Indo-American News: January 1, 2021

Friday, January 01, 2021 | Vol. 40, No. 01

Indo American News

January 1, 2021

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Published weekly from Houston, TX

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COMMUNITY

January 1, 2021

Houston Seniors Begin Getting Long-Sought Covid-19 Vaccinations

By Dylan McGuinness

Houston: Hospitals and medical providers in Houston have begun vaccinating patients who are senior citizens this week, as the sweeping public inoculation campaign extends past front-line workers for the first time.

Some 3,000 people who are 75 or older are scheduled to get their first shots this week at Methodist Hospital. Memorial Hermann has scheduled nearly 5,000 of its medical group patients who are at least 65. CVS started a targeted effort at long-term care facilities Monday with the hopes of eventually vaccinating 275,000 patients. Each of

those providers began vaccinating those residents this week, while similar plans are underway — though not quite as far along — at MD Anderson, Baylor College of Medicine and Harris Health, among others.

They are all continuing to vaccinate front-line workers as well.

Manoj Biswas, 79, a retired OBGYN, received his first dose of the Pfizermanufactured COVID-19 vaccine from RN Lizette Coronado on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas

Manoj Biswas, 79, a retired OBGYN, receives his first dose of the Pfizer-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine from RN Lizette Coronado on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020, at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. The hospital started including seniors and patients with chronic conditions this week. Photo: Mark Mulligan

Medical Center. The hospital started including seniors and patients with chronic conditions in their vaccination program this week.

“A lot of us are running those campaigns side by side,” said Roberta Schwartz, an executive vice president at Methodist.

“What we’ve found is we can maximize the number of people coming through if we run them side by side.”

The expansions mark the region’s entry into the next phase of the state’s vaccination plan. The first, Phase 1A, prioritized front-line

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workers in hospitals, emergency medical technicians, school nurses and others. Phase 1B includes seniors over 65 and others over 16 with certain high-risk conditions.

They include cancer, chronic kidney diseased, COPD, heart conditions, solid organ transplantation, obesity, pregnancy, sickle cell disease and Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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COMMUNITY

January 1, 2021

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Three Musketeers Win Texas Governor’s 2020 Volunteer Award

By Sanchali Basu Houston: They call themselves The Three Masketeers. They are a teenage trio from Pearland, who have been recently awarded the prestigious Governor’s Volunteer Award for 2020. These high schoolers were killing time during the forced lockdown, somewhat dejected that their research presentations at the Texas Science and Engineering Fair had also been killed. But an idle mind is truly a devil’s workshop--the devil in this case being Bane. Inspired by the Bane mask from Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, these boys resiliently devoted their energies

to a cause that would have made even Bruce Wayne proud. Spurred by a conversation overheard between his pediatrician mother and a patient about the lack of sophisticated protective equipment for vulnerable patients against the deadly Covid-19, Amar Sehgal (one of the Masketeers) teamed up with his buddies, Karthik and Praneel Bhagavatula, to apply their robotics experience towards designing and 3D printing unique prototype N95 masks. Recognizing that people will need masks for months to come, they put an innovative spin on the design such that the masks have a reusable base with disposable filters.

They sourced filter material with

a MERV rating of 13, conferring equivalent porosity to licensed N95 masks. The trio worked with Environmental Services within the Texas Medical Center to refine the mask design and ensure protective capacity against the SARS-CoV-2 viral particles.

Aided by a cool logo and a website that they designed themselves, they were able to distribute their masks to immunocompromised patients, first responders, healthcare workers and other vulnerable community members who needed more than a cloth cover or a shield for protection. The Masketeers networked with county officials and local charitable foundations to spread awareness. Flooded with

requests, they had to prioritize distribution to the most vulnerable people, based on age and medical conditions. The team felt strongly that masks should be given for free and hence, declined lucrative partnership offers from for-profit organizations. Over the last eight months, more than 250 masks and 2000 filters have been distributed, each designed to protect a person for months. Not only have masks reached every corner of Texas but have also been shipped nationally and internationally. The team is now collaborating with other high schoolers from New York and California to teach them how to make these innovative masks.

