The Resurrection of Congress The overwhelming victory of the Indian National Congress in elections in the important southern state of Karnataka in early May has shaken up the country’s political scene.
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It appears the immigration reform legislation put forth by the Senate’s so-called “Gang of Eight” would extend this welcome mat by increasing the number of visas for high-skilled foreign workers allowed.
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merica’s top diplomat John Kerry prepares to embark on his maiden India visit as Secretary of State to hold the fourth Indo-US Strategic Dialogue on June 24. Launched in 2010 by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, it is the highest-level, regularly scheduled bilateral exchange between the two counties. Though the relationship between India and the US has improved, there is a growing sense in both New Delhi and Washington that the much-heralded partnership has not lived up to its promise. Both sides face challenges, as the Indian government, facing an election next year, is trying to restore momentum to its stalled economic reforms and deal with corruption, while the US is facing domestic and international issues. Since its launch, this highest-level bilateral exchange has been driven by the US. It is time for India to seek clarity on its strategic agenda.
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OPINION
EDITORIAL No Time for Media from Visiting Indian Home Minister Shinde
In the last weeks of May, India’s Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde made an official visit to the United States to continue a dialogue with senior US Government leaders, including Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder, and FBI Director Robert Muller. However, the only media involvement was through an after-the-fact press release issued by the Embassy of India in Washington, DC. The Indian Home Minister had no media interaction on his agenda and even the press release from the Indian Embassy was void of any direct quotes or statements from the Indian politician. In contrast, his US counterpart Napolitano issued a statement, including a direct quote saying, “Today, threats transcend national borders, impacting the security and economic prosperity of the entire international community.” Secretary Napolitano, in her post-dialogue statement, added, “We will continue to collaborate with India to develop a global approach to the challenges and threats we all face.” The visiting Indian minister even stayed back when an urgency in India demanded his presence, leading American and Indian American journalists to question the lack of his media availability while visiting Washington, not only when a fatal attack happened in his home country, but also on the eve of the upcoming US-India Strategic Dialogue this month in India. During Shinde’s visit, there was a deadly Maoist attack on party leaders in Chhattisgarh and Shinde chose to stay on in the US for personal reasons, to the dismay of the Congress Party. “No tour could be important” at this juncture, party spokesman Bhaktacharan Das told journalists who peppered him with a volley of questions as to whether it was proper for Shinde to be away in the US in the wake of such a situation at home. Not all Indian delegations practice this pariah treatment of the media while visiting the US, as in recent times, Indian federal ministers and some of the Indian state chief ministers have interacted with the Indian American media. Still, there is a shyness on the part of Indian politicians and dignitaries to face the American media. Visiting a country where there are daily press briefings from the White House, the State Department, the Pentagon and by members of Congress, it was strange for Minister Shinde not to welcome any press interaction during his official visit. There are always opportunities for a visiting dignitary to appear, even in a venue arranged at the last minute like a “Newsmaker Event” at the National Press Club, in order to interact with media. The National Press Club, through its Newsmaker Program or even a Luncheon Event, provides a window of opportunity which was availed of by none other than the first Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Nehru was articulate and the American media loved interacting with him. It is time for Indian politicians to face the US media and cement the growing ties between the two countries. (Also see p 11)
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JUNE 2013
The Resurrection of Congress Shashi Tharoor is India’s Minister of State for Human Resource Development. His most recent book is Pax Indica: India and the World of the 21st Century.
By Shashi Tharoor New Delhi - The overwhelming victory of the Indian National Congress in elections in the important southern state of Karnataka in early May has shaken up the country’s political scene. India’s troubled ruling party had appeared headed downhill in the build-up to the next general elections, which must be held by May 2014. Now, following its huge win in Karnataka, all bets are off. Karnataka (whose capital, Bangalore, is a symbol of India’s thriving software and business-processoutsourcing industries) had been ruled for the previous five years by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the country’s main opposition party, which governed India from 1998 to 2004. The BJP’s victory in the state in 2008 was hailed as a milestone in its effort to position itself as a natural party of government. Support for the BJP in Karnataka, with its affluent, well-educated voters and its significant Christian and Muslim minority populations, was widely depicted as evidence that the party – usually identified with Hindu chauvinism and an electoral base concentrated in Hindi-speaking northern states – could broaden its appeal beyond its traditional constituencies. As the Congress-led national government (of which I am a member) reeled under a series of political and financial scandals, the BJP increasingly sought to position itself as the obvious national alternative. India’s hyperactive media began to celebrate the ambitions of the BJP’s most visible leader, Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of the western state of Gujarat, who has assiduously presented himself as an avatar of effective government, in contrast to the controversy-ridden establishment in New Delhi. The BJP, however, proceeded to paralyze Parliament with unruly calls for the government to resign. And yet, amid this turmoil – indeed, in a week in which two govEditor:
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Publisher: India America Today LLC. (publisher@indiaamericatoday.com)
ernment ministers resigned in the face of allegations of corruption and impropriety – Karnataka’s voters gave Congress 121 of the state assembly’s 224 seats and reduced the BJP’s total to just 40. The BJP’s record in government – flagrant financial malfeasance, a procession of Chief Ministers, charges of nepotism and crony capitalism, real-estate and mining scandals, policy paralysis, and a free rein to Hindu-chauvinist groups (who attacked pubs, assaulted girls for “indecency,” and disrupted Valentine’s Day) – elicited a decisive rebuke from the electorate. Instead of turning to the state’s two regional parties – one headed by a former prime minister of India, the other by a former chief minister – Karnataka’s voters sought refuge in the tested Congress, enabling it to secure a firm majority in the state assembly. Modi came and campaigned for the BJP, but the party lost seats in every location at which he appeared – a huge setback in a state that it had hoped to use as a platform for its national ambitions. The BJP will not be viable in national politics unless and until it moves away from the limited platform of Hindu chauvinism and shows itself to be more capable than Congress of governing India’s vast diversity. Its performance in Karnataka for the past five years has given the lie to claims that it has begun this necessary shift. Given widespread revulsion at the BJP’s record of corruption and pandering to extremism, it is highly unlikely that the party will be able to retain its current 19 MPs from Karnataka in next year’s general election. Congress, by contrast, will be eyeing the state’s 28 parliamentary seats confidently. The Karnataka state election marks a decisive step forward in the Indian electorate’s journey from the politics of identity to the politics of performance. For too long, politics had become a vehicle for the aspirations of various groups that felt Consulting Editor : T.V. PARASURAM Copy Editor: LAURIE B. SINGH Foreign affairs Editor, Brussels (Belgium) : ALIA PAPAGEORGIOU Features Editor: PRITHA G. ROY
marginalized by the cosmopolitan secular consensus developed in India under its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. They have asserted themselves in recent years by using the power of the ballot box to claim power on the basis of caste, religion, ethnicity, and other sectarian appeals. Voters initially proved susceptible to such appeals: “Isn’t it time people like us came to power?” is a question that resonates with those who see themselves as excluded. But, in state after state, “identity” voters were soon asking what “people like us” were doing with the power they won. They began to demand improvement in roads, sanitation, electricity, public security, and other necessities of rural and urban development – in short, they demanded better governance. The Karnataka elections even gave rise to a new phenomenon with the creation of the Bangalore Political Action Committee, led by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the chairman of the Bangalore-based biotechnology company Biocon. The BPAC led a non-partisan bettergovernance campaign to mobilize the city’s young voters, who have often not bothered to vote in state and national elections, registering more than 600,000 new voters and supporting over a dozen candidates from four parties, several of whom won. The message: good governance yields votes, and is thus good reason for politicians to focus on infrastructure and development. Those who in recent years assumed that they could sweep into power by disrupting Parliament and agitating against the government should take heed. Congress has no grounds for complacency, but it knows that if it delivers, the voters will remember. That could make for a far more constructive election campaign in 2014. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org Fashion Editor: SARAH JAMIESON Special Correspondent : ANKIT JAIN Web Development & Layout Producer : SUMAN HAQUE
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OPINION
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Immigration Reform’s “Path to Prosperity” Karl F. Inderfurth holds the Wadhwani Chair in USIndia Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.
-President Barack Obama, remarks at a White House Naturalization ceremony March 25, 2013
By Karl F. Inderfurth
Washington, DC - It appears the immigration reform legislation put forth by the Senate’s so-called “Gang of Eight” would extend this welcome mat by increasing the number of visas for high-skilled foreign workers allowed into the US and granting permanent legal (Green Card) status to more foreign students who earn graduate degrees from American universities in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). While much of the congressional immigration reform debate is focused on a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, call this initiative the legislation’s “path to prosperity.” There are a number of reasons why it should attract broad support. Current US immigration practices prevent US companies and entrepreneurs from gaining access to talented, high skilled employees. Last month the chief executives of more than 100 high tech companies wrote President Obama and congressional leaders asking them to change this. According to former Michigan governor John Engler, now president of the Business Roundtable, and ITIC head Dean Garfield: “Tens of thousands of engineering jobs go unfilled, the companies say, because there is not enough skilled labor among Americans nor enough visas to hire people from abroad.” A further incentive for increasing the number of high skill immigrant visas to the
Immigration makes us stronger. It keeps us vibrant. It keeps us hungry. It keeps us prosperous... And if we want to keep attracting the best and the brightest that the world has to offer, then we need to do a better job of welcoming them.”
United States is the benefit that can come from the bilateral economic links the immigrant community maintains with their country of origin. Take India, for example. Indian Americans are one of the fastest growing minorities in the United States, and in addition to coming here for higher education, they increasingly have come to start companies and invest. The evidence that Indian immigrants and Indian businesses boost the US economy is clear. Since 2006, Indian nationals have founded 33 percent of all engineering and technology companies founded by immigrants in the United States, which accounts for about a quarter of all companies launched. Indian companies support more than 250,000 jobs for locals in the United States. In addition, Indian companies have invested more than $4.9 billion and employ more than 27,000 Americans. Moreover, if one looks beyond the borders of the United States at the many innovative solutions being created for a growing global market—in energy, transportation, healthcare, etc.—it is clear the United States should encourage similar innovative and entrepreneurial activity domestically. Of the United States’ Fortune 500 companies, roughly 40 percent were started by first or second generation Americans. One recent study found that in 2011, 76 percent of patents from American universities had
at least one foreign-born inventor. The fact the many immigrants come to the United States to innovate, resulting in coveted patents, helps keep the United States on the cutting edge of global business. But today, as Vivek Wadhwa has found, immigrant entrepreneurship has stalled. His book, The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent, should be a “must read” for congressional immigration reformers. A significant part of this “immigrant exodus” is self-inflicted. While the United States is home to the lion’s share of universities with excellence in science and technology, too few US citizens graduate from these programs to meet the needs of US businesses and industry. According to the Congressional Research Service, in 2009 about one third of students in STEM advanced degree programs were in the United States on a temporary visa. They would be prime candidates to fill these unmet needs. But, as Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) has pointed out “In our current system, we welcome foreign students to the US, provide them the world’s best education, and then send them home so that they can compete against us. This makes no sense.” If US policymakers continue to act as if they believe that quotas unrelated to demand are a good way to operate, then
other countries will continue to take the excess talent that we turn away. Australia employs a skills matching system, granting entrance to high-skilled immigrants able to fill open positions in their job market. Chile and Canada offer “start-up” visas to workers who come to begin businesses. A study by the Kauffman Foundation estimates that “start-up” visas offered to foreign-born US entrepreneurs would add roughly 1.6 million jobs to the US economy in 10 years’ time. Prime Minister Cameron recently traveled to India with a specific message: the UK was revising its immigration policies in order to attract the world’s best and brightest minds. It used to be that the United States was the coveted place to emigrate to. That time has passed. The United States is in a global competition for the best talent and our outdated immigration policies are interfering with our ability to prosper. As President Obama said in his last State of the Union, “Real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods and attract the highly skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.” Thoughtful and bold high skill immigration reform is needed now. Scott Miller, Persis Khambatta, Clare Richardson-Barlow, and Camille Danvers also contributed. © 2013 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.
Immigration Bill: What’s up on Capitol Hill? By Camille Danvers Camille Danvers is Intern Scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Washington, DC - After weeks of closeddoor deliberations, the “Gang of Eight” senators have presented their immigration bill, formally the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The bipartisan group consists of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D- NY), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). With respect to high-skill immigration, it provides for: ■ A higher quota for H-1B visas, raising the current base cap from 65,000 to 110,000. The new bill proposes that the cap can eventually increase to 180,000 based on a formula that includes whether the cap is met each year and the number of unem-
ployed high-skilled workers. ■ An alteration of the 20,000 person exemption of H-1B visas reserved for US advanced degree holders to a 25,000 person exemption for US advanced degree graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. ■ The creation of a start-up visa, providing entry to foreign entrepreneurs who create at least five jobs, raise at least $500,000 in investments, and have annual revenue of at least $750,000. Indian immigrants are likely to be most affected by high-skilled immigration legislation. A number of congressmen have drawn attention to this issue, introducing numerous bills, over 25 bills in the 112th Congress, regarding immigrants with advanced degrees. Among the most prominent bills introduced in the past six months: ■ On January 29, 2013, Senators Christopher Coons (D- DE.), Amy Klobuchar (DMN), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced The Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, or the I-Squared Act.
The bill focuses on increasing the H-1B visa cap and granting visas and green cards for foreign students studying STEM fields in the United States. ■ On the following day, Senators Mark Udall (D-CO), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), introduced the Startup Visa Act of 2013 to provide visas to immigrant entrepreneurs. ■ A similar bill, the Startup Act 3.0, was introduced both in the Senate and the House on February 13 and 14, 2013, respectively. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), one of bill’s sponsors, commented “America has long been seen as the land of opportunity for innovators and entrepreneurs. I fear those days are coming to an end.” Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Roy Blunt (R-MO) also presented the bill in the Senate. ■ The House bill was introduced by Representative Michael Grimm and nine cosponsors. Both bills in the Senate and House propose granting 75,000 visas for
immigrant entrepreneurs. Other provisions include increasing the number of H-1B visas and revising per country limits. ■ In November 2012, The STEM Jobs Act, passed in the House with a vote of 245-139, but stalled in the Senate. Introduced by Representative Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the STEM Jobs Act had 68 cosponsors, including Representative Peter Roskam and Representative Edward Royce. The Act proposed to grant as many as 55,000 worker visas for foreign students gaining their M.A.s and Ph.Ds. in the United States and to end the Diversity Visa, or “green card lottery.” Democrats and Republicans alike acknowledge the benefits of attracting and retaining highly skilled immigrants. Each bill that offers different options to loosen restrictions and provide more opportunities on high skilled workers, in turn presents a path to economic prosperity in the United States. © 2013 by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All rights reserved.
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opinion
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JUNE 2013
Overcoming East Asia’s Sovereignty Disputes Charles Tannock is Foreign Affairs Coordinator for the European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament.
By Charles Tannock Brussels - China’s recent elevation of its claim to the Diaoyu Islands to a “core interest” has made the prospect of resolving its sovereignty dispute with Japan, which governs the islands, even trickier. Indeed, the recent publication by the official People’s Daily of two Chinese scholars’ commentary questioning Japan’s sovereignty over even Okinawa suggests that the authorities have scant interest in ending the dispute anytime soon. So, with China hardening its multiple sovereignty claims throughout the South and East China Seas, can any mechanism be found to resolve these conflicts peacefully? Disputes over territorial sovereignty are, perhaps, the thorniest of all diplomatic disagreements. They can seem intractable, because they are directly connected not only to national pride, but also to national security. So it is no surprise that governments are usually reluctant to take even the smallest steps toward resolving such disputes. They fear not only domestic political backlash, but also the prospect that their adversary, or adversaries, will interpret a willingness to compromise as a sign of weakness, and thus become even more demanding. The ongoing sovereignty disputes in the South and East China Seas – involving China, Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia – are particu-
larly poisonous, because they also carry a heavy burden of historical grievance. Koreans perceive in their dispute with Japan an echo of their country’s long and bitter occupation by Imperial Japan. China associates its South and East China Sea claims with the darkest period in its history – the “century of humiliation,” when foreign powers severely impinged upon its territorial integrity. Today, China’s extraordinarily rapid economic and political rise has disposed both its government and public to seek to redress old wounds from that period, and not to offer anything in exchange along the way. But, in today’s Asia, these countries’ behavior with respect to their sovereignty disputes, and how they respond to others’ actions (and inaction) will have a decisive impact on regional security and prosperity. Indeed, these disputes may prove to be a litmus test of China’s sincerity regarding its commitment to a “peaceful” global rise. Unless China demonstrates that it can live peacefully with its neighbors, its government’s claim that the international community has nothing to fear from the country’s growing power will be doubted. And the United States’ dexterity in addressing these disputes will help to determine whether America’s strategic “pivot to Asia” contributes to forging a regional security order that is acceptable to an increasingly assertive China.
