IANS Washington Bureau chief Arun Kumar has provided an analysis of Indian Americans playing important and influential roles in US media. With two of them governors, four billionaires and over a score sitting in high places in government, Indian Americans not only keep making news but have also emerged as major players in American media. 

This month, Indian-born Aparism Bobby Ghosh, for instance, was named by Time Magazine as 'Editor-at-Large'. In naming Ghosh, Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel, called him "one of Time's greatest assets and this past year was one of his best yet." 

Indian American Fareed Zakaria is already another Editor-at-Large of Time Magazine since October 2010 after spending 10 years overseeing all of Newsweek's editions abroad. 

Called "the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation" by Esquire Magazine, Zakaria hosts what has been dibbed one of the most intelligent shows on American TV, 'Fareed Zakaria GPS' on CNN every Sunday. 

Equally ubiquitous is Sanjay Gupta, the multiple Emmy-award winning chief medical correspondent for CNN. A practicing neurosurgeon, Gupta has reported from earthquake- and tsunami-ravaged Japan, earthquake devastated Hauiti and covered live the unprecedented flooding in Pakistan. 

Vinnie Malhotra, a former program development executive at ESPN and long-time ABC News producer, has just joined CNN as senior vice president for development and acquisitions. 

Last month, Raju Narisetti, credited with creating Mint, the successful business daily out of Delhi, returned to the Wall Street Journal, where he had spent 23 years earlier, as Managing Editor of its Digital Network. 

Nisid Hajari, Managing Editor of Newsweek is busy writing "Midnight's Furies," a dramatic history of the Partition of India and Pakistan, told through the characters of Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru, Churchill, and Mountbatten. 

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the National Editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994. ESPN's sports anchor Kevin Negandhi is the first anchor of Indian-American descent to be on a national sports network in American Television history and Ali Velshi, son of Murad Velshi, the first Canadian of Indian origin elected to the legislative assembly of Ontario, serves as CNN's chief business correspondent. 

Other names include Davan Maharaj, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times; Stephanie Mehta, Fortune Magazine, Executive Editor overseeing technology, and Nikhil Deogun, Senior Vice President and Editor in Chief Business News, CNBC, the most-watched business TV network in the world. 

Peter Bhatia, editor of The Oregonian, one of America's top regional newspapers, is the first South Asian to run a major US daily. 

Hundreds of lesser known Indian Americans are among the producers, reporters, copy editors and production assistants, bringing Americans their daily news -showing how far Indian-American have come in the media world where only a few of them commanded bylines in the 1990s.

Courtesy - IANS

GOPIO-CT TO HOST AWARDS BANQUET ON APRIL 28^TH

GOPIO-CT will celebrate its sixth anniversary at the Italian Center of Stamford, honoring five Indian Americans for their achievements and contributions at an Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 28. They are: Mr. Vivek Maru, Dr. Faquir Jain, Ms. Chandra Prasad, Ms. Neena Singh and Ms. Malika Bhandarkar. Dr. William "Vijay" Pinch will be honored with a Friend of India award.

Mr. Vivek Maru is Chief Executive officer of Namati, an international organization that tests the potential of legal empowerment through innovative interventions and research. Mr. Maru is recognized in the category of Social Entrepreneur. Dr. Faquir Jain, professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Connecticut is being recognized in the category Applied Science and Research. Ms. Chandra Prasad is a multi-talented writer whose work has received praise in Booklist and USA Today. Ms. Prasad is recognized in the category of Arts and Letters. Ms. Neena Singh is being recognized for her community service here and in India.

President's Young Person Award goes to Ms. Malika Bhandarkar, an accountability expert who influences decision makers at all levels to amplify the message "Women Count for Peace".  Friend of India Award goes to Dr. William "Vijay" Pinch, professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Wesleyan University.  

