Author: Staff Reporter

Lakshmi Mittal donates $25 million to Harvard University

Staff ReporterBusiness, Education, Finance/Economy 0

India’s Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has donated $25 million to the prestigious Harvard University with an aim to increase engagement with South Asian countries, including India.
The donation will establish an endowed fund for the South Asia Institute at the university.

The institute spearheads Harvard’s engagement with South Asian countries, including India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well as diaspora populations from these countries, the university said in a statement.

As a result of the endowment from the Mittal Foundation, Harvard’s South Asia Institute would be called as Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University, it said. Founded in 2003, the South Asia Initiative became a University-wide interdisciplinary institute in 2010 under the leadership of its current faculty director, Indian-American Tarun Khanna, the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School.

“We are so grateful for the Mittal family’s support and what it will enable us to learn and share — across the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities — and the many people and institutions it will allow us to engage,” said Khanna.

“International centers like the South Asia Institute at Harvard University serve as a vital conduit between the University and the world we study,” said Harvard President Drew Faust.

“The generous support from the Mittal family is a testament to both the important work being done by this community of scholars and students and the continuing impact it will have in the region,” Faust added.

South Asia has played a dynamic and influential role in the development of our world since the very first civilisations, said 67-year-old Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company.

“Ensuring that we fully understand its history and unique dynamics is a critical enabler in helping to shape a successful future,” he added. As someone who was born in India, the long-term prosperity of India and its neighbouring countries “matters a great deal to me and my family,” Mittal told Harvard Gazette in an interview.

“Harvard is one of the world’s greatest learning institutions, with a unique ability to facilitate dialogue and drive thinking and progress,” he said. The Mittal family has long supported educational endeavours and public policy development in India as a means of positioning the country — and the region — for future success, the university said.

Three million Americans carry loaded handguns daily: Study

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An estimated three million adult American handgun owners carry a loaded firearm on a daily basis, and nine million do so on a monthly basis, a study has found. Vast majority cited protection as the primary reason for carrying a firearm.

The study is the first in over 20 years to scrutinise why, how often, and in what manner US adults carry loaded handguns. It also examines how concealed handgun-carrying behaviour differs across states, depending on their laws.

“Carrying firearms in public places can have significant implications for public health and public safety,” said Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, an associate professor at the University of Washington in the US. “An important first step to examining the consequences of firearm carrying at the national level is an accurate measurement of the occurrence of this behaviour and characterisation of those who engage in it,” said Rowhani- Rahbar, lead author at the American Journal of Public Health.

Compared with handgun owners who did not carry, those who did report carrying handguns tended to be younger, and more often male, live in the southern US, have grown up in firearm-owning households, self-identify as politically conservative, and own more than one type of firearm.

Researchers reviewed handgun-carrying behaviour of 1,444 gun owners, using data from a 2015 nationally representative survey designed by Miller and Azrael. “It was important to study handgun carrying because about 90 per cent of all firearm homicides and nonfatal firearm crimes for which the type of firearm is known are committed with a handgun,” said Rowhani-Rahbar.

The study found that 80 per cent of surveyed handgun owners who carried their handgun had a concealed-carry permit, and 66 per cent said they always carried their handguns concealed, compared with 10 per cent who said they always carry their weapons openly.

When comparing handgun-carrying behaviour with corresponding states’ laws, researchers found that proportionally fewer handgun owners carried a concealed handgun if they lived in a state whose laws afforded greater discretion to issuing agencies in the review of concealed- carry applications.

Some owners nevertheless reported carrying a concealed handgun without a permit in states in which doing so was illegal. Rowhani-Rahbar said that more research is needed to comprehensively evaluate the impact of increasingly permissive firearm-carry laws. Future studies should focus on analysing how different concealed-carry laws influence carrying, and characterising illegal carrying behaviour among those who have been denied permits.

Linking Aadhaar number to bank accounts mandatory, says India’s top Bank

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy, India 0

Reserve Bank of India has said linkage of biometric identity number Aadhaar with bank accounts is mandatory. The RBI clarification followed media reports quoting a reply to a Right to Information+ (RTI) application that suggested the apex bank has not issued any order for mandatory Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts.

“The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017,” the central bank said in a statement. These rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions, it said.

The government in June had made Aadhaar mandatory for opening bank accounts+ as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.  Existing bank account holders have been asked to furnish the Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017, failing which the account will cease to be operational, the government notification had said.

There were reports in media quoting an RTI query in which RBI had said it “has not issued any instruction so far regarding mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with bank accounts”.

The government in Budget 2017 had already mandated seeding of Aadhaar number with Permanent Account Number to avoid individuals using multiple PANs to evade taxes. The notification issued amending the Prevention of Money- laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, mandated quoting of Aadhaar along with PAN or Form 60 by individuals, companies and partnership firms for all financial transactions of Rs 50,000 or above.

India leading emerging nations in race for universal energy access

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India is on course to achieving universal access to electricity and clean cooking facilities by the early 2020s, a decade ahead of other developing countries, the International Energy Agency has said, indicating global recognition for the Narendra Modi government’s energy programme.

“Developing countries in Asia are making significant progress. Many countries in the region are well on track to reach universal energy access by 2030, while India is on course to reach that goal by the early 2020s,” the International Energy Agency has said in its latest report, ‘Energy Access Outlook: from Poverty to Prosperity’.

“Just look at India, which has provided electricity access to half a billion people since 2000. The government’s tremendous efforts over the last several years have put it on track to achieving one of the biggest success stories ever in electrification,” an IEA statement on Wednesday quoted its executive director Fatih Birol as saying.

According to Birol, the process of providing access to clean and affordable energy is being accelerated by the “convergence of political will and cost reductions”. Globally, this has brought universal energy access by 2030 within reach.

“The cost-effective strategy for providing universal access to electricity and clean-cooking facilities in developing countries is compatible with meeting global climate goals and prevents millions of premature deaths each year. It would also benefit women the most, as it would free up billions of hours currently lost to gathering fuelwood,” says the report.

In the Indian context, the report’s positive results towards universal energy access are a reflection of the bristling pace set by the Modi government to electrify all villages and rural households through the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and providing free connections to poor households through the Subhagya scheme announced recently, besides bringing clean cooking fuel to poor homes through the Ujjwala scheme.

These schemes, clearly targeted at improving the lives of India’s poor, are at the core of the Modi government’s development plank. Together, they also form a key element of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s political outreach plan by lighting up homes and rid poor women from the scourge of smoky ‘chulhas’

So far 14,670 villages, or 80% of the unelectrified villages, have been electrified in the two years since the electrification drive was launched. Only 2,791 inhabited villages, marking 15% of the target, remain to be electrified. With the rapid progress in village electrification, the government earlier this month announced the Saubhagya scheme envisaging free connections to poor households. The Ujjwala scheme too has reached over 3 crore poor homes since it was launched in May 2016 against a target of 5 crore homes set for 2019.

Telugu Association of Greater Chicago organizes Volleyball and throw ball tournament

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Chicago IL: Telugu Association of Greater Chicago (TAGC – First Telugu Association) organized Volleyball and throw ball tournament on October 8th, 2017 at Pelican Harbor Indoor Aquatic Park, 200 S Lindsey Ln, Bolingbrook, IL 60440 This sports event was sponsored by Indsoft Inc. & Hyderabad House, Schaumburg location. TAGC President proposed and the Board approved unanimously that tournament to be called as TAGC and Bobbili Madhava Reddy Memorial Volleyball and Throw ball tournament. Late Sri Madhava Reddy garu was past president and founding member of TAGC. The main objective of conducting this event is to motivate and encourage TAGC members and Telugu community to stay fit and to offer refreshment from routine lives as well as making new friends.

Telugu Association of Greater Chicago organizes Volleyball and throw ball tournamentTAGC Board and sports team’s dedication and hard work made this event a Grand Success with record number of teams registered in TAGC history. The event was publicized well by utilizing all means of social media and communication. TAGC has conducted volleyball tournament for men in 3 categories and Throw ball for Women. Volleyball categories are Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced. We had about 24 Volleyball teams, 4 groups, 4 courts, 9 hours, 90 plus games and 280 participants with 200 guests.  Each team played minimum 3 games in group level that includes quarter finals, semifinals and finals. Thanks for being with us through the end with all your sportive nature and smiles. It was like a festival of Volleyball with Spikes all over. The games were very tight and were feast to everybody who was watching the games.

Kudos to our volunteers who took care of monitoring the games, tracking the wins and losses, updating scores, making sure teams and referees for the next matches are available on time and what not !! This event was planned together and executed flawless with help of our  BODs Praveen Vemulapalli, Sapthagiri Sangem, Avinash Lattupalli, Vijay Bheeram, Anji kandimalla, Ramu Billakanti, Mamatha Lankala, Pradeep Kandimalla, Jyothi Chinatalapani and volunteers  Sashi, Ramana Kalva, Rohit Akula, Santhosh Konduri and others volunteers. TAGC President Ramachandra R Ade along with entire sports committee team and sponsor Mr. Vinoz Chanumolu presented the trophies to winners.

DREAMER OF THE WORLD PEACE SRI CHINMOY

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About 53 years ago on April 13, 1964 Sri Chinmoy came to New York. Since then he tirelessly dedicated his life for the world peace and to the fulfilment of the unlimited potential of the human spirit. A prolific author, poet, artist and musician, an avid athlete, a respected spiritual leader and a devoted humanitarian, Sri Chinmoy- who left his body in 2007- continues to inspire and encourage countless people around the world through his creative endeavours, through innovative peace activities, and through the example of his own life.  In about 1600 books of essays, poetry, short stories and answers to the spiritual questions Sri Chinmoy conveys the richness and diversity of the quest for peace and self-discovery. Sri Chinmoy offered hundreds of inspiring talks at the world’s most prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Oxford.  Sri Chinmoy composed more than 21,000 spiritual songs which in their lyrics and melodies explore the length and breadth of the aspiring human experience.

In more than 700 Peace Concerts at places such as Royal Albert Hall in London and around the world he expressed humanities aspiration for inner and outer peace. Sri Chinmoy performed on a dozen or more instruments in concert.  Sri Chinmoy created a vast outpouring of art. His paintings continue to give people joy and inspiration at galleries worldwide.  He named it Fountain Art  to  signify the art flowing from the source. He also drew a very large number of peace-bird drawings which symbolize the peace and freedom of the soul.  Through all his activities he was conveying the message of Oneness of humanity.

In the spring of 1970, at the invitation of then United Nations SecretaryGeneral U Thant, Sri Chinmoy began conducting twice-weekly Peace Meditation for UN delegates and staff. Sri Chinmoy, The Peace Meditation at the United Nations, as the group is known. This group sponsors a series of programmes, lectures and concerts to promote world peace. The aim of UN and the aim of spirituality are one and the same. That is  Oneness.

