MAURITIUS PRESIDENT TO BE CHIEF GUEST AT PBD 2013

Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag will be the chief guest at the 11th overseas Indians meet to be held at Kochi in January next, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi announced at a pres conference in new Delhi.

Unveiling the website www.pbd-india.com for the 2013 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), Ravi said Purryag will be among the prominent overseas Indians attending the meet, which will focus on 'Engaging Diaspora: The Indian Growth Story'. Minister Ravi also released the brochure for the annual event.

PBD-2013 will have Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurating it Jan 8. President Pranab Mukherjee will be the guest at the valedictory of the event on Jan 9.

Minister Ravi also noted that there would be 2,000 delegates from 60 countries participating at the PBD-2013. A similar number of delegates had attended the event in January this year at Jaipur too.

PBD is a platform established by the Indian government to strengthen the Indian diaspora engagement and to provide them an overview of how they could participate in the country's growth story.

"The PBD provides an invigorating platform for the overseas Indians to network and exchange views and perspectives and to enhance linkages and synergies for Diaspora across the economic, social and cultural sectors," Ravi said.

With an estimated 25-million Diaspora, it is said to be the second largest Diaspora population in the world.

"At the PBD, we will discuss issues that the overseas Indian population may like to raise before the government and find solutions to them. Such discussions are good for the government, as it helps us to know what they want from us and what we have to do for them," Ravi said.

The minister also announced that the Kerala government will be a partner state for the PBD-2013.

A major highlight of the three-day meet would be the 'PBD Oration' which would be delivered by a prominent historian on the 'Gadar movement', an effort by overseas Indian to free India from the British rule.

Among the issues that are expected to come up for discussion at the meet are India's growth and greater opportunity for investment, safe investment environment for overseas Indians, and engaging the youth Diaspora. There will be special discussion on issues concerning the Indian Diaspora living in the Gulf countries.

One of the sessions in the PBD would focus on states, with several chief ministers participating and interacting with the overseas Indians to pitch their states as good investment destinations.

At the valedictory, Mukherjee will present this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (overseas Indian awards) to 15 eminent overseas Indians.

For any further queries kindly contact: Mr. Yogeshwar Sangwan, Director (Diaspora Services),
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs at dirds@moia.nic.in

GOPIO KOCHI CONVENTION UPDATE - KERALA TOURS ARRANGED

PIO International plans to hold its annual executive and general council meetings, followed by its conference starting on January 5 and concluding on January 6 immediately preceding, and in conjunction with Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013 events of January 7-9, 2013 in Kochi, India. 
 
The events schedule and tentative program are as follows:
 
 January 5, 2013            : 
 

GOPIO Executive Meeting

Country Reports

Lunch

General Council Meeting

Reception/Dinner

January 6, 2013   

Registration

Inauguration

Conference Session I

Coffee/Tea Break

Conference Session II

Lunch

Conference Session III

            Coffee/Tea Break

Conference Session IV

Conclusion & Wrap-Up

Resolutions

Reception

CSA Banquet (GOPIO CSA + Recognition of Descendants of Gadar Heroes)

January 7, 2013 (9:00am - 11:00am) 

GOPIO Executive Meeting

GOPIO KOCHI CONVENTION - PROGRAM AND KERALA TOURS DETAILS
 

Hotel Rooms for GOPIO delegates

Hotel accommodations for GOPIO delegates secured at the Presidency Hotel at discount rates and convenient to events. Early booking is recommended due to potential shortage of rooms.

For more information and details, contact Convention 2013 (Kochi) Chairman, Mr. Sunny Kulathakal at Kulathakal@yahoo.com or Convention 2013 (Kochi) Convener, Mr. Ibrahim Khan at tpmkhan@gmail.com

GOPIO INVITES NOMINATIONS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS (CSA) 2013

GOPIO International is planning to hold its annual Community Service Awards (CSA) Banquet on the evening of January 6, 2013 in Kochi, India as the concluding event of GOPIO Convention 2013 (Kochi). In addition, there will be special recognition of attending descendants of Gadar heroes at the CSA Banquet.