Over the last six years, GOPIO-CT, a chapter of GOPIO International has become an active and dynamic organization hosting interactive sessions with policy makers and academicians, community events, youth mentoring and networking workshops, and working with other area organizations to help create a better future. 

Tickets can be bought online at

Buy Non-Member Ticket $75

Buy Member Ticket $65

 Buy Life Member Ticket $55

Contact: Shailesh Naik, President, GOPIO-CT, Tel: 914-409-2552 or e-mail at srnaikus@gmail.com, Web: www.gopio.ct.org.

GOPIO TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ELECTS NEW TEAM

General membership elections were held on 25^th March, 2012 to elect new officers. The Presiding Officer was Adam Rampersad who is not affiliated with GOPIO Trinidad and Tobago Chapter.

Results of the elections are as follows:

President:                     Ena Maraj

Vice President:              Oscar Ramoutar

Secretary:                     Shivanie Ramcharitar

Assistant Secretary:      Pamela Mangroo

Treasurer:                     Shaheed Mohammed

Public Relations Officer: Karran Nancoo

Other decisions taken at the 25^th March, 2012 meeting following the elections include: Retaining an internal auditor; Re-instatement of annual chapter fees of $25 TnT; Change of GOPIO Chapter registration with the new officers; regular monthly meeting for executive members on the first Tuesday of each month and general membership meeting on a quarterly basis.

Contact: Ena Maraj (President) or Shivanie Ramcharitar (Secretary) at gopiott.2012@gmail.com

Photo  (l-r) - Back row: Karran Nancoo (Public Relations Officer), Shaheed Latiff Mohammed (Treasurer), Oscar Ramoutar (Vice President). Front row: Shivanie Ramcharitar (Secretary), Pamela Mangroo (Assistant Secretary), Ena Maraj (President)

GOPIO-SYDNEY WEST PROVIDES WINTER CLOTHES FOR A RURAL SCHOOL IN VILLAGE GANJA IN PUNJAB

Mr Harmohan Singh Walia, Chairperson, GOPIO's Committee on Chapter Policies & Procedures travelled all the way from Sydney to India to provide winter clothing, shoes, socks and ceiling fans in all classrooms for kids of Govt. Middle School, Ganja, Distt. Gurdaspur on 24 February 2012. GOPIO Sydney North West chapter collected funds on December 24^th, 2011 at Sapphire Function Centre, Auburn. This event has left a lasting legacy for the students of this selected school by providing them with well needed basic amenities.

Mr. Walia was welcomed by the school management as Chief Guest and school children performed cultural program for over two hours. To witness this event, local authorities, Mr. Hardeep Singh Chahal, District Education Officer; Mr Inderjit Singh Bagi, Ex-Chairman Punjab Tourism Development Corporation; Mr Jaskiran Singh, Principal SSM College and Mr Prem Khosla, President Bhartya Vikas Parishad were present along with parents and local prominent dignitaries. Mr. Walia informed the gathering that this is one of the objectives of GOPIO in Australia to help under privileged schools in India. Last year a rural school in Zira, Distt. Ferozepur was provided with a hand pump for clean drinking water and warm clothes like this time. GOPIO Australia had helped earlier victims of floods in Bihar & Fiji, tsunami in Samoa, earthquake in Indonesia, Victoria Bushfire, attacks on Indian students in Sydney are some of the examples.

Photo Above: Studetns performing during the visit of GOPIO's Harry Walia at Ganga Middle School.

Mr. Walia said that GOPIO Sydney North West Chapter members namely Prof. Balkar Singh Kang, Neeru Singh, Ravinder Singh, Rajvinder Singh, Aman Singh, Harinder Kaur, Baljit Singh Pelia and Harminder Singh were at the forefront to make it a successful event..

