GOPIO NEWS BULLETIN
DECEMBER 2005
- GOPIO CONFERENCE
- DR. PIYUSH AGRAWAL IS APPOINTED AS
- INDO-CANADIAN ELECTED TO
- INDIAN AMERICAN SAM
SINGH ELECTED MAYOR OF
- BHAGAT TAGGAR APPOINTED AS HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSIONER
- INDIAN AMERICAN SUBHENDU GUHA WINS THE WORLD
TECHNOLOGY AWARD
- YOUSUF ALI ELECTED TO AHU BHABI CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
- INDIAN AMERICAN AJIT DIVAKARUNI WINS MARSHAL
SCHOLARSHIP
- THREE INDIAN AMERICANS CHOSEN AS RHODES
SCHOLARS
- FIVE INDIAN AMERICANS WIN
SIEMENS SCIENCE AWARDS
- LAKSHMI MITTAL TO HELP REBUILD KATRINA
DEVASTATED CITY
- INDIAN BANKS OFFER HIGHER INTEREST RATES ON
NRI DEPOSITS
- INDIAN IT PROFESSIONALS DOMINATE IN THE
- ANDHRA PRADESH TO TAP NRIs
FOR DEVELOPMENT
- CANADIAN GOVT. TO RECTIFY WRONGS DONE TO
ETHNIC GROUPS
- SCOTTISH INDIAN WINS RACIAL
- WORLD BANK STUDY SHOWS GAINS IN INTERNATIONAL
MIGRATION
- LARGEST MOSQUE PROPOSED NEAR
GOPIO CONFERENCE -
Global
organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO)
Cordially invites you to
GOPIO CONFERENCE - 2006
IN CONJUNCTION WITH
PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS
THEME:
GLOBAL INDIAN DIASPORA: TODAY AND
TOMORROW
Place: Hotel Manohar Radisson,
Date and Time: Thursday, January 5th and Friday,
January 6th, 2006.
Program
Thursday, January 5th, 2006
10.00 to 12.30 p.m. GOPIO Executive Committee Meeting (Not open to
general public)
12.3 0 to 1.30 p.m. (lunch)
1.30 to 3.00 p.m. GOPIO Council Reports and NRI/PIO Communities Area Reports -- Open to general public
§
Chair: Inder
Singh, President, GOPIO International,
§
Academic Council -- Dr. Jagat Motwani,
§
Business Council -- Dwarkesh Shah,
§
Cultural Council -- Dharmatma Saran,
§
GOPIO.Connect -- Prashant Gupta,
§
Human Rights Commission -- Ramesh Maharaj,
Trinidad & Tobago and
§
Dr. Parveen Chopra,
§
Philanthropic Council --
Country/Area Reports
§
North America Dr. Piyush Agrawal, Coordinator,
GOPIO
§
South America & Caribbean Harold Ramdhani, Secretary General, GOPIO
§
Europe Raj Lakha,
President, GOPIO
§
Middle East Sunny Kulathakal (
§
Country Reports The
§
3.00 p.m. 3.20
p.m. Coffee Break
3.20 p.m. to 5.30
p.m. Session 1: Indian Diaspora - Mobilization of Indian Diaspora Resources for Common Goal
Chair: Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International,
Co-Chair Dr. Chandrashekar Bhat,
Prof. of Sociology and Director, Indian Diaspora Institute,
Speakers:
- Mr.
J.C. Sharma, Former NRI Commissioner and Former Secretary in the Ministry
of External Affairs,
- Prof. Rajendra
Prasad,
- Dr. Prem
Misir, Pro-Vice Chancellor,
- Other
speakers - To be announced (TBA)
7.0 0 p.m. to 8.00 Formal Inauguration of GOPIO Conference 2006
Dignitaries to be announced
soon
8.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. Reception
Friday, January 6th, 2006
9.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. Registration/Coffee/Tea
10.00 a.m. to 10.45 a.m. Opening General Session GLOBAL INDIAN DIASPORA:
TODAY AND TOMORROW
Chair: TBA
Inauguration
of Conference Session by Honorable Minister M.V.Rajasekharan, Minister of State for Planning, New
Speaker: Parmatma Saran, Professor of
Sociology,
11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. Session 2: Indian Diaspora -
Opportunities in Business, Technology and Investments
Chair: Sunil Prasad, President, GOPIO-Belgium and Secretary General,
Europe
Speakers:
- Ms.
