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September 20, 2019
A Publication of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
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GOPIO FRANCE JOINS INDIAN EMBASSY AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO WELCOMING PM NARENDRA MODI AT PARIS AIRPORT
GOPIO-CT JOINS HANDS WITH CITY OF STAMFORD TO CELEBRATE INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH FLAG HOISTING, KITE FLYING AND CULTURAL EVENTS
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NOTE: GOPIO News is a FREE bi-monthly newsletter of GOPIO International, based in the USA. We need your help in reaching out more NRIs/PIOs around the world. Please go to the bottom of the news bulletin and click the FORWARD button and type e-mail addresses of your friends and relatives. One could also subscribe this newsletter by visiting www.gopio.net and type in the e-mail address. All preivous issues of GOPIO News are provided at GOPIO News Archives. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in future, please click SafeUnsubscribe at the end of this newsletter.
GOPIO is a community supported non-profit (US IRS 501 (c) (3)) organization taking up issues of the Indian Diaspora and attempting to unifying the community in its common causes. Support GOPIO by becoming a Life Member or chapter member. One can become Life Member online by visiting http://www.gopio.net/online_membership.html.
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HOWDY MODI EVENT IN HOUSTON, TEXAS |
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Texas India Forum has announced that President Donald J. Trump will be addressing the “Howdy, Modi! Shared Dreams, Bright Futures” Community Summit! President Trump will be joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a bipartisan delegation of government officials from across the country in celebrating the Indian-American community on Sunday, September 22 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
GOPIO International and GOPIO-Houston Chapter have joined the Texas India Forum for this largest Indian community event ever planned in the US.
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GOPIO-BIENNIAL CONVENTION TO BE HELD IN BERLIN, GERMANY, NOV. 8-10, 2019 AND FINALE IN PARIS, NOV. 11-12, 2019 |
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Scores of delegates from across the world are preparing to attend the twinned city congress of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) - marking a milestone of 30 years - in Europe in November. See details program by clicking below:
For the first time since GOPIO International was founded in 1989 with the diplomatic endorsement of the Indian government in New Delhi that a world gathering of the most influential Indians will be hosted in two famous landmark cities - Berlin and Paris - from 8-12 November.
Particularly significant within the double-header program is the celebration of Diwali, the worldwide celebration of the Festival of Lights by millions of Indians in mainland India and about 30 million Diaspora Indians spread across more than 100 countries.
The forthcoming conference is headlined as the "Indiaspora Meeting in Europe" under the banner theme, Strengthening Global Connections.
The 30th year biennial convention takes place in the German city of Berlin from 8 to 10 November, and the entourage travels to France for the second leg of the extraordinary meeting on 11-12 November in Paris, according to Mr. Mehen Poinoosawmy, Chairman of the convention to be held in both host cities.
GOPIO International has dispatched a call for speakers, panelists and thought leaders to contribute to the dual gatherings.
Some of the highlights include visits to the sights and sound of Berlin - among the famous sites is the Berlin Wall that separated communist East Germany from democratic West Germany and was torn down during the detente of the 1980s following the unification of Germany.
Delegates will travel together to the French capital.
In Paris, tours have been arranged to the Versailles Palace, Mont Saint Michel and the Eiffel Tower as well. A GOPIO meeting is on the schedule at the French Parliament.
Within the build up to the Diwali celebration, visits to other tourist attractions are being planned in the "City of Love" with Espace Reuilly as the central location.
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Other Convention Information
Whether you could attend the convention or not, you could become a Sponsor for a nominal amount of 200 Euros (or US $222). All sponsors will get a write up with photo and a profile up to 10 sentences. GOPIO chapters and community organizaitons will receive a half page space with photo of the Exec. Committee and organization coordinates and information. Please send it in right away to europegopio@gmail.com. Your payment can be made using a credit card at our PayPal Account as given below. The USA and Canadian residents and chapters may write a check in favor of GOPIO, and send to GOPIO Treasurer to his address, Mr. Kewal Kanda, 11433 Arlee Ave., Norwalk, CA 90650.