Because bilateral talks run too great a risk of “lost face,” multilateral discussions probably offer the best prospect for resolution of East Asia’s sovereignty disputes. The problem is that China not only is unaccustomed to multilateral procedures, but that it recoils from them. China’s history has not prepared it to work within such a framework, and its yearning for status – even more pronounced now than when it was impoverished – will make it difficult to gain Chinese acceptance of a multilateral solution. As a result, China, which is particularly concerned to keep the US out of the negotiations, prefers to pursue bilateral talks, knowing full well that such an approach will invariably create a zero-sum game in which one side can be portrayed as protecting its national interest, and the other as having betrayed it. China will need considerable convincing if it is to participate in a framework of regional policy consultation, coordination, and compromise aimed at muting the tensions over sovereignty disputes. But, unless China is brought into such a framework, its sense of isolation will grow, as will the temptation to define its interests in ways that are irreconcilable with those of its neighbors. Not surprisingly, given its own structures, the European Union prefers the multilateral approach. Since 1995, when China occupied Mischief Reef, a maritime feature claimed by the Philippines, the EU has encouraged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to strengthen its code of conduct for the region. Even to begin to talk about a regional solution to East Asia’s sovereignty disputes, however, requires preparing the ground. The first step must be to reduce diplo-
matic tensions. Fortunately, this appears to be taking place. Having gone to the brink, the leaders of both China and Japan appear to have taken a direct hand in softening their countries’ rhetoric. But no one should think that this lowering of the temperature is permanent. Other steps are needed to create habits of civil diplomacy around hot-button territorial claims. Here, Taiwanese President Ma Yingjeou’s “East China Sea Peace Initiative,” which calls on all parties to refrain from antagonistic behavior, resolve disputes through peaceful means, and establish a code of conduct for cooperation in the East China Sea, is a clear step forward. While Taiwan’s sovereignty dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands (called the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese) – involves non-negotiable claims, the resources surrounding the islands can nevertheless be shared, nurturing habits of closer regional cooperation in the process. Ma’s constructive approach to reducing tensions in the region would benefit all parties concerned. Although adversaries may not reach agreement in the short term on the issue of sovereignty, they should be able to find a formula that allows them to share the resources, natural or otherwise, of the islands and the nearby waters. Europe experienced something similar with the sharing of resources in the North Sea. Japan and Taiwan have already started along a parallel road in their joint fisheries talks. It is now time for China and Japan, the region’s two paramount economies, to put their people’s prosperity and security first in the interest of successful shared development.
India’s Growth Crossroads Manila - As the slowdown in the world’s major industrial economies drags on, growth in developing Asia is being affected. A serious burden will likely be placed on the region’s major economies, particularly its two giants, India and China. Both countries’ external sectors have clearly been hit hard, while domestic consumption is stagnating. Fixed-asset investment in India rose by only 2.3 percent in the first half of 2012, compared to 9 percent in the year-earlier period. Unlike China, which has shown clear signs of stabilization since mid-2012, there is no clear evidence of recovery in India yet, as delay in implementing necessary reforms, among other factors, has weakened the economy’s competitive-
Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank, was recently approved by Japan’s parliament to serve as Governor of the Bank of Japan.
By Haruhiko Kuroda ness. While recent government measures are expected to boost economic revival, an additional challenge is that growth must be made sustainable and more inclusive, which requires addressing four key issues. The first is service-sector upgrades. India already has a large service sector, which has been a major source of growth. Considering the country’s young
and growing population, the service sector needs to create more jobs for the millions who will join the workforce every year. But India’s service sector has been dominated by traditional, low-wage output in informal businesses, such as restaurants and personal services. To achieve inclusive growth, India must shift toward modern services, such as In-
ternet connectivity technology, finance, law, accountancy, and other professional business services. The authorities must reduce burdensome regulations to allow the sector to be more competitive and dynamic (recent government service sector reform is most welcome). Second, improvements in the investment climate are vital, especially if India is to realize its potential in manufacturing. India needs to expand dramatically the sources and volume of available infrastructure financing. This will not be possible without private-sector participation, which requires, in turn, a business environment that ensures adequate return on investment, transparency in procurement, and high-quality governance
JUNE 2013
INDIA AMERICA TODAY
Raghuram Rajan, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the chief economic adviser to the government of India, is the author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy By Raghuram Rajan
opinion
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Why India Slowed
New Delhi - For a country as poor as India, growth should be what Americans call a “no-brainer.” It is largely a matter of providing public goods: decent governance, security of life and property, and basic infrastructure like roads, bridges, ports, and power plants, as well as access to education and basic health care. Unlike many equally poor countries, India already has a strong entrepreneurial class, a reasonably large and well-educated middle class, and a number of world-class corporations that can be enlisted in the effort to provide these public goods. Why, then, has India’s GDP growth slowed so much, from nearly 10 percent year on year in 2010-11 to 5 percent today? Was annual growth of almost 8 percent in the decade from 2002 to 2012 an aberration? I believe that it was not, and that two important factors have come into play in the last two years. First, India probably was not fully prepared for its rapid growth in the years before the global financial crisis. For example, new factories and mines require land. But land is often held by small farmers or inhabited by tribal groups, who have neither clear and clean title nor the information and capability to deal on equal terms with a developer or corporate acquirer. Not surprisingly, farmers and tribal groups often felt exploited as savvy buyers purchased their land for a pittance and resold it for a fortune. And the compensation that poor farmers did receive did not go very far; having sold their primary means of earning income, they then faced a steep rise in the local cost of living, owing to development. In short, strong growth tests economic
institutions’ capacity to cope, and India’s were found lacking. Its land titling was fragmented, the laws governing land acquisition were archaic, and the process of rezoning land for industrial use was nontransparent. India is a vibrant democracy, and, as the economic system failed the poor and the weak, the political system tried to compensate. Unlike in some other developing economies, where the rights of farmers or tribals have never stood in the way of development, in India politicians and NGOs took up their cause. Land acquisition became progressively more difficult. A similar story played out elsewhere. For example, the government’s inability to allocate resources such as mining rights or wireless spectrum in a transparent way led the courts to intervene and demand change. And, as the bureaucracy got hauled before the courts, it saw limited upside from taking decisions, despite the significant downside from not acting. As the bureaucracy retreated from helping businesses navigate India’s plethora of rules, the required permissions and clearances were no longer granted. In sum, because India’s existing economic institutions could not cope with strong growth, its political checks and balances started kicking in to prevent further damage, and growth slowed. The second reason for India’s slowdown stems from the global financial crisis. Many emerging markets that were growing strongly before the crisis responded by injecting substantial amounts of monetary and fiscal stimulus. For a while, as industrial countries recovered in 2010, this seemed like the right medicine. Emerging
markets around the world enjoyed a spectacular recovery. But, as industrial countries, beset by fiscal, sovereign-debt, and banking problems, slowed once again, the fix for emerging markets turned out to be only temporary. To offset the collapse in demand from industrial countries, they had stimulated domestic demand. But domestic demand did not call for the same goods, and the goods that were locally demanded were already in short supply before the crisis. The net result was overheating – asset-price booms and inflation across the emerging world. In India, matters were aggravated by the investment slowdown that began as political opposition to unbridled development emerged. The resulting supply constraints exacerbated inflation. So, even as growth slowed, the central bank raised interest rates in order to rebalance demand and the available supply, causing the economy to slow further. To revive growth in the short run, India must improve supply, which means shifting from consumption to investment. And it must do so by creating new, transparent institutions and processes, which would limit adverse political reaction. Over the medium term, it must take an axe to the thicket of unwieldy regulations that make businesses so dependent on an agile and cooperative bureaucracy. One example of a new institution is the Cabinet Committee on Investment, which has been created to facilitate the completion of large projects. By bringing together the key ministers, the committee has coordinated and accelerated decision-making, and has already approved tens of billions of dollars in spending in its first few meetings. In addition to more investment, India needs less consumption and higher sav-
and regulation. Third, while India possesses some of the world’s best managers, scientists, and engineers, a large portion of its workforce is unskilled or semi-skilled, which may constrain the country’s ability to deliver inclusive growth. The National Policy on Skill Development marks a welcome shift from the traditional, government-led model of skill development and vocational training to one that emphasizes private-sector-led initiatives. Finally, there is the challenge of urbanization. Migration to urban centers is causing new cities to emerge and existing ones to expand. India must seize the opportunity to adopt green urban planning early on: mass-transport systems should link satellite cities to ports and megacities, and new cities should be eco-friendly and energy-conserving. The Indian government’s recent promo-
tion of dynamic economic corridors between major cities is a step in the right direction. The Asian Development Bank is working on innovative mechanisms to bring more finance to the infrastructure sector, such as the recent partial credit guarantee facility set up by India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited in collaboration with the ADB. By boosting the credit ratings of infrastructure projects via credit enhancements, this facility will allow pension funds and insurers to invest in infrastructure projects. A large share of our assistance is focused on India’s lagging states, making our work strongly inclusive. Moreover, the ADB’s support includes skills development, particularly to foster skills required by the infrastructure sectors, and strengthening skills design and delivery systems.
The ADB is also exploring possibilities for focusing a subset of our operations around a few high-priority economic corridors, which leads naturally to the issue of regional cooperation and integration. With India playing a major role, the benefits of cooperation are immense, both within South Asia and across the continent more broadly. Greater regional cooperation can help South Asia to achieve shared prosperity that is both inclusive and sustainable. Indeed, only 5.4 percent of South Asia’s current trade flows are intra-regional, compared to 51 percent in East Asia. Major hurdles include poor transport connectivity and stifling non-tariff barriers, which impede growth and undermine welfare in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and north-eastern India. With strong support from India, the South Asia Subregional Economic Coop-
ings. The government has taken a first step by tightening its own budget and spending less, especially on distortionary subsidies. Households also need stronger incentives to increase financial savings. New fixed-income instruments, such as inflation-indexed bonds, will help. So will lower inflation, which raises real returns on bank deposits. Lower government spending, together with tight monetary policy, are contributing to greater price stability. If all goes well, India’s economy should recover and return to its recent 8 percent average in the next couple of years. Enormous new projects are in the works to sustain this growth. For example, the planned Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, a project with Japanese collaboration entailing more than $90 billion in investment, will link Delhi to Mumbai’s ports, covering an overall length of 1,483 kilometers (921 miles) and passing through six states. The project includes nine large industrial zones, high-speed freight lines, three ports, six airports, a sixlane expressway, and a 4,000-megawatt power plant. We have already seen a significant boost to economic activity from India’s construction of its highway system. The boost to jobs and growth from the DelhiMumbai Industrial Corridor, linking the country’s political and financial capitals, could be significantly greater. To the extent that democratic responses to institutional incapacity will contribute to stronger and more sustainable growth, India’s economic clouds have a silver lining. But if India’s politicians engage in point-scoring rather than institutionbuilding, the current slowdown may portend stormy weather ahead. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org eration Program, known as SASEC, has achieved much success in prioritizing trade facilitation; developing regional road and rail projects in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India; and agreeing on a time-bound investment program, including investment in the Siliguri corridor connecting India’s north-eastern states with the rest of the country. Improved connectivity and trade will not only boost growth, but also promises an economic lifeline for millions of poor people. India is expected to continue to benefit from its so-called demographic dividend and to lead global growth in the coming decades. Everybody sees the country’s enormous potential. Timely reforms on key issues will open the door to a bright future for its people. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org
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Cricket: Evolution from Fun in the Field to a Corporate Game Kirit Desai had post graduate degrees from India & USA both - in multiple disciplines. After spending almost 30 years in R & D (as Research Scientist) and research management at a prestigeous Ivy League University, moved into Financial field for past decade & enjoys reading/writing in international business, politics, sports and science/technology. He lives in Delaware valley near Philadelphia. By Kirit Desai Philadelphia - The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been flying high, in only six years since its inauguration, and served a Midas touch to players, fans and investors alike. It also became a magnet for bookmakers, too. The game has always had a connection to gambling elements for a long period; however, the IPL has become a gambler’s paradise for betting much more quickly than other formats of the game. Indian cricket fans felt shockwaves when players Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL were arrested in a spot-fixing scam. They are now suspended with their careers on hold, with the prospect of complete ruin. It is just the beginning of a scandal, which is growing every day. The management of the league, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is under tremendous pressure from the International Council of Cricket (ICC) to clean house, and from fans, to improve the sliding image of the game. The game of cricket was always on the radar range of the world of bookmakers. Many talented players were enticed by the lure of easy money, which they could earn without any toil in the field, and ultimately ended up with tainted careers. There were players from Hershelle Gibbs, Marlon Samuels, Wasim Akram to Shane Warne, representing all cricket playing nations. There were a few worst cases reported in various places. In the year 2000, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Nayan Mongia and Nikhil Chopra (all from India) were linked in a match-fixing scandal and found guilty. Former captain Azharuddin was banned for life and other players faced varying degrees of punishment. In the same year, the former captain of the South African team, Hansie Cronje, was caught in a similar scandal and he confessed about his link with international bookmakers and to taking bribes for match-fixing for many years. Cronje was at the peak of his career then, with enormous popularity among his countrymen, only second to Nelson Mandela. The nation of South Africa forgave him when he was banned for life from cricket, but
people were shocked to see his rapid fall from grace. Similarly, three Pakistani test cricketers were tried in Britain in 2011 and sentenced for their involvement in a matchfixing scandal. Former captain Salman Butt received a sentence of two and a half years, Mohammad Asif of one year, and Mohammad Amir of six months, respectively. This behavior was considered a blatant disregard for the code of conduct in the game. It is not just cricket, there are many sports which are tainted with this malady. The Pete Rose story in American baseball is a glaring example. He had everything as a baseball player in his prime, with fame, fortune and the envy of many of his records, a couple of decades ago. Unfortunately, his addiction to sports betting became his downfall and prevented him from securing his berth in the shrine of the ‘Hall of Fame’ in baseball. It is almost impossible for the IPL to clean the slate on the vice of betting, but it is imperative now to stem the rot before it destroys the growing enterprise. In the past six years, the IPL never felt any pressure to self-regulate from any participants, including fans, sponsors, teams, players and management (BCCI). The IPL has become a cash cow since its inception and no one wanted to milk it with any restrictions. Therefore, the IPL turned into a magnet for many elements, some undesirable and misfit, and these elements could be detrimental to the IPL’s long-term interests.The BCCI is a responsible organization, and in passing the regulatory buck to the ownership arm of IPL teams, it has diluted the watchdog role. It is not difficult for the cash-rich BCCI to create such a body for oversight. The problem is not with carving stringent rules on paper, it is in the follow-up in case of abuse. The BCCI could not project a squeaky clean image for the IPL, as it has not challenged many ethical violations which border on a criminal nature. Some players carry an undue influence, from their role in the IPL as a player, the receipt of large sponsorship contracts, and their cozy relationship with team owners, to a test lev-
el, where it could impede fairness in the selection process. Conflicts of interest have not been new to the BCCI since the beginning of the IPL. Many in elite management were never accountable in terms of running the big pot of money and no one has any idea how far their arms are in the cookie jar to empty it. It is a revolving door policy where no one asked to enter and no one checked while leaving. The IPL also exhibits a highly visible nexus of the BCCI, high-level politicians and Bollywood. Nothing is wrong if suspicion on clean-cut management is erased. Sponsors hold the fuel card for the roaring IPL engine. They need a carrot and stick approach to this runaway train before it derails the dreams of everyone. The image of their companies is as significant as the BCCI. The role of government remains blurry and undefined so far; however, its intervention in a crisis situation is vital and in the best interest of the public at large. Such a sports body needs a tax break, but never any blanket immunity from financial accountability and ethical responsibility. There must be a mandate on submission of full disclosure to the public annually through an independent audit agency approved by government. Such a check and balance approach won’t solve all problems, but will keep sports with a healthy look in the public eye. It is dangerous living in the modern world in a collective manner when wealth is acquired without work, entertaining for pleasure without conscience, playing politics without principles, and doing business without social ethics. It has become of the utmost importance for the IPL and the BCCI to put the brakes on a runaway act for some moderation. As for the fan, he is just a bogeyman on a gravy train still looking for ‘fun’ like the lady screaming, “Where’s the beef?” in Burger King commercials. Elites from the BCCI and the IPL are having a little smirk at the expense of their “poor” fan. It is just a matter of time before the fun-seeking fan will jump off the gravy train when he finds less than fun on the train! IPL, be ready to answer the bogeyman one day.
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Top Stakeholders Debate Role of TARP in E-discovery Process Washington, DC - A panel of experts from the legal and industry sectors recently determined that it may still be difficult for small businesses and individuals to use a new legal discovery technology called Technology Assisted Recovery Process (TARP), which allows litigants to quickly and successfully retrieve evidence from massive amounts of data. Addressing an audience of journalists and legal pundits at the National Press Club, Federal Judge John M. Facciola, a US magistrate judge for the District of Columbia, said, “I am among a group of an ever increasing number of judges who are desperately concerned about the cost of all this [litigation].” Noting a case that cost $982,000, Facciola pointed out that only about 1 percent of filed cases go to trial. In addition to Judge Facciola, the panel included Jason R. Baron, director of litigation for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Jeane A. Thomas, a partner in the Crowell & Moring Antitrust Group and chair of the law firm’s EDiscovery and Information Management Group; and Paul Starret, UBIC Chief Global Risk Officer and Counsel. Big businesses and wealthy individuals have access to the new system through law firms specializing in the software and in preemptive management plans which structure business computers to help clients if litigation occurs, according to the expert panel. Judges do not want to “watch the federal courts and the state courts be the playground for the very rich,” said Facciola, noting that judges don’t know if the technology provides advantages for small businesses and individuals, but he believes the system can be scaled down to size. There is a medical malpractice case that will be revolutionary and may determine if the procedure works for individuals, he said. There are resources available for small businesses, such as EDRM.net, NextPoint. com, Nuix, and regional source providers for access to the technology, argued UBIC consultant Starret. The next level is for state lawyers and courts to implement the system. “Keywords are no longer effective,” said NARA Director Baron, adding that lawyers seek all relevant documents in response to production requests and need better, more advanced methods to access them. The new technology consists of software that works on clustering mathematical algorithms and predictive analytics, he said. By coding relevant parameters into the program, it searches and identifies the documents, removing the need for large pools of discovery lawyers. The technology does not replace lawyers, but requires them to use different skills, said Attorney Thomas. Lawyers must be very smart in coding the program. Litigation costs are also a factor in promoting the technology, she said. Courts are taking action against litigants who mishandle E-discovery, which include costly sanctions, disallowing witness testimony or even causing adverse presumptions. This can be particularly devastating in criminal cases, Facciola said, but he acknowledged this is an area where they are struggling. (India America Today News Service)
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OPINION
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China’s Stealth Wars
Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhibased Center for Policy Research, is the author of the forthcoming Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis.