Koosum Kalyan,
Development manager,
- Mr.
George Abraham, Chairman, GA Group,
- Prof. Krishna R. Dronaraju,
- Yesu Persaud, Executive Vice President
of GOPIO International and Chairman of Demerara
Distillers,
- Others
TBA.
1.30 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. Awards Luncheon and
Presentation of Pravasi Bhartiya
Community Service Awards
Chair: Dr. Piyush Agrawal,
Co-Chair: Raj
Sunday, January 8th, 2006
3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. NRI/PIO COMMUNITIES/COUNTRY
REPRESENTATIVES MEETING - OPEN DISCUSSION
(Open to Everyone. Venue will be announced on Jan.5th
and 6th)
Conference
Registration
Conference
Registration Fee: Rs. 1,000. Total registration will
be limited to 200 delegates. So, contact early to avoid disappointment.
Pre-registration recommended. Those from outside
Sponsor
opportunities are available for Indian businesses interested to reach out
to NRI/PIOs worldwide.
Limited
number of Tabletop Booths will also be available at the venue on
both days, January 5th and 6th.
Contact
Prof. Bukta above.
Procedure
for Hotel Bookings Please reserve your hotel booking
though the Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas website, i.e. http://www.INDIADAY.ORG/ They have rooms at
different rates. If you still need assistance, contact Prof.Bukta.
For
more infor, please contact GOPIO President Inder
Singh in USA at 818-708-3885, E-mail: gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or
Prof. Gan Bukta, GOPIO
Hyderabad Conference Chair at 91-9848-194718 or by email at:profganbhuktagift@yahoo.com.
About 2,000 non-resident Indians (NRIs) and
person of Indian Origin (PIOs) are expected to attend
the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas, or the fourth annual conclave of the Indian diaspora,
to be held from January 7-9 2006 in
Jointly organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), the
Andhra Pradesh government and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FICCI), about 2000 NRI/PIO delegates and 1000 Indian delegates are
expected to attend.
MOIA website http://www.INDIADAY.ORG/ outlines details of the event and providing
online registration. The website will also have details about flight
connectivity to
The conclave is held every year to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi
from
The venue is the International Convention Centre, being constructed in
the premises of Hyderabad International Trade Exhibition (HITEX) in Madhapur. The 4,000 capacity convention center, the largest
such venue in
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will
inaugurate the conference on January 7 and President APJ Abdul Kalam will address the valedictory session and honor 15
eminent overseas Indians with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.
The adjacent HITEX will host an
The nearby Shilparamam crafts village will be
the venue for a cultural exhibition to showcase the arts and crafts of various
states. Since entertainment programs at this year's conclave in Mumbai were
cancelled due to last ear's tsunami, the organizers have planned a grand show
this time around.
The Government of India is considering establishing an exclusive
university for People of Indian Origin as feedback from PIOs
world over on the initiative to set up a separate university has been extremely
encouraging. This was disclosed by the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh while addressing a dinner meeting with
Indian community in Kaula Lumpur. An announcement to
this effect is likely to be made during the January 7-9 Pravasi
Bharatiya Divas, or Indian Diaspora Day conclave, at
The Prime Minister lauded the contribution of the Indian
community in
PM TO LAUNCH DUAL CITIZENSHIP SCHEME
IN JANUARY
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will
hand out the first dual citizenship to a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) at a function
at
The facility would be available to all those whose parents
or grandparents migrated from
Though holding dual citizenship will not make a person
eligible to take part in elections or hold a constitutional post, the benefits
include a lifetime multiple entry visa, permission to buy non-agricultural land
and exemption from regularly reporting to the police while staying in
Top Home officials said although applications can be
submitted at Indian missions, the processing work would be done in
The applications would be cleared by the intelligence
agencies after which the documents would be issued and sent by post to the
applicant. It is estimated that the process would take about a month.
The application form, unlike the one for awarding Person of
Indian Origin (PIO) status, is much less complicated. The four-page application
form can be downloaded from the internet. The documents to be attached with the
application include proof of the applicants Indian origin, photographs,
address, profession, and a declaration on criminal record, if any.
