GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
September 2005
NOTE: This is a monthly newsletter of GOPIO International,
based in the
CONTENTS
- HURRICANE KATRINA AFFECTS INDIAN AMERICANS GOPIO TO RAISE FUNDS FOR
KATRINA VICTIMS
- GOPIO
- GOPIO
o DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MOIA
- UPDATE ON THE FOURTH PBD AT
- INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR DIASPORA
YOUTH CONCLUDED
- USER-FRIENDLY MOIA
WEBSITE
- DWARKA -
- FOUR INDIAN AMERICANS IN MITs
ANNUAL TOP 35 INNOVATORS
- PRESIDENT BUSH NOMINATES
SANTANU BARUAH AS ASST. SEC. OF COMMERCE
- TWO NRIs
IN
- TINA CHAKRAVARTY IS
MISS
- INDO-CANADIAN SECURE FM RADIO
STATION LICENSE
- TURBAN PERMITTED DURING SOCCER
TOURNAMENT
- GREAT POTENTAIL FOR BANANA
EXPORT TO GULF REGION
- NRIs CAN LEARN BENGALI ON LINE
- NRI
- HOTELS CANNOT DEMAND PAYMENT IN FOREIGN CURRENCY FROM NRIs
- SUPREME COURT RULING COULD COST
MORE TO NRI STUDENTS
- KERALA GOVERNMENT
TO EASE NRI TRAVEL PROBLEMS
- HYATT PLANS 15 FIVE-STAR HOTELS
IN
- ASIANS ADD 103
BILLION TO BRITISH ECONOMY
- NRI SHARE DEALS MAY BE OUT OF
FIPB AMBIT
- ICCR LAUNCHES SOFTWARE TO
PROPOGATE HINDI ABROAD
HURRICANE
KATRINA AFFECTS INDIAN AMERICANS - GOPIO TO RAISE FUNDS FOR KATRINA VICTIMS
Most of the 6,000 Indian
American residents took shelter with friends and relatives outside
The Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) has expressed sincere concern and requests for
support for the countless thousands of families who have been severely affected
by the extra-ordinary level of devastation, damage, suffering and loss of life
and property caused by hurricane KATRINA.
GOPIO urges immediate donations
for this urgent humanitarian effort, which will be sent promptly to the
agencies actively involved in relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected
areas. Tax deductible contributions should be made payable to GOPIO and sent
to: GOPIO International, c/o Haresh Panchal, Treasurer,
For further information,
please contact GOPIO President Inder Singh at gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net
or by telephone at 818-708-3885 or
Chairman Dr Thomas Abraham at 230-329-8010, Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran
at 718-939-8194.
The National Federation of Indian
American Associations (NFIA), an umbrella organization of various other
associations has also launched a campaign to mobilize the community to donate
money for this cause. It has set up a Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. The entire
amount of money collected will be handed over to the American Red Cross for
providing assistance to the hurricane victims.
Tax deductible checks
payable to NFIA Hurricane Relief Fund should be sent to NFIA, 6912
Winter Lane,
The coming Conference in
Although Conference
registration is free, those interested to attend the event are requested to
first register. For Conference registration and other details, please contact
Sunil Prasad, Secretary General EICC and President, GOPIO Belgium on Tel
& Fax: +32-2-469 2677, GSM: +32-472 207 338 or by E-mail: sunil.prasad@coditel.net
For Conference details, please visit EICC Website: www.eicc.be
The Conference organizers
have negotiated a special room tariff with Hotel Capital for Single Room per
night for 85 and Double Room for 95 inclusive of breakfast, taxes and
services. The hotel is very conveniently located with easy access to The Hotel
Sheraton and the European Parliament. In view of the exorbitant hotel tariffs
in
Below is the Tentative Programme of the Conference:
Tentative Programme
EICC-CBC-GOPIO Conference
EU-India Strategic Plan: Enhancing Trade and
Investment
Horizon Room Top Floor
Hotel Sheraton
(INAUGURAL SESSION)
17:00 18:15 Registration
Pick-Up /Reception
20:20 - 21:45 Dinner hosted by EICC
European Parliament
rue Wiertz
Wiertzstraat, B-1047 BRUSSELS
(BUSINESS
SESSIONS)
10:00 10:20 Key-Note address by Hon. Sam Pitroda,
Chairman, World-Tel
SESSION
1
11:20
13:00 Trade and Investment: Corner Stone of EU-India Relations Views of
Captains of Industry and Corporate World
Chair: Lord Dr. Diljit S Rana MBE
Dr. Ajit
Shetty, CEO,
Ms. Colette Mathur, Director, World Economic
Mr. B. Ramlinga
Mr.