The boys truly embody the team

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motto “all for one and one for all’ as we collectively fight the ravages of this pandemic. Their ‘out of the box’ exploits have been covered by the print and television media and they have been showered with accolades, including a Congressional Medal of Honor by Congressman Pete Olson. The latest feather in their cap is the Governor’s Award.

In a virtual ceremony last week, First Lady Cecilia Abbott honored the team with the award in the under -18 Rising Star category.

Friends and family watched the ceremony with pride from United States and all the way from India.

Houston thanks The Three Masketeers for their ingenuity and heartwarming community spirit.

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January 1, 2021

Indian Seaman Missing Off Texas Waters

COMMUNITY

27-year-old Arvind Tiwari was last spotted on the MT Sagami when it was approaching Port Arthur in Texas. (Express Photo)

By Jignasa Sinha Mirzapur: “I think I got on the wrong ship. I will have to stay here till May… I don’t know what to do…”

On December 2, a 27-year-old merchant navy sailor, Arvind Tiwari, spoke to his sister Sulekha, 25, from his ship off the coast of Texas, US. That was the last time his family heard from him.

A day later, according to a letter received by his family, Tiwari was “reported overboard whilst rigging the Pilot ladder”. He was last spotted on the ship, MT Sagami, at 7:06 hrs local time, when the vessel was approaching Port Arthur in Texas, said the letter sent by hiring firm Elegant Marine Services Pvt. His body has still not been found.

Now, his family is raising suspicions on the manner of his death and questioning the lack of headway in tracing the body. They have had no word on his fate for weeks now.

Tiwari had been working for Hong Kong-based Fleet Manage-

ment Ltd as an ‘able-bodied seaman’ after being hired by Elegant Marine Services in August.

A response to queries by The Indian Express is awaited from both Fleet Management and Elegant Marine Services.

“We don’t know what happened but we can’t accept that he is dead.

He sounded nervous on his last call. He wanted to come home… I guess. We spoke to his seniors and found that there were three other seamen when he was rigging the ladder. How can they not find the body? I have sent messages to his seniors to look for my brother on islands near Texas,” said Sulekha, who lives in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh with her husband. Tiwari has three sisters who are married and live near Mirzapur.

The family said they suspect that something went wrong because his contract was extended till May, which he wasn’t aware of when he boarded the ship. He left home in August 2020 and was to return in February 2021.

“We remember him getting the

contract from his new company, Fleet Management. He was supposed to come back in February.

Why didn’t they have safety measures for someone who’s rigging a ladder? It’s not safe and anyone can fall overboard,” said his mother Savitri.

In the December 3 letter, Elegant Marine Services had also said: “… the United States Coast Guard is carrying out a search to locate the missing AB [able-bodied]”.

The family said they have sought help from the Ministry of External Affairs.

On September 13, another merchant navy sailor—who, too, worked for Fleet Management Ltd and was hired by Elegant Marine Services—went missing from a ship off the Mauritius coast.

In 20-year-old Dhananjay Arora’s case, the search was called off after four days. An investigation is being conducted by the Hong Kong government in coordination with MRCC Mauritius and DG Shipping. His body has still not been found. -- Indian Express

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HOLIDAY GREETINGS

January 1, 2021

Best wishes to all the readers of Indo American News for its continued success in providing the community with journalistic excellence.

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HAPPY GURUPURABH

January 1, 2021

Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, also is known as Gurpurabh and Prakash Utsav, marks the birthday of the tenth guru of Guru Gobind Singh, Gobind Singh was the Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet, and philosopher. The day is celebrated either in the month of January or December.

Guru Gobind Singh was the 10 Sikh Guru. He was born in Patna, Bihar, India, on December 22, 1666.

The day is celebrated all over India and Sikhs across the world celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti.

We Have Collected some Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti (Gurpurabh) Status, Greetings, Images for you, hope you will like them, so please share Happy Guru Gobind Singh GurpurabhStatus, Greetings, Images with your family and friends and also update your social media status with Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti (Gurpurab) Festival.

“May Guru Govind Singh Ji Give You, The Courage And

Strength To Fight The Evil, And Always Stand By The Side Of Truth. Happy Gurpurabh.”