Payments Using Credit Cards at the PayPal site:
Choose: Make online payment
Select option: Pay for items or services quickly and securely
Amount Currency: USD
The convention is also seeking corporate sponsors and ads in the booklet from business and service people.
Community Service Awards
Please nominate any person who has done outstanding community service by sending the bio to europegopio@gmail.com. They have to be present at the convention in Berlin.
Please register for the convention in the information provided in the attached files.
HOTEL BOOKING FOR STAYING IN BERLIN - GERMANY
Delegates who will stay at Conference venue : BERLIN : Gästehaus der Polizei, Ruppiner Chaussee 268, 13503 Berlin https://www.gaestehaus-der-polizei.de/galerie-gaestehaus/ Cost is: 200 Euros per person All-inclusive from Friday Evening to Sunday Lunch time including GOPIO Registration fee for convention. For this accommodation: Reservation should be done through GOPIO Convention Team:
Delegates who do not plan to stay at the Conference venue : REGISTRATION FEE & ALL MEALS INCLUDED at 130 EUROS / Personm They have to book for their hotels on their own through www.bookings.com in the nearby area of 13503 Berlin
Other Hotels near convention centre : IBIS TEGEL HOTEL (near Tegel airport ) : https://www.accorhotels.com/fr/hotel-1573-ibis-berlin-airport-tegel/index.shtml
REGISTRATION & PAYMENTS FOR GOPIO BIENNIAL CONFERENCE BERLIN & PARIS
PAYMENTS: Payment by Bank Transfer : Send your total amount to be paid by Bank Transfer to address in below link. http://www.gopiofrance.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Bank.pdf Delegates can pay also by PAYPAL to the account of GOPIO INTERNATIONAL: Go online to: https://www.paypal.com/fr/signin (connect with your account) Choose: make online payment It gives you the option to: Pay for items or services quickly and securely Your email: xxxxx @ xxxxx .com GOPIO E-mail: gopiofunds@gmail.com Amount in Currency 200 Euros In space left for details, please add “Payment for convention Berlin-Paris”. Send a mail to europegopio@gmail.com for follow ups.
HOTEL BOOKING FOR STAYING IN PARIS, FRANCE
GOPIO HOTEL DELEGATES BOOK HERE ( upload reservation form and send by mail directly to Hotel as indicated with copy to europegopio@gmail.com): CLICK HERE ( 3 Stars) HOTEL IBIS CAMBRONNE EIFFEL TOWER, 17 Rue Cambronne, Paris 74015 https://www.accorhotels.com/fr/hotel-1400-ibis-paris-tour-eiffel-cambronne-15eme/index.shtml#origin=ibis (Negociated for GOPIO RATE – Reservation to be done before 10/10/2019- Booking file: 545803) SINGLE room x 120.00 €, breakfast included (1person) DOUBLE room x 130.50 €, breakfast included (2persons) TWIN room x 130.50 €, breakfast included (2persons)
OTHER HOTELS IN PARIS : ( 5 Stars) INTERCONTINENTAL LE GRAND PARIS , 2 Rue Scribe, OPERA, PARIS 75009 : https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/fr/fr/paris/parhb/hoteldetail
( 4 stars) HOTEL LE MARIOTT, RIVE GAUCHE , 17 Boulevard Saint Jacques, PARIS 74014 https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/parst-paris-marriott-rive-gauche-hotel-and-conference-center/
NOT EXPENSIVE BUT GOOD low budget ACCOMODATIONS HERE FOR SEVERAL PERSONS: https://french.fiapparis-network.fr/welcome.html For more information, contact the following convention officers:
Mehen Poinoosawmy GOPIO EUROPE Conv. Chairman, Tel +33 6 70 46 88 85, Email: mpoinoos@gmail.com
Dr. Rajinder Tewari GOPIO EUROPE Conv. Convener, Tel: +31 6 5399990, E-mail: r.tewari@gopioholland.nl
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GOPIO FRANCE-PARIS JOINS INDIAN EMBASSY AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO WELCOME PM NARENDRA MODI AT PARIS AIRPORT |
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Prime Minister of India was welcomed in Aug. 22nd in Paris by members of GOPIO France, President Vikas Talwar, VP Tarun Kalwani and GOPIO Intl, Coordinator Europe, Mehen Poinoosawmy along with other community leaders and Indian Embassy officials.