By Brahma Chellaney New Delhi - China is subverting the status quo in the South and East China Seas, on its border with India, and even concerning international riparian flows – all without firing a single shot. Just as it grabbed land across the Himalayas in the 1950’s by launching furtive encroachments, China is waging stealth wars against its Asian neighbors that threaten to destabilize the entire region. The more economic power China has amassed, the greater its ambition to alter the territorial status quo has become. Throughout China’s recent rise from poverty to relative prosperity and global economic power, the fundamentals of its statecraft and strategic doctrine have remained largely unchanged. Since the era of Mao Zedong, China has adhered to the Zhou Dynasty military strategist Sun Tzu’s counsel: “subdue the enemy without any battle” by exploiting its weaknesses and camouflaging offense as defense. “All warfare,” Sun famously said, “is based on deception.” For more than two decades after Deng Xiaoping consolidated power over the Chinese Communist Party, China pursued a “good neighbor” policy in its relations with other Asian countries, enabling it to concentrate on economic development. As China accumulated economic and strategic clout, its neighbors benefited from its rapid GDP growth, which spurred their own economies. But, at some point in the last decade, China’s leaders evidently decided that their country’s moment had finally arrived; its “peaceful rise” has since given way to a more assertive approach. One of the first signs of this shift was China’s revival in 2006 of its long-dormant claim to Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. In a bid to broaden its “core interests,” China soon began to provoke territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. Last year, China formally staked a claim under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to more than 80% of the South China Sea. From employing its strong trade position to exploiting its near-monopoly on the global production of vital resources like rare-earth minerals, China has staked out a more domineering role in Asia. In fact, the more openly China has embraced market capitalism, the more nationalist it has become, encouraged by its leaders’ need for an alternative to Marxist dogma as a source of political legitimacy. Thus, territorial assertiveness has become intertwined with national renewal. China’s resource-driven stealth wars are becoming a leading cause of geopolitical instability in Asia. The instruments
that China uses are diverse, including a new class of stealth warriors reared by paramilitary maritime agencies. And it has already had some victories. Last year, China effectively took control of the Scarborough Shoal, an area of the South China Sea that is also claimed by the Philippines and Taiwan, by deploying ships and erecting entry barriers that prohibit Filipino fishermen from accessing their traditional fishing preserve. China and the Philippines have been locked in a standoff ever since. Now the Philippines is faced with a strategic Hobson’s choice: accept the new Chinese-dictated reality or risk an open war. China has also launched a stealth war in the East China Sea to assert territorial claims over the resource-rich Senkaku Islands (called the Diaoyu Islands in China), which Japan has controlled since 1895 (aside from a period of administration by the United States from 1945 to1972). China’s opening gambit – to compel the international community to recognize the existence of a dispute – has been successful, and portends further disturbance of the status quo. Likewise, China has been posing new challenges to India, ratcheting up strategic pressure on multiple flanks, including by reviving old territorial claims. Given that the countries share the world’s longest disputed land border, India is particularly vulnerable to direct military pressure from China. The largest territory that China seeks, Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims is part of Tibet, is almost three times the size of Taiwan. In recent years, China has repeatedly attempted to breach the Himalayan frontier stretching from resource-rich Arunachal Pradesh to the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir – often successfully, given that the border is vast, inhospitable, and difficult to patrol. China’s aim is to needle India – and possibly to push the Line of Actual Control southward. Indeed, on April 15, a platoon of Chinese troops stealthily crossed the LAC at night in the Ladakh region, establishing a camp 19 kilometers (12 miles) inside Indian-held territory. China then embarked on coercive diplomacy, withdrawing its troops only after India destroyed a defensive line of fortifications. It also handed a lopsided draft agreement that seeks to freeze the belated, bumbling Indian build-up of border defenses while preserving China’s capability to strike without warning. India has countered with its own draft accord designed specifically to prevent border flare-ups. But territory is not the
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only objective of China’s stealth wars; China is also seeking to disturb the status quo when it comes to riparian relations. Indeed, it has almost furtively initiated dam projects to reengineer cross-border river flows and increase its leverage over its neighbors. Asian countries – together with the US – should be working to address Asia’s security deficit and establish regional norms. But China’s approach to statecraft, in which dominance and manipulation trump cooperation, is impeding such efforts. This presents the US, the region’s
other leading actor, with a dilemma: watch as China gradually disrupts the status quo and weakens America’s allies and strategic partners, or respond and risk upsetting its relationship with China, the Asian country most integral to its interests. Either choice would have far-reaching consequences. Against this background, the only way to ensure peace and stability in Asia is to pursue a third option: inducing China to accept the status quo. That will require a new brand of statecraft based on mutually beneficial cooperation – not brinkmanship and deception.
The CIO Agenda – Organizational Agility Amod Desai is an IT management consultant who writes about futuristic science and technology. Desai, an engineer and management consultant, specializes in information technology and business transformation. He is an alumina of George Mason University School of Management. By Amod Desai Oak Hill, VA - Conway’s Law from 1968 states, “Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.” In other words, systems designers tends to “follow and pave the cow paths.” These cow paths are nothing but existing processes, procedures and communication patterns of the organization. Business change management services offered by boutique consulting firms have mushroomed over the years to provide solutions and defy Conway’s Law, but I ask the question, “Really?” Contemporary management consultants take client problems, scrutinize them, and provide a solution from predetermined solution packs offered by their firm, refusing to adapt to clients’ real problems, and thrusting them with contracting and change request process-type client relationships. In a way, these firms are actually leading the client problem through the same cow path, albeit a newer one with a garden full of roses; these boutique firms have all fallen prey to taking the easy path of “paving the cow paths.” We are in a technology cycle with major ICT systems outliving their life and needing to be upgraded. Classical goals for these ICT systems have been performance, to be cutting edge, top of the line, and excellent ROI. CIOs’ (chief information officers’) challenges are far more complex than just hitting the above goals. Contemporary vision needs to go above and beyond in serving customers and driving shareholder value. CIOs need to enable ICT systems to identify and predict the incremental demands of customer segments in different markets and simultaneously, device methods to extract this incremental profit for stakeholders. In a net-enabled society, the means of
identifying how information traverses and what is being shared among customer demographics is worth exploring. This environment brings to focus fundamental questions on developing and designing systems to effectively support end-to-end fulfillment. Exploration of building these systems can begin by asking questions. Beyond the customer base, who else might need service? How do we design the service to support more consumers? What capabilities belong in service versus consuming applications? Where and what is the real value in substituting information into physical processes? The leadership challenge to a CIO is to mobilize organizational assets, human resources and IT assets. The task at hand is to untangle and find answers to the above questions. The questions may not change over time, but answers change as the situation changes; to maintain the pace of this change, organizational assets needs to be agile. Agile organizations are better equipped to find the optimal answers to the same questions in different times and different markets. The agile business case study can lead to identifying a framework and work culture to assist human resources’ assets in defying Conway’s Law. Agile organizations with a developed feedback loop and agile project governance have capabilities to identify the cow paths and discover optimal answers. An agile framework provides an environment and tools to make decisions and later change it per market conditions in the most cost effective way. In a cosmic world, under circumstances of so many unknowns, nature embraces change by adopting an agile way of life, leading to Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest. How can an organization stay immune? They need to change, be agile or perish.
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INDIA AMERICA TODAY
POLITICS
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Washington, DC - The likelihood of the United States changing its visa policy in the near future for communal violence-tainted Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi are bleak if the recently released report on Human Rights is any indicator. The report, titled “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012,” mandated by the US Congress and released by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, said, “At the end of the year, the complaint filed by Zakia Jafri in 2006 that blamed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 60 others for complicity in the 2002 communal violence, was still being heard in court.” Citing concerns of citizen activists regarding “the Gujarat government’s failure to protect the population or arrest those responsible for communal violence in 2002 that resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 persons, the majority of whom were Muslim,” the report said, “Human rights groups continue to allege that investigative bodies showed bias in favor of Modi in their reports.” The report gave a chronological account of the failures of the Gujarat government, beginning with the appointment by the Modi administration of the NanavatiMehta Commission to investigate the 2002 violence. “On March 30, the commission received its 18th extension; the new deadline for submission of its final report was December 31, but the deadline passed with no submission,” the report found. The issue of Modi’s US visa was raised in March when a Republican Party Congressional delegation visited Modi in his capital of Ahmedabad and invited him to the US, despite a visa ban by the US since 2005 due to allegations of the mishandling of the 2002 riots against his government. “We have extended an invitation to the Chief Minister Modi and requested him to show us there what he has achieved here in his state,” US Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) told journalists in India. Asked to comment on the lawmakers’ invitation, a State Department spokesperson said, “We welcome the visit by the Congressional delegation currently underway in India. Visits like these help support our strong people-to-people and business-tobusiness ties with India, including in the state of Gujarat.” “As more and more Congressional delegations visit India and look to engage directly with state governments, our members of Congress gain a first-hand appreciation for India’s dynamism and diversity,” the spokesperson said. On the specific US visa for the Gujarat ruler Modi, the State Department told India America Today, “As to this specific case, there is no change in our longstanding visa policy.” At the start of the 61 page chapter on India in the bulky annual report, the execu-
Credit: Narendra Modi fb page
Still No US Visa for Gujarat US-Japan-India Track Two Chief Minister Narendra Modi Strategic Dialogue May 2013
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendara Modi at his laptop
tive summary said, “The most significant human rights problems were police and security force abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape; widespread corruption at all levels of government, leading to denial of justice; and separatist, insurgent, and societal violence.” “Other human rights problems included disappearances, poor prison conditions that were frequently life-threatening, arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy pretrial detention. The judiciary was overburdened, and court backlogs led to lengthy delays or the denial of justice,” it added. Taking multiple officials and government agencies to task, the report alleged, “Widespread impunity at all levels of government remained a serious problem. Investigations into individual cases and legal punishment for perpetrators occurred, but in many cases a lack of accountability due to weak law enforcement, a lack of trained police, and the overburdened and underresourced court system created an atmosphere of impunity.” The State Department said law enforcement and legal avenues for rape victims were inadequate, overtaxed, and unable to address the issue effectively. “Law enforcement officers sometimes worked to reconcile rape victims and their attackers, in some cases encouraging female rape victims to marry their attackers. Doctors sometimes further abused rape victims who had come to report the crimes by using the ‘two finger test’ to speculate on their sexual history,” it said, while referring to the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi. Although it acknowledged that separatist insurgents and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeastern states, and the Naxalite belt committed numerous serious abuses, including killing armed forces personnel, police, government officials, and civilians, the report did note that, “For the second consecutive year, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast saw considerably less violence than in the past.”
Tokyo, Japan - Delegations from the United States, India and Japan met for the tenth US-Japan-India Track Two Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo on May 17-19, one week before the important summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Abe in Tokyo. The session was organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), Aspen Institute India, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and co-chaired by CSIS President, CEO and Pritzker Chair John J. Hamre and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former CII Chief Mentor and Aspen Institute India Founding Trustee Tarun Das, and Yoshiyuki Kasai, Chairman of the Central Japan Railway Company. The delegates met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, and other senior government officials responsible for foreign affairs, defense, energy and economic strategy. The delegates also engaged in candid, off-the-record assessments of political, security, economic and energy issues. Delegates reaffirmed that all three nations share common interests and are well poised to develop a joint vision for a rules-based order and security architecture in Asia. To that end, participants welcomed the Indo-Pacific concept as an economic corridor based on the unobstructed flow of goods in an open and secure maritime domain and the emphasis on peaceful diplomacy to resolve disputes. They pointed to the Indo-Pacific as the guiding strategic framework for the US rebalance to the region and the emergence of an inclusive and integrated economic and security architecture for the Asia Pacific. Delegates also reiterated a common interest in promoting stability and economic progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the development of safe and secure energy resources, including nuclear power; countering proliferation challenges, particularly those emanating from North Korea; and continuing support for the adoption of democratic norms internationally. The delegations agreed that economic strength in all three countries is critical to sustained leadership in the international system.
POLITICAL OVERVIEW Participants shared perspectives on domestic political developments in each country, representing the views of various political parties. Discussions centered on the impact of domestic politics on economic and foreign policy, improved stability in Japanese politics, prospects for a move forward with economic reform in India, and some concern over current trends in political discourse in the United States. There was broad agreement that there will likely be continued bipartisan support for strengthening all three bilateral relationships and participants welcomed the suc-
cessful conclusion of the fourth round of official trilateral consultations held recently in Washington to address a broad range of issues affecting the Indo-Pacific region. ECONOMIC ISSUES The delegates agreed that robust economic growth in all three countries is critical to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world at large. While recognizing continued risks and uncertainties in the global economy, including slower growth and rapid credit expansion in China, delegates expressed greater optimism about the prospects for growth than they had at any trilateral since 2009. Delegates welcomed the three-pronged economic policy of the Abe government centered on fiscal stimulus, monetary easing to combat deflation, and structural reform and were further encouraged by Prime Minister Abe’s commitment to publish a comprehensive strategy for sustainable growth to be announced in June. The tension between deficit spending and fiscal consolidation was introduced as a challenge for policymakers going forward but delegates were optimistic about the prospects for higher growth and the importance of foreign direct investment in that context. US participants noted positive developments in the US economy such as increased residential investment, a reduction in the fiscal deficit, and a decrease in the unemployment rate. Despite these gains, the threat of sequestration and the failure to reach agreements on spending including entitlement reform introduce a degree of uncertainty in the midterm fiscal outlook and prospects for growth. Indian participants noted that growth is projected to exceed six percent this year after a slowdown in annual growth since the global financial crisis. Challenges include a deficit of power, infrastructure (roads, railways, and telecommunication), and regulatory reform. All three delegations stressed the importance of investment at the beginning of an upward trajectory for the Indian economy and agreed that any uncertainty about upcoming elections in India could be more than offset by the remarkable growth in Indian states. Participants noted progress in JapanIndia economic cooperation including infrastructure development (including highspeed rail in high density segments like Patna-Nalanada Gaya, automobile manufacturing and information technology) and urged the Indian government to renew its focus on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) as a strategic area of cooperation with Japan and magnet for further investment and economic cooperation. Delegates also focused on the prospects for trilateral economic cooperation in areas such as defense, space and agricultural productivity in India and agreed that education and health care also offered interesting opportunities.
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State Dept. Advisor Says New Ideas Can Defeat Global Poverty Washington, DC - The world is at an extraordinary moment in time to harness new ideas to defeat global poverty, Jacqueline Novogratz, the CEO and founder of Acumen Fund, told a Pentagon audience today (May 29). “It doesn’t matter in which country I am visiting; you feel a yearning for shared global values -- a shared sense of a single world -- and yet, at the same time, [you] can see this kind of pulling into ourselves -- [a] fear of the other,” Novogratz, who’s also a member of the US State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board, said at a “New Ideas @ OSD” forum. The Foreign Affairs Policy Board, according to a State Department website, was launched in December 2011 to provide the Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretaries of State, and the Director of Policy Planning with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning matters of US foreign policy. The board serves in a solely advisory capacity, with an agenda shaped by the questions and concerns of the Secretary of State. The board’s discussions, the website said, focus on assessing global threats and opportunities, identifying trends that implicate core national security interests, providing recommendations with respect to tools and capacities of the civilian foreign affairs agencies, defining priorities and strategic frameworks for US foreign policy, and performing any other research and analysis of topics raised by the Secretary of State, the deputy secretaries, and the director of policy planning. Acumen Fund is a nonprofit global venture fund that employs entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of poverty, according to Novogratz’s biography on the State Department website. During her Pentagon remarks today, Novogratz said technology has connected the world like never before, but people and communities are still clinging to old ideas -- leading to a persistent poverty cycle. It’s time to move past those old ideas and to think about development and poverty differently, Novogratz said. “We’ve been at these moments before in history,” she said, noting that the solution to today’s global economic challenges is not to be found in revisiting large-scale economic rescue programs like the Marshall Plan. “We’re at a different time in history, where you’ve got three billion people who feel fundamentally excluded from the global economy,” Novogratz said. “I’ve really seen how private markets too of-
Credit: Acumen
By Claudette Roulo Claudette Roulo writes for American Forces Press Service.
A mother and child have their eyes examined by the staff of PVRI (Pushpagiri Vitreo Retina Institute, one of Acumen’s portfolio companies)
ten exclude the poor.” And, top-down approaches to poverty create dependency, she said. “We need a new paradigm,” said Novogratz, noting that instead of massive, widespread investments with rapid, but short-term, results, her organization advocates “patient capital.” These targeted investments, she said, are in companies and ideas that will help the poor access real choices that will improve their lives in the long term, but the full returns may take years, even decades. “Income alone is the wrong metric,” Novogratz said. “Too often ... we focus on those things we can count rather than what it actually means to give people this idea of choice and opportunity.” Providing people with the opportunity to make choices about the direction of their lives gives them dignity, said Novogratz, noting that rather than creating solutions for others, her organization uses funds from philanthropic donors and government agencies to invest in entrepreneurs in places where governments and markets have failed to reach the poor. With time, these entrepreneurs have not only succeeded in areas like low-cost housing, water purification, farming and health care, Novogratz said, but they were able to expand. Their successes build models that are transferrable to other developing countries, she added. Over the past 12 years, Acumen has invested about $85 million in 76 companies located in India, Pakistan, Peru, Colombia and several countries in Africa, Novogratz said. These companies created 60,000 jobs and delivered goods and services to more than 100 million people.