GOPIO CHAPTER NEWS
DR. PIYUSH AGRAWAL APPOINTED AS GOPIO
Dr. Piyush C. Agrawal has agreed to serve as the
GOPIO USA Coordinator, a position in which he will provide leadership in
developing new GOPIO chapters and strengthen the existing ones in the
Dr. Agrawal has the distinct honor to have led
the effort to start Diwali celebrations at The White
House in 2003. Since then, Diwali has been celebrated
every year in the White House.
Dr. Agrawal has a very long and distinguished
record of Indian civic organization in the
Dr. Agrawal has worked in the field of
education since 1955 in various capacities, from a classroom teacher to a
United Nations Expert to a Superintendent of Schools. He has about two dozen
publications to his credit and has received several notable honors and awards.
Plans are ahead to have a GOPIO chapter in all major
NRIs/PIOs
ACHIEVE
INDO-CANADIAN ELECTED TO
Tom Gill has made history by becoming the first Indo-Canadian
elected to the Surrey City Council, a city with a large South Asian population.
There was no representation in the council or school board when Gill entered
the body. An accountant, Gill was one of the six Surrey Electors Team (SET) councillors elected.
The other Indo-Canadian candidate on SET, Sargy Chima, sister of former
federal minister Herb Dhaliwal, was one of two SET
candidates not elected. Two Indo-Canadians on the rival Surrey Civic Coalition
(SCC) slate, Barinder Rasode
and Amrik Mahil, were
placed well out of contention.
After getting elected, an elated Gill said more
Indo-Canadians were needed on council for fair representation. There was
another Gill who got elected in Abbotsford. Moe Gill got through in tough
competition. Lions' Bobby Singh was elected to the
INDIAN AMERICAN SAM SINGH ELECTED MAYOR
OF
Sam Singh has been elected Mayor of the university
town of
Singh is president and CEO of the Michigan
Non-profit Association (MNA), a 750- member organization dedicated to promoting
an effective non-profit sector by convening key organizations and encouraging
voluntary giving and service.
BHAGAT TAGGAR APPOINTED AS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER IN
Government of
Gurudeo Saluja, who became
Saluja was born and brought up in
Saluja was made an OBE for services to community
relations. He performed a number of civic and other roles since arriving in the
area. A former president of Grampian Racial Equality Commission, he was also
the founder president of the Asian Social and Cultural Association for
INDIAN AMERICAN SUBHENDU GUHA WINS THE WORLD TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Indian American scientist Subhendu Guha, noted for his pioneering work in amorphous silicon,
has won the 2005 World Technology Award in Energy. The award for Guha's innovative work on the science and technology of
thin-film amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon
materials and solar cells was announced at a gala ceremony in
Guha, who lives in
The Awards, instituted in 2000 for different categories like
biotechnology, space, energy, environment, education and policy, are sponsored
by leading organizations, the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, TIME Magazine, CNN, Microsoft and Fortune Magazine.
They honor individuals and corporations from 20 technology-related sectors who
are selected by their peers as innovators who perform work of the greatest
likely long-term significance.
After earning PhD from
Subhendu Guha's company has
received R&D Magazine's 'R&D 100 award', which has often been described
as the 'Nobel Prize of applied research'. United Solar was chosen for its
triple junction solar module. The importance of Guha's
innovation has already been recognized not only by the US Department of Energy,
but by others who are concerned about environmental technologies.
In 1996, the flexible solar shingles were named the 'Best of What's New',
receiving the Grand Award from Popular Science. James P. Clark, founder and
chairman of the World Technology Network, said "Dr. Guha's
contribution to the field of photovoltaic energy has been outstanding, and the
award is just acknowledgment of that fact."
Previous award winners in different categories include Craig Venter, the leader
of the private project to sequence the Human Genome, Tim Berners-Lee, whose work
was central to the creation of the World Wide Web, and Linus
Torvalds, the creator of the Linux computer operating
system.
YOUSUF ALI ELECTED TO AHU BHABI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
An NRI businessman has been elected to the board of Abu Dhabi Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in the first ever publicly held polls to the apex
business regulatory authority of the Emirate. Yousuf
Ali, Managing Director of the EMKE Group, emerged one of the only two
expatriate candidates to be elected to the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (ADCCI). He polled the highest number of votes among the foreign
candidates and his margin of lead was almost double from the nearest candidate.
