GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN

June  2005

NOTE: This is a monthly newsletter of GOPIO International, based in the USA. If you do not like to receive this newsletter in the future, please go to the bottom and click the unsubscribe URL. If you feel the information contained here are useful, please forward this e-mail to your friends and relatives. One could also subscribe this newsletter by visiting www.gopio.net and type in the e-mail address and other details.

 

CONTENTS

Ø      GOPIO PROTESTS UNDIGNIFIED ARREST OF FORMER TRINIDAD PM BASDEO PANDAY

Ø      GOPIO OPPOSES RECONCILIATION AND UNITY BILL IN FIJI PARLIAMENT

Ø      GUYANA AND TRINIDAD CELEBRATE INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY

Ø      NETHERLAND PIOs/NRIs APPEAL INDIAN PRIME MINISTER ON RETIREE BENEFITS

Ø      GOPIO AND INDIAN AMERICAN GROUPS TO JOINTELY HOST US CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION

Ø      NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE

o       TWO INDIAN AMERICANS GET FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS

o       TWO NRIs TO BE BILLIONAIRES IN UK

o       UK NRI KARAN BILIMORIA NAMED THAMES UNIV. CHANCELLOR

o       TWO INDIAN AMERICANS BAG MICROSOFT AWARDS

o       INDIAN AMERICAN KIDS BAG SPELLING BEE CONTEST

o       KIRAN C. PATEL CENTER AT UNIV. OF SOUTH FLORIDA

o       FOURTEEN INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS BAG AWARDS

o       BRITISH INDUSTRIALIST BECOMES MBE

o       INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT WINS SIEMENS AWARD

o       INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT IS RUNNER-UP IN GEOGRAPHY BEE

o       TWELVE INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS WIN GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIPS

Ø      GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS

o       GOPIO INTERNATIONAL MAKES APPOINTMENTS

o       GOPIO-GEORGETOWN (GUYANA) OFFICERS

o       GOPIO CARIBBEAN REGIONAL OFFICIALS MEET IN TRINIDAD

o       GOPIO-LA & NFIA HOST RECEPTION FOR LOK SABHA SPEAKER

o       GOPIO SOUTHEAST LONDON, KENT & ESSEX CHATPER DEBUT IN JULY

Ø      NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs AND PIOs AROUND THE WORLD

o       NINE INDIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT GUYANA

o       CEDAR HILL CELEBRATES INDIAN ARRIVAL IN T&T

o       NRIs CAN TAKE OUT SHARE OF FAMILY PROPERTY

o       NRI TAXATION RULES CONFIRMED

o       INDIA-CANADA FLIGHTS TO INCREASE

o       INDIA ENGINEERING CENTER TO OPEN IN THE US

o       FAST-TRACK COURTS FOR NRI LAND CASES IN PUNJAB

o       SMART CARD FOR NRI OVERSEAS JOB SEAKERS

Ø      GLOBAL INDIAN BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM IN GERMANY POSTPONED TO 2006

Ø      GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION

Ø      EDITORIAL BOARD

 

GOPIO PROTESTS UNDIGNIFIED ARREST OF FORMER TRINIDAD PM BASDEO PANDAY

 

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International issued a letter of protest to Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, expressing its disappointment and concern at the undignified arrest of Leader of the Opposition, and former Prime Minister, Mr. Basdeo Panday on May 31, 2005 in Trinidad. The letter was also copied to Trinidad and Tobago President George M. Richards, as well as Indias Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Speaker of Indias Parliament, Somnath Chattrejee who was on an official visit to the country at that time.

 

GOPIOs protest states that, irrespective of the nature or outcome of the charges against Mr. Panday, his arrest was ill-timed on the day after the historic celebration of the 160th Anniversary of the Arrival of Indians to Trinidad and Tobago and gave no consideration for a national observance of an historic event. GOPIO Internationals president Inder Singh said that it appears the government of Trinidad and Tobago deliberately chose this time for the arrest of Mr. Panday, and that such action is seen as a political vendetta against Mr. Panday and is a blatant attempt to humiliate him during the visit of a delegation of a foreign government which had conferred one of the highest honors for a person of Indian origin. Mr. Singh added that the public arrest of Mr. Panday in this manner can also create an impression of deteriorating social and political conditions in Trinidad and Tobago.

 

While every country should maintain and enforce its laws, it should also take all appropriate measures to prevent public humiliation and unnecessary harassment as guaranteed by Article 5 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, said GOPIO Internationals chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham. GOPIO reiterated its position that Panday could have been accorded a more dignified process at more appropriate time. GOPIO International insists that the government Trinidad and Tobago could have given him due consideration to his position as Leader of the Opposition. After all, Panday has been a former Prime Minister and provided decades of public service to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

 

GOPIO International firmly supports the concept that no one should be above the law, and recognizes that fair and just application of the rule of law is the cornerstone of a progressive society. We expect that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago would take all necessary precautions to ensure that no unfavorable impressions or undue actions would raise the level of racial tensions in a society that is known for its fairly high level of peaceful co-existence among the different ethnic groups, stated GOPIO of Trinidad president Devant Maharaj. GOPIO International encourages and fully support all efforts for the fair and equal treatment of all citizens of any country, especially one with a significant population of people of Indian origin.