DREAMER OF THE WORLD PEACE SRI CHINMOYAt a time when inter religious strife seems insurmountable, the simplicity and power of Sri Chinmoys message of oneness amongst the faiths is very relevant. Sri Chinmoy dedicated his life to building bridges among faiths.  Sri Chinmoys dedication to fostering peace in the aspiring heart of humanity continues through the work of Sri Chinmoy Meditation Centres in more than 60 countries. These centres around the world are composed of individuals who seek to cultivate peace, harmony and goodwill. They offer thousands of meditation classes always free of charge.   Through  Oneness Heart Tears and Smile  the humanitarian assistance programme they are uplifting countless poor and needy people worldwide.

In 1987 Sri Chinmoy founded the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run. The longest relay run for peace going through more than 140 countries and bringing together millions of people from different culture, background and beliefs in the spirit of friendship and harmony.  Since 1986, more than 900 landmarks and places around the world have been dedicated to peace as a part of the Sri Chinmoy Peace –Blossoms.  Founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1976, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team holds a few hundred athletic events around the world annually, including marathons, ultra marathons, bicycle races, swimming races etc.

Sri Chinmoy has received numerous awards, proclamations and honorary degrees such as Gandhi Peace Award received jointly with Coretta Scot King, Martin Luther King wife. Nehru Medallion, UNESCO, Paris, Presidential Medallion, Slovakia, Gold Medal in Literature etc.  Sri Chinmoy was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by person such as Desmond Tutu. He was nominated for Nobel Prize in literature too.  Sri Chinmoy met many world leaders and inspired them for peace. He met President Gorbachev more than 20 times.

  • I salute Sri Chinmoy for his sustained efforts in mobilizing worldwide opinion for the noble cause of peace and harmony. – A. B. Vajpayee.
  • What you are doing is in the interest of the entire humanity and the world. – Nelson Mandela.
  • Your deeds are invaluable, for they cannot be measured by any economic or political parameters; they are noble and cure the human soul. M. Gorbachev.
  • I keep you in my prayer and I count on your continual support through your prayers and sacrifices. – Mother Teresa. For more information see,  www.srichinmoy.org

Inequality increased in China, India and US: International Monetary Fund

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Despite a sharp fall in inequality around the world, the US, China and India have witnessed upward trends in its level, the International Monetary Fund said last week.  The International Monetary Fund said that despite the relevance of education, health and progress in recent years, gaps of access to quality education and healthcare services between different income groups in the population remained in many countries, including in advanced economies.

“If one focused on citizens around the world, global inequality has trended down sharply in recent decades, and that is a change from the upward trend since the beginning of the 19th century,” Vitor Gaspar, the Director of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department, told reporters on the occasion of release of the annual Fiscal Monitor report here.

Declining global inequality reflects mainly catching up across countries, he said, adding that differences in per capita income between countries account for about two-thirds of global inequality in 2015.

In contrast, if one looks at inequality country by country, it become obvious that most people around the world live in countries where inequality has increased.  “It is important to emphasise that inequality has increased in the largest countries in the world: China, India and the United States,” he said.

“More broadly, if we focus on inequality within countries, we observe that over the past three decades inequality has increased in about half of the countries around the world, particularly in advanced economies,” Gasper said.

Investments in education and health help reduce income inequality over the medium term, address persistent poverty across generations, enhance social mobility, and ultimately promote sustainable and inclusive growth, the IMF official said.

Building human capital is perhaps the best insurance against job insecurity due to rapid technological change, he said.  “Fiscal policy is a powerful instrument for inclusive and sustainable growth. Fiscal policy can make the difference,” Gasper said.

According to the report, global inequality – measured across all citizens of the world by abstracting from national borders – has been declining in recent decades, reflecting strong income growth in some large emerging market economies such as China and India.  However, the picture of inequality within countries is mixed. While income inequality has increased in most advanced economies, trends in other economic groups have been more varied.

In fact, inequality has declined in almost half the countries for which data are available, the report noted. Asserting that economic growth is fundamental, the IMF said that in many countries, growth has ensured that increases in inequality are compatible with improving living standards for households across all deciles of the income distribution, although there are significant differences across countries regarding the extent to which growth has been inclusive.

The share of Americans living without a partner has increased, especially among young adults

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In the past 10 years, the share of U.S. adults living without a spouse or partner has climbed to 42%, up from 39% in 2007, when the Census Bureau began collecting detailed data on cohabitation.

Two important demographic trends have influenced this phenomenon. The share of adults who are married has fallen, while the share living with a romantic partner has grown. However, the increase in cohabitation has not been large enough to offset the decline in marriage, giving way to the rise in the number of “unpartnered” Americans.

The share of adults who are unpartnered has increased across the young and middle-aged, but the rise has been most pronounced among young adults. Roughly six-in-ten adults younger than 35 (61%) are now living without a spouse or partner, up from 56% just 10 years ago.

The rise in adults living without a spouse or partner has also occurred against the backdrop of a third important demographic shift: the aging of American adults. Older adults (55 and older) are more likely to have a spouse or partner than younger adults. So it is surprising that the share of adults who are unpartnered has risen even though relatively more Americans are older.

Divorce has likely not contributed to the growing share of unpartnered adults over this short period. Though divorce statistics are complicated, many argue that the divorce rate has generally been stable or falling since the 1980s.

This trend has important implications for the economic well-being of U.S. adults, as research has shown the financial benefits of marriage and cohabitation. The median household income (adjusted for household size) for partnered adults, either married or cohabiting, is $86,000. By contrast, the median household income for unpartnered adults is roughly $61,000. In addition, unpartnered adults are about twice as likely as partnered adults to be living in poverty (17% versus 7%).

The rates of unpartnered Americans vary significantly by key demographics. Men (40%) are less likely than women (43%) to live without a spouse or partner. And adults with at least a bachelor’s degree are significantly less likely to be unpartnered (31%) than less-educated adults (46%). White and Asian adults (37% of each group) are much less likely to be unpartnered than Hispanic (46%) and black (62%) adults.

Over the past decade, the share of adults who are unpartnered has risen more sharply among those who are not employed. In 2007, 46% of working-age adults without a job were not living with a spouse or partner. By 2017 that share had risen to 51%. Among employed working-age adults, the share who were unpartnered increased more modestly since 2007, from 36% to 38%.

This does not imply that lack of employment is a cause of people not having a partner. On one hand, surveys indicate that people say it’s important for men to be economically successful to be good husbands or partners. On the other hand, a large body of economic literature shows that marriage causes husbands to be more successful on the job. It is possible that the lack of a partner provides less of a spur to obtain employment.

A narrow majority (56%) of unpartnered adults are the head of their household. Some 35% are living alone and 22% are living with others in the home (single parents would fall into this category). Nearly three-in-ten (28%) are living with a parent or grandparent, reflecting the fact that unpartnered adults are disproportionately young. An additional 16% have some other relationship to the head of the household (for example, a sibling or roommate).

 

Diwali Festival Lights Up New York’s Times Square

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New York City’s iconic Times Square transformed into a vision of South Asian culture on Saturday, as thousands of revelers gathered for an early celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights on Saturday, October 8th, 2017.

Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the biggest and most important holiday in India. It lasts for five days, and coincides with the Hindu new year. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs celebrate the religious occasion every autumn in countries throughout South Asia and beyond. In the United States, major Diwali festivals have lit up communities from California to Texas to North Carolina in recent years.

The massive Times Square event ― the largest Diwali celebration outside of India ― has been growing in size since its debut in 2013, attracting large crowds including many people from the city’s numerous immigrant communities. It’s the largest South Asian ethnic event in New York City, where at least 3 million residents ― more than one-third of the population ― are foreign-born, per the Department of City Planning.

The greater New York area is home to some 717,000 Indian citizens, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates. Nationwide, people of Indian origin represent about 1 percent of the population. In fact, India is currently the largest source of new immigrants to America, surpassing Mexico and China.

Diwali at Times Square is the creation of Neeta Bhasin, president and CEO of marketing firm ASB Communications. Bhasin, who moved to the U.S. from India four decades ago, says she is dedicated to teaching people about Indian culture and traditions.

“Being an immigrant woman, I felt compelled to showcase the beauty and the richness of our culture, and what better way than bringing our incredible festival of Diwali, that celebrates the victory of light over darkness [and] knowledge over ignorance, to the center of New York, Times Square?” she asked.

She believes the annual event is “more important now than ever.” In the wake of the 2016 election, Americans have witnessed a rise in polarizing, anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric from White House officials, including President Donald Trump. One of Trump’s earliest and most controversial executive orders, widely referred to as the “travel ban,” restricts immigration and general entry to the U.S. from specific countries for purported national security purposes. Human rights groups have claimed the ban is unconstitutional and promotes xenophobia.

In order to “stand against hate and prejudice,” Bhasin says, it is “extremely important for us to learn from each other. Indian culture is part of American culture, as is Mexican, and Chinese and the many cultures that together make up the beautiful tapestry that is the American culture,” she said. “We want to spread a message of acceptance and integration, love and harmony in a society that feels extremely divided at this moment.”

Saturday’s event featured a variety of Indian dishes, a digital fireworks display and a lighting ceremony of traditional lamps known as Diyas ― an important Diwali ritual.

It also boasted a lineup of celebrity performers, including Bollywood choreographer Terence Lewis; actors Sanjeeda Sheikh and Aamir Ali; as well as singers Hamsika Iyer, Mickey Singh and Raman Mahadevan.

In a statement issued prior to his performance, Lewis said he hoped the festival would “spread a little bit of love and happiness” during a time when “there is so much hatred, there’s so much violence [and] there’s so much intolerance.”

For Iyer, who traveled from her home in Mumbai to perform at Times Square, this weekend marks her first-ever trip to the U.S. She said she is very grateful for the opportunity “to share the Indian-ness ― music and culture and everything that is very India ― with the audience here.”

Sankara Eye Foundation and Event Guru Inc. brought another fun-filled day to the city that highlighted Indian cultural dances and musical performances, along with shopping opportunities, Indian cuisine, interactive diya lighting ceremonies and digital fireworks display.

The Diwali festivities started with the diya lighting ceremony on stage and was followed by the auspicious Ganesh Vandana by Indian American child prodigy Sparsh Shah. Kimaya Chalpe, an Indian American student at New York University and a San Francisco Bay Area native, performed both the American and the Indian National Anthems at the event.

The “Light Up Times Square Concert” showcased dazzling performances by television stars Sanjeeda Sheikh and Aamir Ali. The attendees also enjoyed performances by Hamsika Iyer of “Chammak Chhalo” fame, and “Hey Baby” singer Raman Mahadevan, who had the audiences dancing to their tunes.

