with all organisations
that have their own focus on fostering relations between Indians as long as it
fits with the constitution of GOPIO. Furthermore it was stressed that in their
activities this chapter will create synergy by joining forces with credible organisations
in charity events or conferences in order to promote the networking between
people of Indian origin. There are already various Indian-based organisations
in The Netherlands founded on general interest, locality, thematic like
charity, Surinamese or NRI-based and/or referring to a specific religious
belief.
Until today we already have
members of GOPIO in The Netherlands and concentrated in the region of
In 2006, the
chapter will start with
organising events to promote GOPIO in The Netherlands, involve its members
internationally, and define specific social-cultural and business topics to
address for the Dutch and European target group.
Chapter
NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE
GOPIO
EXECUTIVE VP IS RECIPIENT OF PRAVASI BHARATIYA SAMMAN
GOPIO Executive Vice President Yesu Persaud of
The fifteen awardees this year
are as follows:
|
1. |
Mr. Shivnath Rai Bajaj |
|
|
2. |
Mr. Eliahu
Bezale |
|
|
3. |
Mr. Abdool Raouf Bundhun |
|
|
4. |
Mrs. Pratima Kale |
|
|
5. |
Dr. Majid Uddin
Kazi |
|
|
6. |
Mr. C.K. Menon |
|
|
7. |
Sir Gulam Kaderbhai
Noon |
|
|
8. |
Dr. Sudhir Parikh |
|
|
9. |
Mr. Yesu Persaud
|
|
|
10. |
Dr. V. Ramadoss |
|
|
11. |
Mr. Sisupal Rambharos |
|
|
12. |
Mr. Niranjan S. Shah |
|
|
13. |
Mr. Rusy M. Shroff |
|
|
14. |
Mr. Jean-Paul Virapoule |
|
|
15. |
Mr. Fareed
Zakaria |
|
ARAB MEDIA
AWARD GOES TO NRI ISAAC JOHN
A Dubai-based Indian journalist
has won the prestigious Arab IPR Media Award 2005 for his reportage on
anti-piracy drive in the Arab world. Isaac John of Khaleej
Times won the award for his 'insightful reportage about the challenges and
opportunities in forging an effective anti-piracy drive in the Arab world'.
The award was constituted by
Business Software Alliance, a global organisation
dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, Co-chairman of BSA (
John -- a veteran of 25 years in
Gulf media -- has won three Pan-Arab awards in a row in 2005, a rare
distinction for an Indian journalist in this region. He was among the five
recipients of the award, including Mahmoud Saberi (Gulf News), Thair Soukar (Channel Arabic), Mohammed Mousa (Al Khaleej) and Haider bin Abdel Redha (Oman Daily).
TOP ASTRONOMY AWARD GOES TO INDIAN
AMERICAN PHYSICIST
An Indian American professor of physics
at MIT, Deepto Chakrabarty,
has won the 2006 Bruno Rossi Prize along with two others for his pioneering
study on neutron stars. Chakraborty shares the 1500
US dollars award given each year by the High Energy Astrophysics Division of
the American Astronomical Society (AAS), with Tod Strohmayer of the
The prize is named after the
late Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professor Emeritus Bruno
Rossi. The prize is awarded "for a significant contribution to High Energy
Astrophysics, with particular emphasis on recent, original work." The
prize includes an engraved certificate.
THREE INDIAN
AMERICAN STUDENTS REACH INTEL SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH
Three Indian
American high schoolers made the list of 40 finalists
in 2006 Intel Science Talent Search competition (Intel STS),
Agarwal, 17, of
Dilip Bobby Biswal, 18 of
INDIAN AMERICAN CHELLARAJ NAMED FOR US
STATE DEPT. POST
President George W Bush has named Rajkumar
Chellaraj for the post of Assistant Secretary of
State in the department's Bureau of Administration. CominG
from
Chellaraj, whose nomination has been sent to the Senate for
confirmation, has held a variety of leadership positions, including a stint
with the oil company Exxon and Strategic Analysis Inc. He is currently
director of corporate development with the Celanese Corporation, a leading
producer of industry chemicals.
At the Bureau of Administration, Chellaraj
will deal with the State Department's support programs for diplomats at home
and abroad.
TOP
CNNMoney.COM POST GOES TO VIVEK SHAH
A 32-year-old Vivek Shah has been appointed to preside over CNNMoney.com,
a premier business and financial website officially re-launched earlier in
January in
The site, which builds on the
successful partnership of CNN and Money Magazine, will be the new
Internet home of all Time Inc.'s business and financial titles -- Fortune,
Fortune Small Business, Business 2.0 and Money.