 

Panday was in jail for a few days, since he opted not to take the bail. However, after a meeting and urging from a delegation of religious leaders and later his party officials, Panday decided to take the bail. Panday addressed a large gathering of his supporter on Friday, June 10th evening.

 

Trinidad and Tobago, a former British colony, is an independent island nation located just off the northern coast of South America, with a population of slightly over 1,300,000 of which 45% are people of Indian origin whose ancestors were brought there as indentured sugar plantation laborers during the nineteenth century.

 

RECONCILIATION AND UNITY BILL IN FIJI PARLIAMENT OPPOSED

 

The Fiji Government is planning to introduce a highly controversial bill titled, Reconciliation and Unity Bill in its parliament which would provide a legitimate means by which a pardon/amnesty can be granted to any person implicated in the violent and unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected government. The bill intends to redefine acts of terrorism as breaches of human rights and as such legitimate, rather than as crimes against the State. If enacted into law, it would enable the perpetrators of the coup 2000 to seek amnesty and general pardon.

 

The proposed bill, contrary to its name, is seen as a major source of disunity and has already generated lot of controversy. The Fiji Labor Party and other Opposition parties consider it as a contemptuous challenge to the judicial system. The Fiji Law Society, the Fiji Human Rights Commission, the Citizens Constitutional Forum as well as religious and church organizations have condemned the bill.

 

The Bill is also being opposed by the Fiji Military Forces which has made it public that it will do everything in its power to prevent the passage of the Bill through parliament. Fiji has seen three coups in the past 15 years in which special force soldiers played a key role in overthrowing the government. Thus, the passage of the bill would have serious implications for the long term security and stability of the nation.

 

The proposed Bill is considered to be inconsistent with the provisions of the Fiji Constitution in several respects; some clauses of the Bill are repugnant to the sense of justice of the ordinary people of Fiji. It can have serious repercussions on human rights and the sustenance of the judicial system within Fiji. The bill if allowed to pass would encourage further criminal activities and invite further coups and destabilization campaigns.


We at GOPIO strongly urge the Government of Fiji to drop the Bill as its passage can have far-reaching consequences on national stability and multi-racial harmony in Fiji., Said GOPIO President Inder Singh. Alternately, we urge the Fiji Government to appropriately modify the Bill in consultation with the Opposition parties, Singh added.


GOPIO can be contacted at gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or by telephone (818) 708-3885 or (203) 329-8010.

 

MEMORABLE NFIA 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS IN NEW YORK

 

With a spectacular 180 degree view of the city, the 16th floor restaurant, Terrace on the Park in Queens in New York, was the unique venue for a Gala banquet held on Saturday May 29, in connection with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), an umbrella organization of various organizations of people who trace their roots to India. Over 300 delegates and guests, coming from all parts of the United States were treated with sumptuous dinner, breath taking entertainment and stimulating remarks from the NFIA officials and Indian diplomats.

 

Twenty-five years ago, on the Memorial Day weekend, the NFIA was founded in New York. The organizers wanted to memorialize that moment and celebrate its 25 years of service to the Indian American community. NFIA that has faced many ups and down in the last few years as a result of internal bickering appeared to be a vibrant organization on solid grounds, with a cohesive team of officers committed to serve the community. It was indeed a memorable event for all those who attended the celebrations. NFIA was infused with new healthy blood that is bound to reenergize the largest umbrella organization in the United States.

 

Lal Motwani who was, as the chair of the 25th anniversary celebrations, the main force behind this function and the editor of a 4-color souvenir released at the event said, I could not have done this function without the financial support and dedicated service of my organizing committee. I am particularly indebted to my Co-chairs, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Dr. Arvind Shah and Sunjay Naik and to my many financial supporters, especially Dr. Navin Mehta, P.K. Gupta of Air India, H.R. Shah of TV Asia, Sunil Hali of Indian Express, Kenny Desai, Mukund Mody, Jack Kapur, Darshan Bagga, Jitu Hirani, and Ramesh Kalicharan. I also want to acknowledge the tireless hours contributed by Ritesh Veera, Kiran Hari, Leela Maret and Jaswant Mody. He added, these people were the backbone of the program.

 

Virtually all past presidents were on hand to join in the celebrations. Dr. Rajen Anand, the president of the NFIA praised all past presidents for vision to start and sustain this umbrella organization that accepts membership from all organizations, irrespective of their religious, regional, ethnic, professional or political affiliation. He said that organization truly represents the cultural diversity of India.