The GOPIO Community Service Awards (GOPIO CSA) are given for outstanding community service, public service and/or significant charitable or philanthropic contributions of benefit to the community.
 
Nominations of suitably qualified candidates are requested for consideration by GOPIO's CSA 2013 Selection Committee. For details of GOPIO CSA criteria, format for submission of nominations and deadline for submission, please visit www.gopio.net .
 
Nominations are to be submitted using the prescribed form with supporting documents by October 31, 2012 to Chair, GOPIO CSA 2013 Selection Committee at GOPIOawardsKochi@gmail.com by November 15, 2012.

GOPIO-KOCHI GEARS UP FOR GOPIO CONVENTION

The arrangements for GOPIO Kochi Convention 2013 were discussed at a meeting of the members of Kochi Chapter at The Presidency Hotel in October 23^rd. GOPIO Executive Vice President Sunny Kulathakal and Convention Convener Ibrahim Khan briefed the progress of the arrangements to receive nearly 400 dignitaries from 60 countries  for the  Kochi Convention 2013.

Photo above. GOPIO-Kochi Convention committee in meeting chaired by Convener Sunny Kulathakal

The committee will meet again soon to discuss and make further arrangements.

If you like to volunteer in the convention committee, please contact Convention 2013 (Kochi) Chairman, Mr. Sunny Kulathakal at Kulathakal@yahoo.com or Convention 2013 (Kochi) Convener, Mr. Ibrahim Khan at tpmkhan@gmail.com

The National Federation of Indian American Associations (NFIA),the umbrella organization representing various Indian American associations, met for its 17^th biennial convention in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows on the weekend of October 2-14, 2012. The NFIA delegates came from all parts of the United States after a long time which is a major hub of Indian American population. GOPIO itself was formed at an international convention organized NFIA in 1989 in New York City. The convention was inaugurated by the Consul General of India, Mrs. Mukta Dutta Tomar

Welcoming the delegates from all over the United States to Chicago Tomar paid glowing tributes to the Indian American community saying the people of India origin have proved themselves in a tough global competitive environment.

Through their innovative, dynamic, pioneering qualities, they continue to produce new generation of talented individuals, good corporate and social citizens and enterprising and creative professionals, she said.

Studies support that over 3 million immigrants from India living in the US are one of the most remarkable concentration of Indians, Tomar noted.

Seventy percent of them over the age of 25 are college graduates, 67 percent over the age of 16 are professionals and the median income of Indian household is over $90,000, the highest among all ethnic groups in the United States.

A joint UC Berkeley-Duke University study revealed that Indian American immigrants have founded more engineering and technology companies from 1995 to 2005 than immigrants from UK, China, Taiwan and Japan combined.

NFIA President Lal Motwani and Convention Convener Sohan Joshi welcomed the delegates at the inauguration. Congressman

The convention also saw several seminars spread over 10 sessions put together by NFIA Founder President Dr. Thomas Abraham. The first plenary session was titled "Indian American Making an Impact in America".

Dr. Ann Lata Kalayil, General Services Administration Administrator for Great Lakes Region was the keynote speaker. Anju Bhargava, a member of White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership also addressed the session.

There was a spirited discussion on the political involvement of the community and the success it has achieved in this area. Toby Chaudhary, a political activist from Washington DC, urged the audience to wake up and participate in the mainstream politics.

A gala banquet was held on Saturday evening and Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown and Secretary of State Jesse White made remarks at the event. The six individual award winners were: Harkrishana Majumdar and Dr. Najma Sultana for their involvement in community service; Nitin Shah in the field of hospitality and financing; Sid Gautam for promoting entrepreneurship; Rathna Kumar for her excellence in performing arts and Dr. Hemant Patel for his service to medicine and organizational leadership.