“The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained When one eradicates self-

ishness from within. Happy Prakash Utsav.”

“May Guru Gobind Singh Ji is your guiding star through your life and may he shower blessings on you this Gurpurab and Prakash Utsav.”

“If You Are Strong Torture Not The Weak, And Thus Lay Not The Axe To Thy Empire. Wish you a Happy Guru Gobind Singh Ji Jayanti.”

“Have a goal and work towards its completion and suc-

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cess. Do not let any hardship, no adversity impact your goal. Happy Gurpurabh.”

“May Guru Gobind Singh Ji give you the courage and strength to fight evil and always stand by the side of the truth. happy Gurpurabh to you.”

“Blessed Blessed Is Their Guru, Whose Mouth Tastes The Ambrosial Fruit Of The Lord. Wishing you a Happy Guru Gobind Singh Gurpurabh.”

“Wish you all a happy and spiritually fulfilling life. May Guruji bless you with his divine blessings.

Wish you Happy Gurpurabh.”

“The greatest comforts and lasting peace are obtained when one eradicates selfishness from within.

Wishing you a Happy Gurupurabh.”

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HAPPY GURUPURABH

January 1, 2021

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BUSINESS

January 1, 2021

IACCGH ‘Women Mean Business’: World Affairs Council, ALF

By Manu Shah

Two extraordinary women highlighted the work of leading and redefining leadership in IACCGH’s Women Mean Business series held virtually on 15th December. Maryanne Maldonado, CEO of World Affairs Council of Greater Houston and Nory Angel, President of American Leadership Forum of Gulf Coast (ALF) who both head non nonprofit organizations were the featured speakers.

The series, sponsored by Shell, continues to be one of IACCGH’s most popular events and brings successful women from the corporate, entrepreneurial or nonprofit world to inspire other women in their aspirations.

Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia welcomed the gathering and thanked the organization’s long term sponsors – Brask Inc, Lyondellbasell, Piping Technology and Products, Shipcom Wireless and Shell for supporting the chamber’s work in promoting Houston’s economic growth.

Highlighting the Chamber’s 21 years of service to Houston’s business community, President Tarush Anand noted how the chamber pivoted to the Webinar format to deliver its programs and found creative ways to support businesses and professionals in this pandemic.

Co-creator of the series with Asha Dhume, Past President Joya Shukla spoke of the need to engage with women leaders as role mod-

Maryanne Maldonado

els and mentors to other women navigating the professional world.

CEO of World Affairs Council of Houston, Maryanne Maldonado believes that the word leaders need to hear most in these testing times is “resiliency” or the ability to bounce back from adversities. The seven components of resiliency, she outlined, are competence (the skills and the talent to do what you want and the goals you want to accomplish), confidence (a certainty of what you want in life, career, business, family and community), connection (networking), character (building a reputation of being authentic), contributing (to others) coping (managing your time, money and talents wisely) and control (regulating expectations in our outcomes). These skills “don’t come overnight but, like any other skill, need to be mastered.”

Other nuggets of wisdom included having a dream or goal, writing it down and sharing it with others, using feedback constructively, self-

Nory Angel

care, being purposeful, maintaining a gratitude journal and surrounding oneself with position energy. She also spoke of “a mindset change” and often needs to remind herself that in trying to build resiliency in her life, she “cannot solve problems with the same thinking that created them in the first place.”

Nory Angel heads the American Leadership Forum (ALF) and dwelt on how we look at leadership in our communities and the practice of adaptive leadership.

The daughter of immigrants from Central and South America who came here in the early 70s as undocumented immigrants, Nory believes that her circumstances and upbringing influenced her choice of career and drew her towards working with nonprofit organizations and creating opportunities for others. Having parents who attached a great deal of importance to education, she is a testament, she says, to what happens when “you invest in people, make mentors available

and plant seeds in people.” Things that could go wrong are righted through “access and opportunity.”