 

Twenty five years of existence of an organization is not in itself a significant event. What is most important of NFIA is the loyalty and commitment of the people involved in the group, observed Anand. Indian Americans have changed, their needs have changed, and their demands for service have changed. NFIA has also to change if it, as it claims, wants to serve the community. It has to change its focus from the India based issues to mainstream concerns. We have similar needs as any other American. We breath the same air we want it to be clean; we drink the same water we want it to be pure; our children go to the same school we want them to provide the best possible education; we walk on the same streets that we want to be safe; many of our seniors depend on social security and it is in our own interest that the system remains solvent for our children. The sooner we start addressing these mainstream issues, the better our community will be in the United States, emphasized Anand.

 

In eloquent remarks, Ambassador Sen pleaded with the people to become good citizens of their adopted country, but not to forget their roots. Be proud of your origin, insisted Sen. He said that the economic prosperity of the Indian Americans has helped a great deal to change the image of India. Today, India needs your experience, she does not need your money, said Sen. We, in India, have plenty of money. He explained how Indian Americans are able to make huge profits by investing money in India. Sen paid a tribute to the contributions of Indian Americans towards strengthening cordial relations between India and the US. It was one the best speeches I have heard from the Ambassador, said an attendee after the speech.

 

All the past presidents, Dr. Thomas Abraham (1980-1988), Inder Singh (1988-1992), Ramesh Patel (1992-1996), Subash Razdan (1996-1998), Haresh Panchal (1998-2000), Dr. Parthasarthy Pillai (2000-2002) and Niraj Baxi (2002-2004) were honored by the NFIA at the occasion. Each one of them was given a beautiful glass plaque acknowledging his service. The past presidents were subjected to a very humorous Roast on Friday evening.

 

A special award was presented to Joy Cherian, the former Commissioner of EEOC, and the speaker at a seminar earlier on Saturday. A seven year old girl, performing a solo dance, stole the show and won a loud applause during the brief entertainment program organized by Dharmatma Saran and Kalpana Patel. A large colorful cake with the logos of the NFIA was cut to signify the birthday of the organization.

 

Pramod Kamdar, the executive vice president, NFIA summed up the sentiments of all delegates attending this event when he said, the great success of this event has made NFIA alive and vibrant organization again.

 

A colorful souvenir released at the event traced the pictorial history of NFIA. It is the best souvenir, I have ever seen being released by an Indian organization, commented Niraj Baxi, the chair of the NFIA Foundation.

 

SEMINARS ON SATURDAY Dr. Abraham, the founder of the organization, organized seven seminars all day Saturday on different topics. The first seminar was on the Community Leadership: Experiences and Expectations, at which Dr. Joy Cherian, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Dr. Piyush Agrawal, Niraj Baxi and Nilesh Mehta traced the history of Indian organizations in this country and talked about how the community was mobilized for specific actions. Prof. Parmatama Saran moderated the seminar. Dr. Cherian gave a warning to all associations that unless they change their focus to mainstream issues and involve the younger generation, they will all perish. This was followed by a seminar on US-India Relations: Progress made and challenges Ahead. Those, who spoke on this tropic, were Dr. Dennis Kux. Senior Policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center as keynote speaker, Inder Singh, Subash Razdan and Radha Krishnan as panelist. Prof. Maya Chadda moderated the discussion. Kux and Razdan painted an optimistic picture of the state of relations between India and Pakistan. The seminar generated a lively question answer period. The third session was on Indian Writers in America in which prominent writers residing in the US presented the various challenges facing them. Moderated by Dr. Rohini Ramanathan, the speakers were Dr. Susham Bedi, Abha Dawesar, Vijay Seshadri, Jawahara Saidullah, Raju Thomas and Bindeshwari Aggarwal. The session on Political Empowerment was moderated by SAJA Co-Founder Sree Sreenivasan included Aziz Haniffa, Upendra Chivukula, Joseph Melookaran, and Ravi Sakhuja. Delivery of Services to the Community seminar was compered by Sudha Acharaya and the panelists included Theresa Thanjam, Sambhu Banik, Ashwani Chowdhary, and Rajeshwar Prasad. Two other seminars were held on the issues facing Indian American businesses and Indian American Youths. The session on issue of Indian businesses was moderated by Dr. Sushila Gidwani with the following speakers: Dr. Sid Gautam, Subhash Roy, Attorney Krishnan Chittur and Prof. Surendra Kaushik. Moderated by Karthik Ramanathan, the youth forum had Krupalee Shah, Paayal Mahajan, Sahil Khurana, Dr. Rohini Ramanathan, Phil Mock, and Anand Shah. Each of these sessions had thought provoking and stimulating discourses and generated a great deal of discussion at the end.

 

INAUGURATION ON FRIDAY The delegates and guests gathered at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Friday, May 27th evening. After the American and Indian anthems, Ambassador Ronen Sen inaugurated the program by the lightening of the traditional lamp. Congressman Gary Meek of New York gave a powerful speech, telling the audience that he has the highest number of South Asians in his district and how pleased he was by their support. Dr. Rajen Anand and Ashok Madan took the podium and gave a power point presentation of the activities of NFIA over the past 25 years. They also roasted the past presidents by hilarious anecdotes based on exaggerated weaknesses of each person.