Photo left: Mehen Poinoosawmy (GOPIO Int. Europe Coordinator.) and Vice Presdient of Gopio France, Tarun Kalwani welcoming PM Modi at airport on his arrival in France; Photo right: Vikas Talwar, President of France welcoing PM Modi
On the following day, PM Modi addressed the Franco-India Diaspora at UNESCO in Paris in a Community event. Modi said India and France have a century-old friendship and asserted that he was dedicating “this day to friendship”. “The friendship between the two countries is not based on selfishness, it is based on liberty, equality, and fraternity,” the Prime Minister said.
To underline the close strategic partnership between India and France, Modi said a lot is being discussed about ‘INFRA’ which can be taken as ‘IN plus FRA’–the alliance of INdia and FRAnce.
“From solar infra to social infra, from technical infra to space infra, from digital infra to defense infra, the India-France alliance is moving forward strongly,” PM Modi added.
Link to video of PM Modi’s visit to France: visit GOPIO France Paris Facebook page or its website: www.gopiofrance.com
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SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR INDIAN DIASPORA CHILDREN |
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Government of India launched a scheme called "Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children" (SPDC), in the academic year 2006-2007, for the wards of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to assist them in pursuing Under Graduate courses in Indian Universities/Institutes.
Under SPDC scheme financial assistance for specific undergraduate courses in Professional and Non-Professional courses (except Medical and related courses)is provided towards tuition fee, admission fee and post admission services. The scheme is applicable to NRIs and PIOs from 66 countries.
Under the scheme, PIO/NRI students are awarded a scholarship of up to US$4,000 per annum for payment of tuition fee, admission fee and post admission services for Undergraduate courses in Engineering, Technology, Humanities, Liberal Arts, Commerce, Management, Journalism, Hotel Management, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and other courses. The scholarship is applicable to students who have already secured admission in an Indian institution. Admission is permitted only in Central Universities, NAAC "A" Grade Institutions, National Institute of Technologies (NITs), School of Planning & Architecture (SPAs), and Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) as covered under Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) scheme.
In case of any technical assistance, please contact following:
SPDC Portal Support Team, EG & IT Division, MEA, 1025, A Wing, Jawaharlal Nehru Bhavan, 23-D Janpath, New Delhi 110011, Email: technicalcellegit@mea.gov.in, Tel. +91 11 4901 8371
In case of any assistance/clarification regarding Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children, please contact following: Section Officer, OIA II Division, MEA, 925, Akbar Bhawan, Chankyapuri, New Delhi 110021, Email: so1oia2@mea.gov.in, Tel.: +91 11 2419 7927; Or Visit www.spdcindia.gov.in
Last date for application is Nov. 30, 2019.
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GOPIO-CT JOINS HANDS WITH CITY OF STAMFORD TO CELEBRATE INDIA INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH FLAG HOISTING, KITE FLYING AND CULTURAL EVENTS |
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Indians everywhere commemorate the country's independence from British rule, a long, non-violent struggle headed by Mahatma Gandhi, on August 15th. In Stamford, CT, Mayor David Martin hosted the 73rd Indian Independence celebration at the Stamford Government Center.
Photo - Stamford Mayor David Martin speaking at the India Day Celebration. From l. to r.: GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Wadia Associate Peter Michalsky, CT. State Senator Carlo Leone, GOPIO-CT Immediate Past President President Shelly Nichani, Indian Consul Vipul Mesariya, First County Bank Vice President Brad Lupinacci and GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat
The Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO-CT) organized the event on Saturday, August 17th. Consul Vipul Mesariya from the Indian Consulate was the chief guest who delivered the Independence Day message emphasizing the importance of India's independence and its adoption of democracy. He also complimented the role played by GOPIO and the Indian American community in cementing better US-India relations.