Photo above: NFIA award recipients with NFIA convention organizers at the banquet. From l. yo r. Dr. Thomas Abraham, Lal Motwani, Dr. Basanti Sen Banerji, Harkrishana Majumdar, Nitin Shah, Dr. Najma Sultana, Dr. Hemant Patel, Dr. Sid Gautam, Rajeev Bhambri, Haresh Panchal, Anil Kumar Pillai, Sohan Joshi and Sushila Joshi

Three organizations, Sahara TV, India Abroad, the oldest Indian American weekly, and Indo-American Centre of Chicago, an organization that focuses on assisting South Asian immigrants as they adjust to life in the United States, were also recognized for their exemplary achievements.

NFIA CONVENTION PASSES THREE RESOLUTIONS

At the conclusion of the convention, NFIA), an umbrella body of Indian community organizations, has called upon the United Nations to give India a permanent seat on the Security Council.

The NFIA members also approved two other resolutions condemning last August's brutal attack on a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek Wisconsin and requesting the Government of India to establish a Training Centre of Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Click below for

NFIA CONVENTION DETAILED REPORT

Watch NFIA Convention segments on YouTube as flows:

NFIA Convention 2012 Inauguration

Bharatanatyam Dance - http://youtu.be/jgtabWOIQ5g

Invocation Song - http://youtu.be/8h7co6usMmA

President Lal Motwani welcomes delegates - http://youtu.be/wG6PCHt__7k

Indian Consul General Mukta Dutta Tomar delivering inaugural address - http://youtu.be/dFzQgp3ZTjc

Bollywood Dance - http://youtu.be/c0bAMsXNvPQ

NFIA Convention 2012 - Conference Opening Session

Anju Bhargava speaking - http://youtu.be/_T7AIJcSgVU

Dr. Sid Gautam speaking on Indian Entrepreneurship at the plenary session - http://youtu.be/u-EMNC5cio4

Sahapedia presentations at the plenary session - http://youtu.be/IPDh2eqb28s

NFIA Convention 2012 - Awards banquet

Illinois Scretary of State Jesse White speaking - http://youtu.be/i2WUJ4cF-Ek

Contact NFIA - President Sohan Joshi at 773-805-4357 or Secretary Satheesan Nair at 847-708-3279. 

GOPIO SILICON VALLEY PRESIDENT AJAY BHUTORIA HONORED

Mr. Ajay Bhutoria, President of Gopio Silicon Valley, was recently honored by the Asian American Pacific Heritage Leadership from the California State Assembly. The event was organized by State Assembly Member Bob Wiecowski and Mr. Alan Nagy, Newark City Mayor. The ceremony was held at the Union City on Sept. 20th. Mr. Bhutoria was awarded for his outstanding charity work, strong community leadership and commitment to helping the poor and down-trodden folks in his community..

The award ceremony was attended by many high ranking political officials, key elected officials in the State of California, many community leaders and distinguished guests of the State of California.

Mr. Bhutoria was very humbled and honored by the award and noted that engaging in selfless work for the upliftment of the people is one of his greatest passion. He enjoyed doing such charity works and noted that it gives him great satisfaction knowing that he brings some happiness and smile to people in need.     

Mr. Bhutoria is not only the President of GOPIO Silicon Valley but also the President of Global Business Consulting Services and founder of the Association for Kids and Youth Programs.

  Photo above: Ajay Jain Bhutioria receiving award from Assembly Member Bob Wiecowski

THIRD ANNUAL DUTCH INDIAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE HELD IN AMSTERDAM

A group of Diaspora organizations, along with GOPIO - Holland members helped to coordinate the Dutch Indian Diaspora Conference on September 30^th. Members of GOPIO - Holland were actively involved in the overall planning and coordination of this event, including from choosing the content and topics needed to be discussed, to choosing qualified speakers for the program. Speakers were chosen from different regions, such as, Punjab, Gujarat, NRI, Surinamese, PIO, etc. because they had to speak on their experiences in those countries. It should be noted that the Netherlands is home to the largest number of Indians on mainland Europe.