 

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF NFIA All US based Indian associations and other community organizations are eligible to become member of NFIA, please contact any one of the following officers:

 

President Dr. Rajen Anand Tel: 562-537-1077, E-mail: ranand2@csulb.edu;

President-Elect Radha Krishnan Tel: 248-682-2106, E-mail: rk4155@aol.com;

Executive VP Pramod Kamdar Tel: 858-538-0666, E-mail: pkamdar@san.rr.net or

Secretary Satish Parikh Tel: 440-572-3194, E-mail: satish.parikh@wgint.com

 

EUROPE INDIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE URGES EU TO RESOLVE VISA PROBLEMS

 

The Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) has sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Jos Manuel Barroso and to European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, complaining of serious difficulties faced by Indian businessmen and tourists in obtaining a visa for the EU. In spite of the best efforts from all sides to increase IndoEuropean trade relations, we notice how difficult it is to get a Schengen Visa even for a bonafide Indian corporate executive, said Sunil Prasad, secretary general of the Brussels-based EICC, in the letter. The EICC, launched by GOPIO last year during a GOPIO Conference in Brussels, expressed concerns that in spite of all demanded and genuine supporting documentation with the application, the visa departments of EU member states in their respective Embassies in India, are known to show total callousness and disrespect. The EICC called for EU intervention to resolve the visa problem as practical and meaningful visa policy towards India will help build stronger foundation for better co-operation in future.

 

In a separate letter to the Prime Minister of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt, GOPIO Belgium Chapter President called on Belgian authorities to facilitate visas for Indian businessmen. The letter stressed that Belgium is India's second largest trade partner in the European Union, with trade turnover estimated to be around 3.1 billion euro ($4 billion) in 2004. There are lots of potentials for increasing cooperation between the two countries and removing restrictions on visa and work permits for professionals and businessman moving from India to Europe will facilitate greater bilateral engagement, said the letter.

 

The Secretary General of the EICC Sunil Prasad can be contacted on Tel. & fax: 0032 2 469 2677 GSM: 0472-207 338, E-mail: sunil.prasad@coditel.net

 

NETHERLAND PIOs/NRIs APPEAL INDIAN PM ON SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Several NRIs/PIOS have appealed to the Government of India to urgently intervene in the new Dutch legislation, which will deprive NRIs/PIOs and Dutch nationals with an Indian spouse, the social security benefits if they return to India after retirement.

Wahid Saleh, a distinguished PIO and GOPIO activist, on behalf of several NRIs/PIOs living in The Netherlands, has sent an appeal to this effect to the Indian Prime Minister pointing out the problems that this legislation will have to the NRI/PIO community in Holland. Mr. Saleh has pointed out that the social security benefits that they have built over the years through mandatory payment of social security taxes, they will loose if they are to return back to India after retirement at the age of 65. To facilitate the right to receive this social security benefit (AOW) an agreement has to be signed between the government of the Netherlands and that of India.

This matter has been under discussions between the affected NRIs and the Indian embassy in The Hague since the year 2002, who in turn have also been regularly writing to various authorities in India. Although the issue was brought to the notice of Indian authorities in 2002 and also to the notice of the High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora (through its member secretary in 2002, J. C. Sharma), to BhishmaK. Agnihotri, the then Ambassador-at-Large for NRIs/PIOs and lately to Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Jagdish Tytler, the matter remains unresolved.

As this issue is pending for such a long time without receiving any update or information or any step by the government of India, the NRIs of the Netherlands have now approached the Indian PM for intervention. As similar situation exists in Belgium too, the GOPIO Belgium too has been asking the government to intervene without any result so far.

GOPIO JOINS INDIAN AMERICAN GROUPS FOR US CONGRESSIONAL RECEPTION

 

GOPIO is extending a cordial invitation for a Congressional Reception and Dinner to be held on Wednesday June 29, 2005, in Washington DC, being jointly sponsored by leading national organizations of Americans who trace their roots to India. The Indian American Forum for Political Education (IAFPE), the National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA), the Associations of Indians in America (AIA), the American Association of Physicians from India (AAPI), and the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), Indian Diamond and Color stone Association (IDCA) have joined hands to honor US legislators and interact with them on issues of common interest. We will be greatly honored by your attendance at this event, which is scheduled to take place at 6:00 P.M. in Rayburn House Office Building in room B 338-339.  

 

The members and delegates from these well established national organizations will travel from all over the United States to Washington DC to hear the report on issues that impact the Indian American community in both favorable and adverse manners. We would like to have a dialogue with elected legislators on domestic issues such as Social Security, increasingly greater national deficit, rising health care cost, educational opportunities for our children as well as foreign policy issues of international relations and war and peace.

 

Plans are taking shape for a White House briefing on the same afternoon. A morning reception at the Indian embassy is also being explored.

 

The seating is very limited at this historic event. Pre-reservation is needed. Contribution is $100 per person.