Earlier, Shah was general
manager, the Fortune Group, where he was the senior financial executive of the
group, helping to develop and implement strategy. In 1997, Shah, who has won
three Fortune Achievement Awards, a Time Inc. Consumer Marketing Achievement
Award and two Time Inc. President's Award, launched Fortune Americas, a
1.6 million circulation Spanish and Portuguese-language version of Fortune
distributed in
Shah has a BA in political
science from
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR KAINE APPOINTS KUNDRA ASST. SECRETARY
Kaine, who took over
as governor a fortnight ago, has already appointed Aneesh
Chopra as the state's secretary of technology. He has been entrusted with the
task of expanding the use of information technology to serve citizens and
promote
INDIAN AMERICAN NIKKI HALEY NAMED MAJORITY
WHIP OF SC ASSEMBLY
Nikki Randhawa
Haley has been named as majority whip for the House Republican Caucus in the
South Carolina General Assembly. As majority whip, Rep Haley will be
responsible for lining up votes in support of Caucus priorities and setting the
direction of the 74-member Republican majority.
For Nikki this is the third
leadership position she's held in her first two years in the General Assembly.In addition to serving her constituents from
In June 2004, Nikki trounced
incumbent Larry Koon in a run-off election in
TRINA
CHAKRAVARTY CROWNED MISS INIDA WORLDWIDE 2005
The New York based India Festival Committee
headed Dharmatma Saran organized the 15th
Miss India Worldwide on January 28th in Mumbai crowning Trina Chakravarty
of USA as the winner. Trina was selected out of the 21 NRI/PIO contestants from
different parts of the world. Nikki Rana of
The judges included former Miss India Universe Amrita Thapar, ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, producer-director
Deepak Tijori, actress Suman
Ranganathan and television anchor Shweta
Kawatra among others.
NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD
YOUNG
PIO COUPLE BURNED TO DEATH IN
A Young couple of Indian origin was burned to
death after a man set fire to their shop in Eshow
town in
The accused has been
arrested and has been charged with two counts of murder and one of arson,
police said adding that further investigations were on.
Community members
have expressed their shock and anger and have called for immediate action by
the authorities. The murder of the young couple is the latest in a series of
incidents where people of Indian origin have been targeted in and around the
city of
CATALYST FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE
LAUNCHED
Catalyst for Human Development, a magazine, is launched in January 2006 to
accelerate development in
The organizers request support and membership by sending a donation of $100 (
YOGHURT COULD HELP
STOP SPREAD OF AIDS
'Friendly bacteria' found in
yoghurt has been genetically modified by researchers in the
The bacterium (Lactococcus lactis) the
researchers have modified naturally produces lactic acid, and so is used to
produce cheese and yoghurt. It is also found in some parts of the human anatomy,
including the gut and the vagina, where the acid it produces damps down the
growth of other, harmful bacteria, Nature said. Some 'probiotic' yoghurts are loaded with such beasties with the
aim of keeping consumers' guts healthy.
Bharat Ramratnam, an HIV specialist at
TREES FOR LIFE LAUNCHES ONLINE SCIENTIFIC
JOURNAL
Balbir Mathur,
Founder and President of Wichita, Kansas based non-profit organization Trees for Life has announced the launch of a new,
online scientific journal focused on traditional knowledge and scientific
studies of beneficial plants. Trees for Life
Journal: A forum on beneficial trees and plants will be a
free, open electronic forum, to bring together international articles from
traditional wisdom, small-scale field studies and scientific investigations of
flora that could benefit humanity. The journal is available online at www.tfljournal.org.
"Our journal aims to bridge the gap between grassroots
knowledge and scientific research," Mathur said.
"By publishing formal and informal studies on beneficial plants and trees,
we hope to advance the use of these vital resources worldwide."
Trees for Life is a non-profit organization
that helps plant fruit trees in developing countries as a low-cost,
self-renewing food source. The movements philosophy of "education, health
and environment" will be evident in Trees for Life Journal, which
aims to expand global knowledge about the medical and nutritional value of
plants, in order to educate citizens of third world countries.
Trees for Life Journal will be free to users and
features an easy-to-use format. Anyone may publish an articlefrom
peer-reviewed field and clinical studies to informal essays or ideas for
possible new uses of plants and trees. The content is also freely available for
re
Dr. Doren Fredrickson of
the
Founded in 1984 by
CONTACT: Jeffrey Faus,
Trees for Life, 3006 W. St. Louis,
CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE ecoCity DEVELOPMENT IN
Project Agastya,
Visit
http://www.tciconferences.com/ecocity2006/ecocity2006.htm
or contact Rajeev Kumar
Chief
Organsier, Ecocity6 Bangalore 2006, Founder/CEO,
Project Aagstya,
US NURSE LICENSING
It is planned that the new sites will
begin to offer the exam sometime in the next year. The new testing sites will
be located in
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
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,
GOPIO Secretary General
Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows,
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,
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Chief Editor: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO (
Webmaster: Prashant Gupta (
Contributors of this issue: Inder
Singh (USA), Ashook Ramsaran (USA), Dr. Piyush Agrawal
(
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
V isit GOPIOs Official site at www.gopio.net or www.gopio.com