Novogratz said one result surprised her -- for every dollar of investment by Acumen, an additional four dollars of traditional capital has followed. “One of the things we also didn’t understand when we first started was that this whole sector would burgeon around us,” she said. “We were one of a sector of one or two organizations back in 2001 -- now there are 300 organizations that call themselves ‘impact investors.’” Novogratz noted that not all of these organizations are created equal, however, and some are simply hedge funds investing in clean technology rather than human capital. The work of systems change is slow and messy, Novogratz said. It requires organizations to be dedicated to trust-building and developing talent. And “corruption ultimately hurts the poor more than anybody else,” she added. But, making these larger systemic changes is essential if more entrepreneurs are going to be encouraged to operate in these areas, Novogratz said. “It all comes back to dignity,” she said. By providing the poor with the opportunity to make choices in their lives, they play a role in their own success, she added. Dignity allows an investor and an impoverished housewife to speak to each other as equals and be transformed by the experience, Novogratz said. It is well-documented that poverty breeds civil unrest as well as terrorism in impoverished parts of the world. In his remarks at a March 12, 2009, dedication ceremony for Abraham Lincoln Hall, a new building on the campus of the National Defense University on Fort Les-
ley J. McNair in Washington, DC, President Barack Obama urged the use of all elements of national power to combat terrorism and other threats to the United States in the 21st century. “We cannot continue to push the burden onto our military alone, nor leave dormant any aspect of the full arsenal of American capability,” Obama told NDU students at the ceremony. “That’s why my administration is committed to renewing diplomacy as a tool of American power, and to developing our civilian national security capabilities.” Civilian employees of all agencies must join to help allies enhance governance, develop economies and advance opportunities, Obama said at the NDU ceremony. “We have to enlist our civilians in the same way that we enlist those members of the armed services in understanding this broad mission that we have,” Obama added. At the Pentagon today, Novogratz said it’s time “to find ways to transform the world by recognizing that we need to change all of our systems -- not just our markets, not just government, not just military, but every one of our systems -to start with this inherent idea of human worth and that each of us live with this great sense of infinite potential inside of us and that it’s our job to figure out how to unleash it.” And, “the more we do it from a place of honesty and start by looking at the problem at hand from the perspective of the poor themselves and build from there, the more we actually have the chance to extend that assumption that all men are created equal,” she said.
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INDIA AMERICA TODAY
Napolitano Meets Indian Minister to Strengthen Global Strategic Partnership Washington, DC - US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today (May 21) discussed issues ranging from cybersecurity and megacity policing to counterterrorism and countering violent extremism with the visiting Indian Minister of Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde at the Second US-India Homeland Security Dialogue to strengthen the global strategic partnership between the United States and India. “Today, threats transcend national borders, impacting the security and economic prosperity of the entire international community,” said Secretary Napolitano in a post-dialogue statement, adding, “We will continue to collaborate with India to develop a global approach to the challenges and threats we all face.” According to the Department of Homeland Security, during the meeting, Secretary Napolitano and Minister Shinde reaffirmed the commitment of the two nations to work cooperatively on law enforcement issues, to combat common threats, improve bilateral cooperation through the development and application of innovative technology, combat the flow of illicit finances and currency counterfeiting, and to work closely to counter terrorism and promote cybersecurity. The plan chalked out at the bilateral
talks includes enhancing cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection engagement; increasing training on countering illicit financing through DHS’s Cross Border Financial Investigations Training Program; sharing best practices and lessons learned in the context of megacity policing; and identifying areas in which the United States and India can collaborate on science and technology development and its application in the homeland security context. The two sides also agreed to explore areas in which to share best practices and lessons learned by both countries on how to enhance the ability of federal, state and local police to better detect, prevent and respond to acts of violent extremism. Ahead of the dialogue, the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, in a letter to Secretary Napolitano, sought expanded cooperation between the two countries on internal security issues. “The United States and India share common interests in confronting extremism and international terrorism, and common values in defending our democracies from attack,” said the lawmakers belonging to the Caucus, a bipartisan influential group formed in 1993, to address issues pertaining to relations between the US and India. Calling it “an important opportunity
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US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (L) with the Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao and the visiting Indian Minister of Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde at the Second US-India Homeland Security Dialogue
to further advance communication and coordination between our two countries,” Republican Peter Roskam and Democrat Joe Crowley, co-chairs of the Caucus, and 11 other lawmakers, wrote, “While the importance of this cooperation came into greater focus after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, we believe that cooperation should be expanded as broadly as possible, including in areas of transportation security, training, technology cooperation and communications.” Earlier an announcement from the Indian Embassy noted that Minister Shinde, after arriving in the US Capital on Sunday, May 19, visited the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center the next day and was given a tour and presentation on the functioning and management of the correctional facility in the United States. In
the afternoon, Minister Shinde visited the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and met with the Director of NCTC, Mathew G. Olsen, and was given a presentation on the role and the functioning of the NCTC. On Tuesday (May 21), Minister Shinde was also scheduled to meet the Director of the FBI, Robert S. Muller, and the Attorney General of the US, Eric Holder, before leaving for Boston the same evening to learn about the response in the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombings in the city. In May 2011, Secretary Napolitano traveled to India to launch and hold the first US-India Homeland Security Dialogue with former Indian Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram, after it was initiated during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November 2010.
Indian Embassy Showcases History of Sikhism at Gandhi Memorial Center Washington, DC - The Indian Embassy here on Saturday, May 18 hosted the inaugural exhibit of Sondeep Shankar’s photo exhibition, “The Sikhs: A heritage of Valour and Devotion,” which provides a glimpse of Sikh heritage and traditions, at the Gandhi Memorial Center in Washington, DC. In an exclusive interview, after inaugurating the exhibition, Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the United States, told India America Today, “We felt it was necessary to illustrate the very unique heritage of the Sikh religion and the Sikh community.” Ambassador Rao noted that in India there are 25 million Sikhs, 65 percent of the population in the state of Punjab, stressing, “They are part of us. They are part of India. They are part of our heritage.” Citing the example of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ambassador Rao said, “There are many more examples of Sikhs who have risen to the top of the echelons of India. They have contributed greatly to our freedom, to our independence and to our integrity as a nation. That is what we wanted to showcase.” On the global journey of the exhibition, Ambassador Rao said, “It was in England and the Nehru Center in London had orga-
nized it. It has traveled in different parts of Europe also and now has come to America. It was in Atlanta last month in April and our Consul General Ajit Kumar had hosted the exhibition and it was very well received. Now it has come here and then it will travel to the other parts of the world also.” “The Sikh Heritage exhibition that is being organized by the Indian Embassy in the Gandhi Memorial Center in Washington is part of an ongoing effort which is being directed by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to enable this exhibition of photographs by Sondeep Shankar, one of our most eminent photojournalists to travel to different parts of the world and it has been in this traveling circuit for almost a year now,” added Rao. Sikhism, established in the 16th century, is just over 500 years old. Its teachings are founded on the philosophy of humanism, pluralism and universal brotherhood. It was deeply influenced by the Bhakti movement and synthesized liberal traditions of all religions prevalent in India at that time. Prabhjot Singh Kohli, Chairperson of the Guru Nanak Foundation of America, gave India America Today a glimpse into the exhibit of Sikhism and its principles.
While showing the legacy of 500 years of Sikhs, “Starting from the original places, the original language, original seal and original Hukamnamas which were orders of the day given by different Gurus,” the exhibition gives the visitor a broad vantage of all the history, philosophy, religious and spiritual aspects of the Sikh religion, said Kohli. The photographs can’t adequately display everything about Sikhism, but Kohli said the exhibition, however, “makes you aware of what is so basic about this culture.” Sikhism is a universal brotherhood which does not believe in evangelizing, but instead prompts everyone to be good in their religion. “They do not say that everybody should become a Sikh. They say if you are a Muslim, be a good Muslim; if you are a Hindu, be a good Hindu and if you are a Christian, be a good Christian. For that you need tolerance. We think we are all sons of God and if we are sons of God then there should be no discrimination based on caste, creed or religion,” said Kohli. Kohli summed up three basics of Sikhism: 1. Naam Japo, meaning recite the name of the god irrespective of who is your god.
That means to stay in touch with the god all the time. 2. Kirat Karo means you work hard. I am proud to say this fact - that you will not find a Sikh beggar in India. Second part of this is to be a house holder, to fulfill one’s duties to the society and not vanish in the jungles and mountains to hide from the society. 3. Wand Chako, which is one should share one’s wealth with others. It doesn’t mean to give it to a Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) or a Mandir (a Hindu temple). If one starts feeding people on the streets, the homeless, that means I am sharing. If I share with my neighbor who might be in trouble, that is sharing. Sondeep Shankar’s photo exhibition, The Sikhs: A heritage of Valour and Devotion, provides a glimpse of rich Sikh heritage and traditions. For more than two decades, Shankar has roamed the length and breadth of India in an effort to photographically document the heritage of Sikhism. The exhibit is sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Following the inauguration on May 18, the exhibition will be on display through Friday, May 31, 2013. It may be viewed on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM or by appointment.
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Dr. G.L. Gupta with President Bill Clinton
Giri Lal Gupta Celebrates 95 Years, Thanks Clintons for Birthday Wishes New Delhi - During a recent visit to India, Tejinder Singh, editor of India America Today, along with the Legendary Vinod (Vin) Gupta, spoke to illustrious father, nonagenarian Dr. Giri Lal Gupta. Vin, as he is fondly called by his friends, started the tradition of giving back in a big way to his alma maters. Vin is the first IITian to donate $2 million, which was used to found the Vinod Gupta School of Management at IIT-KGP (Indian Institute of Technology - Kharagpur). He later donated an additional million dollars to set up the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, also at IIT-KGP. Many in the US know of Vin’s longheld affiliation with former President Bill Clinton and his family, but few realize that he is following in his father’s footsteps, as G.L. Gupta was a lifelong friend of Dr. S.D. Sharma, president of the Republic of India. They studied together at the Medical College and the senior Gupta still does rounds at the local hospital twice every day, at the ripe age of 95. President Sharma was the roommate of G.L. Gupta at the University of Lucknow, so Vinod decided to honor his father with the creation of the Shanker Dayal Sharma Institute
for Democracy (SDSIFD). The SDSIFD has been constructed, furnished and equipped at Lucknow University with funds donated by the Vinod Gupta Charitable Foundation. It was inaugurated by Mrs. Bimla Sharma, wife of the late Dr. S.D. Sharma, in November 2009. The institute now offers courses on democracy and governance, in addition to participation in parliamentary and judicial training programs and research projects. Dr. Gupta studied at the Christian College in Lucknow and Vinod also wanted to recognize him at this school by building a student center named in his honor. The student center, comprised of an auditorium, canteen and recreation room, with a covered area of 8,000 square feet, is currently under construction at the school and is being built within the college campus on land provided by the college. The auditorium will have a seating capacity of 200 and is fully air conditioned with a state of the art sound system. The canteen and recreational area is also being fully furnished with modern kitchen equipment and large color televisions. Speaking to Gupta Sr., on his 95th birthday in Ghaziabad on a bright and
sunny morning, it was evident that he is an early riser and very active. On the day he stepped into his 96th year after completing his 95th, he declared, “I get up between three and four AM, and after taking a bath, I prepare tea and breakfast.” He is an avid reader, the habit established in his childhood in the village of Lathoda, where he would read the local vernacular newspaper to the elders of the village every day. He had to walk two miles each way to reach his school in the neighboring village of Barot. The doctor’s voracious appetite for the written word quickly became evident when he joined the Jain School in 1928. The school’s librarian said he could borrow any book to read, so he picked up the huge volume of Mahabharat, and he continues his beloved pursuit of knowledge after more than nine decades. After completing his education at the village school, Dr. Gupta left to join Lucknow Christian College, where he stayed in the CLBL hostel and still remembers that his room number was 78. Later, when he went to Lucknow University, he stayed in room number 102 in Hostel Mehemoodabad, where room 101 was occupied by Shankar
Dayal Sharma, who would go on to become the President of India. Gupta Sr. had a very interesting anecdote to share. He said President Sharma was a skilled, budding astrologer and told him he would graduate that year and also would be blessed with a daughter. Both predications came true, he said with a reminiscent twinkle in his eyes. Doctor Gupta believes that his friendship with President Sharma was an incentive to Vin to befriend the Clintons. Gupta Sr., who receives a birthday gift every year from the Clintons - this year it was a set of cuff links - recalled having met both President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton many times. The first time he met the Clintons was in Delhi during a visit, then later at a conference in Spain, and then dozens of times in the US. Gupta Sr. was nostalgic about how warm and friendly the Clintons are, and related how they always hug when they meet him. He noted that as usual, he had written a letter of appreciation, thanking them for their thoughtful birthday gift this year. The elder Gupta contemplated the incredible transformation he has witnessed over nearly a century of life, from his single room medical practice in the village of Rampur to today’s advanced technology and his travels around the world. “Then, there was nothing,” he declared, “not even electricity!” In a thoughtful mood, Gupta said, “The changes came suddenly - I never expected them to come but as they came, I felt and thought: what happened?” In his younger, more adventurous days, the doctor related that he had to go to jail many times, as he was active in the political arena with RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). He later decided to give up politics, because he felt he could not his give full attention to his family. He recalled how he used to sit with his children and teach them personally, setting the stage for them to be the best in their classes and to become successful in life. Gupta Sr. remembered how he had to repeatedly justify his plans to his own father, who wanted to know what he would do after pursuing higher studies, and so he made sure his children all pursued an advanced education and had lofty goals. Asked what his message would be to the next generation, Gupta Sr. disclosed that he had written a book, Mera Sankshipt Jeeva (My Short Life), which contains all the lessons he learned growing up, experiencing the bitter and sweet experiences of life. Full interview in Hindi/English can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SahAXanL8lo
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INDIA AMERICA TODAY
Dr. G.L. Gupta and President Clinton
Dr. G. L. Gupta with President Bill Clinton
Vinod Gupta: In the Footsteps of His Illustrious Father Vinod Gupta, Dr. Gupta’s son, has followed in the footsteps of his 95 year old father, whose life-long mission has focused on education and charitable work. Vinod was born in the town of Rampur Maniharan, located 100 miles north of New Delhi, a small village near Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and went on to join the Indian Institutes of Technology at Kharagpur where he majored in agricultural engineering. Moving to the United States in 1967, he graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Master’s of Science in Agricultural Engineering in 1969 and earned an MBA in 1971. He has been awarded with an honorary doctorate by Monterey Institute, the University of Nebraska, and IIT Kharagpur. He also delivered the commencement address at IIT Kharagpur in 2006. Over the last 20 years, Vinod Gupta has donated over $50 million in philanthropic purposes. Vin Gupta recognizes the role of education in developing the leaders of tomorrow. Through his charitable foundation, he has helped advance education in the areas of business, science, information technology, communications, intellectual property law and wildlife preservation. The Vinod Gupta School of Management was founded in 1993 at his alma mater, the Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT Kharagpur), to develop future management professionals and CEOs who will lead technologydriven and knowledge-based industries. The school has developed as the foremost B-School (business school) in the IIT system and offers both a Masters of Business Administration (MBA), and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM). The school was recently recognized as Asia’s best B-School. At IIT Kharagpur, Vinod Gupta has also established the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law to meet the increasing demand for intellectual property attorneys. In addition, Gupta has founded two major educational institutions operating in North India, the William Jefferson Clinton Science and Technology Center and The Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Nursing. A school in Rampur Maniharan of District Saharanpur in UP, India, got a boost after Bill Clinton visited Vinod’s village high school. Appalled by the impoverished state of the classrooms, Clinton urged Vinod to build a new set of classrooms and laboratories. Vinod spent $2 million constructing a new set of science labs, libraries, and classrooms, with phenomenal results. The students graduating from high school are now being accepted into top engineering and medical colleges.
Dr. G. L. Gupta with President Bill Clinton
Dr. G. L. Gupta with President Bill Clinton
Dr. G. L. Gupta, President Bill Clinton and Vinod Gupta
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Washington, DC - The US President Barack Obama on Tuesday night (May 28) reiterated the urgent need to streamline the "broken" US immigration system, stating that it is essential for the country to "stay ahead in the global race." Addressing a select audience at the White House event celebrating AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, President Obama highlighted the historic role played by immigrants in making America a great country. "From the very beginning, ours has been a nation of immigrants; a nation challenged and shaped and pushed ever forward by diverse perspectives and fresh thinking." "And in order to keep our edge and stay ahead in the global race, we need to figure out a way to fix our broken immigration system -- to welcome that infusion of newness, while still maintaining the enduring strength of our laws," said the president. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed immigration reform legislation with a bipartisan vote recently, but the final shape of the bill and its passage through both the houses is still in doubt. Obama also spoke of his own experience with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, recalling his childhood spent in Hawaii and Indonesia, and he referenced his college years, "when my roommates were Indian and Pakistanis, which is how I learned how to cook keema and dal." Amid applause, the president added, "Certainly it’s been a central part of my life, the entire Asia Pacific region." "In every election, at every board meeting, at every town across America, we see more and more different faces of leadership setting an example for every young kid who sees a leader who looks like him or her. And that's a good thing. We've got to keep that up,” Obama said. Pointing at India-born naturalized US citizen Sri Srinivasan in the audience, who was on Thursday (May 23) confirmed by the US Senate in a landmark vote (97-0) to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, the president said, "I was proud to nominate Sri, and he was just confirmed unanimously to become the first South Asian American federal appeals court judge." "We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure everybody works hard, everybody plays by the rules, everybody has a chance to get ahead -- to start their own business, to earn a degree, to write their own page in the American story -- that the laws respect everybody, that civil rights apply to everybody," President Obama said, concluding, "That's who we are at our best and that's what we’re here to celebrate. That’s the challenge that I believe we're going to meet together."