The event was attended by dignitaries such as Sandeep Chakravorty, Consul General of India; Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough president Gale A. Brewer, district leader Neeta Jain, and representatives from the offices of Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Comptroller.

Indo-American Press Club hosts 4th International Media Conference in Philadelphia

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IAPC renews its commitment to well-being of media fraternity and reaffirms its resolve to be a positive change agent in the society

By Ginsmon Zachariah

Philadelphia: “Media is the strongest weapon of the present age,” said Mr. P. Sreeramakrishnan, Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, in his inaugural address of the 4th International Media Conference hosted by the Indo-American Press Club (IAPC), at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center in Philadelphia on October 7th, 2017.  He lauded the Non Resident Indians in the United States as the US is the home to the largest number of Pravasis associating with exemplary journalism and other professions in the media industry.

The Indo-American Press Club formed in 2013 consists of a cohesive and vibrant group of journalists, media professionals and freelancers working or associating with print, broadcast and online media outlets in North America. With hundreds of members in the 11 local Chapters across North America, IAPC has come to be an effective and credible platform for Indian American journalists and media professionals to associate and network with a sense of belonging.

According to its officials, IAPC has envisioned for itself, a significant role in recognizing and nurturing the true potential of journalists and media professionals in the United States and Canada, while collaborating with media fraternity across the globe. At the fourth International Media Conference, IAPC renewed its commitment to the well-being of media fraternity and reaffirmed its resolve to be positive change agents in the society. The Media Conference held over the weekend with over 250 delegates and guests had productive seminars, discussions, debates, roundtables, youth forum, business session and some entertainment programs.

Dr. Babu Stephen, the Chairman of IAPC in his presidential address mentioned that America is a country that provides everything to those who can work hard, and as dedicated media professionals, IAPC members must try to uphold the right values. He added that the IAPC is still in the growing mode and could envisage and execute many projects for the betterment of the community.

New Jersey Councilman Sterley Stanley congratulated the profound efforts of IAPC during the last four years, even though the media industry as a whole is going through a challenging phase. IAPC Founder and Former Chairman Ginsmon Zacharia talked about the growing power of IAPC and its initiatives to train the youth to be active participants in mainstream journalism.

During the seminars, topics such as current trends in media, the safety of journalists in India, Pravasi issues and concerns were discussed. Panelists included prominent media personalities like C.L.Thomas (Media One), Mangad Ratnakaran (Asianet News), Pramod  Raman (Manorama TV News), J.S. Indukumar (Jai Hind TV),  Dr.Francis Cleetus ( Rashtradeepika), Sunil Kuzhampala (Deepika),  P.T.Chacko (KPCC Media Coordinator) Pradeep Pillai (The New Indian Express) and Saji Dominic, (Media Advisor).

The informative presentation on Immigration by Attorney Onkar Sharma was another highlight of the Conference. Yet another attraction was the ‘Youth Forum’ where Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan and Former Education Minister of Kerala, M.A. Baby presented certificates of appreciation to children for their talents and their participation in the conference. The workshop encouraged youngsters to step into mainstream writing and journalism.

At the closing ceremony and gala banquet, Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan, CPM Polit Bureau member M. A Baby, State Representative Scott Petri along with several community leaders were present. M.A.Baby said that the media industry is being engulfed by the power of vested interests and is losing its credibility, and IAPC must stand for true and unbiased journalism in the days to come. IAPC excellence awards were presented to those who made significant contributions to media and to community leaders for their services to the society. IAPC souvenir 2017 was released by the Speaker. Vice-Chairperson Vineetha Nair, Executive Vice President Korason Varghese, General Secretary Eapen George, Treasurer Biju Chacko, New York Chapter President Mathewkutty Easo, Philadelphia Chapter President Reji Philip, the National coordinator from Canada Ashly Joseph and other executive members of IAPC addressed the audience.

Association of Indians in America South Jersey Chapter celebrates Gandhi Jayanti

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By Anwar Feroz

Princeton, NJ — October 8, 2017: The South Jersey chapter of Association of Indians in America (AIA-SJ), hosted its 14th annual Gandhi Arts & Writing Awards Function and the celebration of 148th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and for the 12th year Princeton University was our host. AIA is one of the oldest non-profit social organization of Indian Americans established in Princeton, New Jersey, in the year 1967, with 17 regional chapters all across the United States. The primary goal of AIA-SJ is to promote community integration, racial harmony, and bring Indian Art & Culture to mainstream America.

AIA-SJ conducts an Art & Writing competition amongst all Middle School and High School students in the State of New jersey. The project aims at spreading the message of Mahatma Gandhi about social harmony, peace and justice through non-violent activism. The project runs through almost whole year starting in January/February with a focus theme based on one of Gandhi’s quotes, inviting entries from students until mid-June, followed by rigorous evaluation of thousands of entries for 2-3 months, and closes at an award ceremony for the winners, usually the first Sunday after Gandhi’s birthday on 2nd October.

Most parents and many teachers accompany the winning students to support them and share their excitement. AIA-SJ is living Gandhi’s vision of making a difference in this world, one student at a time. As Gandhi had said “If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children”. “In the last fourteen years more than 40,000 students have participated and AIA-SJ has given awards and recognition to 248 Middle and High school students”, remarked Mr. A. Feroz Siddiqi, President AIA-SJ in his opening address. He also expressed sincere appreciation by the AIA Executive team, Shiekha, Rekha, Vinod, DC Agarwal, Sachin, Madhavi, Archana, Ankita and Atul Govil.

AIA-SJ has collaborated with several community based organizations, including the South Asian students and employees of Princeton University that is the host for the event as the goals of this program are so well aligned with University’s mission statement on Diversity & Inclusion, the South Asian Affinity Group (SAAG).  Some of the other prominent governmental and non-governmental organizations include  NJ Commission on Holocaust Education, Mercer County Cultural & Heritage Commission, NJ State Council on the Arts, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), Princeton Foundation for Peace & Learning, Aurora Hospitality Group and Paradigm LTC.

Several speakers addressed the audience; including chief guest Dr. Ashutosh Pathak, Founder of Princeton Foundation for Peace and Learning, former Deputy Speaker of NJ General Assembly and current Commissioner of Public Utilities Upendra Chivukula, AIA-SJ President Anwar Feroz Siddiqi, AIA National Executive DC Agrawal, SAAG Vice President Vineet Chandra and SAAG President Emeritus Vinod Gupta, all stressing the importance & relevance of Gandhi’s philosophy in today’s world. The students of Shishya School of Performing Arts gave scintillating dance performances on devotional songs dear to Mahatma Gandhi. One of the contestant, Ameyavikram Pathak rendered Gandhi favorite hymn, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram.  The auditorium was jam packed and dozens of people had to stand in the aisles for hours.

American Telugu Association Hosts Health Fair in Atlanta

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By Karunakar Doddamareddy

American Telugu Association (ATA), as a part of the countrywide programs of conducting Medical Health Fairs, Health screenings and Disease Awareness Programs, conducted its Health Fair in Atlanta at the Hindu Temple of Atlanta, GA on Saturday 14th October 2017. This program was successfully conducted by American Telugu Association (ATA) with the help of Sai Health Fair and Georgia Indian Nurses Association.

More than 250 people attended and underwent the process of medical screening with various specialized doctors. The health fair had participants who pre-registered themselves and some participants registering themselves at the counter administered by ATA volunteers. The health fair had various medical screenings and consultations mostly free of cost were performed. Blood Test were performed for a minimal charge and free consultation was given. Complete Blood Count and Sugar, Kidney and Liver Function Test, Electrolytes, Lipid Profile, Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Thyroid, HbA1c, Vit D, Folic acid and B12.

Free screenings for Dental, Audio, Glaucoma, BMI and Bone Mineral density were performed. A free Cardiovascular Assessment was also performed and consultation was provided. Qualified Dietitians were there to educate on Diabetic, Nutrition, Hypertension, effects of smoking. All the people who were there also underwent the Yoga session with a professional yoga master. All these medical activities were led by Dr Sujatha Reddy, Dr. Symala Erramall, Dr,Srini Gangasani and various doctors form Healthcare Professionals Southern regional Hospitals. A coordinated effort of 20 doctors who have specialized in various area such as Gynecology OBGYN, Orthopedics, Dentistry, Cardiology, Dermatology. ENT and Internal Medicines graced the event. The event had nurses from Georgia Indian Nurses Association.

The program was not initially conducted with keeping in mind the Telugu speaking people, but the event had enormous response with participants from various parts of country and from all religions. With the rise in medical expenses, some of the participants applauded and praised American Telugu association (ATA) and Sai Health fair for taking the initiative of getting these basic test free of cost.

American Telugu Association Board of Trustees Anil Boddireddy and Venu Pisike monitored the event and told the event is a great success considering the fact that so many people were attended in a short span of time They mentioned “whether it is hurricane IRMA relief efforts, International Women Day, SAT trainings to our budding teenagers, free Software training, Emergency Serveries, health fair or any community activities to help the people, ATA was always the front runner.

American Telugu Association Treasurer and executive Board member Kiran Pasam told the event was very helpful for senior citizens, students and insured / uninsured people. American Telugu Association president Karunakar Asireddy. Thanked all the doctors who volunteered for such a noble cause. He said “As part of many successful Health Fairs conducted in various cities in America, Health fairs were being conducted by American Telugu Association as part of Seva Days in India too in the month of December in various districts of both telugu speaking states. He mentioned doctors from the US ,ATA president elect Parmesh Bheemreddy , various ATA  standing committee chairs, Co-Chairs and ATA volunteers will be India to kick off the ATA SEVA days and also be helping  performing medical and eye camps.

Karunakar Asireddy along with Kiran Pasham, Anil Boddireddy and Venu Pisike thanked Dr Sujatha Reddy for the efforts on the medical side. They also thanked the Hindu Temple of Atlanta for hosting the event. Last but not the least they thanked the American Telugu Association Regional Director Thirumal Pitta, Regional Coordinators , Prashanth Podduturi, Sravani Rachakulla Sriram Srinivas , Health Committee Co Chair Ramana Reddy Bathula  , and other standing committee chairs Shiva Ramadugu , Nanda Chatla, Sridhar T and all the ATA volunteers for making this event a great success in Atlanta.

Dushahra Festival celebrated in Hempstead, NY

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

Indo-American Festivals of Long Island in New York celebrated its 3rd Annual Grand Dushahra Festival at Lido Beach, in Hempstead, NY on October 15, culminating with a spectacular burning of a 40-foot Ravan effigy. Lido Beach came alive on Sunday with a crowd of more than 4,000 people who had traveled long distances to witness the celebration of the Dushahra festival in Long Island.