The elections, the first one to be held publicly in the UAE which has
attracted lot of media attention, is being seen as a trend setting step by the
authorities, as foreigners were allowed to contest and vote for the first time.
Among the foreigners, 15 businessmen of different nationalities
including
"I see this move to allow expatriates in to the governing body of
ADCCI as a very welcome step by the Authorities. I also feel proud to be first
Indian to get this honor and would like to thank all my fellow countrymen and
well wishers who have gone out of their way to support me and help me win this
crucial election," said Yousuf Ali.
INDIAN AMERICAN AJIT DIVAKARUNI WINS MARSHAL SCHOLARSHIP
THREE INDIAN AMERICANS CHOSEN AS RHODES SCHOLARS
Three Indian Americans Rahul Satija, Shamsher Gill and Lakshmi Krishnan were among the 32 Americans chosen as
Rhodes Scholars this year. The scholars, chosen from 903 applicants, will enter
Rahul Satija is a
FIVE INDIAN AMERICANS WIN SIEMENS SCIENCE AWARDS
At the recently concluded Siemens Science Contest held in
Abhinav Khanna of
Plainview-Old-Bethpage John
Desh Mohan, a senior at the Texas Academy of Mathematics
and Science in
Tarik UMar, a senior at
Amardeep Grewal,
a junior at
NEWS OF INTEREST TO NRIs/PIOs AROUND THE WORLD
LAKSHMI MITTAL TO HELP REBUILD KATRINA DEVASTATED CITY
Mittal will provide the labor, capital and expertise to restore
the town of 17,000 people. His donation will propel him into the ranks of Britain`s most philanthropic citizens.
INDIAN BANKS OFFER HIGHER INTEREST RATES ON NRI DEPOSITS
Many commercial banks in
Many banks have raised the interest rate on one year Foreign
Currency Non Resident deposits (FCNR)($) from 4.25 per cent to 4.48 per cent
and on one year NRE term deposits from five per cent to 5.20 per cent effective
November 1.
Many of
Educational
achievements have helped the offspring of working-class parents in the
The
exceptions to this were youngsters from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi
communities who showed less upward mobility then children from white manual
workers' families.
"There
is good news to the extent that a disproportionate number of the young people
who are upwardly mobile are the children of parents who come to this country as
migrants," the study's author Lucinda Platt said.
The study
supports the view that immigrants often experience a drop in their
socio-economic class when they arrive in
It said
the class disadvantages of the children of Pakistani immigrants could not be
explained by differences in family backgrounds or education, factors which did
help explain the difficulty for the offspring of Bangladeshi migrants to be
more upwardly mobile.
"We
need to do much more to understand why this is happening and the extent to
which factors such as racial discrimination are involved," Platt a
Sociology lecturer from the
She said
location could also play a part, particularly if certain ethnic groups lived in
areas where there were few economic opportunities.
Looking at
different religious groups, the study found that second-generation Jews and
Hindus tended to get ahead more than their Christian counterparts. Muslims and
Sikhs were less likely to have moved into a higher socio-economic group.
The study
was based on surveys that traced the progress of 1,40,000 children over 30
years.
INDIAN IT PROFESSIONALS DOMINATE IN THE
Indian IT professionals are increasingly dominating the
The work permit figures, uncovered by the Association of Technology
Staffing Companies (ATSCo), show that 18,248 work
permits were granted to Indian IT professionals in the year, 1,081 granted to
American IT workers and 464 permits to Australian IT workers.
According to Chief Executive of the ATSCo, Ann Swain,
Skills shortages continue to be a major pull factor in bringing foreign IT
workers to
The number of foreign IT professionals arriving in
According to figures from the Britains Home Office, 22,000 foreign IT workers
entered the country in the previous year, compared with 1,827 in 1995. IT is
the second most popular profession for work permit allocations in
Swain said, The transfer of jobs between
ANDHRA PRADESH TO TAP NRIs FOR
DEVELOPMENT
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Y S Rajasekhar
Reddy plans to tap the professional and financial success of Telugu people
living in the
CANADIAN GOVT. TO RECTIFY WRONGS DONE TO ETHNIC GROUPS
The Canadian government has unveiled the first installment
of a $25 million package designed to rectify historic grievances of seven
ethnic groups, including Indo-Canadians. "The government of
The ACE Programme would fund proposals that
acknowledge the historical experiences of ethno-cultural communities impacted
by wartime measures such as internment and immigration restrictions, according
to a press release.