Credit: White House photo
President Obama Urges Immigration Reform at AAPI Heritage Month Celebrations
President Barack Obama in the East Room at the AAPI event
President Obama Honors Oak Creek Officer Murphy and Other “Top Cops” Washington, DC - President Barack Obama on Saturday at the White House recognized law enforcement officers who had gone above and beyond the call of duty, including Lt. Brian Murphy of the Oak Creek Police department. Murphy was shot repeatedly while responding to the Sikh temple massacre last August, though Sikh representation at the event was visibly absent. Pointing out Lt. Murphy standing behind him, President Obama told the group that he had featured Murphy’s story of heroism in his State of the Union address. Obama, wearing a dark suit and a blue tie, described the harrowing events in Oak Creek last summer, saying, “When a gunman opened fire on a temple in Wisconsin and Brian was the first to arrive, he did not consider his own safety. He fought back until help arrived and ordered his fellow officers, who are here today, to protect the safety of the Americans worshiping inside, even though he was lying there bleeding from 12 bullet wounds.” The president borrowed Officer Murphy’s words to describe the dedication of America’s law enforcement officers. “When he was asked how he did it, he said, ‘That’s just the way we’re made,’” noted Obama. President Obama continued, “That’s what
you’ve got to do. That’s what you’ve got to be made of to take down homicide suspects in Los Angeles or Vegas, or shooters in Miami or Indiana or Chicago or Iowa, saving untold numbers of lives.” “Yes, this is their job. But it’s not just about the uniform that they wear. It’s about who they are, what they’re made of,” emphasized the president. Murphy, 51, was struck by at least 12 bullets as he responded to the scene, and has been hailed as a hero for his courage under fire throughout the US and across the globe by Sikhs. Wisconsin police officers honored for their role in the Oak Creek tragedy were John H. Finco, Julie M. Grauberger, Dean Kleinhans, Sam Lenda, Michael Schultz, Derick Slamka and Kelly Romel. Sikhs and Indian Americans were conspicuously absent in the audience at the ceremony to honor top law enforcement officers. A White House official told India America Today, “The invites were extended by NAPO (National Association of Police Organizations) to the families of the honorees.” Sikhs across the US offered their congratulations to the Oak Creek officers while thanking President Obama for recognizing their actions.
“We thank the President for continuing to lift up the heroism and courage of Lt. Brian Murphy,” said Valarie Kaur, founding director of Groundswell, a multi-faith social action initiative at Auburn Seminary. Kaur, who covered the Oak Creek tragedy extensively as a writer, filmmaker and organizer, told India America Today, “I join many Sikh Americans in honoring Lt. Brian Murphy’s service and sacrifice as what makes this nation great.” “I feel inspired that President Obama has honored the top cops who risk their lives everyday to protect all Americans. We are equally thrilled that Brian Murphy is being recognized, whose heroic act outside the Sikh Gurdwara in Wisconsin moved the nation,” said Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education. “He took 12 bullets and yet he was worried about the Sikh women and children trapped inside the Sikh Gurdwara. He is an American hero and we as a community will always be indebted to him. May God bless him and his family,” added Singh from Washington, DC. Since the National Association of Police organizations (NAPO) launched the awards program in 1994, the TOP COPS Awards have paid tribute to outstanding law enforcement officers across the country for actions above and beyond the call of duty. TOP COPS’ awardees are nominated by their fellow officers for outstanding service during the preceding calendar year.
INDIA AMERICA TODAY
White House Honors Indian American Women as Champions of Change Washington, DC - Two Indian American women were among 15 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women honored today (May 6) at a ceremony by the White House as “Champions of Change” for their outstanding contribution to the community. At the conclusion of the ceremony at the White House, India America Today spoke to Aparna Bhattacharyya, who is from Atlanta, Georgia, and Pramila Jayapal from Seattle, Washington. “We are incredibly honored to be here as AAPI women champions of change being recognized by the White House,” Jayapal told India America Today. Bhattacharyya added, “It’s the first time in history that they’ve recognize AAPI women leaders as champions of change, so it’s such an honor and it’s such an honor to be recognized with Pramila, who has been doing great works for years and so it’s great that we are being honored together and making change for our communities and hopefully making change for the nation.” “These fifteen women represent the strength and diversity of the AAPI com-
munity. These leaders - in business, advocacy, philanthropy, sports, the arts, and academia - are wonderful examples for young women across the country,” said Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls. “As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this May, we pay tribute to the many AAPI women, from Bernice Pauahi Bishop to Congresswoman Patsy Mink to Sunita Williams, who have shaped the story of America,” said Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. A passionate advocate for immigrant survivors of family and sexual violence who has worked to ensure they have access to safety, justice and healing, Bhattacharyya is the current Executive Director of Raksha, a non-profit based in Atlanta, Georgia. Raksha, which means “protection” in several South Asian languages strives to promote a stronger and healthier South Asian community through confidential support services, education, and advo-
Jayapal Fights for Asian American Immigrants Washington, DC - Pramila Jayapal, who was recently honored by the White House as a Champion of Change, felt “thrilled and honored and humbled” at the recognition of her work for equal rights and justice in immigrant communities. In the aftermath of 9/11, Jayapal founded the nonprofit organization OneAmerica, now the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State. In an interview, she told India America Today her decision was precipitated by “all the hate crime happening against South Asians, Arabs and Muslims.” Her organization began defending people who were being detained and deported, and that very quickly transformed into working on immigrant reform for the whole country, she said. Calling it a “broken immigration system,” Jayapal said, “Our work is focused on trying to fix that, to advocate for federal policy that effects and changes immigration reform.” Jayapal welcomed the immigration reform bill introduced by the Gang of 8 (a group of congressional leaders), saying, “I actually believe that it is the closest we have come in a very long time and it really needs Indian Americans and Asian Americans across the country to come out and support the bill.” Agreeing that the bill is not ideal and that components of it need changes, Jayapal, however, highlighted its many positives aspects. “It does offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which is incredibly important. It does eliminates all of the backlogs for family members who
have sponsored their family members to come to United States. It does eliminate those backlogs over the course of 10 years. It does provide for additional employment visas,” she listed. She highlighted a significant provision in the bill which would, “allow the spouses who come with their partners or husbands to the United States to be able to work. That’s a very important thing as well.” Jayapal told India America Today she was leading a national campaign to engage women on immigration reform, called ‘’We Belong Together,” and that “it really picks up what is important to women in immigration reforms.” The legislation “accurately reflects our priorities as women, Asia Pacific women, to make sure that we have a bill that really includes all of us,” she added. Jayapal has worked to advance immigration reform in the state, as well as nationally, and has served in leadership roles for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement and the Rights Working Group. She continues to advocate for immigration reform as the CoChair of the “We Belong Together: Women for Common-Sense Immigration Reform campaign.” Jayapal is currently the Distinguished Taconic Fellow at the Center for Community Change and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Washington Law School. The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature groups of Americans - individuals, businesses and organizations - who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.
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Credit:Photo by the White House Office of
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AAPI Women “Champions of Change” gather on stage, May 6, 2013
cacy. She has worked to ensure that attorneys, law enforcement, and service providers are culturally competent to serve immigrant survivors. Bhattacharyya is also currently a board member for the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, VIDA Legal Assistance and the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project. In the aftermath of 9/11, Jayapal founded the non-profit organization OneAmerica, now the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State. She has worked to advance immigration reform in the state, as well as nationally, and has served in leadership roles for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement and the Rights Working Group. She continues to advocate for immigration reform as the Co-Chair of the “We Belong Together: Women for Common-Sense Immigration Reform campaign.”
Jayapal is currently the Distinguished Taconic Fellow at the Center for Community Change and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Washington Law School. The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature groups of Americans - individuals, businesses and organizations - who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. Other “Champions of Change” awardees are Lusiana Tuga Hansen from Alaska; Atsuko Toko Fish and Karen Suyemoo from Boston; Minh Dang, Mia Mingus, Van Ton-Quinlivan and Cathrine Eusebio from California; Myrla Baldonado and Nancy Tom from Chicago; Arline Loh from Delaware; Mary Frances Oneha from Hawaii; Natalie Nakase from Los Angeles; and Shireen Zaman from Washington, DC.
Bhattacharya Urges Discussion on Domestic Violence Washington, DC - Aparna Bhattacharya, speaking of her recent honor by the White House as a “Champion of Change,” described the award program as “a brilliant idea to recognize the work of amazing women on human trafficking, domestic violence, immigration rights, human rights, that folks are working on, or for access to health care.” Speaking to India America Today, she added, “Most of us were surprised that we were being honored, because lot of times we do this work not for recognition, but just to make a difference in communities, because our communities are so important for us.” Domestic violence is a topic many people don’t want to talk about within the South Asian or Indian American community, Bhattacharya said. “Often times people don’t understand the depth of the work, or we want to say somebody else is impacted, when the reality is that the entire community is impacted,” she said, explaining the attitudes of indifference and avoidance she encounters. Bhattacharya called on the entire community to become engaged and committed to ending domestic violence. “We have a role in how we raise our sons and what we tell them and how we raise our daughters.” Instead of being silent spectators when active violence happens around us, she encourages taking action, “and that would make a difference in how violence is perpetrated.” “So its important that we find ways to
get involved, but also find ways to not let violence happen in our community,” Bhattacharya said, adding that having conversations and breaking the silence surrounding abuse would contribute significantly to decreasing domestic violence. Bhattarcharya was one of two Indian Americans among 15 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women honored on May 6 at a ceremony by the White House as “Champions of Change” for their outstanding contribution to the community. A passionate advocate for immigrant survivors of family and sexual violence, who has worked to ensure they have access to safety, justice and healing, Bhattacharyya is the current Executive Director of Raksha, a nonprofit based in Atlanta, Georgia. Raksha, which means “protection” in several South Asian languages, works to strengthen the South Asian community through confidential support services, education, and advocacy. She has worked to ensure that attorneys, law enforcement, and service providers are culturally competent to serve immigrant survivors. Bhattacharyya is also currently a board member for the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, VIDA Legal Assistance, and the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project. The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature groups of Americans individuals, businesses and organizations - who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.
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New York - Team IIT-KGP, a team of researchers from the Kharagpur campus of the Indian Institute of Technology, secured second place at the finals of the Healthcare Innovation World Cup held in New York on May 10, while the IIT Bombay team placed third. The IIT-KGP team presented a novel solution for non-invasive blood glucose measurement based on a photoacoustic spectroscopy technique. The Kharagpur team of three post-graduate students, Satyabrata Sarangi, Pradyut Kumar Sanki, and Praful P. Pai, from the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, was mentored by the head of the department, Prof. Swapna Banerjee. The World Cup challenges innovators in healthcare and information technology to develop creative solutions for global public health issues. This year, the competition focused on improving the health of patients with diabetes, inviting critical thinkers worldwide to propose innovative concepts for enhancing prevention, early diagnosis, and management of the condition. “Our team presented DReAM (an acronym for Diabetes Recognition Assessment and Monitoring), a non-invasive blood glucose measurement device, which is aimed
Credit: Atul Gogtay
IIT Teams Capture Top Positions at Healthcare Innovation World Cup
Indian Institute of Technology
at enabling painless, sample-free and accurate glucose measurement for people suffering from diabetes,” reported the IIT Kharagpur alumni network website. Such a monitoring device would eliminate the pain and discomfort faced by diabetics when pricking fingertips to draw blood for glucose measurement. The de-
vice would require minimal user intervention and enable continuous monitoring of the glucose levels of the patient. The measurement apparatus constructed has been verified in vitro on glucose solutions and has been tested on an initial group of thirty subjects. The team is currently working on device calibration and development of a
portable prototype for commercialization. The IIT-KGP team was selected for the finals over three rounds of submissions. followed by a semi-final round held at IIT Delhi in New Delhi, India on April 26. Competing against five other teams from throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the Kharagpur team won the semifinal round along with another team from IIT Bombay, and were invited to present at the finals against two more finalists from Europe and the Americas. The Kharagpur team placed second in the finals, held at the German Center for Research and Innovation in New York City, while first place went to Team AdhereTech, a three year old New York-based start-up, for their innovative smart pill bottle. Team SmartSense from IIT Bombay, presenting a solution for diabetic ketoacidosis, came in third. The Kharagpur team received the second place prize of $10,000 in the finals, in addition to an earlier award of $2,500 at the semi-finals. The Healthcare Innovation World Cup was funded by Boehringer Ingelheim (http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/) and organized by the Healthcare Innovation and Technology Lab (http://www.hitlab.org/).
Indian Minister Raju Promotes India-US Higher Education Cooperation Washington, DC - Indian Minister of Human Resource Development, M. Mangapati Pallam Raju, who is visiting the United States, on Monday (May 13) reiterated the commitment of his country to take the India-US Higher Education Dialogue to greater heights in the future. Raju discussed the engagement between the two countries while speaking at a policy briefing and roundtable discussion in support of the subject, “Advancing US-India Academic Partnerships,” held at the Institute of International Education. The “sapling” that was planted by Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and President Obama to usher in an era of partnership in higher education, “is now becoming a small tree with great promises,” said Minister Raju while addressing a select audience, including Nirupama Rao, Ambassador of India to the United States; Tara Sonenshine, US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the US Department of State; and Robert O. Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, also at the US State Department. After an initial round of opening remarks, participants discussed the expanding academic collaboration between the United States and India, though press cov-
erage of the meeting was not permitted. According to a statement from the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC, the agenda included community college collaboration and workforce development, expanding opportunities for US students in India, and the use of open educational resources and educational technologies to expand access to and improve the quality of education. The minister announced plans to establish 200 community colleges in India in 2013 with the active cooperation of the US, noting that, “The experience of community colleges in developing the workforce for the US in the 20th century will stand us in good stead and inspire us by example.” Minister Raju added, “We would seek further institution level collaborations and hand holding in our efforts in this regard.” “The workforce of the future will be global, their skillsets requiring international acceptance. Community colleges can partner with us in developing the curriculum and pedagogy for the global workforce of the 21st century,” said the visiting minister. Declaring, “Knowledge knows no barriers. USA and India have together embarked on a journey to eliminate barriers of prejudice by creating opportunities for
our children to share knowledge,” Minister Raju said, “Ours is a partnership of two vibrant democracies destined to lead the 21st century. Nothing will be more invigorating for this partnership than bringing together our knowledge institutions.” Secretary Blake echoed the Indian minister’s statements, saying that there was “no more important task” for both countries than to create jobs and that the education partnership will result in the creation of new opportunities. Moreover, Indian Ambassador Rao noted that during the 2011-12 school year, 100,270 college students from India were studying in the US, while the previous year, 4,345 US students went to India to study. Ambassador Rao said she hopes to increase the number of American students making the “passage to India” so that they might understand the diversity of India. “I always say India is a country waiting to be discovered by (America’s) young people,” she added. The Indian Minister concluded on a positive note, saying that his department had initiated steps to ensure creation of a framework, “that facilitates closer and fruitful interaction between the tertiary educational institutions of both the countries … I hope that it would spur greater
and closed interactive learning and knowledge creation with US institutions.” Indian Minister Raju is visiting the United States from May 13-18. The visit is slated to provide a boost to existing collaborations with the US and to further strengthen the Indian educational system and policy frameworks. The visit comes a few weeks before the India-US Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi at the end of June, of which the Higher Education Dialogue forms an important component. In addition to high ranking federal government officials, the minister will also meet with the Governor of the State of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, Congressmen Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Peter Roskam (RIL), India Caucus members, as well as senior World Bank officials. Minister Raju will also visit Temple University in Philadelphia and Boston University during the visit and will participate in the 126th commencement ceremony at Temple University where he will be conferred with its highest honor, Honoris Causa, the Doctor of Humane Letters. In addition, he will deliver the graduation speech at his alma mater, the Fox School of Business at Temple University, where he received his Masters in Business Administration in 1985.
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Washington, DC - The US Senate on Thursday (May 23), in a landmark vote (97-0), unanimously confirmed Indiaborn naturalized Sri Srinivasan to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, prompting US President Barack Obama to comment, "Sri is a trailblazer who personifies the best of America. Born in Chandigarh, India, and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Sri spent nearly two decades as an extraordinary litigator before serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States." Noting that, "Sri will in fact be the first South Asian American to serve as a circuit court judge in our history," Obama highlighted the significance of the decision, saying, It’s important to remember that this confirmation is the first one to this important court in seven years." The joy and pride felt by the Indian community was reflected in the words of Nirupama Rao, the Indian Ambassador to the US. "Sri Srinivasan's confirmation today by the US Senate with overwhelming support to be circuit judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - considered among the most important positions in the US judiciary - is testimony to his credibility and calibre as a brilliant legal luminary of this country." "Born in India to Indian parents, Mr. Srinivasan's well-deserved rise to the top echelons of the American judiciary - the first by an Indian American to such a position - is indeed a matter of great pride and satisfaction for India and the Indian American community, and yet another
Credit: Ami Bera’s Office
Srinivasan Confirmed as First Asian American Circuit Court Judge
Sri Sreenivasan (L) with Congressmen Mike Honda (C) and Ami Bera
proof of the sterling contributions of our community to US society and indeed, to India-US relations," added Ambassador Rao. Congressman Ami Bera (D-CA), the only Indian American Representative, called it, "a historic moment for all Indian Americans and Asian Americans," saying, "It’s a fitting way to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May." "Indian Americans have contributed to this country in many important ways, and we need to see more members of our community involved at all levels of government. I will continue to support aspir-
ing, qualified Indian American leaders,” declared Bera, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee. Echoing the sentiments of vast Indian American academia in the US, Prof. Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer of Columbia University, expressed his feeling of pride for a fellow community person, "He's living proof of how far hard work, determination and pure talent can take you in this wonderful country. He's going to be a terrific judge whose impact is going to be felt for decades to come." US Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA), cochair of the bipartisan Senate India Cau-
cus, in a statement congratulating Srinivasan, who will be the first circuit court judge of South Asian heritage, said, "His approval also has great significance for the Indian American community, which despite an incredibly rich talent pool in the legal arena is underrepresented at the highest levels of our legal system. Sri Srinavasan is poised to change that as he continues his exceptional career.” Srinivasan is currently Principal US Deputy Solicitor General and is a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He has successfully worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations and has bipartisan support from the legal community. He will be the first Asian American on the DC Circuit and the first Indian American to serve as a federal circuit court judge. Srinivasan, whom President Obama first nominated on June 11, 2012 to serve as a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was born in India and raised in Kansas. On January 2, 2013, his nomination was returned to the President, due to the sine die adjournment of the Senate. On January 3, 2013, Obama re-nominated him for the same office. Srinivasan has argued two dozen cases before the US Supreme Court. He would be the first South Asian American judge to serve on a US Appellate Court. The DC Circuit Court handles key appeals relating to environmental, labor and national security cases through its jurisdiction over federal rule making.