Mr. Geoffrey H Lipman, Special Trade Advisor, World Tourism Organization
Inter-active
session
(Lunch
hosted by Dalmia Group and EICC)
Chair: (Confimation expected from a VIP)
IT
Sector Mr. Jan Boll, Sr. Vice
President, Philips
Bio-tech
Industry Prof. Dr. Marc Van Montagu
Aviation Sector Dr. Kiran Rao, Sr. Vice
President, Airbus Industrie
Automobile Sector Mr. Thierry Moulonguet,
Joint DG, RENAULT
Energy and Shipping Sector Mr. Ravi K Mehrotra, Chairman & CEO, Foresight
Group Ltd.
Export and
infrastructure Sector - Mr. R.
Veeramani, President Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce,
India
Inter-active
session
Chair: Mr. Bogdan
Golik, MEP and Chairman, Polish Chamber of Commerce
Financial Sector and
Asset Management Mr. Ravi Shankar, Managing Director, EPIC Asset Group,
EU-India Economic
Co-operation and role of Corporate and Business in Bridging the Gap - Mr. Michel Sabatier,
Secretary General, Euro-India Centre
Banking Industry - Mr. Rutger Koopmans, Director, ING Bank & Chairman,
Stakes for India in the
Enlarged Europe - Dr Jean-Joseph BOILLOT, Financial
Counsellor India & South Asia, French Embassy, New Delhi
Mr. Akash Passey, Vice President,
VOLVO,
Discussion
17:00
17:30 Key
Note address by Mr. Peter Mandelson, EU Trade
Commissioner
GOPIO
PROTESTS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF NRIs IN THE
MIDDLE EAST
The Global Organization of
People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) condemns the human rights abuses and slave-like
labour conditions which Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) endure in the Middle East. The treatment meted out to
them constitutes servitude and forced labour and are
slave-like and it makes them vulnerable to human trafficking.
(a) Salary deductions once
they reached the foreign countries.
(b) They are compelled to work well in excess of 8 hours a day without
payment of overtime wages although the laws of the country provide rest and
provisions for overtime Pay. Other workers get these benefits but NRIs do not get them.
(c) Women domestic workers
suffer from extreme forms of abuse from employers including sexual abuse.
(d) Employers take the passports of
(e) The conditions under which they live do not afford the women
personal privacy or security and they have in most cases no way of exit safety
in cases of emergency such as fire.
The mission of GOPIOs Human Rights Commission is to actively monitor all
aspects of human rights conditions and treatment of persons of Indian origin
living outside of
GOPIO Human Rights
Commission Chairman, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj S.C. is
a Senior Attorney-at-Law based in
The Commission Co-Chairman,
Dr. Parveen Chopra has been a chair/vice chair/commissioner of Human Rights
Commission for seventeen years for
GOPIO Human Rights
Commission can be reached as follows: Chairman Ramesh L. Maharaj,
E-mail: rlmaharaj@tstt.net.tt or Co-Chairman Dr. Parveen Chopra,
E-mail: parveenchopra@yahoo.com. Or contact GOPIO President Inder
Singh, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net, Tel: (818) 708-3885.
GOPIO
OPPOSES
The Fijian Prime Minister
Mr. Laisenia Qarase will be
in
The planned visit of Mr. Laisenia Qarase has greatly
disappointed the Indian Diaspora and PIO community members, especially those
from
Ever since he assumed the
position of Prime Minister and interim PM before that (after the 2000 coup),
Mr. Qarase has been engaged in actions of racial
discrimination and has shown minimal tolerance towards the Indian community. He
has initiated the so-called affirmative action programme
for the indigenous community which blatantly discriminates against the people
of Indian origin. This is so contrary to all international standards that the
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination (UNCERD) has found 22 areas in which the policies of the Fijian
Government are racially discriminatory in nature and in action and has asked
the government to take corrective measures as a matter of priority.