 

GOPIO members and supporters from Washington DC area may contact Dr. Renuka Misra at 301-330-5098 or e-mail at renugopio@yahoo.com. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania residents may contact Jaswant Mody at 732-968-0867, E-mail: jmody968@aol.com.

 

NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE

 

TWO INDIAN AMERICANS GET FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS

 

Two Indian-American academicians - Raju GC Thomas and Irfan A. Omar - have been named Fulbright Scholars for 2005-06.

 

Thomas is professor of political science and Allis-Chalmers distinguished professor of international affairs while Omar is assistant professor of theology at Marquette University in Wisconsin, US. As part of the scholarship, Thomas, a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, will travel to Serbia and Montenegro as a visiting professor at the University of Belgrade for the full academic year.

 

Professor Omar, an associate editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, will travel to Muhammadiyah Malang University in Malang, Indonesia, for a five-month teaching and research position.

 

TWO NRIs TO BE BILLIONAIRES IN UK

 

Two NRIs, Anurag Dikshit and Vikrant Bhargava, both IIT graduates, and Ruth Parasol, a Californian lawyer who made her original fortune in online pornography, and her husband, Russ de Leon, are the four who have struck it rich in online poker through their company, PartyGaming.

 

PartyGaming, runs PartyPoker.com and will be listed on the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE).

 

PartyGaming is reported to have a business worth 5.5 billion. The four owners would cash in 1.26 billion between them by selling part of their stakes to outside shareholders. Their staff of about 1,100 call centre workers in India and Gibraltar would get a bonanza equivalent to 309 million in share options while the four would continue to hold on to the rest of the shares themselves.

 

UK NRI KARAN BILIMORIA NAMED THAMES UNIV. CHANCELLOR

Karan Bilimoria, founder-chief executive of Cobra beer will be the next Chancellor of the Thames Valley University in London. Karan will be the youngest and the fourth Chancellor of the University.

 

Bilimoria has been a Governor of TVU since 2001 and has supported a wide range of University activities with many staff and students benefiting from his advice, support and inspiration.

 

Bilimoria was awarded the CBE in 2004. He has also won 11 major business awards, including Business Person of the Year award by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 

TWO INDIAN AMERICANS BAG MICROSOFT AWARDS

 

Two Indian American university professors are among the first five recipients of Microsoft Research New Faculty Fellows for 2005. The two Indian Americans Subhash Khot and Radhika Nagpal along with Fredo Durand, Dan Klein and Wei Wang were selected from a pool of 110 nominees representing universities across the United States.

 

The fellowship award, under which each recipient will get a cash grant of $200,000 to pursue their innovative research work in computer science, is a new program that honors early-career university professors showing exceptional talent for novel research and thought leadership in their discipline. The winners three men and two women are given the opportunity to explore collaborations with some of the top researchers working in their area of interest at Microsoft Research.

 

Khot is a first-year assistant professor in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Khot's research tackles fundamental questions regarding which problems can and cannot be solved quickly on a computer. The questions Khot addresses in his work often have deep connections to diverse areas in mathematics, logic, cryptography and computer science.

Nagpal is a first-year assistant professor of computer science in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Her research interest is in engineering self-organizing, self-repairing systems, using inspiration from biology, and in better understanding robust collective behavior in biological systems.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN KIDS BAG SPELLING BEE CONTEST

 

Indian American eighth-grader Anurag Kashyap, son of Chandra Roy and Archana Kashyap of California became the U.S. spelling champ early this month, beating 272 other spellers in a tough two days of competition. Anurag, 13, of Poway clinched "appoggiatura," a melodic tone, to take home some $30,000 in prizes. He won in the 19th round of the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

 

This year, more than 30 out of the total 272 contestants were Indians. All top four finishers were Indian Americans.

 

Anurag, a straight-A middle-school student whose favorite subject is science, tied for 47th in last year's spelling bee. That experience "helped me to know what I should study to ... like, win this thing," he said afterward.

 

Tied for second place were Indian American kids 11-year-old Samir Sudhir Patel, who is home-schooled in Colleyville, Texas, and Aliya Robin Deri, 13, a Pleasanton, California, student. The fourth place went to Rajiv Tarigopula.

 

His second time here prepared him well for the bee and he had resolved to "study harder and win it" Anurag will take home $22,000 in cash, a $5,000 college scholarship, books and a $1,000 savings bond.

 

KIRAN C. PATEL CENTER FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS AT UNIV. OF SOUTH FLORIDA - US NRI couple donates $18.5 Million to the Univ.

 

An NRI cardiologist, Kiran Patel has donated $18.5 million to the University of South Florida (USF). Patels donation is the single biggest donation to help raise $62.5 million, which will go towards building the Kiran C Patel Center for Global Solutions, a school for researchers to study issues such as global hunger and international trade. The Patels $18.5 million is eligible for state matching funds of $6 million from the State Matching Gift Program for endowments and $10 million from the Alec Courtelis matching gift program for facilities, making it s total of $34.5 million.