Justice Department Takes Action for Sikh Middle Schooler Targeted by Bullies Washington, DC - The United States Department of Justice, in a recent landmark settlement agreement with DeKalb County School District in Atlanta, Georgia, moved to resolve the department’s investigation into allegations of religious and national origin harassment of a Sikh middle school student. The complaint, filed with the department by the New York-based Sikh Coalition, alleged that the student had been repeatedly targeted with verbal and physical harassment because of his Sikh faith. “I want other students, who may have been bullied like me, to always have hope and to know that it’s never too late to speak up,” the Sikh middle-schooler was quoted as saying by the Sikh Coalition. The student’s identity is being withheld because he is a minor. Raising concerns that the school district had not investigated witness statements that the student had been called a “terrorist” and that there was a history of fellow students targeting him because of his turban, the Justice Department noted that the district
had failed to respond promptly and appropriately to the Sikh Coalition’s allegations of harassment. These incidents occurred both at school and on the school bus. The department also found that the disciplinary measures taken by the district had not been effective in ending the harassment, and that the student feared continued harassment. The settlement agreement, which will be in effect until the end of the 2014-2015 school year, requires the district to: work with a consultant to develop and implement antiharassment training at the student’s middle
and high school; immediately implement a safety plan to ensure that the student is safe at school and, should incidents of harassment occur, that the district responds quickly and effectively; and meet with the student, his family, and administrators from his middle school and the high school where he will enroll, to identify key school personnel who can support the student should any future incidents of harassment occur. The department has opened a separate and ongoing inquiry into whether the district’s anti-harassment policies meet federal standards, whether its policies are consistently implemented, and whether employees are adequately trained to implement those policies. “Students of all faiths must be protected from harassment and other forms of discrimination,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. US Attorney Sally Quillian Yates add-
ed, “Every student should be able to attend school without fear of being harassed and bullied because of his skin color or religious beliefs.” Citing the finding by the US Commission on Civil Rights that rates of bullying against Sikh children “range from roughly half to over three-quarters,” the Sikh Coalition noted that its bullying reports confirm that Sikh students suffer high rates of bias-based bullying and harassment at schools nationwide. Gurjot Kaur, Staff Attorney at the Sikh Coalition, commended the Department of Justice, adding, “Our schools should be places where children quench their intellectual curiosity, not places where they endure hatred and fear. Many students and parents do not realize that bullying can often be a legal problem, especially when a school district fails to take appropriate action.” Kaur added, “This settlement sends a clear message to schools nationwide that we will no longer tolerate inadequate measures to address school bullying.”
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Hope in India as Mandatory Access For People with Disability Takes Shape By India America News Service New Delhi - In the developed countries, it is taken for granted that there is universal access for the disabled and physically challenged person, but not so in developing countries, so it was hailed as historic when the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently asked all medical institutions in India to be disabled-friendly and submit a compliance report as soon as possible. Accessibility of health care facilities to persons with disabilities is abysmally low in India because of architectural barriers, lack of ICT facilities and attitudinal barriers. Even medical students, paramedics, non-teaching employees and faculty with disabilities face numerous barriers in medical institutions. This should change if there is early and proper implementation of the MCI-issued directive to the deans and principals of all the medical colleges and institutions in India to promptly submit a compliance report on accessible institutions to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Welcoming the directive, disability activist Satendra Singh, a medical specialist at University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) in Delhi who is himself disabled, said, “This is a significant move, as medical institutions are made more accountable, which is in line with Sec 46 of PWD Act 1995 and article 9 of the International law UNCRPD, which makes it obligatory for India to implement reasonable accommodation. This is not something only for disabled because a universally designed ramp or toilet will help all, be it disabled, elderly person, or pregnant female.” Singh had relentlessly advocated to the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities (CCPD) to pass directions to MCI to make access audits mandatory in all medical inspections; to include persons with disabilities in all disability matters; and to
de-recognize all such colleges which fail accessibility standards. The CCPD, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is the highest apex body in India, with the power of a civil court and panIndia jurisdiction. “To me this should have been done long ago and without anybody fighting
for it. What Dr. Satendra Singh is doing is not only praiseworthy and commendable but also a path-breaking move in the establishment of universal design,” said Abha Khetrapal, counselor for the students with disabilities at the University College of Medical Sciences, (UCMS) and GTB Hospital in Delhi.
Singh is the coordinator of the Enabling Unit, which he created under the UGC (University Grants Commission) guidelines for ensuring affirmative actions concerning persons with disabilities. This is the only such body in any medical school in India. Singh also formed an Equality and Diversity Committee, which has student, nonteaching staff and faculty members and all are persons with disabilities, in line with the mantra “Nothing for us, without us.” Khetrapal, who is a non-institutional expert on the committee, said, “The formation of Equality and Diversity Committee needs to be used as a model not only by the medical colleges, but by all the institutions providing higher education, as separate counselors for students with disabilities may not be found even in many renowned universities of the country. Moreover, all the members of this committee are persons with disabilities and they can represent themselves better than the non-disabled people.” Khetrapal urged MCI to take urgent action for the speedy implementation of the directive, saying, “I now hope that the new chairman of MCI, Dr. R.K. Srivastava, brings the required and desired changes. Another move that has to be done is to include disability studies as a subject in medical education.” Mincing no words, Khetrapal who is the founder and president of Cross the Hurdles (www.crossthehurdles.org/ngo), an organization fighting on behalf of the disabled, said, “It is an irony that those who are getting trained to be the health providers of the community have to suffer due to such an inaccessibility. I wonder why does MCI have to be directed by the CCPD office? Why couldn’t Medical Council of India issue such a directive itself? Why do we have to wake up the authorities from such a deep slumber to at least give us what our rights are?”
Police Chief Cathy Lanier Updates Policies, Urges Sikhs to Join Force Washington, DC - Cathy Lanier, Washington, DC’s Chief of Police, recently described the development of new policing strategies and urged Indian Americans, especially Sikhs, to join the agency, as the Metropolitan Police Department has no barriers to the wearing of religious symbols. Addressing journalists and policymakers at the National Press Club in the capital, Lanier said she has reassessed the police department’s strategy as development booms across the city and plans to add at least 100 additional officers, bring-
ing the total to more than 4,000. Police strategy changes as departments take lessons from incidents around the world, she said, and after the Mumbai shootings, policy was changed to encourage intervention against active shooters. Lanier revealed an analysis process, which weighs demographic data, income, business licenses, traffic counts, restaurants and bars, to determine deployment of police. She noted the effect of on-premise alcoholic beverage sales on police workloads, noting the Adams
Morgan area has 38 such establishments in one block. The city’s density creates challenges at the peak hours of one to three AM, when police are called to the city’s center, leading to increased crimes on the periphery, she said. The department has prepared a 40page guide, two years in the making, of best practices for businesses in the areas, announced Lanier. In addition, police are being trained specifically for those areas, where patrols by foot, Segway, and bicy-
cle are more useful than cars. The department reaches communities within the city using innovative channels for each, Lanier said; texting for youth, school programs, a listserv for subscribers and radio for the Latino community. When asked where she stands on the gun control debate, Lanier retorted, “As far away as possible,” then clarified that she stands behind DC’s gun controls. When asked about her future, Lanier said, “I am not interested in running for mayor,” or any political office, she added.
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Washington, DC - The US Department of Defense categorically denied reports appearing in Southeast Asia media outlets quoting a recent RAND report that the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands would be used as a base for American drones in the event of an offensive against China. Indian media recently referenced the RAND assessment, titled“Overseas Basing of US Military Forces,”which was commissioned by the Pentagon on the instructions of the US Congress and looks into the presence of the American military at various bases and locations across the globe, suggesting significant changes in the Indo-Pacific region. The media reports quoted the paper as saying, “The Navy would strive to station a detachment of broad area maritime surveillance UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles or drones) at Port Blair airport in the Andaman Islands, to increase surveillance over the Strait of Malacca.” Denying that such plans are in the pipeline, Cathy Wilkinson, Defense Press Officer for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs at Pentagon headquarters told India America Today, “The RAND independent assessment does not represent the official position of the Department. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (section 347) re-
Credit: US Department of Defense
Pentagon Denies Plans for US Military Bases in Indian Andaman Islands
An Indian paratrooper exits a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during the Yudh Abhyas bilateral training exercise on Fort Bragg, NC, May 15, 2013
quired the Department of Defense to commission an independent assessment of the overseas basing of US forces.” “The RAND independent assessment suggests some potential overseas basing loca-
tions; however, these are just suggestions and the Defense Department is not bound by them. The United States does not have any plans to establish permanent US military bases in Port Blair or the Andaman islands as sug-
gested in the RAND study,”Wilkinson said. The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution whose mission is to improve policy and decision-making through research and analysis.
By Karen Parrish Karen Parrish writes for American Forces Press Service Singapore - During a question-and-answer session following his speech here this morning, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel countered a Chinese general’s question on whether the US strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific is intended to contain China. Hagel spoke at the 12th Annual ShangriLa Dialogue before delegates from some 27 nations in the region. Following his remarks, Maj. Gen. Yao Yunzhu, director of ChinaAmerica Defense Relations for China’s Academy of Military Science, expressed doubt about statements made by US leaders that the US strategic emphasis in the region is not intended to limit China’s military growth. Hagel responded that as he said during his speech, the United States welcomes“a strong and emerging and responsible China.” The same is true of other emerging nations including India and Indonesia, he added. “We look forward to that emergence for many reasons, but one among them all is as important as any other, and that’s the respon-
sibility that great nations take on,” he said. Powerful nations share responsibilities for security in their region, he said, because they have “huge stakes” in maintaining stability and peace. “We recognize that; we want to be part of that,” the secretary said. The United States has been a Pacific power for 200 years, Hagel noted, so its emphasis on the region is not new. “We’ve had interests, partnerships, relationships in this part of the world for a long time,”he said.“We have interests here too, just as China and Russia and other nations have interests all over the world.” Hagel said reassuring China on US intentions in the region is at the core of enhanced military to military ties. The United States wants to avoid miscalculations, misunderstandings and misinterpretations, he said. “The only way you do that is you talk to each other,”the secretary said.“You’ve got to be direct with each other; you have to share with each other; you’ve got to be inclusive with each other. And I think we’re on track with that. I think we’ve made good ... and con-
Credit: US Department of Defense
Citing India, Hagel Addresses Chinese Concerns During Shangri-La Dialogue
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks at the opening plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 1, 2013. Hagel will meet with defense ministers at the event to discuss issues of mutual importance and then continue to Brussels to meet with NATO defense ministers/
tinued progress on that, and we’ll make more progress.” Later, a senior defense official who is part of Hagel’s delegation told reporters on background China is“the only country that is even questioning whether we have a containment strategy toward China. Everyone else recognizes that we don’t.”
The official acknowledged the US did employ such a strategy during the Cold War. The relationship between the two countries now, he noted, is “very, very different.” Hagel will remain in Singapore through the end of the Shangri-La Dialogue before traveling on to Brussels for NATO defense minister meetings.
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Indian American Sikh Marine Posthumously Awarded Bronze Star Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, honored a fallen brother who fought and died with valor in 2011 in Sangin, Afghanistan. Corporal Gurpreet Singh lived by the saying, “All gave some. Some gave all,” to the deepest sense of the phrase. On May 30, Singh was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor posthumously for heroic service in Sangin district. Singh, a rifleman, was raised in Punjab, India, until he was 10 years old when his family immigrated to Sacramento, Calif. Growing up with a Sikhism background, Singh was proud of his heritage and was inspired by Sikh warrior gurus who risked their lives to fight against terrorism, said Manpreet Kaur, Singh’s sister. “When he was younger, he always looked up to people who fought wars,” Kaur said. “He would see the military men who sacrificed so much and would look up to them. He admired the courage of how people in the military could be facing death, but would choose not to run away from it.” Singh wasted no time joining the military and enlisted as an infantryman in the Marine Corps when he was just 17 years old. Upon graduating from boot camp and Infantry Training Battalion, Singh was as-
Credit: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan
By Cpl. Joseph Scanlan Cpl. Joseph Scanlan is a journalist with Marines based with Unit:1st Marine Division.
The family of Cpl. Gurpreet Singh visited Camp San Mateo here to receive the Bronze Star with combat distinguishing device posthumously awarded to their son, May 30, 2013. Singh, a native of Punjab, India, was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for valor for heroic service in Afghanistan.
signed to 1st Bn., 5th Marines. On May 24, 2009, Singh had his first chance to fulfill his dream of fighting against terrorism when he deployed to Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. During his deployment, Singh survived fierce firefights and felt lucky to be safe, said Kaur. Upon completing his first combat tour,
Singh was assigned to temporary additional duty in Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif. After six months of duty, he returned to 1st Bn., 5th Marines, on Camp Pendleton and requested an extension of his contract, allowing him to deploy once more to Afghanistan with the battalion’s Bravo Company.
As stated in his award citation, while operating out of Sangin district, Helmand province, Singh served as a fire team leader and led his Marines on daily patrols through insurgent infested areas. Despite being struck in his front body armor by smallarms fire on June 4, 2011, he remained undeterred and continued to bravely lead his Marines. On June 22, 2011, while leading his Marines through a dangerous area, Singh was struck down by enemy fire. “He is a brave man and it humbles me as a leader to lead Marines like that,” said Capt. Ryan Hunt, the Bravo Company commander during Singh’s deployment. “After deploying to Nawa district, he had the opportunity to go somewhere else or could have filled another billet to take a break. He chose to come back to deploy again with his brothers.” Hunt, a native of Grand Coulee, Wash., said Singh didn’t lead his Marines through fear, but led through consistent mentorship and by his own example. After Singh’s first deployment, he came back with a different mindset and realized life was too short, said Kaur. He started to hang out with his friends more, call home often and visit his family as much as he could. When they found out he was deploying again, he had his family’s full support. “He truly lived life to its fullest and I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Kaur added.
Kayani Skips as Dempsey Discusses Transition to Post-ISAF Afghanistan Abroad A US Military Aircraft - The NATO chiefs of defense discussed what the post-2014 alliance presence in Afghanistan will look like and how it could work, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters after he’d attended two days of meetings that concluded today (May 15) in Brussels. Dempsey said the discussion about the post-2014 NATO presence in Afghanistan was lively and constructive. There are a number of ways to structure the NATO presence that will remain in Afghanistan after the International Security Assistance Force mandate expires at the end of 2014. The NATO chiefs of defense looked at whether the alliance should take a regional approach to the train, advise and assist mission or should it be done at the institutional level, Dempsey said. At what level -- kandak, brigade, corps -- does it make sense to instruct? The need, he said, is different in different parts of the nation. Each scenario has a different requirement for troops, equipment, bases and money. There are pros and cons for each and the
chiefs will use these discussions to make recommendations to their civilian leaders. NATO defense ministers will gather in Brussels next month for their ministerial. The defense chiefs heard from Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the commander of NATO ISAF and US Forces Afghanistan, and the new Supreme Allied Commander – Operations, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who also leads US European Command. Dunford discussed the progress Afghan forces are making. Very shortly, Afghan forces will be in the lead and ISAF will be in support. “That doesn’t mean we won’t get into a fight alongside them, but it does mean they will have the principal responsibility for security,” Dempsey said. “Sometime this summer, (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai will announce tranche 5 of the transition and that will be the one that takes the alliance through the end of 2014.” The Military Committee did receive a briefing on where the Afghan Army and police are doing well and where they need work. How good do the Afghan forces need to be is a question the chiefs must ask. The Afghan
security forces don’t need to be as good as the American military, they just have to possess the necessary skills to protect their people, the chairman said. “In many places in Afghanistan they are ‘good enough’ today,” Dempsey said. “There are gaps, but we have 18 months to close those gaps.” Earlier this year, the Taliban announced a great summer offensive -- something the Taliban say every year, he said. “It is still harvest season in Afghanistan and I suspect we’ve not seen the height of this year’s offensive,” Dempsey said. “But this year, unlike years past, the offensive will be aimed at the ANSF not us, because, again, the Afghans will be in the lead.” This fact changes and undermines the Taliban’s narrative, the general said. “Their narrative has been they are fighting the western invader,” he said. “This year, they will be fighting their own people.” The NATO chiefs were supposed to hear from Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. He did not attend because of the elections in his country. Dempsey com-
plimented Pakistan on the elections, which returned Nawaz Sharif as prime minister. “I give a lot of credit to General Kayani and the Pakistan military for their behavior during the election, Dempsey said. The chiefs also discussed ways to ensure NATO has the capabilities needed for the future. “Just as our military is trying to think through how do we rekindle its capabilities across a broad spectrum of activities beyond COIN [counterinsurgency], the alliance is doing the same thing,” he said. Dempsey also attended the May 13 Allied Command – Operations change of command where Breedlove took command from Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, who is to retire. Dempsey praised Stavridis for making the alliance more cohesive while still directing operations in Afghanistan, Libya and Kosovo. The chairman welcomed Breedlove, noting that the Air Force pilot has had a number of tours in Europe and had many, many NATO wingmen. “That is part of the benefit of our system where we immerse people in this important alliance,” Dempsey said.