Contact GOPIO-North West: Ravinder Singh, President, Tel: +61-433-179-303, E-mail:ravsingh.consultant@gmail.com or Aman Singh, Secretary, Tel: + 61-433-512-519, E-mail:amandeepsinghnatt@hotmail.com

GOPIO-CT OFFERS HINDI CLASSES FOR PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN

Session 1: 4/15/2012 - 6/8/2012 (15 classes)

Time:  Fridays 1:30-2:30p, Sundays 9:00-10:30p

Place: Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA

Fee: $350

• The format will be 2x/week, with a 90 minute class on Sunday morning, and a 60 minute class during the week. In addition to class time, the teacher will also be giving homework/activities to kids to work on during the week.  For those kids that can't make the weekday class, the teacher will give additional work so everyone is on the same page.
• The session will run 8 weeks, from 4/15 - 6/8, with 2 classes per week. Classes will be drop-off and held at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut (USA).
• Class will be limited to 8 students in the Pre-K/Kindergarten level. 

Ms. Vaishali Akole will be the teacher.  She has been tutoring students and adult for the past several years.

Please contact Mrs. Nisha Arora of GOPIO-CT at arora.nisha@gmail.com if interested in the program.

GOPIO HOLLAND HOLDS CONFERENCE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP & MANAGEMENT

GOPIO of Netherlands held a 1-day conference on "Transformations in Entrepreneurship, Management and Society" on March 17th 2012 at the Nyenrode Business University in Breukelen, The Netherlands. The moderator was Ir. Manish Dixit, GOPIO of Rotterdam.

For more info and future programs, contact: Ilse Dannen (Event Coordinator) +31(0) 26-369-1109,conference.gopio.holland@gmail.com, Web: www.gopioholland.nl

GOPIO SYDNEY ORGANIZES YOUTH ACHIVERS AWARD - GYAN 2012

On 4^th March, 2012, the heaving pioneer hall at Castle Hill in Sydney with 400 people had a magnificent evening in many ways .This was the evening when 41 high achievers of Indian origin youth and from the community in the fields of academics, sport, media, community services, art and culture, language, drama, film and music were recognized by GOPIO Sydney. Before the impressive   audience of distinguished guests, proud parents and encouraging community members, the talented bunch of individuals were applauded for their hard work, grit, determination and talent. The organization for making this very special evening possible was GOPIO Sydney who is a trendsetter of these awards night since 2010.

The students and guests were welcomed with traditional Teeka Ceremony at the door. The people were fascinated by the bagpiper playing the pipe to welcome them in his own inimitable style. The evening began with the traditional lamp lighting followed by the welcome note of Lucky Singh, president GOPIO Sydney.

"I am both, proud and humbled to stand before you tonight, confident in the knowledge that we are building something remarkable together when we greatly value this extremely special occasion where we acknowledge, encourage & most importantly promote the positive achievements of our young achievers of Indian origin," said Lucky.

"These awards provide a great opportunity and give important recognition to our leaders of tomorrow," Lucky added and congratulated all the high achievers and their proud parents and wished them all a great future ahead.

Umesh Chandra, International coordinator of GOPIO Oceania/Pacific region addressed the audience and read the message of GOPIO International president Mr Ashook Ramsaran from New York. He congratulated the president for her team efforts. GOPIO International chairman Mr Inder Singh's message was read by Rohit Revo.

NEW JERSEY DEPUTY SPEAKER UPENDRA CHIVUKULA TO RUN FOR US CONGRESS

Indian-American politician and Deputy Speaker of New Jersey State Assembly, Upendra Chivukula is all set to run for the US House of Representatives in the ensuing national elections slated for November, 2012.

A recipient of GOPIO Community Service Award in 2009 and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2010, Chivukula, has been the member of New Jersey State Assembly since 2002 and its deputy speaker for the last five years. The Democratic Party leader represents the state's 17th Legislative District of Somersett. He will be running for New Jersey's 7^th Congressional District. Currently held by Republican Congressman Leonard Lance who got elected first time in 2008 and re-elected in 2010 to represent New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. Elections, to be held on November 6, are due for another two-year term.