Then there is the multi
party Cabinet case in which Mr. Qarase has denied the
Fiji Labour Party, and through it, the entire
Fiji-Indian community, their constitutional right to participate in government
at the Cabinet level. Mr. Qarases stance in this case
is racist, as there can be no other reason for him to deny the right of the
duly elected Labour Party representing the PIO
community in
Mr. Qarase
was very devious and manipulative in the manner in which he finally responded
to
There is now the matter of
the so-called Reconciliation Tolerance and Unity Bill which the Labour party has rightly dubbed Terrorist Amnesty Bill. Mr.
Qarase is adamant in going ahead with this Bill
designed to pardon George Speight and his close accomplices now serving jail
sentences for their criminal activities in the 2000 coup that ousted the then
ruling Labor party.
That so-called Unity Bill
has been widely condemned in
We also urge Government of
India to reconsider any grant of technical and financial assistance to
The people of
A state visit to
Considering all these
facts, the Global Organisation of People of Indian
Origin (GOPIO) requests the Prime Minister of India toan style='font-family:Arial'>Considering all these
facts, the Global Organisation of People of Indian
Origin (GOPIO) requests the Prime Minister of India to exercise best judgment
and to consider canceling the visit of Fiji Prime Minister Qarase
to
We would like the
Government of India to be sensitive to the issues of PIO communities worldwide,
and not be viewed as giving legitimacy to the actions of a person such as Laisenia Qarase, said GOPIO President Inder Singh.
GOPIO
CHAPTER NEWS
GOPIO
GOPIO Trinidad and Tobago (TnT)
held its second annual GOPIO National Awards program on August 30, 2005 at the
The GOPIO 2005
awardees were selected from nominations and a selection process based on merit,
and represented people from all segments of Trinidad
society, encompassing several noteworthy categories: Order of Trinidad
sand Tobago Award to -- Sundar Popo, posthumously, for Culture; Uttamdeo
Maharaj, posthumous, for Bravery; Cecil Fonrose for Culture. Chaconia
Award to -- Dr. Kris Rampersad for Literature
and Fine Arts; Hummingbird Award to -- George Daniel
for Anti-Discrimination Community Work; Ria Ramnarine and Dinesh Ramdin for Sports. The
judges were attoneys-at-law Nadendra
Lalbeharry, Judy Kubalsingh
and Imran Khan.
The event was well attended
by many outstanding and notable citizens including several current and
former members of parliament, distinguished members of society and
culture. Several speakers welcomed the GOPIO Awards, with the hope that
their voices would be heard so that meaningful changes to the Trinity
Cross can take place soon. GOPIO TnT
President Parsuram (Devant) Maharaj
noted that, while the GOPIO awards are not meant to be in conlfict, it
is "GOPIOs intention to continue hosting this
National Awards ceremony as a symbolic protest until such time that the state
realizes that we understand the meaning of the right to the equality of
treatment granted to us by the constitution".
Other speakers at the award
ceremony included Yacoob Ali (President of ASJA), Sat
Maharaj (Sec General of Maha
Sabha), Rev Cyril Paul (President of Inter Religious
Organization), Kenneth Lalla (Former Chairman of
Police Service Commission) and Reginald Dumas (President of Transparency
International).
The program was attended
many several social, political and community leaders including Gance Ramdial (Former President
of the Senate), Micheal Williams (Former President of
the Senate), Dr. Rupert Griffith (Former Speaker of the House), Nizam Mohammed (Former Speaker of the House), Senator Robin
Montano, Winston Dookeran M.P, Deokinanan
Sharma (President National Council for Indian Culture), Ravi ji (Leader of the Hindu Prachar
Kendra), Hans Hanoomansingh )Former President NCIC)
and Senator Nobel Khan.