JUNE 2013
INDIA AMERICA TODAY
NRI AFFAIRS
Washington, DC - A multi-party delegation of visiting Indian parliamentarians held a series of meetings with top American government officials, lawmakers, and thinktanks to exchange views on bilateral and regional issues. Led by BJD leader Baijayant (Jay) Panda, the delegation met with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns at the State Department and US defense officials at the Pentagon. They also met officials from the National Security Council of the White House. Other members of the delegation include Supriya Sule (NCP), Bhakta Charan Das (Congress), Uday Singh (BJP), Partap Singh Bajwa (Congress), Manicka Tagore (Congress) and Prem Das Rai (Sikkim Democratic Front). The delegation, with seven Indian members of Parliament (Lok Sabha), representing six different states and five political parties, met Secretary Burns on June 3. According to the US State Department’s post-meeting statement, “Deputy Secretary Burns reviewed bilateral relations and regional priorities with the parliamentary group and welcomed the strong political support from across the political spectrum in the United States and in India for advancing US-India relations.” During the discussions, the visiting Indian Parliamentarians were assured by top American officials that under no circumstances would the US let Afghanistan redevelop into the terrorist safe haven that it was more than a decade ago. A panel discussion titled, “US-India: Prospects for Partnership - A Discussion with Members of the Indian Parliament,” was hosted at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think-tank, during which the visiting lawmakers emphasized cooperation in the fields of education and
Credit: INOC(I)
Visiting Indian Parliamentarians Address US-India Business Issues
21
Indian Parliamentarian being welcomed at the Dulles International Airport, Washington, DC by Indian National Overseas Congress (I) leader Lavika Bhagat Singh
healthcare. According to sources privy to the consultations and meetings, the overall agenda included the Basmati Rice dispute, ongoing immigration reforms in the US and the implication for issues related to H-1B visas, the Totalization Agreement, and the upcoming US-India Dialogue later this month in India. The delegation also met the co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, Senators Mark Warner and John Cornyn, and the co-chairs of the House Congressional Caucus, Congressmen Joe Crowley and Peter Roskam. The Indian Members of Parliament stressed the proposed changes in the H-1B visa allotment, which they argued would only hurt Indian companies, but also the bilateral relationship with the US. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) President Bajwa, upon arrival at
Dulles International Airport, spoke to India America Today, outlining the bilateral business issues the delegation would address during the trip, which was organized by the Forums of Parliamentarians of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). PPCC President Bajwa also addressed the Indian community at a reception which included supporters of the Congress Party and journalists, where he urged the community to contribute to the development of Punjab. Citing the continued deterioration of the situation in Punjab under the present Akali Dal (Badal) rule, Bajwa lamented, “Punjab is one of the Bimaru (sick) states now.” “There has not only been a decline in industrial productivity, Punjab is being left behind by other states in a number of key
areas, including agriculture,” he stated. Water levels in the state are on a constant decline and Punjab Congress leader Bajwa warned that there is a danger that Punjab could become another desert like the neighboring state of Rajasthan. “We have a land locked state and we must improve relations with Pakistan so that business can be resumed, because of the present situation, the borders are totally closed,’’ urged the newly appointed President of the PPCC. Highlighting the resilience of the Punjabi community globally, Bajwa hoped that the electorate would, in the coming elections, give Congress a chance to rebuild and restore the glory of Punjab, which was once the land of the Green Revolution in India. (India America Today News Service)
IIT WHEELS Global Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International Sign MoU New York - Finalizing a working partnership, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and WHEELS (Water, Health, Energy, Education, Lifestyles, and Security) Global Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday June 6, 2013 in New York City, to work together on the IndiaBUILDS campaign to provide shelter for the underprivileged on a large scale. Gulab Bhavnani, Program Director, and Robert Nathan the Lifestyles Leader for WHEELS inked the signatures on behalf of WHEELS Global Foundation while Kymberly Wolf, Senior Vice President for Resource Development, signed on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International. Witnessing the event were several HFHI
officials and Aditya Birla Group officials. HFHI officials included India CEO Eric Christopher, Asia-Pacific Leadership Development Officer Sanjay Daswani, Director, Asia-Pacific Resource Development Joseph Scaria; Michael Carscaddon, Executive Vice President, International Division, and Shuchi Vyas, Major Gifts Officer, IndiaBUILDS North America. A.K. Agarwal, Chairman of the Business Review Council for the Aditya Birla Group, led the Birla delegation. Bhavnani explained that WHEELS came about when Capital IIT, “focused on a mission to impact society and provide solutions to solve the world’s social problems in the key WHEELS areas.” Bhavnani,
further said that “affordable housing for the needy, is a key Lifestyles track project. When combined with clean water, healthy environment, education, energy, and security for women and children, it provides a complete WHEELS packaged home for families in underserved communities around the world. Thus, the collaboration with Habitat for Humanity provides a great opportunity for us to provide innovative solutions to common problems.” Habitat for Humanity is a global organization, with over 1,500 chapters in North America, and a mission to provide affordable shelter for citizens in need. Habitat also has more than 80 international organizations with a mission to provide shelter
and sanitary living to the underprivileged. Piyush Mody, an entrepreneur and Habitat for Humanity- INDIABuilds partner from the Dallas TX area, who will be working on the project and contributing land in India for Habitat for Humanity to build houses, said, “In a country like India, it costs about $4,000 to build a small house. Then you settle one family in it. Once you settle it, they get a lifetime of blessings, because their family and their children can live there forever.” Bob Nathan, WHEELS Lifestyles leader for the IndiaBUILDS project added, “This isn’t just for IIT alumni. Anyone with the capability, skills and willingness to volunteer are welcome to contribute.”
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EDUCATION
INDIA AMERICA TODAY
JUNE 2013
IIT-KGP Creates Economic Device to Detect Heart Disease Kharagpur, India - Researchers and faculty at the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur have come up with a heart sound analyzer which can detect valvular heart diseases by listening to the sounds of the heart. The low cost, noninvasive diagnostic device can be used by both experts and nonexperts and is directed towards making healthcare more efficient and affordable. The system involves low cost hardware that is connected to a simple stethoscope which captures data in a digital format. The data can then be compressed and encrypted to reduce storage space and maintain privacy. The recording and display part of the device records the data in real time and also handles online display, zooming, playback, patient database management, report generation and printing. The device is capable of decision-making and makes comparisons with thirty-three different pathological cases through visual and audio clues, and generates suggestions of nine commonly occurring diseases with a confidence score. A comparison of a patient’s previous record with the current one is also possible and helps analyze the progression of disease. The heart sound analyzer can also be used as an auscultation training device for a medical professional. The user-friendly heart sound analyzer is a low-cost, portable, primary diagnostic tool. It is hoped that it will prove useful
in bringing people closer to healthcare professionals and in turn ensure quality health service at an affordable cost. Some multinational companies have already shown interest in funding further research and marketing the product. The product was a winner in the DST Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program and has already been filed for patent. It has been successfully displayed at events in Pragati Maidan, Delhi and Taj GVK, Hyderabad. Dr. Samit Ari, Dr. Suman Senapati, and research students A. Kishore Kumar and Ashok Mandal at the Audio and Bio-Signal Processing Lab at IIT Kharagpur conducted the research under the guidance of Dr. Goutam Saha, Associate Professor in the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communication at the school. In another research project, Dr. Goutam Saha, along with his past and current students Dr. Sandipan Chakraborty, M.D. Sahidullah, Neeraj Bhende, Israj Ali, Prashanta Pattadar, Susanta Sarangi, Monisankha Pal, and Debapriya Sengupta have come up with a voice-based authentication device. It uses the voice of a person to verify their identity over a telephone line. A large number of services today are voice-based and use IVR (Interactive Voice Response) technology in interacting with a customer. This device can be used to confirm the identity of customers so that services can be offered. The voice data is collected through a voice modem connected to a computer
Dr. Goutam Sinha, alumnus and faculty, Dept. of Electronics and Electrical Engineering
using a Telephony Application Programming Interface. An IVR system developed for this guides the speaker through the process. The registration of voice samples takes place through a controlled environment. A verification process compares voice samples with registration data using pattern recognition and relevant features are extracted to develop a speaker model which remains stored in the computer. The voice to be verified passes through the speaker model and accepted or rejected based on a score generated. The prototype which has
been developed offers the possibility of a real-time, voice-based biometric authentication of a person. The device has been demonstrated at the Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad. A speech-based prototype that identifies a speaker over a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) platform, suitable for skype-like conversation, has also been demonstrated and was recognized as one of the Top 100 innovations by the India Innovation Growth Program in 2013 conducted by DST, Lockheed Martin, FICCI, Indo-US S & T Forum, Stanford Business Graduate School and IC2 Institute.
JUNE 2013
INDIA AMERICA TODAY
LITERATURE
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An excerpt from the book Boar in Boots
Indians in the US -- The Potels
For some people, India is still the back of beyond. They are the ideological descendants of former US ambassador Patrick Moynihan who once famously said: “What does India export but communicable diseases.” The Telegraph, March, 2012
Strange Bedfellows
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) was set up by a group of Indian hoteliers in Atlanta in 1989. If you visit their website, one of the first things that will greet you is a section on “What to Know about Bed Bugs”. These parasites of the species Cimex lectularius are not outsourced from India. They have been creating jobs for Americans; not stealing jobs. According to a recent survey, more than 95 per cent of America is infested by bed bugs. Reports msnbc.com: “Almost no region or area is unbitten.” In 2009, US Congress even passed an Act titled Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite. What does the AAHOA have to do with it? Its members are worried. Though the bed bugs are true blue Americans -before the current epidemic, they were found mainly in upper-end hotels -- Asians in the hospitality trade have faced discrimination before. They are worried that the health authorities might use this as an excuse to bug them. “Today, Asian Americans constitute one of the largest forces in the hospitality
industry,” says AAHOA. Indeed, 40 per cent of all hotels in the US are owned by Asian Americans. The total adds up to more than 20,000. This is especially true of the motel business. The first Indians planted their flag in this sector when Idi Amin threw them out of Uganda in 1972. The ethnic Gujaratis -- many of them Patels -- bought up these motels. Today, the community has become the innkeepers to the nation and the potel -- a mom-and-pop motel run by Patels -- has entered the lexicon. This is not the only sector that Indians dominate. In many US cities, the taxi trade has seen a deluge of drivers from the subcontinent. According to a survey, Bangladesh contributes the largest number of taxi drivers to the Big Apple followed by Pakistan and India. Driving a taxi is one of the most dangerous jobs in the US; that’s the sort of function earmarked for immigrants. In California, Iqbal Singh had driven us around for a month while we worked on a bumper issue of Business India on the subcontinent’s high-tech successes in the
Author profile Parthasarathi Swami was studying Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur when he decided he had a soul above a slide-rule. This was in the pre-calculator age; there was just one Parthasarathi Swami calculator on campus, remembers Swami. He wanted to write. But you couldn’t make a living out of writing. That’s an avocation, not a profession. So Swami joined Business Standard, then a Calcutta-based business daily, as subeditor. He has stayed in business journalism ever since. Along the way, he graduated in History from Osmania University and did his post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. After Business Standard, Swami had short stints with India Today and The Sunday Observer. He then joined Businessworld and rose to be Managing Editor. After more than a decade there, he joined Business India, where he is currently Managing Editor. Swami is also Managing Editor of India Knowledge@ Wharton, the India-focused online publication of The Wharton School (at The University of Pennsylvania). He has earlier held additional responsibility as Editor of India Now, a government of India-CII publication. Swami has been a columnist for Business Standard, Bombay magazine, The Telegraph of Kolkata, Hindustan Times and TIME magazine. He lives in Mumbai with his wife, two children and four dogs. A Dialogue with the author Parathasarathi Swamy: What is Boar in Boots all about? It’s been more that 20 years since the liberalization process started in India. This book is a random walk down the by-lanes of a changing economy. What do you mean by random walk? So many things have happened in India in the reform
Valley. What I wrote then still reveals much about Indian communities and their motivations in the US. “This is dotcom country. In downtown ‘Frisco, even the mendicants raise a laugh with outstretched begging bowls and the refrain ‘spare-change-dotcom’. You won’t find Indians amongst them. Our own driver, Iqbal Singh, epitomises this. He came to the US from Nayasahar near Jullunder three years ago. His day begins at 4 am and winds up well past 9 pm. ‘When you come back next time, I will be running a fleet of five cars,’ he says. He has already identified which of his relatives he will sponsor to help him run the fleet. Not for him the layabouts, though they may be close blood relatives... There are other groups with a higher profile. There is the much-feted TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs). They are not just techies. We met a founder-member who was making a lot of money in a high-tech world. He was providing janitorial services. Let’s keep his name under wraps. He was cleaning up, sure. But he was rather ashamed of it. There is the academic diaspora. There are more than 10,000 professors of Indian origin teaching in top universities all over the world. Look at this laundry list of deans: Soumitra Dutta, Johnson Gradu-
era. Boar in Boots looks at only some of them. There is no particular reason for the selection of events. The Boar floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Why have you titled it Boar in Boots? The Boar is belligerent. He waits for an opportunity to dig his tusks in. There are no holy cows in this book. The Boar draws blood – preferably blue blood. Whether it’s Mukesh Ambani’s household cows or Dan Quayle’s cowes (remember the potatoe), the Boar plays no favorites. There is a full chapter explaining why the book has been titled Boar in Boots. Buy the book and read it. But why should anybody read the book? A. Because you might get gored, particularly if you are a rich and powerful Indian industrialist. But you will not be bored. What about all the dogs in the book? If you find paw prints all over this book, it’s because I have several dogs. There is Purro (who behaves like a cat), Perro (dog in Spanish) and Pedro (the sleeper). The names seemed both appropriate and smart when we gave them. The problem became evident only later. Because the names sound so similar, no dog recognizes its own name. None of them respond when called. It’s a lesson India has not learnt from its branding efforts. You need to have a clearcut position and identity. India cannot try and be a nation of snake charmers and supercomputers at the same time. Who is recommending the Boar? Our type of people. Some, from the back cover are: Lester Piggott – “A Racing Yarn” Hulk Hogan – “It Will Wrestle with Your Mind” Mia Farrow – “Beautiful. It’s My Baby” Francis Bacon – “Almost Shakespearean” The Empress of Blandings – “Food for Thought for the Thinking Girl”
ate School of Management, Cornell; Nitin Nohria, Harvard Business School, Harvard University; Sunil Kumar, Booth School of Business, Chicago University; Dipak C. Jain, Insead; Jaishankar Ganesh, School of Business Camden, Rutgers... Some of us are prone to be sceptical; we look for reasons beyond the obvious. India and Venezuela have had a large number of Miss Worlds, Miss Universes and the like in recent years. The beauty industry is growing in leaps and bound in these two countries. Are the beauty pageants rigged so that they are won by contestants from countries where the beauty industry has great growth potential? Many of the Indian deans have been visiting India to market their schools. Indians and Chinese make up the large mass of foreign students in US schools. They pay full tuition fees; students from abroad subsidise local students. When you need to tap a certain constituency, why not chose as your marketing head a person from the same group. Dozens of deans -- marketing dons -- have come to India recently to sell their wares. If Indians had really been such great teachers, the potels would become playschools. Bugs Bunny is preferable to bed bugs.
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement
India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
Sonia Gandhi
President Indian National Congress
Dr. Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Of India
Rahul Gandhi
Vice President Indian National Congress
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
A Message from the President of INOC (I), USA It is indeed gratifying to see the growth and expansion of the Indian National Overseas Congress (I) in the last several months and in particular the Washington Chapter under the able leadership of Ms. Lavika Bhagat Singh. The Washington Chapter is one of the oldest chapters of this organization, which has played a key role in providing visibility and conveying the message of the Congress party to the Diaspora in the US. Mrs. Bhagat Singh is known for her leadership qualities and her passion for serving the community in the US and India, is greatly recognized and widely admired. The Indian Diaspora has always played a vital role in the affairs of India, whether it is in the political arena or in the socio-economic sphere. The voices of freedom never die. They circulate around the globe with a message of hope, peace and progress. American freedom has been striking notes of inspiration ever since the beginning for people who suffered colonial slights, brutal massacres, and economic deprivations. Very few people know that Punjabi
Pioneers started an organized movement for India’s freedom in California in 1914. The American Revolution was their guiding star and Punjabi heritage their inspiration. Their story is a saga of struggle for freedom (also known as the Ghadar Movement) and ending racial discrimination, both in the land of their birth and the adoption. As INOC salutes their valor, determination and sacrifices for the sake of freedom everywhere, we would like to continue that brave tradition going forward. Towards that end, INOC has constituted a US-India Friendship Committee to carry on the work of bringing together the political establishments from these two great democracies to promote bilateral relations, as well as strategic interests that would further cement the ever growing friendship. We have also assembled a team for the specific purpose of helping the Congress party in the upcoming 2014 election and to provide them with an NRI perspective that is vital to their decision making process. I am glad to see that a team consists of scholars, educators, former political consultants and other IT and professional experts
A message from Senior Vice President of INOC (I), USA INOC-USA is honored and heartened by the presence of our revered leader, Honorable Dr. Karan Singh ji. It is our privilege and a real honor to welcome you to this gathering of our dedicated party cadres and our well-wishers. Right from the beginning, Dr. Karan Singh has provided us direction and support toward the accomplishment of our goals. We are delighted to have you here to participate and lead us at this crucial juncture in the history of our beloved nation. I am glad that Lavika Bhagat Singh is doing such an excellent job in Washington, DC, which is an extremely important chapter as it is critically located, and being the capital of the United States of America, provides a unique opportunity for our platform to reach across the 50 states of the US. Last year I chaired, and along with a great team, organized the “Chalo Punjab” Campaign. It was extremely successful and now we are looking forward to “Chalo India-2014” as another landmark.