 

Kiran and his wife Pallavi are both physicians and the couple has built a $1-billion health care business in Florida. Their previous contributions include $5 million for the Dr. Pallavi Patel School for the Performing Arts at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and $3 million for a new heart-research institute near University Community Hospital in Tampa.


The Patel Center at USF plans to develop and implement solutions to "real human problems", said a release from the university. The center will build upon USF's strengths and culture of interdisciplinary partnerships to recruit a team of top faculty and students and help generate additional federal research awards and private giving."

The Patels, who moved from being practicing physicians to medical entrepreneurship with a successful insurance company, have turned to philanthropy in a big way in recent years. The center will build upon USF's strengths and culture of interdisciplinary partnerships to recruit a team of top faculty and students and help generate additional federal research awards and private giving."

Kiran Patel has also served as the President of American Association of Physicians from India (AAPI).

 

FOURTEEN INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS BAG INTEL SCIENCE AWARDS

 

Fourteen Indian American finalists at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) at Phoenix, Arizona, have been presented with Government and Industry awards. Among the winners was 16-year-old Anarghya A Vardhana, of Portland, Oregon, who bagged a $20,000 scholarship award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a project titled 'Primality Testing: Utilising Characteristics of Prime Numbers that Allow for Optimal Deterministic and Probabilistic Primality Testing Algorithms in Polynomial Time.'


On behalf of the US Navy and Marine Corps, the Office of Naval Research presented a tuition scholarship award of $8,000 to Srishti Deepak Mirchandani, 15, (Kentucky), Nimish Pradipkumar Ramanlal, 16, (Stanford) and Krishna Denduluri, 18, (New Mexico). Ramanlal also bagged an Honourable Mention award from NASA.


The US Air Force First award of $3,000 went to Nimish Pradipkumar Ramanlal and Vinay Tripuraneni, 16, (California), Shilpa Naresh Raja, 17, (Michigan) while M Palaniappan, 17, (Missouri) won the Second Award of $1,500.


The other Indian American winners are - Triparna Ghosh Choudhury, Harish Mayur Srinivasan, Reshma Ramachandran, Vinay Venkatesh Ramasesh, Sonia Nijhawan, Vivek Mukherjee and Neha Rajendra Hippalgaonka

 

BRITISH INDUSTRIALIST BECOMES MBE

 

Rami Ranger was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to business and to the British Asian community.Ranger, Chief Executive Officer of Sun Oil Ltd had received the Queen's Award for Export Achievement some years ago for exporting British products to over 40 countries, was honored on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday.

 

Ranger has been working within the Conservative Party and encouraging the party to become more approachable and "Asian" friendly. He has been advocating the view that it was high time the Conservative party started treating the Asians equally and fairly as this would enable them to progress within the party.

 

Born in Gujrawala, now in Pakistan, Rami moved to India during partition. He arrived in the UK in 1971 and in 1987 he started his company Sea Air and Land from a shed with a capital of just 2 pounds. In 1995 he started his marketing company Sun Oil Ltd. Both companies have gone from strength to strength.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT WINS SIEMENS AWARD FOR ADVANCED PLACEMENT

 

Veena Venkatachalam, a senior from Governor Livingston High School in New jersey, was one of the two national winners for the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement (AP) Venna was one among 24 high school students who won a regional award and a $3,000 scholarship for scholastic achievement. She also received the national award at her school worth $5,000.

 

Veena has been accepted at MIT, where she plans to pursue work in chemistry, neuroscience, economics and physics.

 

The Siemens awards recognize high school students in the US who score the highest on the College Boards Advanced Placement science and math courses.

 

INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENT IS RUNNER-UP IN GEOGRAPHY BEE

 

Indian American student Karan Takhar has come second in the 17th Annual National Geographic Bee, in which nearly five million students from 15,000 schools across the US participated. Takhar, a 14-year-old eighth grader from East Providence, Rhode Island won a $15,000 college scholarship for being the runner-up. Takhar defeated nie other finalists during the last round, which included two other Indian American students, Bonny Jain and Tejas Raje.

 

TWELVE INDIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS WIN GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIPS

 

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has awarded 32o scholarships fro the 2005-2006 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the US. The Goldwater scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,091 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by faculties of colleges and universities in the US. The one- and two-year scholarships will cover the costs of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500.

 

This years Indian American winners are: Amit Y Desai (North Carolina State University, Charlotte, NC), Archana Nelliot (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV), Anita Shukla (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA), Rohitha P. SriRamaratnam (University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR), Sohang C. Gandhi (University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL), Neelima Vidula (University of Illinois, Chicago, IL), Pratik Rohatgi (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI), Arvind Ravi (Stanford University, Stanford, CA), Pritesh J. Mehta (Case Western University, Cleveland, OH), Ankur R, Patel (University of North Texas, Denton, TX), Zorawar Wadiasingh (Texas A&M University, College Station, TX), Devarati Mitra (Stanford University, Stanford, CA).