Upendra holds the proud distinction of being the first Indian-American elected to the New Jersey Legislature, and only the fourth Indian-American to be elected to a state legislature.

"There are a lot of factors favorable in my side. Incumbent Lance is facing a primary challenge within the party and no one knows who will get the nomination. New towns have been added to the district changing the demography thanks to the reorganization of districts.

"Moreover, Lance had moved to right of center in his policies that has angered many voters and created a strong displeasure in the community," Chivukula said.

He said major state Democratic organizations was supporting him and he does not anticipate a primary challenge. Prior to his tenure in the state Assembly, Chivukula served on the Franklin Township Council from 1997 to 2005. He was elected mayor there in 2000 after serving as deputy mayor in 1998.

"America is a great country. It gave an opportunity for an immigrant like me," said Andhra Pradesh-born Chivukula, who came to the US when he was 24, to pursue his education.

"America has been a great home for me, and our country has been at the top for many, many years. Unfortunately, the country us facing many challenges that affect the middle class. In the Capitol, there are far many people who are obstructionist rather trying to solve the problems facing Americans."

TOP INTEL PRIZE GOES TO INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT NITHIN TUMMA

Nithin Tumma, 17, of Fort Gratiot, Mich., won the top $100,000 prize from the Intel Foundation for his research, which could lead to more direct, targeted, effective and less toxic breast cancer treatments.

He analyzed the molecular mechanisms in cancer cells and found that by inhibiting certain proteins, we may be able to slow the growth of cancer cells and decrease their malignancy.

Tumma is first in his class of 332, a varsity tennis player and a volunteer for the Port Huron Museum, where he started a restoration effort for historical and cultural landmarks.

Another Indian American student Neel Patel (Geneva, Florida ) got to the 6th Place with $25,000 prize. Patel, 17, studied how non-speech sound patterns, called sonifications, can convey information. This work could lead to a computer-user interface similar to graphic interfaces developed decades ago.

Yet another Indian American student reached to the 7th Place. Anirudh Prabhu, of West Lafayette, Indiana, received a $25,000 award for his investigation of the odd perfect number problem, and his suggestion that odd perfect numbers do not exist.

INDIAN AMERICAN NOBELIST AMARTYA SEN RECEIVES HUMANITIES AWARD FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA

Harvard professor and 1998 Nobel Prize winner in economics Dr. Marya Sen has been recognized with the National Medals of Arts and Humanities award by the US President Barack Obama at a glittering White House function.

"We even have an economist, which we don't always get on stage," Obama said referring to 78-year-old Sen, before he presented the 2011 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities.

"Sen is being awarded the 2011 National Humanities Medal for his insights into the causes of poverty, famine, and injustice. By applying philosophical thinking to questions of policy, he has changed how standards of living are measured and increased our understanding of how to fight hunger," said the citation, read by a military aid of the US President. Few minutes later, Sen was on the stage to receive the medal from Obama.

Sen also attended the White House reception hosted by President Obama on this occasion. The First Lady, Michelle also attended the awards ceremony.

The 2011 National Medal of Arts were also awarded to Will Barnet, Rita Dove, Al Pacino, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Martin Puryear, Mel Tillis, United Service Organization and Andr? Watts. And the 2011 National Humanities Medal were given to Kwame Anthony Appiah, John Ashbery, Robert Darnton, Andrew Delbanco, National History Day, Charles Rosen sand Teofilo Ruiz besides Sen.

INDIAN AMERICAN FILMMAKER MANAN SINGH KATOHORA RECEIVES 2012 RISING STAR AWARD

Indian American filmmaker Manan Singh Katohora has won the "2012 Rising Star Award" for his feature film "8 Eleven" at the Canada International Film Festival. 

Held in Vancouver, British Columbia, the festival brought the very best of World Cinema from over 90 countries around the world. It is dedicated to the creation of opportunities for the artistic interaction and exchange among independent filmmakers and the film-going community. 