USA team
I am grateful to our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh who has always admired NRI’s for playing the role of goodwill ambassadors of India. We will continue to work under the leadership of our party President Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and our youth icon Rahul Gandhi. We are committed to strengthen our young leaders’ hands in cementing the long and strong tradition of bringing the party cadre together and move toward a successful election in 2014. With our unflinchingly dedicated efforts and unsullied faith in our leadership at the helm of affairs in India, INOC will continue to promote our interests in America. Once again, we are delighted to have you here to participate in the Chalo India-2014 campaign, hosted by INOCDC. Thank you for coming. That many of you travel long distances serves to remind us all just how important our work is. Jai Hind! Shudh Parkash Singh Senior Vice President of INOC (I), USA
George Abraham, President: 917 544 4137, inocusa@gmail.com
Shudh Parkash Singh Chakot Radhakrishnan, Senior Vice President 516 855 0707 National Vice President Mohinder Singh Gilzian Harbachan Singh, Vice President Acting General Secretary 917 749 8769 Kanwal Sra. Sabina Ali Treasurer Jt Treasurer Executive Committee Members: Chapter Heads: Committee Chairs: Zach Thomas Dr.Dayan Naik Anand Ahuja Phuman Singh Sushil Goyal Rajender Dichpally Sawaran Singh Mahesh Saladi Gunjan Rastogi Kalathil Varughese Zinda Singh Harry Singh Juned Qazi Tejinder Singh Gill Malini Shah Karamjit Singh Dhaliwal John Joseph Mohan Wanchoo (VC) Ravi Chopra Lavika Bhagat Singh Prasad Kambhampaty 516 991 7671
are already working hard and are expected to produce a White Paper that would hopefully become a valuable input into AICC’s deliberations. Let me take this time to wish all the success to this one-day seminar on June 19, 2013, and congratulate all those who are involved in this important endeavor. Let me also express my deep gratitude to Hon. Dr. Karan Singh for his trust and confidence and his unwavering support to INOC and we are continually inspired by the vision and the great leadership of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, President of the All India Congress Committee, in guiding the party and the Government to serve the people of India. We are also grateful to our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, great son of Punjab, for guiding India to the modern era with his transformative economic vision. Jai Hind, George Abraham President Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
Date:June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells Breakfast: 8:30 AM to 9:45 AM Opening Remarks by Special Guest 1st Roundtable: 10:00AM to 11:30 AM “Major Players and Prospects in 2014 Elections” 2nd Roundtable: 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM “WomenandWater” Lunch: 1:00 PM to2:00 PM “India-US Business Relations” 3rd Roundtable:2:00 PM to 4:00 PM “Promise of India: Indian National Congress” Press Conference: 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Press Conference Gala Reception : 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM Special Remarks byHonorable Dr. KaranSingh “Relevance of‘Gandhiism’ in Today’sWorld“ Sponsor’s Dinner: 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM Padma Vibhushan Dr. Karan Singh is a Member of Parliament and Chair of ForeignAffairs of the Indian National Congress. He is the President of the Indian Council forCultural Relations (ICCR) and India’s Ambassador to UNESCO. He chairs the JawaharLal Nehru Fund. He was the Regent of Jammu & Kashmir, and is former Ambassador ofIndia to the United States, He served as Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Jammuand Kashmir University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has held various portfoliosas a Union Cabinet minister.
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
MESSAGE of President, Washington DC Chapter
India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
One hundred years ago the Gadhar Movement was launched—an epic of heroism and resolve of overseas Indians living in the United States. They engaged actively in the struggle for the freedom of their Homeland. They were trailblazers in the fight for freedom of Mother India. They bequeathed us, at home and abroad, an extraordinary legacy. In this new time, in this new century, overseas Indians have again found multiple ways to contribute to the overall development of India. We who reside here continue to be trailblazers in strengthening the relations between the USA and India. ‘Chalo Punjab’ was launched in 2012 in New York City. A significant overseas delegation participated in the Punjab elections. The ‘Chalo India-2014’ (Let’s Go India) campaign initiative, spearheaded by the Indian National Overseas Congress-DC (INODC), was formally launched in Washington, DC on March 13, 2013. Professionals and students with expertise and interest in global affairs, campaign management, election systems, women’s rights, journalism and law participated in the discussion. At the inception of the campaign, INOCDC extended an invitation for professionals, educators, students and overseas Indians to observe and play a role. Since then, ‘Chalo India’ has picked up its own momentum. We continue to focus on the elections of 2014, but the initiative has become multifaceted. This conference embraces the theme of ‘India On The Move’ and we are confident that under the leadership of the Congress Party, India will keep
“Chalo India” Campaign Committee Members:
President George Abraham Senior Vice President Shudh Jasuja Vice President Mohinder Singh Gilzian Vice President Chakot Radhakrishnan Acting General Secretary Harbachan Singh Madhya Pradesh Chapter President Juned Qazi Karnataka Chapter President Dr. Dayan Naik Rajasthan Chapter President Sushil Goyal
INOCDC Team
Lavika Bhagat Singh President Prem Velayudhan General Secretary ParshwaJain Treasurer Rohini Khera Secretary Paul Nehru Tennassee Chair,Research and Policy Amit Sharma, Director Technology PrashantDubey Student Outreach Sajith Kumar PravasiAffairs
Punjab Chapter President T. J. Gill NRI Interface Committee Chair Anand Ahuja US-India Friendship Committee Chair Rajender Dichipally INOCDC General Secretary Prem Velayudhan INOCDC Research and Policy Chair Paul Nehru Tennassee Secretary Rohini Khera Dr. Christine Warnke
Preeti Channa Women’s Affairs Prashanth Reddy Samir Menon VinsonPalathingal Overseas Development Buchanna Gujala Pavan Girla Ravinder Singh Deosi SurekhaVijh
on moving toward progress and prosperity. As part of the ‘Chalo India’ initiative, an international delegation will travel to India to observe and support the upcoming elections in India, visit projects, and contribute toward the development of the largest democracy of the world. May I take this opportunity, on behalf of INOCDC, to salute all the activists and leaders who on a daily basis are engaged in building the Congress Party and advancing the vital interests of India. May I make a special mention of our outstanding leaders, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, President of the Indian National Congress and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance; Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India; Rahul Gandhi, Vice President of the Indian National Congress; Dr. Karan Singh, Member of Parliament, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Chairman of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, Chairman of Foreign Affairs-All India Congress Committee, Ambassador of India to UNESCO, and Former Ambassador of India to the United States; our special guest at this conference, George Abraham, President of INOC (I), USA; and Shudh Parkash Singh, Senior Vice President of INOC (I), USA. I look forward to all the participants of this conference accompanying us to India to witness and participate in the 2014 elections in India. Chalo India! Let’s go to India. Lavika Bhagat Singh Chair, Chalo India Campaign President, Washington DC Chapter Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Lady Jagdish A. Singh Ji and Dr. Amarjit Singh Ji are the most wonderful couple, dearest friends and well-wishers. Mrs. Singh, or as she is fondly known as Lady Jay is: President, Citizens First Inc. President, Indian American Forum For Political Education(Hampton Roads Chapter.) Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award
Member, Virginia Council On Human Rights 2000-2012. Member, Advisory Committee India Overseas Congress (I) Washington DC Chapter This great husband-wife partnership has done much for our community and has undertaken several projects successfully in India to benefit the underprivileged. We are going to honor them at our event. They have received several honors and awards and they will be honoring us by receiving the honor from Dr. Karan Singh at our event. Please visit www. citizensfirstva.org for further information. Our thanks and congratulations to Dr. Singh and Lady Jay!
CONGRATULATIONS NANA JI AND NANI JI
Best regards, Lavika Bhagat Singh President, Washington DC Chapter Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
For Your Loving Guidance and Unflinching Faith Simi S. Juneja Tarun K. Juneja Alexander S. Juneja Armaan K. Juneja Foumberg, Juneja & Co., P.C. Certified Public Accountants
and i J h g n i jit S Dr. Amar h Ji g n i S h s i d Lady Jag
Scottsdale office: 15333 North Pima Road Suite 235 Scottsdale, AZ 85260-2782 Telephone: (480) 219-8705 • Fax: (480) 219-9071 Encino office: 16311 Ventura Boulevard Suite 1180 Encino, CA 91436 Telephone: (818) 981-6100 • Fax: (818) 789-4461
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
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n behalf of the Indian National Overseas Congress (I), Washington, DC Chapter President Lavika Bhagat Singh expressed her gratitude to Dr. Christine Warnke, who is a constant source of inspiration to the organization. Dr. Warnke represents clients on legislative and regulatory matters before the US Congress, the White House, as well as national and multinational corporations, trade associations, and coalitions. Christine has spearheaded initiatives with both domestic and international implications, particularly in the areas of health, human rights, and women’s issues. In 2010 Christine was selected by the Smithsonian Board of Regents, which includes the Vice President of the United States and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to the Smithsonian National African Advisory Board and currently serves on numerous boards of organizations related
to Africa and the global developing markets. In 2004 Christine was awarded the Leon Sullivan Outstanding Achievement and was honored by Urban Dreams for her work with
the black and minority communities in Iowa. In 1999 she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award, along with Senator Hillary Clinton, by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation.
Clockwise: With former Senator Paul Sarbanes and his son, Congressman John Sarbanes; with the Mayor of Los Angeles and Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post and in front of the White House/Credit:Neshan H. Naltchayan
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Christine has chaired the DC Commission for Women and in 2002 received the Woman of the Year Award from the Daughters of Penelope. She recently was nominated and sworn in by Mayor Adrian Fenty to serve as one of his four appointments to the DC Humanities Council. In 1994 Christine was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed to the board of the National Institute of Building Sciences. A year earlier, she earned her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland, and received the Alumni of the Year Award for 2005. A native Washingtonian, Christine co-authored a book published by the Smithsonian Institution titled The Urban Odyssey. She has traveled extensively throughout Africa delivering humanitarian aid and has been an outspoken advocate on HIV/AIDS initiatives and the delivery of safe and costeffective medication.
Hogan Lovells is proud to support the Indian National Overseas Congress and congratulates our fellow colleague, Dr. Christine Warnke, on her continued commitment to strengthening Indian-U.S. relationships. Hogan Lovells is an international legal practice that includes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovells International LLP. Š Hogan Lovells 2013. All rights reserved.
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells Chairman Marty Martin
UoNA supports the National Congress Party of India and is an avid supporter of equal opportunity for all members of society regardless of economic or cultural position and we see education as one of the most important tools that can provide improved opportunities for social and economic success of all of Mankind. We deliver quality and affordable education for all. UoNA is located On the Internet at www.uona.us or call us at +1 571.633.9651 or contact Mr. Deshpal Singh our Country Head in India at +9198 100 931 35.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the University of North America (UoNA) is to provide a high quality education that is student centered, that unifies theory and practice, and that is global in scope.
Claude “Marty” Martin has over 37 years of combined experience in providing global solutions for the Information Technology, Telecommunications, Satellite Communications and Television and Radio Broadcasting markets for both the U.S. Government and Commercial Organizations. Marty has also facilitated successful technology company acquisitions and assisting companies to bring their new technologies to the proper partners, clients and to various markets. Over the last few years Marty has moved his focus toward educational enterprises and specializes in management and operations of postsecondary institutions of higher education for both domestic US and International markets.
Director and CFO Jacob H de Bruin currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Jacob H de Bruin
the University of North America. Mr. de Bruin had a very successful 25-year career with General Electric Company and held various senior level financial positions in the United States and overseas. In early 1991 he had started and still runs a very successful federal tax preparation business, managing payroll and company tax returns for a few select clients. Following his entry into the realm of post secondary higher education in early 1993, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Southeastern University in Washington DC and thereafter as VP Finance for another local area university before joining UoNA. Jill and Marty Martin and Dr. Davis of UoNA meeting India Minister Kapil Sibal in New Delhi
The university emphasizes high quality education that is accessible to adult learners in the global community, regardless of background, to enable them to succeed in their careers. This goal is achieved as the university provides an advanced education for adult learners that cultivate growth and development in the professional and personal lives of learners. UoNA brings highly qualified faculty that have active careers in high tech industries, business, and government into contact with highly motivated students to create a stimulating learning environment. Through its outcome assessment process, the university continually adapts its curricula to reflect the constant change in the high tech, global environment. With its focused teaching, UoNA bridges the gap between the theoretical learning of traditional disciplines and the applied knowledge required to give individuals with a comprehensive understanding and a competitive advantage in today’s global society.
AP member of India’s Parliament and UoNA in Vienna, Virginia
The core values of UoNA are academic quality, educational access, and student success. Currently, UoNA’s programs focus on computer science and information technologies and Global business disciplines, leading to Masters and Doctoral degrees, all supported by a broad understanding of the cultures in which these disciplines function.
Institutional Objectives · To provide academic quality through rigorous academic standards with a commitment to interactive, effective learning for adults; · To create a student-centered environment accessible to individuals of diverse ages, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds; · To provide the means necessary for students to achieve their career and professional goals by providing a supportive learning environment; · To sustain a personalized approach to education through reasonably-sized classes and with close relationships among faculty and students; · To grant access to all desiring, qualified students to higher education; · To develop educational programs that join theory and practice and instill in students the spirit of systematic inquiry; · To promote international perspectives in the curriculum and among students and faculty; · To educate diverse populations locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Vatsala Mehra Vatsala Mehra, winner of the Best International Woman Ghazal Singer Award, has been acclaimed worldwide for her diverse repertoire that includes 15 CDs/albums, and has recorded with major music companies in India. Ms. Mehra was honored with an award by the Government of India for her contribution in projecting India’s musical tradition in the US. Ms. Mehra learned under the guidance of the late Guru, Ustad Momin Khan of the pioneering Lucknow Gharana. Ms. Mehra, having performed all over the world, the latest being Shaniwarwada Dance and Music Festival, is also the only ghazal artist to have performed four times at the prestigious Kennedy Center, including the Maximum India Festival. She was the only female artist representing India as a solo singer. India Abroad has given her the title of “Queen of Ghazals.” A quote from India This Week: Vatsala’s energetic, enthused voice threatened to bring down the walls of the theater, left her audience enthralled and awestruck. Ms. Mehra is the founder and director of Balaji Music Academy based in Virginia. Today five of her students will perform a Bhajan. The students performing are Shivani Prakash, Shreya Bhatia, Anjali Krishnan, Veda Prasad and Sarena Aurora.
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
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INDIA AMERICA TODAY
Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells
Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
he Indian National Overseas Congress is grateful to Bharat Bhargava for his continued support and encouragement in hosting this conference. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Bankworld, Inc., a Washington area-based management consulting firm in the field of international economic development. An MBA from the Harvard Business School, Mr. Bhargava has been in management for nearly forty years, as a senior executive at one of the major US national banks, at a Fortune 500 company, and as an SES appointed by President Bush (Senior) at the US Department of Commerce – where he was engaged in promoting entrepreneurship throughout the US. Mr. Bhargava has advised national governments, central banks, capital markets and banks – and has overseen the advisory work – spanning nearly 80 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, North America and South America. Mr. Bhargava was dubbed a “thought leader” in the field of economic development by Booz, Allen & Hamilton. Over the years, Mr. Bhargava has also been involved in the civic arena. In 1977, he was elected to a city council in suburban Philadelphia. He was the Chairman of NFIA, Chairman of the Indian-American Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Philadelphia Rotary, where he initiated and oversaw a number of programs serving disadvantaged segments of the population. A third generation Congress supporter, Mr. Bhargava was the Secretary General of the Rajasthan Youth Congress prior to leaving India in 1962. Currently, he hosts a TV program, InDialog, featuring civic, economic and cultural themes, serving the South Asian American community, especially its younger generation. Mr. Bhargava lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with his wife, Yognidra. He comes from Jaipur, India, where his father was a Dean at the University of Rajasthan and his mother was a member and Vice Chair of Rajya Sabha. Mr. Bhargava has been published and has spoken extensively in the US and abroad. He has been biographied in Who’s Who in Finance & Industry, in Who’s Who in the World, and in the International Who’s Who of Professionals. Fluent in Hindi, Urdu and English, he also has knowledge of French, Russian and Arabic.
Karuna’s Goals:
• Especially help the battered women and
children, without reference to age, color and ethnicity, with financial, emotional and moral support and thus enable them to become independent and live with dignity. • To help needy and meritorious students with vocational training or through educational scholarships. • To engage in community service in the metropolitan area.
About Karuna Charities Washington, Inc.: Karuna Charities, founded in May 1998, is a 501 (c)3 grass-root Organization. It was started by Lekha Srinivasan and a group of women from the Washington Metropolitan Area. Karuna’s mission is to assist the needy and disadvantaged in the United States and India. Karuna Charities has been fulfilling its mission by helping needy battered women and their families, by providing them with the first month’s rent, helping them to educate themselves further through educational scholarships or by providing them with financial help for important needs. b) Karuna has set up three educational scholarships
(Karuna Charities Scholarships) for the needy: • Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia (NVCC) Northern Virginia Community College 2006-2007 Scholarship Announcement • Montgomery College, Maryland Montgomery College 2007-2008 Scholarship Announcement • University of the District of Columbia, D.C. (UDC) Students can contact the educational facilities directly. c) Karuna Charities is actively involved in community service. Members prepare meals, buy medical supplies for the sick (e.g., HIV/AIDS patients), provide school supplies for orphanages and lgiving much needed financial support to the disabled, elderly and sick. Karuna Charities has also helped in India, sent money for much needed grave illnesses and surgeries and also regularly help two schools, one in West Bengal and the other in Delhi. Karuna Charities has also raised money for natural disasters, e.g.,: • The Haiti Earthquake • The Gujarat flood and Tsunami in India • Hurricane Katrina
The Firefighters, Widows and Children’s Fund after 9/11
Youth Group:
Karuna Charities’ Youth group ran a Winter Clothes Drive in 2008-2009. They are now collecting used eyeglasses for an organization in India.
Annual Fundraisers:
Karuna Charities raises funds through two annual events: the Golf Tournament and the Diwali Gala. Ms. Amrit Kalotra is the President of Karuna Charities. She is a community leader and has worked and continues to work diligently toward building the community through her selfless service. Under her leadership and efforts, Karuna has carried out multiple programs that include scholarship programs and programs for the betterment of abused and battered women here and in India.
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India on the Move: Chalo India Washington D.C 2013 Conference
INDIA AMERICA TODAY Special Supplement Indian National Overseas Congress (I), USA
Date: June 19 Time: 8:30 AM-7:30 PM Venue: Fulbright Center, Hogan Lovells