The program began with the singing of a patriotic song, followed by a welcome address given by GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat who gave an account of what GOPIO-CT is doing for the community and the local society. Anita described the many flagship events the organization organizes every year.
“Our mission at GOPIO-CT is to be active participants in the local community through involvement in community events and local politics, and by providing services to the Indian community at large here in Connecticut," said Anita Bhat.
Anita then introduced Stamford Mayor David Martin. Mayor Martin issued a proclamation and spoke on the diversity of the City of Stamford and said it enriched the whole city. Others to speak at the event included Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and State Senator Carlo Leone, both congratulating the community for its success and thanking for its contribution to Connecticut.
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Photo: GOPIO-CT officials with dignitaries at the flag hoisting ceremony at Stamford Govt. Center. Sitting, from l. to r. Wadia Associate Peter Michalsky, CT. State Senator Carlo Leone, GOPIO-CT Immediate Past President Shelly Nichani, First County Bank Vice President Brad Lupinacci, Stamford Mayor David Martin, Indian Consul Vipul Mesariya and GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham. /standing from l. to r.: Director Dr. Jaya Daptadar, VP Bhavana Juneja, Trustee Sanjay Santhanam, Exec. VP Santosh Gannu, President Anita Bhat, Liberty Awardee Pradeep Govil, Monique Govil, Trustee Srinivas Aparapu, Trustee Chair Shailesh Naik and Treasurer Viresh Sharma
In his proclamation Mayor Martin said that the Indian Independence was marked largely by non-violent resistance and civil disobedience and the Independence Day is celebrated by the Indian Diaspora worldwide. The proclamation further noted that Stamford city will honor Indian community which is an integral part of city’s diversity, success and great future.
After remarks by the honored dignitaries, brief entertainment of music, presenting a community service award and recognizing high school graduates everyone went to the street for the flag hoisting.
Independence Day Liberty Award 2019 Recipient for Service to GOPIO-CT and Community Causes was given to Pradeep Govil, who has served as a Board Member and the Executive Vice President of GOPIO-CT for several years. Pradeep is Program Manager at the World’s largest and successful semiconductor company ASML. He has received over 21 patents and published numerous articles in international journals. Pradeep is an Adjunct Professor at Fairfield University since the early 90’s.
Later in the day, the nearby Mill River Park in Stamford, CT wore a festive look as Indian Americans gathered in large numbers to celebrate India’s 73rd Independence Day with an annual India Festival. Dressed in colorful traditional Indian attire, with melodious music from the popular Bollywood world, dances depicting the wide variety of Indian culture, kite flying, spicy Indian cuisine, colorful booths decorated with Indian dresses and face art.
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Photo - GOPIO-CT President Anita Bhat recognizing the organizers, from l. to r. Wilson Pottackal, Dr. Thomas Abraham, Fr. Sudhir DeSouza, Bhavna Juneja, Anita Bhat, Ramya Subramanian and Prachi Narayan
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Photo: Dancers at the India Festival
“The India Festival in Stamford, CT is a tribute to a strong and vibrant Indian-American community that has excelled in almost all areas of life in this adopted nation of ours,” Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President and chairman of GOPIO International, who is also a Trustee of GOPIO-CT, said.
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Photo: Dancers at the India Festival
A fashion parade with women wearing Indian sarees was presented by Ashvini Persaud.
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Photo - Fashion Parade
The celebration sponsors were First County Bank of Fairfield County and Wadia Associates of New Canaan, CT.
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GOPIO NEWS SPONSORS - Attorney Megha Bhouraskar (USA) and Nazareth Consulting (USA) |
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The Law Offices of Megha D. Bhouraskar [MDB] is a NYC/USA-based law firm specializing in Business Transactions, Company Formations, Real Estate, Investments, Intellectual Property, Entertainment, and Entrepreneurial Mentorship. MDB advances the business opportunities for Indians Worldwide by using a specific set of skills that include: personal strengths, creativity, intuition, discretion, sense of community, attention and interactive collaboration.