Written and Directed by Katohora, "9 Eleven" portrays the life of 10 people who belong to different walks of life. 

Though each individual has achieved a measure of success in their individual lives, their darkest secrets come out in the open when all of them are given some time for introspection, when they meet each other in a bizarre twist of events. 

They realize that their lives are inter-woven and this literally shakes up their... peaceful lives. Terrorized to the core by an unknown entity in an unfamiliar place, each individual is petrified and is hesitant to talk or take each other into confidence for one simple reason... The Fear of the Unknown! 

The film "9-Eleven" is a fast paced thriller with undertones of terrorism. Terrorism need not be political, "ideologically" generated or xenophobic. 

Kashmera Shah features in an item number composed by 'Dilwaale Dulhania Le Jaayenge' fame music director Jatin Pandit.

TEN INDIAN AMERICAN RESEARCHERS NAMES 2012 SLOAN RESEARCH FELLOWS

Ten Indian American researchers -Tulika Bose, Neal K. Dalal, Neil K. Garg, Shwetak N. Patel, Parag Pathak, Prasad Raghavendra, Srinivas Raghu, Sohini Ramachandran, Sylvia Ratnasamy and Satinder Kaur Singh - were recently named recipients of the prestigious 2012 Sloan Research Fellowships.

The Sloan Research Fellowships program was established in 1955 to provide support and recognition to scientists, often in their first appointments to university faculties, who were endeavoring to set up laboratories and establish their independent research projects with little or no outside support.

The awards include $50,000 for each honoree's university over two years for equipment, travel, technical assistance and other support directly related to the winners' research.

Bose, assistant professor at Boston University, received her Ph.D. in experimental high energy physics from Columbia University in 2006. Her post-doctoral research at Brown University focused on direct searches for new phenomena at the DO experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron and at the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

Dalal, assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Illinois, received his doctorate in astronomy from the University of California, San Diego, in 2002. He received a Hubble Fellowship from the Space Telescope Science Institute and was a senior research associate at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics before he joined the faculty at the U of I in 2011.

Garg, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCLA, received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the California Institute of Technology. He completed his training as an NIH postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Irvine, and later joined UCLA in 2007. His research program at UCLA focuses on the development of synthetic strategies and methods as well as the synthesis of bioactive molecules.

Patel, an assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering and electrical engineering at the University of Washington, received his Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008. His most recent research focuses on building low-cost sensing systems for the home.

Pathak, associate professor of economics at MIT and research associate in the NBER's pro?grams on Education, Public Economics and Industrial Organization, received his A.B., S.M. and Ph.D. in 2007 from Harvard University. His research focuses on evaluating student assignment systems and has helped with New York City and Boston school assignment mechanisms.

Raghavendra, assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, received his Ph.D. from the computer science and engineering department at University of Washington, Seattle. He received his dual degree in computer science from IIT Madras. His research interests include approximation algorithms, hardness of approximation, complexity, and coding theory.

Raghu, assistant professor of the department of physics at Stanford University, received his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 2006. His research interests include theoretical condensed matter physics, unconventional superconductivity, correlated electron systems, and topological phases of matter.

Ramachandran, assistant professor of biology, ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown University, received her Ph.D. from Stanford University in biological sciences in 2007. There, she worked on human population genetics. Ramachandran was elected to the Harvard Society of Fellows in 2007 and did postdoctoral work while studying coalescent theory.

Ratnasamy, assistant professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, received her Ph.D. in computer science from UC Berkeley in 2002. As a second-year Ph.D. student, she was appointed to the ICSI Center for Internet Research, in Berkeley.

Singh, assistant professor of cellular and molecular physiology at Yale School of Medicine, received her B.S. from the University of Minnesota in 1995 and her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2002. Her lab seeks to find out how signaling proteins in neural circuits function at the atomic level, how disease-associated polymorphisms disrupt activity and how therapeutic and illicit compounds exert their effects.