This year, the festival was inaugurated by Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino and Town Clerk Nasrin Ahmed, Chairperson( IAF-Tristate) Chanchal Gupta, Chairperson-NY Dr. Ravindra Goyal, President Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Vice President Avtar Sharma, Raj Mittal along with community leaders like Dr. Raj Bhayani, Kamlesh Mehta, Surinder Kathuria, Bina Sabapathy, Dharmatma Saran, Miss India Worldwide 2017 Madhu Valli, Kanak Golia, Manu Sharma, Ranga from New York Life, and the Bollywood singer Archit. he festival had something for everyone to enjoy- a colorful cultural program organized by Indu Gajwani with beautiful dances, classical and Bollywood music by Archit, and Falguni Shah. Children had an opportunity to showcase their immense talent through singing, dancing and various cultural activities. Food vendors sold crowd favorites from chat, pau bhaji, Bhel Puri samosas and the usual street-fair favorites.

This was followed by Ram Leela, a dramatic musical rendering of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which was brought to life by Varsha Naik and her team, almost 50 performers of the Navrang Dance Academy. The crowd watched with rapt attention as the artists wearing beautifully designed period costumes enacted the different events in Lord Rama’s life, culminating in the defeat of the mighty King Ravan of Lanka, followed by burning of a model Lanka and a 40ft effigy of the Demon King.

“Dushahra” is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, to celebrate the victory of Lord Rama over the Demon King Ravan. The festival was a fun-filled day of celebration with a variety of vendors selling Indian food, clothing, toys, home décor items and much more.

The Dushahra festival was originally started in 1999 by the founder and chairman Mangal Gupta in New Jersey and has since grown exponentially to become the Annual Grand Dushahra Festival, but not without the overwhelming support of the committee members, Dr. Ravindra Goyal, Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Shyam and Indu Gajwani, Kamal Daga, Atul Sharma, Neelima Goyal, Damyanti Goyal, Suman Sharma, Mukesh Modi, Jagdish Awasthi, Kamal Daga, Vinod Goyal, Sushil Goyal, who have been working continuously for several months to make this event possible.

Interfaith Institute of Islamic Center honors Harvard Prof. Diana Eck for Pluralism Project

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The Interfaith Institute of the Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI) presented its second annual award to Prof. Diana Eck of Harvard University for her seminal work in the field of religious pluralism. It also acknowledged her contributions to the religious dimensions of America’s new immigrants; in particular, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and Zoroastrian communities.

An elite audience representing different faiths attended the event at the Islamic Center in Westbury, New York, October 1. Dr. Eck is a noted writer and professor of comparative religion and Indian studies, and director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. She is also faculty dean of Lowell House at Harvard.

Dr. Eck, author of ‘A New Religious America: How a “Christian Country” Has Become the World’s Most Religiously Diverse Nation,’ spoke about building bridges between communities and creating an infrastructure to facilitate that. She spoke with dismay about the anti-Semitic march in her ancestral home of Sweden and the anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic movements in the US and pointed out the linkages between them.

She praised the role of ICLI, which has grown as a model Islamic center, reaching out to the other communities in the area and also for its work as an interfaith center.

Just like the city needs an infrastructure, people need a cultural network to build bridges between them, especially when diversity has become the hallmark of the country, she said.

The immigration bill signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 opened the doors for immigration from all lands, she noted. It resulted in the religious diversity we see now, she added

“The Bill of Rights guarantees religious freedom to all in America. In his inaugural address back in 2009, President Barack Obama correctly said that ‘we are a country of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, believers and non-believers,” she said. “Who are we? How are we coping with the new religious diversity? Different religious traditions are like rivers flowing through the land.

She added: “America is changing, though more than 80 percent of the population is still Christian. We have to accept the new realities. We see the turban-wearing Sikh man and the bindi-wearing Hindu woman on the streets.”

The change in demographics has affected governing too. The Seattle Airport has an evergreen Christmas tree, which is too religious. The Army has no place for worship for the Wiccas in its rank and file. There was also the issue of the Somali taxi drivers who refused to pick up gay people from Minneapolis Airport, she pointed out.

“Some people, not me, worry that the white population might become a minority. Car companies like Ford Motors have a global workforce with people from different faiths. These are the realities and we cannot escape from it,” she noted.

Dr. Faroque Ahmed Khan, board of trustee chair of the Interfaith Institute, noted how his father spoke highly of the Jewish hosts who took care of him when he was a student at Harvard. Years later, when Dr. Khan settled in New York, there were no Jews nearby. When he inquired about it, he was told that Jews were not welcome in the area, which was a shock for him.

Khan started his speech introducing his wife, saying he had heard rumors that she plans to retire next year from the Long Island Jewish Hospital after working there for 50 years. The room resounded with laughter.

Dr. Isma Chaudhry, president of the ICLI, described the work of the center and the institute for promoting better relations with different communities. Dr. Qamar Zaman, chair of the board of trustees of ICLI, said technology had brought the world closer. However, 9/11 changed everything. Muslims became the target of attacks, both physical and verbal. It created an opportunity too, as more people started to learn about Islam.

Rev. Thomas W Goodhue described the start of the program ‘Know your Neighbors.’ It helped people to not only know each other but also learn from each other. Jean Kelley, executive director of Interfaith Nutrition Network, Long Island, spoke about an incident when she worked in a soup kitchen. Two women belonging to two different sects of Christianity came for the food without knowing each other’s religion. They feared the other group till they met. She underscored the need to love others irrespective of their religious affiliation.

Farooq Kathwari, co-chair of the Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, spoke about his rise as chair, president and CEO of Ethen Allen Interiors, a company started by Jews. He also spoke about the continuing work for interfaith relations.

Dr. Unni Mooppan, trustee board member of the Interfaith Institute, and ICLI, noted that 54.5 percent of the world’s population follows Abrahamic faiths and the rest the other faiths. He emphasized the need for understanding and cooperation between the followers of various faiths. “You would not have come here if you don’t believe in interfaith relations,” he said.

Some of the prominent leaders who had attended the event included, Satnam Singh Parhar (past president of Indian Association of Long Island, and chairman of the SBN Singh Cultural Association), Bala Ramanathan and his wife Dr. Rohini Ramanathan, a corporate trainer, classical music vocalist and the secretary of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin), Dr. Harsha Reddy representing the Buddhists, Joeph Kadapuram and Jacob Manuel (Kairali TV ), Dr. Harshad Bhatt and Niranjan Patel, representing BAPS mandir of Melville,  L.I.), Leela Maret, president of the Women’s Forum of FOKANA and representing India Catholic Association, Dr. Teresa  Antony,  a retired professor, and E.M. Stephen and Thambi Thalappillil, representing Kerala Center.

Dr. Harshad Bhatt spoke about BAPS mandir and the concept of understanding between various faiths. Dr. Rohini Ramanathan gave a beautiful rendition of a Sanskrit Shloka from Upanishads and its English translation, which is relevant to people of any faith.

Varun Dhawan to Feature at Madame Tussauds

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Actor Varun Dhawan is the latest Bollywood celebrity who will have his wax statue featured at the Hong Kong branch of Madame Tussauds. The 30-year-old actor is the youngest Indian to have made to the list and said getting his wax idol is one of the coolest things he has done.

He took to Instagram to make the announcement. “#MADAMETUSSAUDS coming soon. This is probably one of the coolest things that I have done. Getting my own statue is something I didn’t expect this early on in life.

“Thank you Madame Tussauds for making me the youngest Indian to make it to your elite list. #dontstopbelieiving,” the “Badrinath Ki Dulhania” star wrote, alongside a picture which shows him giving his measurements for the statue.

The official Twitter account of the wax museum posted an update saying, “Bollywood superstar @Varun_dvn is having his world-first figure in @TussaudsHK. He will unveil his figure in Hong Kong in early 2018 too!”

Next year, Varun Dhawan will join other stars such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan in the Bollywood Superstar Collection. Madame Tussauds Hong Kong also features wax figures of world leaders such as PM Narendra Modi, Mahatma Gandhi, among others.

Vatican’s Diwali greeting stresses mutual respect

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

The Vatican has sent a greeting to Hindus celebrating the Diwali festival with a message focused on how mutual respect can be fostered to help create a healthy society.

“May this festival of lights illumine your minds and lives, bring joy to your hearts and homes, and strengthen your families and communities,” said a statement from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Diwali, also known as the “festival of lights,” is celebrated every year in October or November with the dates being determined by the Hindu lunar calendar. This year it is occurring Oct. 19.

Signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, the statement pointed out the growth of intolerance in the world and offered methods on how it can be addressed. However, the statement said that tolerance on its own is not enough if lasting peace and true harmony are the objectives.

“What is also needed is genuine respect and appreciation for the diversity of cultures and customs within our communities, which in turn contribute to the health and unity of society as a whole,” said the statement.

“To see pluralism and diversity as a threat to unity leads tragically to intolerance and violence,” it warned.

“Respect for others is an important antidote to intolerance since it entails authentic appreciation for the human person, and his or her inherent dignity,” read the statement.

“In the light of our responsibility to society, fostering such respect demands showing esteem for different social, cultural and religious customs and practices.”

The Vatican’s statement has been made amidst reports of growing intolerance towards India’s Christian minority by hard-line Hindu groups. Following the 2014 general election when the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in New Delhi, several Hindu groups took this as a mandate to work for a Hindu-only India. As part of this, these groups stepped up their anti-Christian activities.

Indian eye-donation campaign goes global

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A cornea-donation campaign started by an Indian Catholic priest four years ago has evolved into the world’s largest eye-donation program.

Hundreds of thousands of donors have joined the program across five nations.

On World Sight Day on Oct. 12, tens of thousands of people — including youth, archbishops, bishops, priests and nuns — in 250 cities in the U.S., China, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal took part in a “blind walk” program.

They were blindfolded in order to increase awareness about the importance of eye donation.

Visually impaired people with white canes led the symbolic walks.

Claretian Father George Kannanthanam began the movement in 2013 to promote donations of corneas for transplantation to restore sight.

In the past four years, the movement has spread to hundreds of voluntary organizations, dioceses and religious movements in the five countries.

Some 600 people took part in the blind walk in New Delhi led by 100 visually challenged people.

The program was jointly organized by Delhi Archdiocese, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), the Holy Family Hospital and the Catholic Health Association of India.

Alphons Kannanthanam, India’s federal tourism minister, asked people to follow the example of neighboring Sri Lanka where after a person’s death the government becomes the custodian of their eyes.

“Why not think of this practice here,” he said.

“In that way we can give many people a chance to see this beautiful world.”

Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, who took part in the blind walk, told ucanews.com that eyes are the greatest gift that can be given to any human being and it costs nothing.

“We have been trying to spread his message to as many people as possible through parishes and other institutions,” he said.

Delhi Archdiocese, based in in the national capital, has adopted 2017 as the Year of Sight to promote eye donations and awareness across all of its parishes and schools.