Many distinguished guests were in attendance, including the Indian Ambassador, the Mayors of Amsterdam, Amstelveen and Haarlemmermeer and many other experts from India and Netherlands also represented the various social and business organizations that were all participants and part of the panelists. The main objectives of the conference were:

1. Strengthening the links between various Indian Diaspora groups with special attention to the elderly and the youth

2. Intensifying and broadening ties between the Netherlands and India in various fields with special attention to Diaspora entrepreneurs.

In an open discussion focused on dialogue, the conference did address complex social problems within the community. In separate sessions, special attention was paid to generational and cultural differences in the Diaspora groups, and also the untapped potential of the Indian Diaspora to play an active role in Dutch society. There was a call for more guidance and coaching of the youth and new entrepreneurs. The conference dialogues generated many ideas for real change and action committees. It was concluded with a enthralling cultural show full of spectacular dances, scintillating musical performances and special acts by Surinamese-Indian talents.

For more information please go to http://www.gopioholland.nl/. The conference was a real success and the delegates felt that it should be organized on an annually.

WASHINGTON INDIAN COMMUNITY HONORS CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE TULSI GABBARD FROM HAWAII WHO WON THE ELECTION

The Indian American Community of Washington Metro area (DC, MD, and VA) organized a reception and fund raiser to honor and support Democratic Congressional candidate Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii at Bombay Tandoor Restaurant in Vienna, Virginia. The program was led opened by Jaysingh Bhandari who is also National Delegate of Democratic Party and President of GOPIO Virginia. Many senior community leaders were in attendance, including, Dr. Partha Pillai, Mr. Rajan Anand, Mr. Sambhu Banik, Dr. Ram Singh, Dr. Rajesh Kadian, attorney Mr. Prakash Khatri and many others. Many also assured of their unwavering support to Ms. Gabbard. 

If elected, Ms Gabbard will be the first Hindu Congresswoman. She defeated Mayor of Honolulu in the Democratic primary and is currently the legislator in Hawaii. 

Photo above: Tulsi Gabbard with Washington, DC area Indian community

The program was started with a welcoming speech by the coordinator, Mr. Bhandari, followed by the opening prayers which were offered by Dr. Ram Singh. The event was well attended by the community and media including, TV Asia, Sudershan TV, GTV and Imagine Asia. The event was also graced by Mr. Aziz Haniffa, senior editor of one of the oldest and most popular Indian newspaper India Abroad, Mr. Nayar from the Telegraph and Mr. Lalit Jha, PTI correspondent.

Many people came forward to support Ms. Gabbard's campaign and donated money from $ 100 to $500 to support her. During her speech, she told the Indian community that together they can all make a difference and that she will do her best to resolve common problems facing community.

The highlight of the evening program was that both the Democratic candidate, as well as, the Republican members of the community supported her and contributed to her campaign. Republicans such as Dr. Banik and Mr. Prakash Khatri, who were appointed during the Bush Administration, supported Ms. Gabbard and Dr. Anand, who was appointed by Obama supported her. Dr, Partha Pillai president of NFIA, Dr. Anand, Sambhu Banik and CM Prasad also spoke on this occasion. 

The program was emceed by GTV host, Ms. Nilima Mehra. Vote of thanks was delivered by Pradeep Sharma. Ms. Gabbard assured the community that she will work continuously to support Indian American Community. The curtain came to an end with a delicious dinner for all.  

IT'S A GIRLS ORGANIZED GROUP FOR GOPIO WOMEN'S CHAPTER IN THE NETHERLANDS

The GOPIO women's chapter in the Netherlands organized debate on the 28^th October in Rotterdam on female gendercide.

A documentary named 'It's a Girl' was shown as the first part of the event. This documentary showed female foeticide is being practised in large scale in India but also China. As the Sruti's talk about the respected position of women, they are referred to be as sacred. The question was why in our modern society women, especially in India, don't have the right to life: 'female gendercide' has become quite common. One panellist, Dr. K. Madan from the University of Amsterdam, studied this phenomenon and signalled that in 10 to 15 years there will be 7 million men without a woman.