INDO-GUYANESE ALANA SEEBARAN IS CROWNED MISS INDIA WORLDWIDE

In a glamorous and glittering function, Alana Seebarran of Guyana was crowned Miss India Worldwide 2012 held in Paramaribo, the capital city of Suriname, February 25, 2012. The pageant was held for the first time in South America with the maximum country participation. Alana won the coveted title beating beautiful contestants from 34 countries.

Alana, 24, is a student of Business and Marketing and her hobbies include listening to music, traveling, cooking and dancing. Alana's dancing also won her the title of Miss Talented. This is for the first time Guyana has won the crown in the pageant's twenty one year history. Alana will receive prizes totaling over $15,000, including cash prize of $7,000, an all-expense paid trip to South Africa, India, Suriname, Trinidad, India, Netherlands and USA among other prizes.  Alana was crowned by Ankita Ghazan of Australia, the outgoing Miss India Worldwide in presence of Bollywood actors Aftab Shivdasani and Aarti Chabria, a former Miss India Worldwide.  

Anvita Sudarshan, 21, of Kuwait and Olivia Bourillon,18, of Australia were named first and second runners-up respectively. The other two finalists were Deana Uppal of United Kingdom and Varsha Ramrattan of Suriname. The other sub contest winners were Uraysha Ramrachia of Mauritius for Miss Photogenic, Chandan Kaur of U.S.A. for Miss Beautiful Eyes, Shreyaa Chawla of Canada for Miss Beautiful Smile, Ankita Arora of Italy for Miss Beautiful Hair, Varsha Ramratan of Suriname for Miss Beautiful Skin, Sharmisttha Yoogan of Malaysia for Miss Congeniality, Deana Uppal of United Kingdom for Miss Bollywood Diva, Lizann Afonso of U.A.E. for Miss Catwalk, Eram Karim of India for Miss Beautiful Figure, Anvita Sudarshan of Kuwait for Miss Beautiful Face and Veebha Sharma of Qatar for Chairman's Miss Professional.

The week long activities included a reception dinner hosted by His Excellency Desire Delano Bouterse, President of the Republic of Suriname for the contestants and all international guests at the President's Palace. Bollywood Film Festival, Indian Food Festival, International Fashion Show were also part of the week long celebrations.

The international panel of judges included judges from different countries including Bollywood Actor - Aftab Shivdasani.

"The pageant was altogether a great experience. All other contestants were very well prepared which made the competition very rewarding as well as challenging," said Rameet Sandhu, contestant from Scotland.

Dharmatma Saran, Founder of the Miss India Worldwide and GOPIO Life Member, thanked Anil Ramhit Doebe, Namita Ajodhia and their entire team for organizing an excellent pageant. He also presented The National Director of the Year Award was to Chandini Ramnarain of Guyana.

 

The next Miss India Worldwide is scheduled to be held in Malaysia in 2013.

PRESIDENT OBAMA APPOINTS INDIAN AMERICAN PAULA GANGOPADHYAY AND SONNY RAMASWAMY TO KEY ADMINISTRATION POSTS

US President Barak Obama has announced the appointment of two eminent Indian Americans - Paul Gangopadhyay and Sonny Ramaswamy to key posts in the administration. While Gangopadhyay has been nominated Member of the prestigious National Museum and Library Services Board, Ramaswamy has been appointed Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in US Department of Agriculture, the White House said, as it announced about half a dozen new nominations.

"These dedicated individuals bring a wealth of experience and talent to their new roles and I am proud to have them serve in this administration. I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come," Obama said in a statement.

Gangopadhyay is currently the Chief Learning Officer at the Henry Ford, where she is responsible for leadership, strategy, and education. She has held a variety of positions in education and arts policy, including Executive Director of the Plymouth Community Arts Council from 2006 to 2008; Curator of Education, Public Programs, Visitor Services and Volunteers at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids from 2002 to 2006; and Executive Director of the Great Lakes Center for Education, Research and Practice from 2000 to 2001.