Contact: The Law Offices of Megha D. Bhouraskar,P.C.,
139 Fulton Street, Suite 902, New York, NY 10039, United States, Tel: (212)571-1770
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GOPIO NEWS SEEKING SPONSORS AND DISPLAY ADS |
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GOPIO News offers display advertising in the format shown above will also be displayed in GOPIO website. This form of marketing allows you to effectively reach over 50,000 people by direct mail.
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GOPIO INTL. AND CHAPTER NEWS |
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GOPIO SYDNEY ACCOMPLISHES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL GYAAN PROGRAM
GYAAN stands for GOPIO Young Achievers Awards Night. This was a sold-out event in 2019, where GOPIO Sydney recognises and honours students of Indian origin for their astounding success in attaining a high ATAR score in the Higher School Certificate.
GOPIO Sydney also acknowledges and provides community awards to exceptional organisations or individuals of Indian descent, who have excelled in their areas of expertise and have made a significant contribution to the wider community.
Recipients for the excellence in academic achievement were Mrinaank Sinha (99.75% and First in state in Software Design), Dharani Palanisamy (98.45%), Sourish Iyengar (97.25% and state level hockey awardee), Jishnu Thangallu (97.25%) and Rukhaiya Rangwala (First in Business Studies, all round academic excellence and exceptional community service in Domestic Violence).
The chapter recognized outstanding community awardees, Harman Foundation, Young Sikh Professional Network (YSPN), EKAL Vidyalaya and Dr Chandrika Subramaniyan.
The Chief Guest for GYAAN was Mr. Matt Kean, Minister for Innovation and Better regulation and our guests of honour were Michelle Rowland, the Shadow Minister for communications and Member for Greenway, Professor of Material Science Veena Sahajwalla from the University of NSW, Jagdish Lodhia GOPIO International Oceania Coordinator, Dr. Geoff Lee and Kevin Connelly, parliamentary members for Parramatta and Riverstone.
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Photo from l. to r. Michelle Rowland (Shadow Minister for Communications), Jagmohan Dhaliwal (President GOPIO Sydney), Dr Geoff Lee (Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education), Chandru Appar (Deputy Consul General of India), Balvinder Ruby (Co-Chair, GOPIO Media Council), with inaugural community award recipients Maninder Singh, Harinder Kaur and team from Harman Foundation
President of GOPIO Sydney Jagmohan Dhaliwal, is an ambassador for White Ribbon (Domestic Violence Prevention) and an advocate for the Australia Cancer Council and Kids Cancel Project (for Kids Cancer Research) and is passionate about charitable giving. Supporting charities is at the heart of what he believes in and what he wants GOPIO Sydney to stand for. Charity is very important to a healthy society and he is committed to inspire the community to give to charity and motivate them to organise fundraisers, increase awareness of domestic violence and spend time volunteering to assist in the care of our seniors or underprivileged youth.
GOPIO-BAHRAIN ORGANIZES THINK TANK MEETING ON COMMUNITY ISSUES
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GOPIO Bahrain Think Tank Meeting organized on 19th of August 2019 at the K Hotel Juffair, Bahrain |
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Photo - Participants at the Think Tank meeting
GOPIO-CT HOSTS NEW STUDENTS FROM UCONN BUSINESS SCHOOL
GOPIO-CT organized a program of welcoming new Indian students at the Univ. of Connecticut, School of Business from its Stamford campus with a networking dinner on Friday, Sept. 13th at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Stamford. While it was networking event for the students and the Indian American community, it also served as an interactive session with a high-profile panel of Indian American Corporate Achievers from Facebook, Amazon and Vice Media as well as three other entrepreneurs and businessmen.
The program started with a welcome by GOPIO International Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham and greetings from Ms. Laurissa Berk, UConn’s Associate Director for Risk Management Programs at UConn School of Business. The panelists included Joseph Simon, Chief Technology Officer at Vice Media; Shailesh Naik, President of Charles Manganaro Consulting Engineers; Bhavna Juneja, Senior President of IT Services (Stamford, CT); Terrence Moduthagam, Manager Strategy Partnership at Amazon; Anand Chavan, CEO of GuardX, Inc. and Gaurav Venkateswar, Client Solutions Manager at Facebook. The panel session was moderated by Viresh Sharma, President, Laser Systems, Inc.