To participate in GOPIO TnT or to become a member, contact Devant Maharaj. E-mail: devant@tstt.net.tt
GOPIO
The GOPIO
Conference on the INDIAN DIASPORA in WESTERN HEMISPHERE scheduled
to be held in
GOPIO INTERNATIONAL and
GOPIO
GOPIO
INTERNATIONAL and GOPIO
Contact:
HAROLD R.RAMDHANI
Secretary,
GOPIO
30
NEUMANPAD
Tel:
+597-856-3063
FAX +597 472411
E-mail HAROLD R. RAMDHANI@ramsholding.sr
NEWS
ROUND-UP FROM
By
P.N.A. Tharakan
DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE MOIA
The Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs (MOIA) has completed one year and is maintaining its tempo of
activities despite the resignation of Jagdish Tytler as the Minister early in August following the Nanavati Commission report on 1984 anti-Sikh riots. His
absence at the Akbar Bhavan
the home for the MOIA has left a void, but caused no setbacks or upsets in the
functioning of the nascent Ministry. The ministry had geared up several
programs with the objective to make the Ministry an effective facilitator to
address the problems and issues relating to Overseas Indians. The concept of
the Ministry on sound foundations however, suffered no dilution on any of its
goals with no reversal or let
up on its policies and programs. The Ministry has now come directly under the
additional charge of the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh himself. There was no occasion or issue for the Prime Minister to
intervene in the normal functioning. A new Minister may be given charge after
the much talked about reshuffle of the Central Ministry, expected after the
current Parliament session.
CLARITY OF MOIA
VISION AND PRIORITIES
MOIA is positioning itself
as an effective agency that facilitates the needs and aspirations of the
Diaspora, treating it as a strong and dynamic resource covering wide-ranging
subjects and issues. The concept of manpower export itself is undergoing a
change with the hitherto cheap labor moving up in the value chain with better
skills. Investment and financial services will be a major area for priority attention
besides social services covering educational and cultural fields.
UPDATE ON THE
FOURTH PBD AT
Officials at the MOIA
visited
According to MOIA Secretary
Krishna Kumar, a curtain raiser event is proposed to be held a day before the
inauguration of the PBD with tourism or biotech projects as the theme. On the
concluding day on 9th, investment related matters involving other
state governments are to be taken up.
Kumar said that during this
years session, more plenary sessions are proposed to
cover the larger interests of delegates avoiding too many sectoral
sessions which were held parallel denying opportunities for all to go into
major issues in depth.
No decision has yet been
taken on the industry partner.
INTERNSHIP
PROGRAM FOR DIASPORA YOUTH CONCLUDED
The Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs has organized a three weeks Internship Program for
Diaspora Youth (IPDY) from 22nd August to 11 September, 2005. The IPDY drew encouraging response judging from the
feedback received by the MOIA, which hosted 24 delegates from 12 cities in nine
countries. The interns, between the ages of 16 to 25, were more than halfway
with a comprehensive programme of seeing for
themselves the modern
Besides coping with a tight
schedule in the capital, visiting important cultural landmarks and educational
scientific institutions, they also visited
The interns had a
first-hand account of Indian governance in Uttaranchal
state where they spent 10 days seeing the implementation of different
development projects by the government. They also interacted with NGOs and
other civic bodies.They watched parliament
proceedings to get a feel of the country's political system.
To apprise the interns about the developments in medical science and research
in the country, they were taken to institutes like the National Brain Research
Centre and Spinal Injury Centre here.They had a taste
of desi spirituality as well when they spent three
days in an ashram in Rishikesh in Uttaranchal.
The interns Saturday met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam,
who urged them to contribute to the growth of the country.
The internship programme was the third of its kind,
with two other groups of Indian origin students having visited earlier.
However, they had come as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebration. The programme,
hitherto coinciding with the annual PBD and confined to the sessions is likely
to be quarterly events from next year.