Alluding to an article in Fortune (2015) on the world’s greatest leaders, she noted that of the 50 leaders listed, only 18 were women. Nory had two takes on leadership. In the first instance, leadership needs to be redefined not as masculine or feminine but just leadership. Secondly, adaptive leadership (she is a graduate of the Adaptative Leadership Program at Harvard) mobilizes others on behalf of a collective problem towards a solution. This, she stated, takes away “from the noun of leader to the verb of leading,” and

focuses on the work that needs to be done in the community instead of laying emphasis on the leader and their attributes.

Nory also highlighted three skills or competencies that are important in the work of leading: the power of building relationships and maintaining them, the art of asking powerful questions from a place of genuine curiosity and connecting with our empathy and sense of humanity.

Appreciating the wisdom, Shell representative Alyssa Holmes Henderson thanked the speakers for her takeaways on adaptative leadership and building resiliency.

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ENGINEERING

January 1, 2021

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American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE): 2020 Year at a Glance Houston: American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIE) is a networking platform for engineers and architects of Indian origin. First, we would like to pay our respects to those who are in the frontline helping the public during the pandemic, and our condolences to the families and friends who suffered unthinkable loss due to COVID-19. We also want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our sustaining members and corporate sponsors — they are who make it possible for us to do the good work!

For the past 26 years, the nonprofit organization has been helping the members to network with the peers and experts, promoting volunteering opportunities and organizing professional events for improving technical and leadership skills and to gain professional development hours.

After splendidly celebrating the 25th Silver Jubilee gala in 2019, ASIE entered 2020 with momentum and pride to take the organization’s outreach to the next level in terms of supporting the community in the Houston area and beyond, networking, and information sharing. ASIE selected Chaitanya Kasturi, P.E., PMP, ENV SP as the 2020 President. Ms. Kasturi has been member of the ASIE for over 5 years and was the ASIE’s 2019 Young Engineer of the Year (YEOY). In January, Honorable Judge Natalia Oakes presided over the Oath Ceremony and inducted the Board of Directors (BOD).

Following the induction, the first monthly meeting was held during which Ms. Kasturi, welcomed the Board members and the Advisory Council (AC) committees were formed, roles & responsibilities and budgets were discussed, selected volunteering opportunities during the year, brainstormed 2020 plans, including, increasing member base and corporate sponsors, monthly networking events, website upgrades, ideas for reaching out on social media, and annual student scholarships.

The Board of Directors for 2020 are: President - Chaitanya Kasturi, Vice President - Archana Sharma, Secretary - Raghu Veturi, Treasurer - Apoorv Kumar, Membership - Vishakha Kaushik, IT - Varenya Mehta, Young Members - Maanasa Vemuri, Public Relations - Aravind

Marella, Programs and Events Aravind Nimma.

The Advisory Council for 2020 are: Naresh Kolli, Raj Tanwani, Chad Patel, Showri Nandagiri (2019 President), Raghu Nednur February is called the Volunteering Month. ASIE’s BOD continued with long-time tradition of participating and sponsoring the community events, including MATHCOUNTS, Houston’s Science and Engineering Fair, the Houston area’s Young Engineer

of the Year Recognition Dinner, Engineer’s Week, University of Houston’s Student Engineer Awards and Run of Pi. For the February monthly event, Reddy & Neuman for sponsored luncheon Immigration Changes to Expect in 2020. It was an excellent session where the proposed changes to the immigration matters related to F1/F-2, H1B-/H4/Transfers, Green Card and U.S. Citizenship through naturalization were. In addition, ASIE’s revamped website, Linke-

dIn and Facebook pages were went live.

March & April 2020 – ASIE’s BOD and AC decided to hold the March monthly board meeting and all the future monthly meeting and events online due to COVID-19.

May 2020 - John Ho, P.E., F. NSPE with Huitt-Zollars, presented the webinar on “Some of the Lesser-Known Rules and Laws of the Texas Engineering Practice Act. The event was very informative, and it was well received.

June 2020 -The topic was “Overview of the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework” by Michael Bloom, P.E., ENV SP, CFM with R.G. Miller Engineers. Mr. Bloom presented a detailed overview of the ENV SP process with great project examples.