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Photo - Panelists at the UConn students welcome, from Anand Chavan, Terrence Moduthagam, Gaurav Venkateswar, Bhavna Juneja, Shailesh Naik, Joe Simon and Viresh Sharma
The students asked the panelists several questions including marketing themselves to get a job, branding, how to reach out the right person within Corporate America, trends in the job market and difficulty of getting jobs after study completion with a practical training visa.
“It was highly successful program with larger interaction by the new students with the panelists,” said Dr. Abraham.
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Photos - Left: UConn Program Associate Director Laurissa Berk speaking; Right: GOPIO Chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham speaking
Abraham also told the students that when he came to the country in the 1970s, there was a system of a host family to the foreign students since here was not much communication for the students back home. With advent of new communication with WhatsUp and other social media, the host family concept is already gone. Abraham told the students that the community is the host family for the students.
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Photo – UConn students interacting at the panel.
The program was concluded by GOPIO-CT Secretary Prasad Chintalapudi, Vice President of Panzer Solutions.
Contact: Anita Bhat, GOPIO-CT President, Tel: 203-524-2935, e-mail: abnewyork71@gmail.com
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INDIAN AMERICAN AZIZ ANSARI ON FORBE’S LIST OF WORLD’S HIGHEST PAID COMEDIANS OF 2019
Aziz Ansari, the Indian- American actor-comedian has made it to the Forbes list of the highest paid comedians in 2019.
With an earning of $13 million between June 1, 2018 to June 1, 2019, Ansari was tenth on the Forbes’ 2019 list of the ‘World’s Highest-paid Comedians,’
Although he was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, Ansari made a comeback, mainly as a stand-up comedian and earlier this year he had addressed these accusations to mixed reactions.
INDIAN AMERICAN DR. GANAPATHI PULIPAKA RECEIVES TOP 50 TECHNOLOGY LEADER AWARD
Indian-American, Dr. Ganapathi Pulipaka was honored with the Top 50 Technology Leader award at the AI Intercon Technology conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dr. Pulipaka is an American data scientist and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) luminary who received the award, in recognition of his contributions to artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. He has also authored two books on Artificial Intelligence and also published around 400 research papers
At the Intercon conference, Dr. Pulipaka spoke about Deep Reinforcement Learning and the landscape of machine learning and artificial intelligence.
A graduate of Osmania University, with degrees from California University, Irvine and Colorado Technical University, Pulipaka is a Chief Data Scientist at Accenture for AI strategy, architecture, application development of Machine learning and Deep Learning algorithms.
INDIAN-AMERICAN KASH PATEL APPOINTED TOP POSITION IN TRUMP’S NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
Kashyap Pramod Patel, an Indian-American lawyer has been appointed as the Senior Director of Counter-Terrorism in the White House National Security Council.
Patel came to national notice when media reports claimed he was the author of “the Nunes memo” that the FBI had tried to help the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton win against Trump in the 2016 elections. This allegation was denied by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, who was the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
He served as a Senior Counsel for counterterrorism at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Most recently, he was in the NSC’s Directorate of International Organizations and Alliances.
Patel grew up in Garden City, New York, and graduated from Pace University Law School in 2005. He attended the University of Richmond in 2002 and has a certificate in International Law from University College London, Faculty of Laws. He has also served for many years as a public defender in Miami, Florida.
PRESIDENT TRUMP NOMINATES INDIAN AMERICAN JUDGE ANURAG SIGHAL FOR U.S. DISTRICT COURT SEAT IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA
On August 14, the White House announced that Indian-American judge, Anurag “Raag” Singhal was among the 10 candidates whom President Donald Trump intends to nominate for various seats.