The GOPIO Women's Council in The Netherlands felt the need to address this issue and to raise its voice against injustice which happening right now in India to women.

The panel discussion representing the Indian and Chinese community living in the Netherlands discussed the issue of female gendercide and the consequences for society. Awareness is necessary to take any action. That's the reason the GOPIO Women's Council in the Netherlands organized this event. The event was closed with a sketch performance by Sheetal Gandhi, a performer from Los Angeles.

GOPIO SYDNEY NORTH WEST ORGANIZES 3^RD CARING AND SHARING ANNUAL EVENT

GOPIO Sydney North West chapter held their 3rd Caring & Sharing 2012 annual event at Sapphire Function Centre, Blacktown. Over 300 people attended the event. India's Consul General Arun Kumar Goel based in Sydney was the chief guest at the event.   

Over $3,500 were raised in this event and will be donated to the under privileged school children in Punjab (India) to provide them with warm clothes, uniforms, shoes, socks, ceiling fans in class rooms and other basic amenities as per the requirements of the school. This year, Caring & Sharing Dinner & Dance 2012 event not only raised funds for kids in India, but also gave donation of a $1000 cheque to a local Senior Citizen Social Group called RAINS towards the cost of paving the backyard at their Community Centre in Pennant Hills.

A kid's heart is as pure as God, unfortunately a large numbers of kids in the world are not nurtured and educated the way they should be. That's one of the reasons why poverty and falsehood are becoming a major problem for us on this planet. Events like Caring & Sharing are result of spirit; we all carry to care those in need of love and support. It's not how efficient GOPIO Sydney North West chapter is in raising funds or generating any profit; it's all about how effective we are in igniting a candle of compassion in each and every heart that support the event like this. 

 Photo above: Consul General of India in Sydney Arun Kumar Goel, Jasbir Singh Kang, Balkar Singh Kang, Harry Walia, Neeru Singh, Paramjit Singh

GOPIO Sydney North West chapter thanked their Platinum sponsors Jasbir Singh Kang and Yogesh Manav of Sapphire Function Centre, Gold sponsors Amit Pall of Kailash Lawyers & Consultants and Sarjit Rahi of Caltex Australia, Silver sponsors Amrjit Khela CEO of Unique International College, Gurmeet Singh Mangat of Ausgrip, Pankaj Khurana of Prime Real Estate, Harinder Kaur of Platinum Bhangra, Raju Sarai of Disco Waves, Vista Home loans and Ravi Singh.

Media supporters were; Harkirat Singh of Daily Ajit, Harpreet Singh of Punjab Times, Amarjit Khela of ApnaPunjab TV, Malvika Santhebennur of Indian Link, Inderjit of The Indian and Surinder Singh of Masala Newsline, Dimple of Desi Entertainment, Hemu Negi of IndusAge, Bikram Cheema of Events News, Urban Lotus, Radio jockeys, Sham Kumar of Mela Getan da, Rajesh Batra of Radio Mirchi and Sukhpreet of Radio Safar Humsafar.

Other dignitaries attending the event included Mr. Vijay Kumar, Secretary Govt. of India (Retd.), Mr. Umesh Chandra, GOPIO International Coordinator - Oceania, Clr. SuSai Benjamin, Clr. Gurmeet Singh, Dr. Yadu Singh, President Indian Australian Association, Mrs. Shubha Kumar, President India Club, Mr. Suba Rao, President CIA and Mr. Moninder Singh, President Punjabi Council for attending the event.

Performers Navjeet Kahlon, Jagpreet Grover, Cheryl Khurana, Mishi Khurana, Tia Singh Group, Shaukeen Babay Group rocked the stage with their scintillating voice, dances and acts. The stage was successfully managed by anchors Neeru Singh, Aman Singh and Indra Ghuman. Ravinder Singh, Prof. Balkar Singh Kang, Baljit Singh Pelia, Rajvinder Singh, Paramjit Singh Multani and Harmohan Singh Walia along with the rest of the team worked tirelessly to make this event a grand success.