Father Kannanthanam said India has some 15 million blind people, about 40 percent of the world’s total.

The objective of the blind walk was not only to motivate people to donate their eyes, but also to create “vision ambassadors” to serve as links between families of deceased people and India’s eye bank.

Garba Queen Prapti Mehta Rocks Chicago

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Chicago IL: The Raas Garba Dancers, Clapped hands and Performed 6 steps around a centrally lit lamp or a picture or statue of the Goddess Shakti.  The sponsors of this event organized the event to show appreciation for their clientele and the Community. There were over 2,000 people who enjoyed the evening. Prapti Mehta and her troupe did a great job of holding the energy in the room. The food was exemplary. The greatest compliment that we received was that clients insisted that we have this event again next year – Prapti Mehta & Rocking Group.

Hemant Shah, Prajesh Patel, Parthiv Patel, Dr. Manish Pandya, Dr. Ashish Patel, & Kashyap V. Trivedi. Organized ‘Incredible Raas Garba Ramzat’ on evening of Navratri Celebration in Excellent Elegance with International Artist Prapti Mehta, Along with very Talented Chirag Bhatt, accompanied by Stunning Band emceed by Santosh Gor & Jayesh Patel on Saturday, October 7, 2017, 6:30 pm at Concord Plaza Banquets, 401 Lake St, Northlake IL, 60164. The sponsors of this event organized the event to show appreciation for their clientele and the Community. Every Individual that participated with passion & enthusiasm, the Team work was reflects and Felt by the Audience. The Venue was a Full House with over 2000 people! From the keyboard artist to the Garba Dancers including the Entire Team, full Enjoyment, Passion, and Enthusiasm was echoed.

“Gujarati’s, who are core participants of this festivity, have Garba & Dandia in their heart”.

There were   incredible   participants   of   all   ages of men and women   of   about   2000+   people, enjoying and celebrating the memorable evening. Many in the audience, especially ladies of all ages   wore   very   Colorful   and   Stunning   Traditional   Dresses  for   this   special   occasion   with appropriately matching ornaments and extravagant hairstyles. Navaratri Garba is very special as it honors Shakti in very rhythmic ways.  “We all love the whole atmosphere of colors, the clothes and of course, the music and then there is always the fun of dressing traditionally”. Western dresses are replaced by Lengha-Choli, matching jewelry and foot wear. The sponsors of this event organized the event to show appreciation for their clientele and the Community.

Prapti Mehta and the Team began the evening by offering a prayer. The start of the Raas was with very famous Tran Tali Garba by Prapti Mehta and Chirag Bhatt. The evening was followed by mesmerizing rhythmic conventional Garba music with equally passionate and high energetic performance by the audience of traditional swirling dance around Mataji’s heavenly symbolic presence turned in to shrine adorn with flowers and decorations. The event concluded in wee hours of morning highlighted by devotional Arti of Mataji.

Garba, as usual, members adorned beautiful and traditional attire for Chaniya-Choli and Kurta-pajama. The whirling dancers, clapping hands, distinct sound of wooden ‘Dandia’ striking together, toe tapping music and people wearing vibrant colorful clothes marked the Navratri celebration at the Garba & Dandiya Raas dances held all over Chicagoland. This is part of the worship of Durga Mata who symbolizes the victory of God over Evil. Navratri celebration marks a festival of nine nights during which Hindus worship goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, the goddesses of health, prosperity and knowledge, respectively.

Gurdaspur election: a repudiation of Modi’s disastrous economic policies.

Staff ReporterPolitics 0

George Abraham

The newly elected Member of Parliament Sunil Jhakar characterized his Gurdaspur constituency win with the following statement. “I had said it from the very first day that this election will be a mandate on the policies of union government led by Modi. People have vented their anger against demonetization and GST by making me an MP with a huge margin of votes. I had asked people to vote for me and against BJP’s economic and communal agenda. People have responded to my call, and it has sent a clear message to union government on behalf of the whole country that people are fed up with its policies, and it is time for change,”

Gurdaspur election victory may be a turning point in history for the Congress Party which has been reeling from its inability to expose the failures of the Modi Government efficiently and to change the mindset of the electorate that is still clinging on to the promise of Modi’s ‘Ache Din.’ The Modi PR machine which has helped to catapult BJP to power in Delhi by riding on the bandwagon of a fraudulent ‘Gujarat Model of development’ platform still hasn’t lost its full steam. Nevertheless, Gurdaspur election victory by a recorded margin by the Congress party is pointing probably to the severe first crack of the theory that Modi will be unbeatable in the upcoming Parliamentary election, in 2019.

Most of the reputed Economists including some of the senior stalwarts of the BJP such as the former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and the former minister of communications Arun Shourie expressed grave concern that the economy is fast slipping into deep recession, with no hope of recovery in the foreseeable future. It is believed that all fundamental parameters are declining along with GDP that has fallen for six quarters in a row. The demonetization alone may have shaved off 2 points from GDP growth just as Dr. Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister has predicted. Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine characterized the demonetization process as the “massive theft of people’s property – a shocking move for a democratically elected government”. The negative consequences from the demonetization are still being felt across the spectrum jeopardizing the livelihood of poor farmers and ordinary citizens alike.

Another one of Modi’s grand promises was to create millions of job for the youth. He not only has failed to create those promised jobs but has presided over an economy that started shedding jobs especially in the technology sector. Various protectionist measures across the world including that of President Trump’s new ‘Buy American, Hire American’ executive order followed by several countries including Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore introducing their own legislation aimed at curbing the inflow of foreign labor where Indian Engineers make a sizable chunk of those immigrants to those countries. This new global dynamics rooted in the nationalistic sentiment has further precipitated these jobless growth phenomena in India while automation and new technologies using artificial intelligence (AI) continued to reduce job opportunities across the board. The Modi government is behaving as if it has no clue as to how to confront this crisis to placate the youth who put their faith in the BJP government to improve their destiny.

The sharp fall in the international crude oil prices has been a boon for the Modi government as it has refused to pass on the benefit to the consumer. To a great extent, the government is profiteering at people’s cost while driving up inflation and putting additional pressure on small businesses,

Finally, the messy implementation of the GST appears to have done grave damage to the economy, especially on the small entrepreneurs and traders. Many of these businesses are shutting down resulting in more job losses.

According to Anand Sharma, the deputy leader of the Congress parliamentary party and former minister of Commerce and Industry, “Prime Minister Modi and the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley remain in denial and clueless on addressing the crisis of their own making. They are guilty of monumental mismanagement of Indian economy”.

Therefore, Gurdaspur election victory is not a shocking development to those astute political observers but rather a window of opportunity for the Congress party to seize the initiative and capitalize on Modi’s failures to rescue the people of India from the disastrous economic policies pursued by this administration.

(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA)

4 Surprising Facts About the Universe We Just Discovered in a Cosmic Breakthrough

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News from space always arrives late — and in a discovery announced Monday, that meant 130 million years late. It was that long ago that two neutron stars in Galaxy NGC 4993, in the Hydra constellation, spiraled in toward one another and collided in a titanic eruption, sending out waves of energy that literally shook our world. The shaking happened on Aug. 17 at 8:41 a.m. E.T., as gravitational waves released by the event — ripples in spacetime that Albert Einstein first predicted in 1915 but weren’t confirmed until a full century later — at last reached and passed through the Earth.

While the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015was a landmark for science in that it proved the very existence of the ripples, the one just announced is actually much richer, providing all manner of insights into all manner of phenomena, including the speed at which the universe is expanding, the nature of potentially deadly radiation known as gamma ray bursts, and even the source of at least half of the gold and platinum in the universe.

Think of a neutron star as a black hole’s little brother — one that is created by a relatively small star, with less than three times the mass of our sun. When a larger star collapses into a black hole, it leaves behind what is effectively a void in space, an infinitely dense point made of… well, no one knows, because that would require an understanding of how general relativity and quantum physics operate together. And we’re not there yet.

Neutron stars, which don’t have quite as much mass, instead collapse down only until the point that their protons and electrons effectively combine to form neutrons. That still produces something sublimely weird — a body that’s little more than 12 miles (20 km) across but so dense that a single teaspoon of it would weigh a billion tons. When black holes collide, the absence of traditional matter means that gravitational waves are all they produce. Neutron stars, by contrast, produce what Caltech physicist David Reitze called “a maelstron of hot debris” in a NASA statement. That, in turn, generates, gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation and visible light — along with the gravitational waves — and that gives scientists much more to study.

Astronomers have long been curious about sudden, intense blasts of radiation from deep space known as gamma ray bursts. Actually, they haven’t just been curious about them, they’ve also been afraid of them, because a powerful enough burst emanating at just the right — or wrong — angle could wipe out life on any planet that happened to be in the way. The source of gamma ray bursts was long thought to be colliding neutron stars, but it took the recent event to confirm that theory. In fact, it was NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope that first spotted the event, 1.7 seconds before twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatories (LIGO) in Hanford, Wash. and Livingston, La., detected the spacetime ripples. The gamma burst was a weak one and it flew wide of Earth — which means we both dodged a bullet and picked up some cool science in the process.

Astronomers have long known that the universe is flying off in all directions at once; what’s been less clear is how fast. In 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble sought to determine the speed of the expansion — a figure that would eponymously become known as the Hubble Constant. Initial estimates at the time put the speed at 310 miles (500 km) per second per megaparsec (or 3.3 million miles) — which is just another way of saying incredibly fast. Subsequent calculations have cut the speed to an average of about 43 miles (70) km per second per megaparsec— which is still an awfully quick clip. That was just an estimate, however, with a range of 3 miles (5 km) per second either way. But a gravitational signal from a known galaxy at a known distance made it possible to conduct much more precise calculations of the constant. The result: the actual speed came out precisely in the center of the range of estimates — at the 43-mile per second mark.

We’ve long known that the preponderance of elements in the universe are cooked up in the interior of stars, but the source of the heaviest ones — those heavier than iron — have long been a mystery. Observations from the recent event, however, yielded extensive signatures of heavy metals, including gold and platinum. Indeed, there was so much of the stuff that researchers now conclude that neutron stars are responsible for at least half of the heavy elements in existence. Without the occasional neutron star crack-up in other words, gold would be half as plentiful — and twice as expensive.

(Source: TIME magazine)

‘Newton’ is India’s official entry to Oscars 2018

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

“Newton,” a Hindi film set against the backdrop of elections in the world’s largest democracy, has been announced as India’s official entry for the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ at the 2018 Oscars. The film’s team said that it’s an encouragement for filmmakers who are willing to take risks.

The Amit Masurkar movie, starring Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav and Anjali Patil, tells the story of polling officer Newton Kumar, who is bent on conducting free and fair elections in the conflict-ridden jungles of Chhattisgarh.