July 2020 - Thanks to the City of Houston’s Permitting Center for their two excellent online workshops on building code enforcement electronic plan review process, tiled “Code Enforcement Electronic Plan Review Workshop”. The city shared the information on how to apply for building permits online, track and respond the building permits efficiently. Both the sessions had fullhouse participation and the event was a tremendous success.

August & September 2020 –Matt Lopez and Dara Ward with Cobb, Fendley & Associates presented webinar on Innovative Utility Solutions. This webinar was well received. In addition, ASIE announced the due date for submitting applications for the Annual Student Scholarship awards.

October 2020 – Prafull Kumar with Dream Realized gave a webinar titled, “Project Management: Fundamentals and Practical Approach”. In addition, the BOD and AC paid respects by maintaining one (1) minute silence to late Mr. Prakash Shah and late Mr. Rao Ratnala, P.E. The BOD formed a holiday committee and started planning and organizing an all-virtual event on November 20, 2020.

November 2020 – ASIE collaborated with the ASCE Houston and other local professional organizations and hosted the Joint Engineering Societies meeting. Alan Black P.E., Director of Operations, Harris County Flood Control District presented webinar, titled, Update on the Newly Created Harris County Infrastructure Resilience Team and the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force. The virtual Annual Holiday Event was held on November 20, 2020.

December 2020 – Last but not the least, Jay Patel, P.E. with the Houston Public Works and Randy Hickey, NCARB, RA, RID with Huitt-Zollars presented a webinar about the award-winning Ardmore Drinking Water Operations Facility project lifecycle.

Seasons Greetings !!

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OPINION

January 1, 2021

Good Riddance, 2020

NRI Investment Lacking for Atmanirbhar

By Sanjaya Baru

The pandemic is unarguably the most consequential global event of 2020 – a risk publicly anticipated, as recently as 2019, by US Intelligence. The impact won’t be limited to a year, it will cascade over at least the next decade. Some changes were already underway – such as the digitisation of society. The pandemic brought home the costs of historical failures such as neglect of public health systems, or of infectious diseases. Finally, the economic response to the shock was a combined fiscal and monetary stimulus of almost $20 trillion, with unforeseen consequences lurking in the shadows.

The human cost has been huge. Around 1.76 million have died and almost 80 million cases have been confirmed.

The virus was a social leveller; neither wealth nor power offered protection. Lockdowns and physical distancing crippled the global economy. A measure of the damage came from the extent to which the IMF adjusted its projection for 2020, the forecast in January of 3.2% growth being scaled down to a contraction of 4.4% by October.

The cumulative damage could be up to $28 trillion over five years in relation to the pre-pandemic trend. Millions will slip back into poverty.

The geopolitical rivalry between the US and China sharpened with the pandemic. China’s gaming of the global system had already impacted Western democracies. But this year the blinkers came off and China, where the virus originated, took a decisive turn to being a malign hegemon. President Donald Trump was a political victim of the virus and his defeat may pave the way for the US to again take up a global leadership role, ending the disarray among Western democracies.

The pandemic marks the end of the post-Cold War phase of globalisation, characterised by a degree of naiveté. We are headed towards narrower groupings of the like minded, rather than one where everyone was welcome in the fond hope of eventual convergence. The unprecedented medical response through international vaccine development showed the importance of collaboration. But that still leaves the world with an unanswered question. If in 2020, our choices unleashed a zoonotic disaster, there is a bigger challenge ahead. Climate change needs global collaboration and compromise. Will geopolitical rivalry still provide space to combat a shared threat? The average surface temperature has already increased by 1°C since the Industrial Revolution, and tipping points loom.

-- Times of India

Even as the year ends with renewed calls from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, India’s best and brightest are busy making plans for emigration. More than half of the first rankers in Class 10 and Class 12 examinations (conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations) during the two decades of 1996-2015 had migrated and were studying or employed overseas, mostly in the US. The toppers are the tip of an iceberg of student migration.