The IPDY scheme
provides a unique forum for students and young professional of Indian origin to
share their views, expectations and experience. The youth had opportunity to
interact with prominent leaders in industry and administration including senior
government officials. The following wee the participants:
Ms Lavisha
Kapoor (Bangkok), Ms Priyanka Patnaik
(Ottawa), Mr Aravinda Bouma Splendor (Ottawa), M Ellisha
Ramrathan (Durban), Mr Bharatramesh Gordhan (Durban), Ms
Aveshni Naicker (Durban), Mr Menil Ravje
(Johnnesburg), Ms Kiasha Subramani (Johannesburg) Ms Meshendi
Padayachee (Johannesburg), Ms Manisha
Vallabh (Cape Town), Ms Irene Anamika
Narayan (Suva), Ms Aarti
Mala Singh (Suva), Rajaletchumi Nandarajah
(Kuala Lumpur), Mr Sarawanan
(Kuala Lumpur), Mr Sanjev
Kumar Sevaratnam (Kuala Lumpur), Ms. Shekinah Narcissa (Kuala Lumpur),
Ms Nettali Squires (Tl
Aviv), Ms Naama Dekel (Tel
Aviv), Ms Deepti Paturi
(New York), Ms Deepa Mehrotra
(New York), Mr Sagar Shah
(London), Mr Baiju Shah
(London), Mr Rahul K. Patel
(Lusaka), and Ms Poonam D. Desai (Lusaka).
USER-FRIENDLY
MOIA WEBSITE
Starting this month, an
Overseas Indian can access the Ministry website (www.moia.gov.in)
and get an immediate feedback on maters of their interest and concern.
The site is designed in such a way that it will respond to all Overseas Indians
irrespective of the time zone and the geographical locations.
Already, from August 29,
the Ministry of home web site has put up the rules, procedures and application
form relating to the dual citizenship that was keenly awaited by all PIOs.
It was also clarified that
children of all NRIs who have acquired citizenship of
other countries and born before the cut off date are eligible for the dual
citizenship. Contact: Dr. R.K. Verma, MOIA
Information Service Unit, E-mail: rverma@alpha.nic.in
DWARKA -
Heres a timely opportunity
for Overseas Indians, particularly those who visit New Delhi often, to possess
an apartment, accessible by road in 10 minutes and by Metro in a mere five
minutes on landing at the International or domestic airports. A new township,
named
A Federation of Co-op.
Group Housing Socities has been formed and it is
acting as an interface between member societies and
various civic bodies to make
Contact: Federation of
Co-operative Group Housing Societies-
NRIs/PIOs ACHIEVE
FOUR INDIAN
AMERICANS IN MITs ANNUAL TOP 35 INNOVATORS
Goel, a physicist as well as a physician and also the
founder and CEO of Nanobiosym was named top young
innovator for developing nanotech devices that could identify viruses and
bacteria in blood samples more rapidly, accurately and cheaply than existing
techniques.
Rajit Manohar, an associate
professor of electrical and computer engineering in Cornell University, was
chosen for creating computer chips with greater speed and lowered power
consumption by removing the on-board clock that synchronises
the different functions of the chip. He is also credited with building the
first low-power processor for sensor networks, enabling them to run on the same
batteries for years instead of weeks.
Shiladitya Sengupta of Harvard
Medical school was chosen for
delivering drugs to cancer cells using a nanoscale
device. He is also the brain behind an anti-inflammatory gel that is now sold
in
The winners were selected
by a prestigious panel of judges for their potential to "profoundly impact
the world," he said.
PRESIDENT
BUSH NOMINATES SANTANU BARUAH AS ASST. SEC. OF COMMERCE
US President George W Bush
has sent the nomination of Santanu K Baruah, an Indian-origin former management consultant whom
he picked as an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to
the Senate for approval. Baruah is currently serving
as the Chief of Staff for the Economic Development Administration at the
Department of Commerce.
Prior to joining the
Administration, he was a Senior Management Consultant for Performance
Consulting Group in
TWO NRIs IN
Lakshmi Mittal, steel tycoon and Sir Ghulam
Noon, ready made meals manufacturer are included in the 'Asian Power List' prepared
by
NEWS
OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD
TINA
CHAKRAVARTY IS MISS
Trina Chakravarty,
18, a first year student at University of Florida, Trina, was declared winner
of the Miss India US-2005 pageant by a panel of judges at the prestigious SunDome, Tampa in Florida on August 20th.Nisha Mirchandani, 24, and Tashi
Sharma, 22, both from New York were respectively declared first and second
runner-up among the 33 pageants from various parts of the United States at the
scintillating function, which was attended by a few thousand people.