A part of the fund would go toward Indo-Canadian programs for educational
activities and plaques. This is in acknowledgement of the Komagata
Maru incident, which took place in the summer of
1914. Komagata Maru, a ship
with 376 Punjabis, a majority of them Sikhs, was denied entry into
According to a government of
The agreement-in-principle however would not include an outright apology or
financial compensation to descendants of survivors. This has been widely
condemned by Indo-Canadians, including politicians, according to news reports.
SCOTTISH INDIAN WINS RACIAL
A Scottish Indian has won a racial discrimination battle against
Dhesi, a social sciences graduate, failed in his attempt
to be appointed to a key post with the city's asylum seekers project. Instead
the job went to a woman, who was less qualified and performed poorly at her job
interview. Both took their cases to employment tribunals and won, only to have
the decisions overturned, when the council appealed. However, the Court of Session
has quashed these and ruled that there was discrimination against both men.
Bvunzai, who had accused his employers of discrimination
after he failed to get a job as unit manager at a residential care home for the
elderly, was awarded compensation of 48,681 pounds by a previous tribunal,
while Dhesi received 6173 pounds.
According to a new study, British students from Asian and Afro-Caribbean
ethnicities have a lower chance of being offered a place to study at
universities than their white colleagues, a new study reveals. To prevent
discrimination against students from these backgrounds, top education
authorities have recommended that university application forms should be made anonymous
- that is, the student's name should not be mentioned during the application
process.
The recommendation has been made by the Higher Education Funding Council
of England (HEFCE) after a new study revealed that Pakistani students are two
percentage points less likely to be offered a place at university compared with
their white peers. The disparity is particularly revealed in the case of
applications to study law at university. Ethnic minority applicants - including
Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Afro-Caribbean - have a significantly lower
chance of receiving an offer when applying to study law compared with their
white peers.
The latest study is based on a re-analysis of the 2002 research that
caused a scandal about bias in applications.
Howard Newby, chief executive of HEFCE, said: "It is clear from
this analysis that prospective students from ethnic minorities should not be
put off from applying to study at the most highly selective universities.
"This is good news, but we do need to do more research in this
area, particularly with respect to ethnic minority students who wish to study
law."
A spokeswoman for the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service - the
central organization that processes applications for full-time undergraduate
courses at British universities and colleges - said it would consider any
change to make the system fairer, but any reforms would follow intense
consultation with the sector.
WORLD BANK STUDY SHOWS GAINS IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
International migration can generate substantial gains for migrants and
their families, as well as their origin and destination countries, if policies
to better manage transfer of remittances are pursued, says the World Bank
Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report for 2006.
The report which forecasts that South Asia will be receiving some $32
billion in remittances this year says that with recorded inflows of $21.7
billion in 2004,
Remittances recorded worldwide in 2005 are estimated to exceed $232
billion. Of this, developing countries are expected to receive $167 billion,
more than twice the level of development aid from all sources, the report said.
The figures for
"With the number of migrants worldwide now reaching almost 200
million, their productivity and earnings are a powerful force for poverty
reduction," said Francis Bourguignon, World Bank Chief economist and
Senior Vice- President for Development Economics.
"Remittances, in particular, are an important way out of extreme
poverty for a large number of people. The challenge facing policymakers is to
fully achieve the potential economic benefits of migration, while managing the
associated social and political implications," he added.
LARGEST MOSQUE PROPOSED NEAR OLYMPIC SITE IN
A massive mosque that will have the capacity for 40,000 worshippers has
been proposed beside the Olympics complex in
The Jamaat, which was founded in
The Council has been processing the application for it and is expected
to decide early next year. If built the mosque will be the largest in
Its futuristic design features wind turbines instead of the usual
minarets. Islamic calligraphy would cover the walls and ceilings. A translucent
latticed roof would replace the domes seen on most mosques. Abdul Khalique of the Jamaat said the
complex was being designed to become the Muslim Quarter for the Games, acting
as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators.
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) and Sunil Prasad (
V
isit GOPIOs Official site
at www.gopio.net
or www.gopio.com