More recent data, post-2015, suggest that the trend of out-migration of Indian talent and wealth has accelerated. Data collected by this writer from a couple of highprofile private schools in New Delhi show that while around the turn of the century about 20 per cent of their high school students went abroad for graduate studies, the number shot up to close to 50 per cent by 2010 and to 70 per cent in 2019. If the CBSE and ISC toppers are India’s brightest, many of the school-leavers from private schools like these belong to India’s wealthiest.

Apart from the CBSE and ISC students, there is now a growing number of International Baccalaureate (IB) students who, in fact, study and prepare only to be able to pursue higher education overseas. Since the 1980s, as many as 176 “world schools” have come up across India that offer IB certificates that help qualify Indian children for graduate education abroad. The fee charged by IB world schools can range from around Rs 75,000 per month to Rs 1,50,000 a month.

While the largest numbers still go to the United States of America, other popular destinations include Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Dubai, closer home, has emerged as a major educational hub for Indian students. Other destinations include China, Russia, Taiwan, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and Malaysia.

As a consequence of the rising

numbers of both the bright and the wealthy students going overseas for higher education, the annual total outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s liberalised remittances scheme (LRS) for “studies abroad” has increased more than threefold, from US$ 1.54 billion in 2016-17 to US$ 4.99 billion in 2019-20. Total outward remittances under LRS have increased exponentially over the past five years, from US$1.3 billion in 2014-15 to US$ 18.75 in 2019-20. This “flight of financial capital” signals not just a “flight of human capital” but in fact a “secession of the successful”, as I argue in my forthcoming book on India’s power elite.

India’s wealthy have gone overseas for school and college education for a very long time. After all, even a leader of the national movement like Motilal Nehru sent his son Jawaharlal to Harrow school in Britain and many eminent Indians of the Raj were educated in the United Kingdom.

Even after Independence, overseas education has had its attractions for those who could afford it, or those who were fortunate to win scholarships. With time, the US became the single most important destination. However, all of this constituted a trickle compared to the rising flood of out-migration from both the middle and the upper classes.

The Indian Express report shows that an overwhelming number of the CBSE and ISC toppers going overseas have a non-metropolitan background. It is one thing for such children, from modest social and economic backgrounds and with excellent academic credentials, to seek educational opportunities overseas; it is quite another when wealthy families from big cities send their children to schools that in fact equip them for further studies and life overseas. The former may represent “aspirational India”, but the latter constitutes the “secession of the successful”.

Economists are able to quantify the flight of finance capital, but there are no reliable estimates of the flight of human capital. In an early recognition of the problem of “brain drain” for developing economies, trade economist Jag-

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dish Bhagwati proposed, way back in the 1970s, the imposition of a brain drain tax. Despite the very small numbers of the emigrating talent in the 1970s, the social class they represented managed to nix the Bhagwati proposal. Today, given the much larger numbers and the social and economic diversity of the emigrating millions, no political party is likely to have the courage to introduce such a tax.

Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Modi have invested hope by suggesting that out-migration does not necessarily constitute a “brain drain”, but could help create a “brain bank” on which India can draw for its own development. However, the data suggests that an increasing number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) have become “not-returning” Indians, and are contributing more to their host countries than to their home country.

For a majority of them, opportunities for work and the quality of life overseas, especially in English-speaking nations, have an obvious attraction. However, there is now an emerging category of Indians migrating out and opting to stay out of India because they feel their motherland no longer wants them. This sense of alienation, especially among minorities, is a disturbing trend.

An equally worrying trend is the increasing number of India’s super rich who have chosen to live abroad and work from abroad. Indian laws permit an annual outward remittance of up to US$2,50,000.

The law also permits business persons to function from overseas as non-resident entities. The next generation of top Indian business families is increasingly opting for this dual status of owning and managing business in India while living overseas.

While thousands of overseas Indians have cheered Prime Minister Modi at his rallies in New York, Houston, London, Dubai and Singapore, few among them seem to have bought into his “atmanirbharta” agenda. They are quite willing to cheer Modi’s plans for India’s atmanirbharta, but prefer to invest in their own atmanirbharta overseas.

-- Indian Express

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January 1, 2021

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ASIE 2020 Annual Holiday Event: A Great Success

Houston: Annual Holiday Event – ASIE’s 2020 Annual Holiday Event (online) was a great success despite the COVID-19!