“Newton” was chosen from among 26 titles from different languages by a 14-member jury appointed by the Film Federation of India (FFI). “It was a unanimous decision. Titles like ‘Dangal’ and ‘Mukti Bhavan’ were part of the list,” Supran Sen, secretary general of FFI, said.

“Newton,” released on Sept.21, revolves around a young government clerk who is sent on election duty to a Maoist-controlled town and how the ideological struggle puts him in an awkward situation. It was shot in the interiors of Chhattisgarh.

Masurkar feels honored that a story rooted in the country’s political system was chosen. So far, “Mother India,” “Salaam Bombay!” and “Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India” are the only Indian films that made it to the top five in the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category at the Academy Awards, but none have won the honor.

Acclaimed actor Pankaj Tripathi, who features in “Newton,” believes this choice would encourage the entire film fraternity to support good content cinema and filmmakers. “It’s something to be proud of as we have a thousand number of films coming out each year and out of that number, our film gets an entry. The entry is making us feel proud, so the win (if it happens) will have an amazing impact on the entire film fraternity,” said Tripathi. “‘Newton’ is a film which will reflect real India and it is not at all a biased project.”

“There is a feeling of unbounded happiness,” said Tripathi. “I was cooking when I got the news. We are all still absorbing the overwhelming high praise from the critics and now this. It is a victory for talent and for independent cinema.”

Sunil Lulla, managing director of Eros International Media Ltd, tweeted: “It gives us immense pleasure to announce that our film #Newton is selected as India’s official entry to Oscars 2018! We at Eros are extremely proud, Newton is totally deserving of this huge honour. We will continue to back good cinema as always”.

Director Masurkar said it was a double celebration for the team. “We are really happy. The fact that the film is releasing today doubles the happiness. We hope that people will now really head to the cinema halls to watch the film,” he told the media. The next edition of the Oscar is scheduled for March 4, 2018 in Los Angeles.

Suzy’s Place, a Domestic Violence Shelter, inaugurated in Chicago

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By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: Suzy’s Place hosted its formal inauguration of its service facility at 6425 N Rockwell Street, Chicago, IL, located in the diverse Rogers Park neighborhood last month. The event was attended by esteemed government officials – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Secretary of State Jesse White, and Alderman Carrie Austin. Also in attendance were its partners- Kate Lawler from Swedish Covenant Hospital, Lillian Cartwright from The Chicago Battered Network, Syed Nizami from US Bank and Eugene Williams from (NOBEL) – National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Co-Founders Arshia Hasnain and Shahida Khan welcomed a room full of over 150 attendees and explained to them the importance of working together to help make a positive impact in the lives of women and children who are subjected to domestic violence. Together we can make our Chicago community safer and productive.

Suzy’s Place is a 501c3 nonprofit organization registered in the state of Illinois. Suzy’s Place provide emergency and transitional housing, emotional support, and a diversified continuum of services focused on safety, empowerment, and self-sufficiency. Through community partnerships, Suzy’s Place raises awareness, provides services, and educates community about domestic violence issues. Now with our service facility almost complete we will be providing weekly classes to not only empower the women in our shelter but to all the women in the neighborhood. The classes we offer will help to strengthen the body, mind and soul. Our yoga, art, dance, music and self-esteem therapy classes will benefit every woman.

Suzy’s Place is a startup and needs all your support. We know how hard it is to run a shelter and we have accepted the challenge. But we really need your help. Please donate generously by going to our website at www.suzysplace.org and press the donate button. You can also visit us on Facebook and follow our activities on social media at https://www.facebook.com/Suzys-Place-232412787223842/

‘Roshni Rides’ wins $1 million Hult Prize for project to help South Asian refugees

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

Rutgers Business School students won the $1 million Hult Prize for social entrepreneurship last month, capping off 11 months of entrepreneurial effort with a polished, convincing pitch about the ability of its rickshaw transportation business to improve the lives of refugees overseas. The team made history with its win at the Hult regionals, becoming the first team from Rutgers to become a finalist in the competition – widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for student. The five finalists beat out 50,000 participants from more than 100 countries.

Senior Gia Farooqi, new graduates Hasan Usmani and Moneeb Mian, and alumna Hanaa Lakhani created the Roshni Rides startup as a way of answering the 2017 Hult Prize Challenge of developing a business capable of restoring the dignity of one million refugees by 2022. The company uses a pre-loaded transaction card, encourages ride-sharing and existing rickshaw drivers.

On a stage at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the young executives of six start-up companies made their final, feverish bids to win the coveted Hult Prize. Each had formed and launched business ideas over the last year that would try to solve this year’s Hult Prize challenge – improving the well-being of at least one million refugees over the next five years.

The six finalists rose to the stage from a pool of 50,000 applicants. The judges are an illustrious bunch, including Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer, Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers and KIVA president Premal Shah. They decided who wins a big blue megaphone-shaped trophy — and a million dollars in startup capital. The money comes from the Hult family, whose patriarch, Bertil Hult, founded EF Education First. The Hult Prize was formerly associated with the Clinton Global Initiative. The Initiative has ended its annual conference, so the U.N. hosted the Hult Prize for the first time this year and plans to host again next year.

Their ability to persuasively pitch the idea to the Hult judges enabled them to beat out finalist teams from five other schools: Harvard University’s Kennedy School, the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, the University of Waterloo, the University of Calgary and York University.

Former President Bill Clinton, who announced the winning team, said that along with optimizing rickshaws to provide reliable transportation for refugees, Roshni Rides modeled their card transaction system after the New York City subway’s MetroCard. The team’s business idea, he said, advocates ride-sharing, keeping prices down – and fixed. “It will have a big impact,” he said.

The Rutgers team will use the prize money to continue to build Roshni Rides and explore the possibility of using rickshaws powered by electricity rather than natural gas. Listen to the team’s winning pitch at the Hult Prize Final.

Alok Baveja, a supply chain professor who advised the team, said “the Hult Prize honor is an unequivocal recognition of this team’s undying conviction that great ideas have an elegance in their simplicity, achieve scalable societal good and make good business sense, all at once.”

“True to their name, these young Rutgers entrepreneurs are bringing the light (Roshni) of new hope and optimism to millions of displaced refugees globally through an accessible, affordable and reliable rickshaw transportation system,” Baveja said.

From the start, the theme of the Hult Prize Challenge inspired and motivated the team, all of whom are Americans of Pakistani ancestry. “We are the sons and daughters of immigrants and refugees,” Farooqi said after the team won the regional competition in March. “This is very personal for us.”

 

Tata Institute for Genetics and Society inaugurated at University of California

Staff ReporterEducation 0

University of California San Diego celebrated the dedication of a new building for the divisions of Biological and Physical Sciences on Sept. 12with a special announcement. The cutting-edge science building will bear the name Tata Hall for the Sciences, or Tata Hall, in recognition of a $70 million gift from the Tata Trusts, which was committed last year to create the binational Tata Institute for Genetics and Society. Institute for Genetics and Society Advances with BThe Tata Institute for Genetics and Society was established as a collaborative partnership between the university and research operations in India and will occupy the fifth floor of Tata Hall.

The institute’s mission is to advance global science and technology through socially conscious means to develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as public health and agriculture.

“It is my privilege to dedicate this building in recognition of the Tata Trusts’ leadership and collaboration with UC San Diego, and the Tata family’s pioneering philanthropy and singular impact to bring about societal change,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.

“Tata Hall exemplifies UC San Diego’s tradition of non-tradition, inspiring cross-disciplinary collaboration among researchers and the next generation of innovators. This building will embody the spirit of the many shared values of UC San Diego and the Tata Trusts to benefit our global society,” he added.

Trustees of the Tata Trusts were present at the dedication of Tata Hall and participated in the ceremonial signing of a beam that will be incorporated into the construction of the building which is to be completed in 2018.

“I am very proud of being associated with this great institution. I realized that here in San Diego, I had seen a gold mine of intellectual capacity and enthusiasm. I kept feeling that there is something happening at UC San Diego that would make a difference in the years ahead. What we are doing is a big thing for mankind in our part of the world … and I look forward to this involvement as just a first part of what we can do together,” said Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan N. Tata.

Google’s Tez will take India closer to digital transformation: Sundar Pichai

Staff ReporterProfiles, Science & Technology 0

A day after Google launched its new digital payment app “Tez” in India, the company’s Indian-born CEO Sundar Pichai on Tuesday tweeted it will help India move closer to digital transformation. “We hope that the launch of @TezByGoogle will help take India one step closer to your vision of @_DigitalIndia,” Pichai tweeted.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who launched the app here had said the idea of “Tez” was discussed by Pichai in January, just after demonetization. “Google saw a great potential in Indian economy and businesses,” Jaitley said, adding that Google’s new digital payments app over the next few months was likely to make major advances in digital transaction volumes.

Built on the Indian government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Tez allows users, free of charge, to make small or big payments straight from their bank accounts.

The app was built for India, working on the vast majority of the country’s smartphones and available in English and seven Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu).

The app works in partnership with four Banks — Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India — to facilitate the processing of payments across over 50 UPI-enabled banks.

According to D.D. Mishra, Research Director, Gartner, Tez provides promising features which are in-line with the requirements.

“It is too early to say whether it can be a game changer as evolution in this business is going to continue, but yes it has the capabilities to bring some disruption as of now,” Mishra said in a statement.

Moreover, Google’s information about an individual’s preferences can play a good role in enabling business to know their preferences and provide offers with interesting options.

“The mobile wallet industry too, is evolving and we are at an interesting stage in this competition. Eventually, UPI payments will have an upper hand if it continues to remain free and provide better security, convenience and add more Value Added Services,” Mishra informed.

Gala 2017 a Magical night at the Indo-American Heritage Museum

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: The Indo-American Heritage Museum promised an “evening extraordinaire” for its September 16 Gala 2017 at the Field Museum and deliver it did, in abundance!  Set in the vast grandeur of Stanley Field Hall was an intimate dining area, elegantly laid out in IAHM’s signature peacock colors, where Ustaad Amjad Ali Khan, his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash and musicians from the Chicago Philharmonic were to present the first ever North American performance of his Samaagam concerto.

For Samaagam to make its debut at an IAHM event was appropriate indeed, given that celebrating the cultural diversity of Indian Americans is at the core of the museum’s mission.  The Gala committee was spearheaded by Dr. Umang Patel, Dr. Birinder Marwah and Dr. Prem Rupani.  Channel 7 news anchor Ravi Baichwal, Master of Ceremonies and keynote speaker Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi both spoke of the importance of the museum’s work and the need for the community to document its contributions and participate fully in the life of the nation.

Exactly one year earlier, Dr. Patel and Mrs. Paragi Patel attended IAHM’s Jazz by the Lake honoring pianist Vijay Iyer.  Deeply impressed by the cause and the dedication of the volunteers who run the institution, they decided to donate a building in Lombard to serve as the museum’s new home.