Ramaswamy is Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University and Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. Ramaswamy has been Associate Dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture and directed the university's agricultural research programs from 2006 to 2009. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Entomological Society of America.

MALTA KNIGHTHOOD FOR DR. SUDHIR PARIKH

New Jersey-based Indian American physician, publisher and philanthropist Dr. Sudhir M. Parikh has been nominated as Knight of the Ecumenical Hospitaller Order of the Knights of Malta. The Knighthood ceremony was held on Mar 17 at the La Salle University in Philadelphia, according to a notification issued by Malta-based Ecumenical Hospitaller Order of the Knights.

The Knights of Malta, as the order is better known, was originally founded in 1176 in Jerusalem, during the Crusades to treat Christian pilgrims and soldiers. Dr. Parikh was honored in recognition of his philanthropic contributions that have enabled the Ecumenical Order to undertake humanitarian aid projects such as establishing orphanages, schools, training programs, medical assistance programs for the poor in association with local hospitals and general development projects without taking into consideration the color or the belief of the assisted.

A Life member of GOPIO, the Knighthood is the latest among a series of honors and awards that Dr. Parikh has received during his three-decade long career and community service in the United States. Included among them are two of the most distinguished awards bestowed by the Government of India -- the Padma Shri and the Pravasi Bharatiya Saman. Dr. Parikh is also the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

SEVEN INDIAN AMERICANS ELECTED TO THE US NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

Seven Indian Americans are among 66 new members elected to the US National Academy of Engineering. Also included are two Indians among the ten foreign associates, bringing the total American membership to 2254 and the number of foreign associates to 206. Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

The newly elected Indian American members, their primary affiliations at the time of election and principal engineering accomplishments are as follows:

Dr. Supriyo Datta, Thomas Duncan Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., for quantum transport modeling in nanoscale electronic devices

Dr. Akhil Datta-Gupta, regents professor and L.F. Peterson '36 Chair, Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, for developing the theory and practice of streamline simulation for fluid flow in heterogeneous reservoirs

Dr. Ray R. Irani, executive chairman, Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, for leadership in the petrochemical industry and processes for applications of particulate systems

Dr. Jyotirmoy Mazumder, Robert H. Lurie Professor of Mechanical Engineering, professor of materials science and engineering, director of the Center for Laser-Aided Intelligent Manufacturing, and director of the NSF I/UCRC for Lasers and Plasmas for Advanced Manufacturing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, for quantitative transport modeling for laser interaction and design and commercialization of direct metal deposition machines

Dr. Kaushik Rajashekara, chief technologist, electric power and control systems, Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, for contributions to electric power conversion systems in transportation

Dr. Nambirajan Seshadri, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Wireless Group, and chief technology officer, Mobile Platforms and Wireless Connectivity, Broadcom Corp., Irvine, Calif., for contributions to wireless communications theory and development of mass market wireless technology and

Dr. Amit Singhal, Google Fellow, Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif., for contributions to information retrieval and search.

Named among the new foreign associates were Pradip, chief scientist and head of the Process Engineering Lab, Tata Research Development and Design Center, Pune, for contributions to processing of minerals and waste materials; and P. Rama Rao, chairman, International Advanced Research Center for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials, Hyderabad, for advancing the understanding of deformation and fracture of structural materials and development of materials research infrastructure for societal needs.

US HIKES H-1B VISA FEE

In a move that is expected to hit Indian IT companies in a significant way, the US government has decided to hike H-1B visa fee from next fiscal. In a statement, USCIS listed out the details of the fees to be filed by the applicants for H-1B visas, which starts from a base fee of $ 325 to $ 2,000 by the petitioner who employs 50 or more employees in the US - where more than 50 per cent of its workers in the US are in H-1B or L-1 non- immigrant status.