The crown was passed on to
Trina by the outgoing Miss India US, Reshoo Pande, at the end of a glittering function.
INDO-CANADIAN
SECURE FM RADIO STATION LICENSE
An Indian settled in
The new station will
broadcast in 15 languages for at least 15 ethnic groups. The programmes from Monday to Friday will be done in six
languages while the others are slotted for weekend shows, the Canada.Com reported. Almost 70 per cent
of the content would be music programmes, targeting
the youth, while talk shows and news will share the rest of the air time, it
said.
Sanghera, who is delighted over his new venture, is no novice
in the field as he already owns a recording and video production studio named
'Music Waves' and had produced several national and regional television shows.
Music Waves roped in Indian musicians, especially Punjabi Bhangra
artists, from the
TURBAN
PERMITTED DURING SOCCER TOURNAMENT
An Indo-Canadian Sikh boy
has finally won a fight keep his turban on while playing soccer in
The referee gave a
walk-over to the other team. After the match, a bewildered Gurinder
said: "I couldn't believe it. That has never happened to me ever
before." He praised his teammates' resolution to stand by him.The incident took place during the Langley Labour Day Tournament in which more than 200 teams from
Western Canada competed for the title. The tournament was wrapped up on the Labour Day on Sep 5.
The patka ban on Gurinder
created ripples in the Sikh community of
Gurinder's father, Gurmit Dhah, said no explanation was given why some referees
allowed his son to play, while others did not. Better sense, however, prevailed
as the British Columbia Soccer Association overturned the referee's decision
and ruled that Gurinder could play wearing patka. The sports body also issued a statement saying it
regretted the incident and would conduct a thorough investigation.
GREAT
POTENTAIL FOR BANANA EXPORT TO GULF REGION
The large
Indian diaspora is a major consumer base for banana
fruit and cost of transportation is another advantage. Banana
from
NRIs
CAN LEARN BENGALI ON LINE
Non-resident
Bengalis will be able to learn Bengali language online. The
The university
would soon decide reasonable fee for different modules. If the course becomes
popular among the NRIs, particularly the Bengali NRIs, the university would introduce similar courses in
other languages.
NRI
Harvinder Saran, an NRI has spent
nearly Rs 90 lakh to
provide sports infrastructure, including a top-notch fitness centre and tennis
court to Jassowal Kaur in
HOTELS CANNOT DEMAND PAYMENT IN FOREIGN CURRENCY FROM NRIs
Last month, the Reserve Bank of
However, the RBI statement did not clarify whether these guidelines were
applicable to other service providers, such as government undertakings, like Taj Mahal and other historic
monuments which insist on foreigners paying higher entrance fee in foreign
currency -- a sore point with overseas tourists.
SUPREME COURT
RULING COULD COST MORE TO NRI STUDENTS
Last month, the Supreme Court struck down the current system of separate government quota
and government-prescribed fees in private professional colleges. Also, the state
government will no longer dictate the reservation policy in private colleges. However admissions in unaided professional colleges might
become more costly to kins of NRIs,
resulting in low-income students in Gulf countries finding medical and
engineering courses beyond affordability.
The private
colleges in Kerala have welcomed the Supreme Court
verdict. They would levy an annual fee of $32,000 for MBBS seats and $5770 for
engineering seats as fixed by the government. In addition, each MBBS student
has to pay tuition fee of Rs113, 000, a special fee of Rs10, 000 and other
routine charges each year. The engineering students has to pay Rs36,000 as tuition fee besides other
charges.
KERALA
GOVERNMENT TO EASE NRI TRAVEL PROBLEMS
Kerala Government pledged last month to ease travel
problems of NRIs from the Gulf countries.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary
M I Shanavas, during a visit to
Minister of
State for External Affairs E. Ahmed also said last month that there was no
justification for the high air fare charged by the airlines from passengers in
the Kerala-Gulf sector. The minister stated that he
could not justify the stand of airlines even in his capacity as a Minister and
he would continue fighting to reduce them.