“We felt very confident in current leadership and assured that our rich heritage will be best projected in this museum,” Dr. Patel said.  “This is one of the most fundamental institutions that we must build to reflect the continued contributions of people of Indian origin to USA and to provide a great learning experience for our generations, neighbors and every one at large.”

Guests at IAHM Gala 2017 feasted on a creative array of appetizers and viewed the Smithsonian’s groundbreaking exhibition, Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation which is being co-presented by IAHM and the Field Museum and runs through January 7 at the Field.  The co-presenters worked together to augment the Smithsonian’s narrative of the national Indian American experience with the Chicago chapter of the story.  True to its grass-roots origins, IAHM worked to engage the community in creating the local component.  Chicagoland Indian Americans offered heritage artifacts, objects of historic significance and photographs to help tell their story through displays, wall panels and a video.

“I have an 8-year-old son,” said Sadhana Myers, who was visiting from Mississippi.  “It is wonderful to have a place like this where I can take him so he can understand what life was like for his grandparents and how proud he can be of his heritage.”

Items available for auction during the program included a baseball signed by all members of the 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series Championship team.  A sumptuous dinner followed a brief program, and then the music began.  Separate performances by the Chicago Philharmonic, Ayaan and Amaan set the tone.  Then Ustad Ali Khan took over, and held the audience enthralled, opening with a Rabindra Sangeet piece, followed by two of Mahatma Gandhi’s favorite melodies.

And then it was Samaagam—a confluence of East and West where the notes came tumbling out as music from sarod and tabla and  instruments of the Philharmonic, fed into each other, building into a rousing crescendo, the performers playing as if possessed, transporting musicians and audience to an other-wordly zone before it all ended in a sudden, breathless silence.  Everyone in the room knew they had been a part of something magical. “Incredible,” said one guest as the audience leapt to its feet in thunderous applause. “I feel so privileged to have been a part of this.  IAHM gave us an experience I will really treasure.”

IAHM continues to offer its regular activities as well as special programs at the Field Museum related to the Beyond Bollywood exhibit.  Up next is Chandra Day on September 23.  The program will honor Nobel Laureate S. Chandrasekhar celebrating his work and featuring members of his family who will share stories of their uncle.  Well-known Indian Americans will exchange views and ideas at a December 10 panel discussion, “Beyond Community:  Indian Americans Shape the Nation.” For more information about the Indo-American Heritage Museum, please visit www.iahmuseum.org

As H-1B hopes dim, rich families eye ‘investor visas’ for children

Staff ReporterU.S. 0

Families, especially those whose children are studying in the US, are increasingly making inquiries about EB-5 visas – also known as investor visas.+ As the H-1B work visas are getting difficult to come by for entry level jobs, usually for freshly qualified individuals, investor visas have shot into the limelight.

For those keen on applying for EB-5, a move by the US government that has extended the due date for investments via regional centres – a significantly more popular mode of investment for obtaining the EB-5 visa – by a little over two months, from September 30 to December 8, has come to their aid. This is the second such extension in 2017, as the earlier expiry date of April 28 had been extended to September 30.

“President Trump has signed into law – ‘HR 601’ – which is a continuing resolution for funding the federal government till December 8. This has extended the EB-5 regional centre program beyond the expiry date of September 30,” says Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney, Immigration.com.

Even as an EB-5 reform bill is on the anvil, which could increase the level of investments required and possibly include other strictures, Khanna adds, “Under the US Constitution, the government cannot make laws that change vested rights retroactively. Therefore, if you have already invested and filed your EB-5 papers, I don’t see why you need to worry about subsequent changes in the law.”

There appears to be a strong correlation between the challenges posed in obtaining an H-1B and the renewed interest in this investor visa. TOI had reported earlier on an increase in inquiries for H-1B applications where salaries are at the entry level. It had also reported that graduates from IITs who were offered US based jobs last year are facing work visa challenges

According to the 2016 report by Open Doors, a research agency, there are nearly 1.66 lakh students in the US who make up 15.9 per cent of the total international student population. If a family can afford an EB-5, it enables the student to work in the US without facing H-1B related hurdles.

Immigration experts and firms that specialize in immigration-linked investments have been seeing a sudden spate of inquiries after extension of the deadline. Jeffrey DeCicco, CEO and chief compliance officer, CanAm Investor Services, says, “The current wait time and proposed new restrictions on H-1B visas have already spurred a significant demand for EB-5 from India and this trend is likely to continue. Families with means to enter the program increasingly see EB-5 as a way to cut as many as 10 years off the waiting time to get a green card and also as a way to allow their children to work freely in US without the need for a corporate sponsor.”

Those opting for the EB-5 need to invest $1 million (around Rs 6.5 crore) in new commercial projects or half a million (nearly Rs 3.25 crore) for operations in specified rural areas or regions with higher unemployment known as targeted employment areas— the objective being to create at least 10 permanent full time jobs for US workers.

US indirectly wants to grow itself on money of others…!!! So it can boast more about its “Supremacy” in world, has forgotten that US was formed from many such immigrants who arrived there.

EB-5 offers two routes of investments. One, where the investor directly sets up his own business. The other, via investment in recognized regional centers, which, in turn, sponsor business entities. The latter is a more popular investment route. Of the 90 EB-5 visas issued to Indians between October 1, 2015, till September 30, 2016, 76 were for investments via regional centres. While figures of such visas granted to Indians are still in two digits, it is a sharp rise from just five such visas issued in 2005 (see table). Investors are granted a “conditional” permanent residence for themselves, spouse and children below the age of 21. After two years, they have to apply for lifting of the “conditions”. If approved, they and their family can permanently live and work in the USA.

According to industry estimates, since 2008, over $18.4 billion has been injected via the EB-5. Official country-wise breakup is not available, though.”EB-5 investors need to do significant due diligence of the borrower, the project, and the regional centre. One of the main requirements of the EB-5 program is that the investor’s money must be ‘at risk’ during the investment period. Any regional center that offers or implies a guarantee of any sort should immediately be removed from consideration,” cautions DeCicco.

GOPIO Chicago Hosts 3rd Annual Business Convention & Gala

Staff ReporterBusiness 0

Chicago IL: Chicago Chapter of Global Organization for People of India Origin (GOPIO) hosted 3rd Annual Business Convention & Gala on September 17th 2017 at Rosemont Hyatt Hotel. The event was attended by many corporate executives, State and local Government officials, Asian-American and small & minority business leaders and non-profit organization leaders. The objective of the event was to promote common cultural heritage and create binding relationship among business community.

Chairman and Founder of GOPIO Chicago Gladson Varghese welcomed all the Business Leaders, Political leaders and other esteemed guests. He also stated GOPIO is one of the largest Indian organizations outside India with Chapters in over 20 countries.

President and Founder Hina Trivedi in her Presidential address stated GOPIO Chicago is in the path of rapid Growth and invited all the business leaders to be part of the organization. Hon. D.B. Bhati,  Consul of India, Chicago, in his inaugural address said Business Conference like this is a first step to bring Indian Business owners under one umbrella, Indian Americans should expand their businesses to India as well, since India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world’,

Raja Krishnamoorthi, US Congressman, who was the of the keynote speakers, congratulated GOPIO Chicago Leadership for hosting a Business Conference like this and he will support the Indian Community and GOPIO Chicago to create a business environment that will help to grow Indian businesses especially the startup companies.

State Representative Hon. Linda Chapa LaVia, said that businesses are failing mainly on account of lack of proper direction to grow and paucity of required funding to launch new technology products. She also Presented the Award to Lovely Varughese.

Mayor Mickey Straub said GOPIO Chicago created a platform for all the small and large Indian business owners to do business networking and grow their businesses. There are several awards were presented during the event, Business man of the year given to H.R Pundit Corporation CEO K.K. Reddy, Community leader of the year award was given to Dr. Bharat Barai, Student of the year award was given to Payal Patel.

U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Presented the Leadership award to Gladson Varghese, State Representative Hon. Linda Chapa Lavia presented Mother’s Rights Award to Lovely Varughese, Community service Awards were given for the Excellent community service to Consul of India D.B. Bhati, Mayor Mickey Straub, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Consul of India O.P. Meena, Humanitarian Award is given to Zahid Hameed, Sponsorship recognition is given to Lisa Victoria Waller, Syed Hussaini, Avani Trivedi, Abdul Gafoor, Manoj Kumar Singamsetti, Nick Gakhal and Nambirajan Vaithilingam.

The event was attended by the following Board members: SaviSingh, Vikrant Singh, Syed Hussaini, Hement Trivedi, Sharan Walia, Nambi Vaithilingam, Vinoz Chanamolu, Chandrasekar Reddy, Manoj Kumar Singamsetti, Hitesh Gandhi and Laddi Singh. The MC for the evening was Dr. Ajit Pant, President Hina Trivedi thanked all the dignitaries, GOPIO Board members, CEOs of various companies, Media, Sponsors and all the audience for their support for GOPIO Chicago.

The Business Conference ended with Bollywood style entertainment programs including Dances, Music and DJ. At the end of the program, Indian style Dinner and cocktails served to the guest.

DIAMOND CERTIFICATION, WHEN ART MEETS TECHNOLOGY

Staff ReporterScience & Technology 0

Ever wondered what makes some of the world’s most beautiful diamonds special? Expert gemmologists at the Forevermark Diamond Institute, utilise over 125 years of expertise alongside advanced technology, to select and grade diamonds that are rare, responsibly sourced and among the most beautiful in the world.

The Forevermark Diamond Institute based in Surat (India), Maidenhead (UK) and Antwerp (Belgium) use proprietary grading equipment developed by De Beers Research and Development Group to asses each diamond according to strict criteria and the highest standards of integrity, accuracy and consistency. Diamonds go through a rigorous 17-step process with Forevermark’s graders making optimal use of exclusive state of the art equipment, specially developed over many years by De Beers including colour machines, synthetic and treatment detection instruments including DiamondSure™, DiamondView™, and DiamondPlus™.

Forevermark’s procedures ensure that every diamond is evaluated no less than five times to meet the Forevermark standard – evaluation criteria go beyond the traditional 4Cs of Cut, Colour, Clarity and Carat weight because Forevermark knows that for two diamonds with the same 4Cs one will be more beautiful. Forevermark’s graders test to make sure that the diamond is natural and has not been subjected to any artificial treatments. They also test each diamond’s cut is precise enough to result in both outstanding symmetry and durability, whilst its polish has a high degree of transparency to reflect and refract light. The selection process, is so exacting and rigorous, that less than 1% of the world’s diamonds will pass the Forevermark test and standards. Only once they have will a grader personally approve each exclusive Forevermark Grading Report before a diamond is inscribed with the Forevermark icon and individual number.