 

GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS

 

GOPIO INTERNATIONAL MAKES APPOINTMENTS

 

GOPIO International President Inder Singh, in consultation with the Executive Committee and with input from various regions and chapters, has made the following appointments to fill vacant positions that are crucial to the organization:

 

Sunil Prasad GOPIO International Coordinator

Brussels, Belgium

Tel: 011-32-2-224-0203

Email: sunil.prasad@icftu

 

Ramesh L. Maharaj Chair, GOPIO Human Rights Council

Port of Spain, Trinidad

Tel: 011-868-653-1497

Email: rlmaharaj@tstt.net.tt

 

Dr. Mohan Gautam Co-Chair, GOPIO Academic Council

Leiden, The Netherlands

Tel: 011-31-71-515-5870

Email: mohananthro@yahoo.com

 

GOPIO-GEORGETOWN (GUYANA) OFFICERS

 

GOPIO of Greater Georgetown has been organized as a GOPIO chapter with a full slate of officers and directors from various sectors of business, academic and civic backgrounds. GOPIO-Georgetown is expected to be actively involved in addressing the interests and concerns of Indians in Guyana who comprise over 40% of the population of approximately 800,000 people. The following are the primary officers:

 

President Mr. Chris Persaud

Tel: 011-592-227-1647

Email: chrismah_2@yahoo.com

 

Vice President Dr. Prem Misir

Tel: 011-592-223-3243

Email: ug_prochan@telsnetgy.net

 

Secretary Ms. Chandra Doobay

Tel: 011-592-265-2179

Email: c_doobay@yahoo.com

 

Treasurer Mr. Romesh Singh

Tel: 011-592-265 2345

Email: romesh@demrum.com

   

GOPIO CARIBBEAN REGIONAL OFFICIALS MEET IN TRINIDAD

 

A meeting of regional GOPIO chapters from Trinidad, Suriname and Guyana was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad on May 29 by GOPIO chapter representatives who were in Trinidad to participate in Indian Arrivals Day events being held there. The meeting was chaired by GOPIO International Vice President Yesu Persaud (Guyana). GOPIO chapter officers include Devant Maharaj, president of GOPIO Trinidad and Harold Ramdhani, secretary of GOPIO Surinam.

 

Among the topics of regional interest and concern are the GOPIOs funding and efforts to Challenge discrimination; Caribbean Indian Diaspora national and regional ethnic harmony; solicitation of Government of India to establish an Indian Diaspora Human Rights Council; need for more news and discussion on GOPIO chapters on the web; GOPIOs input to Government of India on distribution of scholarships to recipients in PIO countries.

 

GOPIO-LA & NFIA HOST RECEPTION FOR LOK SABHA SPEAKER

 

GOPIO-LA and NFIA jointly hosted dinner reception on Monday, June 6 for the visiting Lok Sabha speaker, Somenath Chatterji. The speaker was on a private visit to Los Angeles and had come from Trinidad and Tobago where he led an official Indian lawmakers delegation at the 160th anniversary celebration of Indians Arrival day, on May 30. A large number of people, traveling long distances on a weekday evening had turned up to meet with the Speaker.

 

GOPIO SOUTHEAST LONDON, KENT & ESSEX CHATPER DEBUT IN JULY

 

Preparations are in full swing for the launch of the GOPIO Chapter in UK. At the Nehru Centre in July, 2005. Fro date and time, please contact the convener of the new chapter Raj Lakha at 0044-1474 329985 (T), 01474 329986 (F) 0044 7768 685 397 (GSM), E-mail: r.lakah@netsite.co.uk

 

NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD

 

NINE INDIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT GUYANA

 

Nine Indian Parliamentarians visited Guyana between May 31 and June 2, 2005. Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Ghalam Nabi Azad led this group of Parliamentarians.

 

The Parliamentarians visited the cricket stadium under construction by Shapoorji Pallonji, an Indian construction company. The Government of India has provided financial assistance of US$25 million, with US$ 6 million as grant and US$19 million as loan, for the construction of the cricket stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara for the Cricket World Cup 2007.

 

President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo hosted a lunch at State House for the visiting delegation.

 

CEDAR HILL CELEBRATES INDIAN ARRIVAL IN T&T

 

Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) celebrated 160 years of the Indian presence on Indian Arrival Day on May 30, 2005. May is Indian Heritage Month with month-long celebrations.

 

Bhuruth Suroop, aged 20, one of the 225 persons who arrived on the Fatel Rozack in 1845 was dispatched to Cedar Hill, Princes Town. Librarian Ramnaroop Kallo recently discovered this piece of information which gave greater meaning to their Indian Arrival event on May 29, 2005. This event took place opposite the famous Cedar Hill Ramleela Grounds. Villagers are mulling the idea of constructing a monument in honor of Suroop.

 

The Cedar Hill Indian Arrival event honored 10 of the oldest villagers. The event was packed with entertainment by way of a Fashion Show, Tassa by the Tandava Tassa Drummers, a Dance by Ms. Stehanie Kissoon, Songs by Miss Lilly Ramcharan & Group, and Ballack & Group. Alderman Kemchan Ramdath, Shamshu Deen, among others, addressed the gathering. Pro-Chancellor of the University of Guyana Dr. Prem Misir gave the keynote address. Significant archival documents, some with historic pictures, were exhibited.