HYATT PLANS
15 FIVE-STAR HOTELS IN
The US-based Hyatt
International Hotels and Resorts (Hyatt) has plan to build 15 five-star hotels
and resorts in
Hyatt plans for two hotels
each in
Hyatt group of hotels is
the first to adopt the single currency single pricing mode of payment from
foreigners and non resident Indians (NRI), long before the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) had issued warning to Indian hospitality industry against insisting
on payments in dollar currency.
ASIANS ADD
103 BILLION TO BRITISH ECONOMY
British Asians make up just
four per cent of the population but contribute 103 billion pounds or ten per
cent of the country's economic output, claims a Manchester-based group.
The 103 billion figure was
derived by extrapolating research from several sources, including a database of
300,000 Asian professionals, Khalid Darr, Chairman of the Institute of Asian Professionals,
said launching its 'power list' of 100 most influential Asians in Britain
including NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and steel
tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
Faced with a shortage of
mathematics and science teachers,
Minister of Education in
the
Dugmore said among his plans were to recruit teachers from
countries such as
The proposal has been
welcomed by some educationists in
A member of the provincial
parliament, Ram Maharaj, said he was confident that
qualified teachers from
NRI SHARE
DEALS MAY BE OUT OF FIPB AMBIT
The departments of economic
affairs and industrial policy and promotion are moving in tandem to clip the
Foreign Investment Promotion Boards (FIPBs) wings by
removing a clutch of foreign direct investment (FDI) categories from its
purview.
As part of the proposed
move, FDI applications involving transfer of shares from resident to
non-resident Indians and from one non-resident Indian to another will be on the
automatic route.
FDI proposals in trading would also be put on the automatic window. Also,
foreign investors wanting to invest in highly regulated sectors would not
encounter the FIPB eye-to eye any longer.
These proposals are expected to be taken to the Cabinet for approval soon.
Finance ministry sources said the removal of transfer of shares to NRIs alone would rationalize the role of FIPB to a great
extent.
Of the 80-odd proposals that reach the FIPB every month, except for
half-a-dozen or so, all concern share transfers to non-residents, the sources
said.
ICCR LAUNCHES
SOFTWARE TO PROPOGATE HINDI ABROAD
A new software, christened 'Rishi' (the Sanskrit word
for ascetic) and produced by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), was
recently launched at a glittering function at Azad Bhawan in
ICCR has been actively promoting awareness of the richness of Hindi abroad by
holding the World Hindi Conference every three years. The next global
conference will be held in 2006.
GOPIO
SEEKS FEEDBACK
According to an Rediff/India Abroad online
report (August 8, 2005), a new method of harassing NRIs
visiting
Several People of Indian
Origin visiting
When the NRIs return, they are detained for the said lapses in their
passports. At this point, helpful officials offer to rectify all for a price.
GOPIO would like to hear from you whether such things have happened to you. If
so, write to: Ashook Ramsaran, GOPIO Secretary General, E-mail: ramsaran@aol.com. GOPIO will compile this info and take it
up with the appropriate Indian authorities.
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
GOPIO is looking forward to
opening chapters in all major cities of the world so as to network people of
Indian origin all over the world. If you do not have chapter in your city,
please visit GOPIO website (www.gopio.net)
and get details of chapter initiation (visit http://www.gopio.net/chapter_initiative.htm).
Process involves sending a letter of intent to start a chapter by a committee
of five people or more. For more information, contact:
GOPIO President Inder
Singh,
GOPIO Secretary General
Ashook Ramsaran, Fresh Meadows,
To become a Life member of
GOPIO, visit http://www.gopio.net/membership_form.htm, print and fill up
the form and send it with a check to: GOPIO,
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Webmaster: Prashant Gupta (
Contributors for
this issue: Inder Singh (USA), Sunil Prasad (
GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO
related stories from all over the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or
reporter. Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham, Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net
V isit GOPIOs Official site at www.gopio.net
or www.gopio.com