Photos above: Entertainment at the Caring and Sharing Fundraiser by GOPIO Sydney Northwest. Clockwise from top left: (1) Program Anchors - Neeru Singh & Aman Singh, (2) Dance by Tia Singh Group, (3) Mishi Khurana, Jagpreet Grover & Cheryl Khurana performed songs & dances and (4) Ravi & Raj performing Naughty Babey skit.

NRIs HONORED FOR PROMOTING HINDI

On the occasion of 'Hindi Diwas' organized by the International Hindi Society, five NRIs have been honored here for promoting Hindi in the UK.

Lord Gulam Noon, chairman of the Noon Products and chief guest on the occasion, presented the award to Deepak Dogra, managing editor of Mayanewspaper. Others are C B Patel, Editor/Publisher of the bi-lingual English and Gujarati weekly Asian Voice, Dhruv Gadvi of Zee TV, Editor/Publisher of Pardes Weekly Jaskaran Singh and Patron of the International Hindi Society Rajendra Joshi.

Speaking on the occasion, Lord Noon described the UK as a "fair country" and lauded the achievements of NRIs in this country in all walks of life, particularly in the field of education.

Dr Onkar Sahota, Member of Greater London Assembly emphasized the need to promote Hindi in the UK. "In this country Chinese is taught in primary and secondary schools. We should see Hindi is also taught similarly."

Councillor Ashok Kapoor, Vice Chairman of the society, said: "The vision of the society is to promote all Hindustan's culture to unify under one umbrella no matter what religion, language and culture."

INDIANS TOP IMMIGRANT TECH ENTREPRENEURS IN THE US

Indian entrepreneurs are the faces behind a growing number of US tech startups. A study by Kauffman Foundation shows 33.2% of the cofounders of engineering and technology firms founded by immigrants in the US since 2006 were Indians. Chinese came second at 8.1%.

Sridhar Mitta, founder of social entrepreneurship firm NextWealth Entrepreneurs, attributes the phenomenon to the large number of smart Indian students who went to the US for higher studies and made careers there. Most had mastered frugal engineering and so broke through the US glass ceiling.

First generation entrepreneurs like Vinod Khosla became poster boys of immigrant startups. Some of them donned the avatar of mentor and investor for the immigrant community in the US. Other successful Indianorigin entrepreneurs including Kanwal Rekhi, Pramod Haque, Gururaj Deshpande, and B V Jagadeesh won the goodwill and heart of American investors. Sabeer Bhatia, founder of Hotmail, became the face of internet ventures, drawing admiration from aspiring entrepreneurs who wanted to make it big in the dot com era.

FOUR INDIAN AMERICANS RECEIVE 2012 NEW INNOVATOR AWARDS

Four Indian Americans were among the 50 researchers recently named as recipients of the 2012 New Innovator Awards.

Harvinder Singh Gill, of Texas Tech University, for 'Pollen Grains as Trojan Horses for Oral Vaccination'; Rahul M. Kohli, of the University of Pennsylvania, for 'Combating Bacterial Drug Resistance by Targeting the Enzymes of Evolution'; Rajat Rohatgi, of Stanford University, for 'Reconstructing Primary Cilia'; and Vikaas S. Sohal, of the University of California-San Francisco, for 'Reverse Engineering the Prefrontal Microcircuit'.

The NIH Director's New Innovator Award addresses two important goals: stimulating highly innovative research and supporting promising new investigators. This award complements ongoing efforts by NIH and its institutes and centers to fund new investigators through R01 grants and other mechanisms.

Gill, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University, received his B.E. degree in chemical engineering from Punjab University in Chandigarh, his Ph.D. in bioengineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his post-doctoral degree in microbiology and immunology from Emory University.

Kohli, an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Disease at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, received his B.S. degree in biochemistry from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and molecular pharmacology from Harvard Medical School.