 

NRIs CAN TAKE OUT SHARE OF FAMILY PROPERTY

 

The NRIs/PIOs have been allowed by the Reserve Bank of India to bring their share of family property received by way of settlement during the lifetime of the family head. However, the remittance will be allowed only upon the demise of the settler.

This remittance would be subject to the production of certain documents including a certificate by a chartered accountant in the formats prescribed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

 

NRI TAXATION RULES CONFIRMED

 

An annual tax , as per the Indian Income-Tax Act, 1961, is levied by the Government of India (GoI) on all income earned in India.

 

For tax purposes, a resident is one who has

1) been in India for 182 days or more during previous year

2) been in the country for 60 days or more during previous year and at least 365 days or more during four preceding previous years

 

A person who does not satisfy either of these conditions is considered a non-resident Indian.

 

All Income earned outside India by NRIs fall outside the purview of the I-T Act. This simply eliminates the incidence of tax on any remittance to India out of this income.

 

The NRIs can send money to their own accounts in India, without the fear of attracting tax and are free to utilize the amount in India in whatever way they want. Of course, the Indian income accruing on this amount when invested in India will attract taxes.

 

Similarly, the Gift Tax Act allows tax exemption to NRIs gifting to their relatives -

i) any convertible foreign exchange, remitted from abroad

ii) anything out of the balance in his Non-resident (External) Account

iii) any foreign exchange asset

 

Dividend paid by an Indian Company whether in India or outside India is the income accruing in India and is liable to tax in the hands of a non resident.

 

For full story, visit: http://sify.com/finance/nri/fullstory.php?id=13172937

 

INDIA-CANADA FLIGHTS TO INCREASE


India and Canada, under a liberalizing bilateral agreement have decided to increase flights between the two countries.

Canada has a large NRI/PIO population and the new agreement could increase the current limit of seven flights a week to 35 round trips for each country.


The air carriers currently operate between Montreal and Toronto in Canada and Mumbai and Delhi in India. Indian Airlines can now serve four more cities in Canada including Edmonton and Vancouver while Canadian airlines can serve new destinations -- Bangalore, Chennai, Madras, Hyderabad, and Kolkata in India.


AIR INDIA STARTS BIRMINGHAM-TORONTO FLIGHTS

 

Air-India has launched three flights a week from Delhi to Birmingham and Toronto via Amritsar starting May 15.

 

The flights will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto route will provide the people of Punjab direct and convenient services to Birmingham, UK, and to Toronto, Canada.

 

INDIA ENGINEERING CENTER TO OPEN IN THE US

 

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) will soon open an India Engineering Centre (IEC) in Chicago, to serve as a warehousing-cum-exhibition centre for Indian engineering products. The centre will have a showroom facility for display of product samples, warehousing for storing the goods and a distribution centre.

 

About 34 Indian firms, including Tata Motors, Kalyani Forge, El Forge, Lakshmi Precision Screws Ltd, Wings Automobile, Trinity India Ltd, and International Tractors had agreed to rent space in the centre, which will have 50 display windows.

 

FAST-TRACK COURTS FOR NRI LAND CASES IN PUNJAB

 

Amarjit Singh Samra, Punjabs NRI Affairs Minister announced on May 12, 2005 that land disputes involving NRIs will be dealt with by existing revenue courts that would act as fast-track courts. The land dispute cases involving NRIs had been on the increase with land prices soaring in recent years. The revenue courts in Punjab would fix a day every week to deal with land cases of NRIs as they could come to stay in India only for limited periods.

 

SMART CARD FOR NRI OVERSEAS JOB SEAKERS

 

Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs Jagdish Tytler told a seminar on NRIs and Development that overseas job seekers would be required to carry an electronic card from August 1, 2005 to prevent exploitation by recruiting agents and their counterparts abroad. The card will contain information about the card-holder such as his passport and insurance details.

 

The minister had visited the labor camp after representations by Chief Minister Chandy who was also present at the seminar. The chief minister thanked Mr. Tytler for his initiative in addressing the problems of the NRI community.

 

GLOBAL INDIAN BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM IN GERMANY POSTPONED TO 2006

Due to some unavoidable schedule conflict, the Global Indian Business Symposium scheduled for July 9-12, 2005 has been postponed for 2006. The new date will be announced later.

www.gopiobiz.com E-Mail: secretary@imexma.com or info@gopiobiz.com.

 

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 $1,000 for those from developed countries and $500 for those from developing countries or Rs. 25,000 for those from 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)

Webmaster: Prashant Gupta (Chicago, IL, USA)

Contributors for this issue: Inder Singh (USA), Sunil Prasad (Belgium), Ashook Ramsaran (USA), Dr. Prem Misir (Guyana) and Dr. Wahid Saleh (The Netherlands)

 

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 GOPIO’s Official site at www.gopio.net or www.gopio.com