This year, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is charging $ 750 for employers with 1 to 25 full-time equivalent employees, and $ 1,500 for employers with 26 or more full-time equivalent employees.There is another $ 500 listed as fraud prevention and detection fee.

And employers seeking premium processing service, in which application is processed within 15 days, need to submit an additional $ 1,225, it said.India's software and services companies earn around 60 per cent of their revenues from the US and employ a large number of professionals here.

USCIS also said that applications for the most sought after H-1B work visa - used extensively by Indian IT professionals - for the fiscal beginning October 1, would be accepted beginning April 2.The congressionally mandated numerical limitation on H-1B petitions for the fiscal year 2013 is 65,000, as has been in the previous years.

Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap.

THIRD VOLUNTARY OFFSHORE DISCLOSURE (OVDI) PROGRAM LAUNCHED

The IRS launched its third offshore voluntary disclosure program in early 2012. The program encourages taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts to make full disclosures in exchange for a reduced penalty. The terms and conditions of the reopened program are very identical to the previous two programs, in 2009 and 2011 in which the government collected over $4.4 billion.

The new programhas no set end date. It requires taxpayers to file all original and amended tax returns and include payment for back-taxes and interest for up to eight years as well as pay accuracy-related and/or delinquency penalties. Additionally, taxpayers must pay a penalty of 27.5 percent of the highest aggregate balance in foreign bank accounts/entities or value of foreign assets during the eight full tax years prior to the disclosure. Taxpayers whose offshore accounts or assets do not surpass $75,000 in any calendar year may qualify for the 12.5 percent penalty. Some taxpayers may also qualify for a five percent penalty.

GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICAN VISA-SEEKERS

In good news to American visa applicants, US has announced those Indians who are renewing their visas, valid or expired, within 4 years, are likely to get waiver for a personal interview.

"This new program will permit consular officers to waive interviews for some qualified applicants who are renewing their visa within 48 months or four years, of expiration of their previous visa and within the same classification as the previous visa," Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, Janice Jacobs said. 

The new rules will apply to those within categories of B1, B2, C and D. 

Asked to specify the possible beneficiaries, Jacobs, who was in India for the 2nd US-India Consular Dialogue, said it would apply for tourists, business travelers, crew members and for students. 

 

TRINIDAD SCHOOLS TO TEACH TABLA AND DHOLAK IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

News service IANS reports that nearly 167 years after Indians arrived in Trinidad and Tobago, the sounds of the tabla, dholak and harmonium will be heard in over 550 primary schools of Trinidad and Tobago which will now teach the Indian musical instruments to students.

According to Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh, the cabinet has agreed to introduce a multicultural form of music in the primary school curriculum, representative of the country's diverse culture.

The current music program in primary schools is based on the Western musical tradition. According to the minister, the instrument of choice so far has been the steel pan or drum because of its origin.

Guitar, cuatro, xylophone and African drums will also form part of the new program, he said. This program will be called the Multicultural Music Program, instead of the Pan-in-The Classroom Unit. 

Indians arrived in Trinidad and Tobago between 1845 and 1917 to work on sugar plantations. 

The Indian High Commission has been holding classes in Indian music and dance through the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Cultural Exchange.

GOPIO Senior Vice President - Dr Piyush Agrawal, Weston, Florida, USA, Tel: +1-954-684-6494, E-mail:sudhapca@aol.com

To become a Life member of GOPIO, one can sign up online athttp://gopio.net/online_membership.htm or fill up the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO International, PO Box 560117, New York NY 11356, USA.

Contributors of this issue:

Inder Singh (Chairman, GOPIO Intl.), Ashook Ramsaran (President, GOPIO Intl.), Harry Walia (GOPIO-Sydney North West), Lucky Singh (GOPIO-Sydney), Shailesh Naik (GOPIO-CT), Ena Maharaj (GOPIO-Trinidad & Tobago), Nisha Arora (GOPIO-CT), Dr. Arnold Thomas (GOPIO Regional Coordinator, St. Vincent)

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.