Singhal was chosen as the President’s nominee for the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida seat. He currently serves as a Circuit Court Judge for the 17th Judicial Circuit in Broward County, Florida.
Earlier, Singhal was in private practice in Fort Lauderdale where he focused on criminal defense in Trial Courts and Courts of Appeals. He has also served as a prosecutor in the Office of the State Attorney and has been a Defense Attorney for many years.
As the president of the Broward Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, he has confronted a judge who was alleged to be insensitive towards defendants. Singal has represented former sheriff Ken Jenne’s secretaries in the wide ranging probe of the sheriff’s conduct.
Singhal has a B.A. from Rice University and a J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.
TRUMP NOMINATES INDIAN AMERICAN SHIREEN MATHEWS AS A FEDERAL JUDGE
US President Donald Trump has nominated Shireen Mathews, an Indian-American lawyer, to be a federal judge. She is a partner with the elite law firm Jones Day, where she specializes in white-collar crimes. Before that, she was an assistant federal prosecutor in California serving as the coordinator for criminal healthcare fraud cases. Her nomination to Southern California Southern District federal court in San Diego was announced by the White House and her appointment has to be approved by the Senate.
Shireen Mathews is the sixth Indian-American nominated to the federal judiciary at various levels by Trump. She has served on South Asia Bar Association (SABA) North America board of directors. According to Jones Day, while she was a prosecutor, Shireen Mathews uncovered a multi-million dollar fraud in stolen medical equipment and also won one of the highest restitution awards for the Social Security (general public pension) trust fund.
Neomi Rao is the most prominent judicial nominee of Trump, who named her to the federal appeals court in Washington to succeed Brett Kavanaugh, who was elevated to the Supreme Court. Based in the nation's capital, that appeals court is considered the most important one after the Supreme Court and a nominee of former President Barack Obama Sri Srinivasan also serves on it. Amul Thapar was nominated by Trump to an appeals court in Ohio that has jurisdiction over four states. Neomi Rao and Thapar, along with federal court nominee J. Nicholas Ranjan received Senate confirmation. Two other nominees for federal judgeships, Diane Gujarati and Anuraag Singhal are awaiting Senate action.
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GOPIOs, NRIs and PIOs NEWS FEATURES |
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GOPIO INTERNATIONAL ADVANCING WOMEN AGENDA GLOBALLY - WOMEN OF INFLUENCE GALA DINNER AND AWARDS EVENING HELD IN SOUTH AFRICA
Gopio International executive Vice President, Mr Ishwar ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu in association with the 1 Women Pact foundation hosted a Women of Influence Awards and Gala Dinner evening on the 29th of August 2019. This event was held in the heart of the Inidian community in Pheonix. This initiative was appropitally crafted on the occasion of Womens Month as a way to afford recognition to the many women of influence within the Province of KwaZulu Natal who play an important role in uplifting their communities and improving the overall quality of life of so many citizens.
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Photo - Executive Vice President for Gopio International, Mr Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu; Mrs Shameen Thakur Rajbansi, MP, KZN Parliament; Deputy Mayor of Durban, Mrs Fawzia Peer, Her Royal Highness The Queen, Queen Nompumelelo Zulu; The CEO of 1 Women Pact foundation Ms Pamela Padayachee; Mr Ravi Pillay MEC for Treasury, KwaZulu Natal Provincial Government
“As we all gathered here to celebrate this event, I first thank all of you for attending and am happy that the men have taken time to be with us today to support the woman agenda today. Empowering women is very necessary to bring gender equality or we can say that gender equality is very necessary to empower women. Gender equality is the first step to bring women empowerment. Men should not understand that women are made only to handle household chores or take responsibility of home and family. Instead, both (men and women) are responsible for everything of daily routine. Men too need to understand their responsibility of home and family and all other works women do so that women can get some time to think about themselves and their career. Women should also identify their strengths and abilities and move towards a world of empowerment. On the event of Women’s Day, let us all promise to create a better world to live in. “
“Our Peace must be based on the understanding of God” There is not a blade of grass in which God is not. Remember that God is love and love is God, and where love is, there God is. The simple way of Lord Jesus Christ – to love thy neighbor as thyself,“ said Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu
Contact: Ishwar Ramlutchman Mabheka Zulu, Executive Vice President, GOPIO International, ramlutchmanishwar@gmail.com
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NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs AND PIOs AROUND THE WORLD |
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FOREIGN-BORN Ph.D. GRADUATES LESS LIKELY TO WORK AT US START-UPS DUE TO VISA CONCERNS
Foreign-born students who obtain their Ph.D. degrees in the U.S are less likely to work at start-ups after graduation because of their concerns about obtaining requisite visas.