Approximately 25% of the business organized holiday events this year due to the pandemic, and nearly 75% of the events have been virtual. ASIE wanted to bring the membership together, after almost a year, to virtually meet and greet through the 2020 Annual Holiday event on Zoom and Facebook. Thanks to our corporate sponsors, holiday event sponsors and attendees for their support to continue with the ASIE’s tradition of the Annual Holiday Event. We all missed gathering in person, but this virtual format did not disappoint in any sense. Considering the safety and with the comfort of one’s home, the event was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed.

ASIE’s 2020 President Chaitanya Kasturi, kicked-off the event with a welcome speech and guiding the attendees to the virtual chat rooms for networking. Multitalented Vishakha Kaushik acted as the emcee for the event with her spirited voice and speaking skills. Varenya Mehta and Apoorv Kumar managed the behind-thescenes IT and DJ. They also choreographed the event seamlessly.

Aravind Nimma coordinated with the corporate and holiday event sponsors for mobilizing the funds and organized the silent auction to raise funds for the Houston Food Bank. Raghu Veturi reached out individually to the ASIE’s Past Presidents and corporate sponsors to get video messages. Maanasa Vemuri and Aravind Marella organized the Art Works competition for children from grades K-12 and provided entertainment break sessions (online bingo and raffles) during the event. The bingo cards featured the names 2020 corporate sponsors. ASIE members also performed 2-minute videos (skits) showcasing their acting and dance talents. The underlying theme in all the videos was how everyone has been staying safe and keeping the spirits high during the pandemic. A short video by the past presidents – Mr. Raj Tanwani and Mr. Ashish Bagga and his family about working from home - benefits and challenges, was a gem among the marvelous videos. Many thanks to the all the members who took time out of their busy schedules to create such delightful videos.

ASIE’s first President (1994) Mr. Hasmukh Doshi, P.E., RPLS shared an inspirational video message to the ASIE membership. Mr. Doshi suggested ASIE coming together for constructing a new building for the regular meetings and hosting events.

The 2020 Corporate Sponsors shared the benefits of being connected professionally and socially through ASIE in their respective video messages.

After a rigorous evaluation process by the ASIE’s past presidents and the AC, the YEOY 2021 was awarded to Vishakha Kaushik, P.E., of AECOM, for her professional achievements, leadership abilities and the volunteering spirit. It is indeed a proud moment for her parents and for the ASIE family.

ASIE inducted five outstanding professionals from the Houston area into the Class of 2020, including: Prafull Kumar, President, Dream Realizes, LLC; Ravi Kaleyatodi, P.E., Assoc., DBIA, City of Houston; Ravi Yanamandala, P.E., President, Geotest Engineering; Sanjay Ramabhadran, P.E., Founding, Principal, VERSA Infrastructure; and, Sudhakar Kalaga, P.E., President, KIT Professionals. These gentlemen have been selected for their self-less service and contribution to the community, individual professional accomplishments and for being the guiding force behind ASIE and other professional non-profit organizations in the Houston area and beyond.

Every year ASIE awards several students pursuing degrees in Engineering or Architectural fields. In 2020, ASIE awarded $21,000 towards ASIE Scholarship Program to well-deserving 18 students. ASIE is very proud of all the Scholarship Winners and wishes them the best in their future endeavors. ASIE takes this opportunity to sincerely thank the scholarship donors for their encouragement, generosity and continuous support.

In an effort of giving back to the community, ASIE conducted Silent Auction, where over $2,500 was generated during the auction and the funds were donated to the Houston Food Bank.

India-USA Festivals during COVID-19 was the theme for the Art Works’ competition. Four enthusiastic students were recognized for their creativity and efforts. They were awarded Amazon gift cards and participation certificates.

Seven online Bingo prizes and seven online Raffle prizes were won during the holiday event.

Last but not the least, the vote of Thanks was provided by ASIE’s secretary Raghu Veturi recognizing the volunteers, sponsors, and the online event attendees.

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January 1, 2021

Indo-American News • Friday, january 1, 2021 • www.indoamerican-news.com