Rohatgi, an assistant professor of medicine and, by courtesy, of biochemistry and an attending physician in the Thoracic Oncology Clinic at the Stanford Cancer Centre, received his A.B. degree in biomedical sciences from Harvard University and his Ph.D. degree from Harvard Medical School.

Sohal, an assistant professor in residence of the University of California San Francisco, received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University, where he did his postgraduate training at the Stanford University Medical Centre, acquiring psychiatry residency and research fellowship.

KARNATAKA MP HEGDE TO BE HONORED BY DUBAI NRIs ON NOV. 9^TH

Karnataka Sangha Dubai will felicitate Udupi - Chikmagalur MP Jayaprakash Hegde. His immense contribution towards the benefit of NRIs in general will be appreciated and recognized during the 'Karnataka Rajyotsava - 2012' celebrations to be held at Indian Academy School in Dubai.

Girish Shetty, president of Karnataka Sangha said that the felicitation is due for this great leader, as he follows up the progress of any work that he promises, unlike some other politicians who promise several things when they come here, and then completely forget their promise once they go back. "But J P Hegde has done everything possible to realize all that he promised to us during his visit to Dubai in April 2012."

LULU CHIEF HEADS GULF NRI POWER LIST

Yusuffali M A, the managing director of Emke Group which runs the LuLu Hypermarkets, tops a new list of powerful Indians in the Gulf. He has been ranked top for the second successive year on the Arabian Business Indian Power List.

Kataria Holdings chairman Raghuvinder Kataria, a founding shareholder of Bharti Airtel, ranks second on the list, while IFFCO Group's Feroz Allana is in the third place. Saudi Arabia-based Ravi Pillai, chairman of RP Group of Companies, took the fourth place and Landmark Group founder Micky Jagtiani the fifth place.

The top 10 on the list also inlcude: Sanjeev Mehta - chairman of Unilever North Africa and Middle East (sixth); Ajay Bindroo - Group CEO, Super Max Group (seventh), V. Shankar - Standard Chartered Bank CEO (eighth); Harshad Mehta - chairman of Rosy Blue Trading (ninth) and B R Shetty - NMC Group chairman (tenth).

The 2012 list is dominated by retailers, who account for 26 places on the list, ahead of bankers and industrialists with 24 spots.

PIO MATABADAL IS NETHERLANDS YOUTH REPRESENTATIVE AT UNITED NATIONS

Kirty Matabadal, Netherlands PIO of Surnamese Indian descent, the Youth Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations, addressed the Third Committee, 2nd meeting - 67th General Assembly on 8^th October 2012 in New York on the topic of Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Committee on Social Development: Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly. At the session, the Under-Secretary-General said that, "Income Inequality Slows Effort against Poverty". Over speakers from various countries spoke at the Committee Began its 2-day Social Development Debate. Significant progress was made towards development goals, but several multifaceted challenges remain, "none more daunting' than rising inequality, the Third Committee was told.

Kirty Matabadal was selected among several applicants and nominees and won the prestigious position of the Youth Representative of the Netherlands to the United Nations. Matabadal functions as the Dutch youth's voice with politicians and policymakers and spoke at the UN event, stating that at the national and community level, programs must be put in place to ensure that children could get basic education, as well as the higher education and training needed to be successful on the job market; Child marriage must be ended and nothing must prevent adolescent girls from achieving their full potential; Young people must be able to participate in governance and hold Government accountable.  All that must happen in partnership with young people, she stressed, through independent, transparent and democratically-elected national youth councils.  Time was running out to face the development needs of the largest generation of young people in history, especially young women, who would determine the future of their communities, their countries and the world. Young people, most of the time, were fighting such problems on their own, she maintained.  "It is time to implement all those promises that were made to us in the past", she said.

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

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

Contact Dr. Thomas Abraham, Tel: 203-329-8010, E-mail: gopio@optonline.net.

GOPIO NEWS welcomes NRI/PIO related stories from all over the world. Be a volunteer correspondent or reporter.