A study “Why Foreign STEM Ph.D.s Are Unlikely to Work for U.S Technology Startups,” states that foreign-born STEM Ph.D. graduates are offered positions at start-ups at roughly the same salary as U.S. citizens. However, many of them prefer to work for large technology companies who are more likely to sponsor foreign workers for H-1B or permanent residency visas.
According to this study, current U.S. visa policies are an obstacle for small companies seeking to hire foreign workers for their highly-specialized skills. The majority of applicants for H-1B visas are Indian nationals; 65,000 H-1B visas are meted out each year, with an additional 20,000 reserved for those who received an advanced degree in the U.S.
“Start-ups are an important engine for innovation and economic growth,” said Michael Roach, assistant professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell.
He felt that the current immigration policies should realize that technology start-ups need to hire highly-skilled foreign workers who have Ph. D degrees from U.S research universities.
John Skrentny, a professor of sociology at UC San Diego and director of the university’s Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research, said, “Over the past few decades, the American economy has become more dependent on science and technology innovation for growth, and at the same time, our science and technology Ph.D. programs have become more dependent on foreign talent.”
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Junior Faculty Fellowship and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
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GOPIO LIFE MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTER FORMATION |
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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 2/3rd the amount for each category for those from developing countries and India.
GOPIO is looking forward to opening chapters in all major cities of the world, so as to network with people of Indian origin all over the world. If you do not have a chapter in your city, please visit the GOPIO website (www.gopio.net) and get details of chapter initiation (visit http://www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm). This process involves sending a letter of intent to start a chapter by a committee of five people or more. For more information, contact:
GOPIO Chairman - Dr. Thomas Abraham, Stamford, Connecticut, USA, Tel: +1-203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net
GOPIO President – Sunny Kulathakal, Bahrain, +973-39441956, India +91-9845756692, E-mail: kulathakal44@gmail.com
GOPIO Vice President – Ram Gadhavi, Wayne, New Jersey, USA, Tel: +1-973-699-8582, E-mail: ram@gadhavi.net
GOPIO’s Global Ambassador – Issac John, Dubai, UAE, +971-50 625 9941, E-mail: isacjohn@gmail.com
GOPIO Secretary – Dr. Rajeev Mehta, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA, Tel: +1-732-986-2584, rajimehta@hotmail.com
Executive Trustee of GOPIO Foundation - Inder Singh, Tarzana, California, USA, Tel: +1-818-708-3885, E-mail: indersinghusa@gmail.com
GICC Chairman - Niraj Baxi, San Jose, California, USA, Tel: 408-307-9845, E-mail: nbaxi@insuranceplanning.com
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Chief Editor: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International (Stamford, CT, USA)
Editor: J. Nami Kaur, Media Council Chair, GOPIO International (New York, USA)
Associate Editors: Layla Matthew (Bangalore, India), Harry Walia (Australia), Marlan Padayachee (South Africa)
Webmasters: Abu Thomas (New Rochelle, NY, USA) and Prashant Gupta (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India)
Contributors of this issue: Ishwar Ramlutchman, Exec. Vcie President, GOPIO International (South AFrica); Kewal Kanda, Treasurer, GOPIO International (Norwalk, CA, USA); Mehen Poinoosawmy, GOPIO Europe International Coordinator (Paris, France), Jagmohan Dhaliwal, President of GOPIO Sydney,
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
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GOPIO INTERNATIONAL
+1 (203) 329 8010
gopio@optonline.net
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