A Forevermark Diamond Grading Report complements the unique promise, of a beautiful Forevermark Diamond, revealing each diamond’s exquisite and rare characteristics. Authorised Forevermark Jewellers are able to provide a Forevermark Grading Report to their customers. The report features the unique identification number inscribed on the diamond and a specifically designed Forevermark Diamond Institute hologram, providing reassurance that the Grading Report is valid and genuine.

It is little wonder that the Forevermark Diamond Institute in Surat, a world-class diamond grading centre characterised by skill, innovation and the effective use of state of the art technology is trusted to grade beautiful, rare and responsibly sourced diamonds, which must be graded to the highest and most exacting standards. For more information and to find your nearest Forevermark Jeweller offering Forevermark Grading Reports, go to www.forevermark.com

Islamic Center of Naperville (ICN) hosts Open Mosque Day for all Faiths on Sunday, October 15th, 2017 at ICN, Naperville

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

Oct 9th 2017, Naperville: The Islamic Center of Naperville (ICN) is hosting their 5thOpen Mosque Day on Sunday, October 15th from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM at our facility on 2844 W. Ogden Ave, Naperville, IL.60540.

The Islamic Center of Naperville (ICN) is a non-profit organization that provides religious services, programs for the youth and adults, charitable donations and education with an emphasis on promoting communal harmony through interfaith activities. ICN has been an integral part of the Naperville community for the past 27 years and have developed great relationships with different faith organizations and local government and law enforcement.

Yousuf Siddiqui, Chair of ICN’s Outreach Committee, said that the primary purpose of the event is to open the doors of their mosque to neighbors, friends, colleagues and, just about anybody who is interested, to give them an opportunity to visit a mosque, something they may never have had a chance to do. The format of the event is designed for a moving crowd where people can visit anytime during the six hour period from 11 am to 5 pm said Siddiqui.

Shoaib Khadri, President, ICN said that there will be booths that present different aspects of the Islamic faith where people can ask questions, get an opportunity to meet the Imam (Religious Scholar) and discuss any topics with him, interact with people from the mosque’s congregation, observe the afternoon congregational prayer (which is at 1.30 pm), get a tour of the mosque; the ladies can get henna on their hands and try on a hijab (head scarf); visit their showcase  exhibit called “Journey through Time” – a multi-media experience; stop by a booth where guests can get their name written in Arabic calligraphy, fun activities for kids and much more.

Refreshments from the Middle East and South Asia will be served with a dedicated area for people to sit around, eat and interact in a warm, friendly and informal setting – an opportunity for people of all faiths to get to know each other better. The event is free and ICN is happy to welcome anybody who is interested in joining them.

Men and Women Are Not That Different with Respect to Age Preferences of Sexual Partners

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Source Newsroom: Academy of Finland

Newswise — The difference between men and women with respect to their age preferences, when it comes to sexual partners, is smaller than earlier believed. A recent study shows that also men become interested in older and older women as they themselves age.

While earlier research has indicated that even older men prefer young women, a recent study by Jan Antfolk at Åbo Akademi University suggests that this is only partly true. It is true that men, more than women, tend to maintain a sexual interest in younger partners. Contrary to what has been reported from earlier studies, most men and women are also sexually interested in partners their own age throughout life. Most sexual activity occurs between partners of approximately the same age.

Homosexual and bisexual men and women differ very little from their heterosexual counterparts. The only exception from this is that homosexual men are somewhat more likely than bisexual and heterosexual men to have sex with partners younger than themselves.

The study was conducted in Finland and included 878 adult men and 1789 adult women. The study was recently published in Evolutionary Psychology.

Link to the on-line publication: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1474704917690401

The study is a part of the research project Intra-Genomic Conflicts and Social Decision-Making in Humans. The project is financed by the Academy of Finland (project number 298513).

New Study Finds Extensive Use of Fluorinated Chemicals in Fast Food Wrappers

Staff ReporterScience & Technology 0

Source Newsroom: University of Notre Dame

Newswise — Americans may be consuming fast food wrapped in paper treated with perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) — the same chemicals used in stain-resistant products, firefighting materials and nonstick cookware, according to a new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Researchers tested more than 400 samples of packaging materials, including hamburger and sandwich wrappers, pastry bags, beverage cups and French fry containers, and found evidence of fluorinated compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Of the materials tested, these chemicals were found in 56 percent of dessert and bread wrappers, 38 percent of sandwich and burger wrappers and 20 percent of paperboard.

Previous studies have shown that these PFASs can migrate, contaminating the food and, when consumed, accumulating in the body.

“This is a really persistent chemical,” said Graham Peaslee, a professor of experimental nuclear physics in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, who tested the samples. “It gets in the bloodstream, it stays there and accumulates. There are diseases that correlate to it, so we really don’t want this class of chemicals out there.”

Peaslee used a novel specialized method called particle-induced gamma-ray emission (PIGE) spectroscopy, which he developed to analyze the total fluorine content of each piece of packaging. PIGE is an efficient and cost-effective way to measure the presence of chemicals like fluorine in solid samples.

Previous studies have linked PFASs to kidney and testicular cancers, thyroid disease, low birth weight and immunotoxicity in children, among other health issues. The chemicals have an especially long half-life and take many years before just 50 percent of the intake leaves the human body.

“These chemicals don’t biodegrade. They don’t naturally degrade. They persist in the environment for a very long time,” Peaslee said.

The results are concerning when considering the role of fast food in the American diet. The National Center for Health Statistics reported one-third of U.S. children consume fast food daily.

Samples were collected from a total of 27 fast food restaurant chains including McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle, Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, Panera and Chick-Fil-A, in and around Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The study did not include takeout containers, such as Chinese food boxes or pizza boxes.

Upon the results of the study, researchers reached out to each of the fast food chains that had been sampled to see if they were aware the packaging being used contained fluorinated chemicals. Only two responded, each stating they believed their packaging was free of PFASs — one went so far as to state they had received verification from their supplier. But the study showed both respondents had tested positive for a substantial amount of fluorinated chemicals, leading researchers to believe that some chains may be unaware of what’s in their packaging.

“This is a wake-up call for those companies and the consumers,” Peaslee said.

Those involved in the study are hopeful the results will encourage fast food restaurants to choose nontoxic alternatives such as plastic coatings, aluminum foil or wax paper.

Peaslee conducted his research as a professor at Hope College. Since joining the University of Notre Dame, he is leading installation of a facility in the Nuclear Science Laboratory at the University to perform PIGE tests routinely on consumer products and environmental samples in the future.

Co-authors include researchers and scientists from the Silent Spring Institute, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Green Science Policy Institute, the Environmental Working Group, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, as well as the University of California at Berkeley and Hope College.

 

Tracing the Cosmic Web with Star-Forming Galaxies in the Distant Universe

Staff ReporterScience & Technology 0

Newswise — Galaxies in the universe trace patterns on very large scales; there are large empty regions (called “voids”) and dense regions where the galaxies exist. This distribution is called the cosmic web. The most massive concentrations of galaxies are clusters. The formation of the cosmic web is governed by the action of gravity on the invisible mysterious “dark matter” that exists throughout the universe. The normal baryonic material one can see falls into the dark matter halos and forms galaxies. The action of gravity over about 14-billion-year history of the universe makes the halos cluster together. The location of galaxies or clusters in this enormous cosmic web tests our understanding of the way structure forms in the universe.

Increasingly, deeper and more extensive observations with telescopes like Subaru Telescope provide a clearer picture of the way galaxies evolve within the cosmic web. Of course, one cannot see the dark matter directly. However, one can use the galaxies that are seen to trace the dark matter. It is also possible to use the way the gravity of clusters of galaxies distort more distant background galaxies, weak gravitational lensing, as another tracer.

The Hiroshima group combined these two tracers: galaxies and their weak lensing signal to map the changing role of massive star-forming galaxies as the universe evolves. Weak lensing is a phenomenon that provides a powerful technique for mapping the changing contribution of star-forming galaxies as tracers of the cosmic web. The cluster of galaxies and surrounding dark matter halo act as a gravitational lens. The lens bends the light passing through from more distant galaxies and distorts the images of them. The distortions of the appearance of the background galaxies provide a two-dimensional image of the foreground dark matter distribution that acts as a huge lens. The excellent imaging of the Subaru Telescope covering large regions of the sky provides exactly the data needed to construct maps of this weak lensing.

Dr. Yousuke Utsumi, a member of Hyper Suprime-Cam building team and a project assistant professor at Hiroshima University, conducted a 1-hour observation of a 4-deg2 patch of sky in the direction of the constellation Cancer. Figure 1 shows a close-up view of a cluster of galaxies with the weak lensing map tracing the matter distribution. The highest peaks in the maps correspond the foreground massive clusters of galaxies that lie 5 billion light-years away.

To map the three-dimensional distribution of the foreground galaxies, spectrographs on large telescopes like the 6.5-meter MMT disperse the light with a grating. The expansion of the universe shifts the light to the red and by measuring this shift one measures the distances to the galaxies. Using spectroscopy places the galaxies in the cosmic web. The observations locate star-forming galaxies and those that are no longer forming stars.

Collaborators led by Dr. Margaret Geller (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) conducted spectroscopic measurements for galaxies. The Hectospec instrument on the MMT enables measurements of redshifts for 250 galaxies at a time. The survey contains measurements for 12,000 galaxies.

The MMT redshift survey provides the map for the way all types of galaxies might contribute to the weak lensing map. Because the MMT survey provides distances to the galaxies, slices of the map at different distances corresponding to different epochs in the history of the universe can also be made and compared with the lensing map.

The MMT survey provides a predicted map of the cosmic web based on the positions of galaxies in three-dimensional space. Research team compared this map with the weak lensing map to discover the similarities. Figure 2 shows that both the highest peak and the largest empty regions are similar in the two maps. In other words, the matter distribution traced by the foreground galaxies and the distribution traced by the Subaru weak lensing map are similar. There are two complementary views of the cosmic web in this patch of the universe.

If they slice up the three-dimensional map in different redshift or time slices, they can examine the way the correspondence between these maps and the weak lensing map changes for different slices (Figure 3). Remarkably, the distribution of star-forming galaxies around a cluster of galaxies in the more distant universe (5 billion years ago) corresponds much more closely with the weak lensing map than a slice of the more nearby universe (3 billion years ago). In other words, the contribution of star-forming galaxies to the cosmic web is more prominent in the distant universe. These maps are the first demonstration of this effect in the weak lensing signal.

The research team provides a new window on galaxy evolution by comparing the three-dimensional galaxy distribution mapped with a redshift survey including star-forming galaxies to a weak lensing map based on Subaru imaging.

“It turns out that the contribution of star-forming galaxies as tracers of the mass distribution in the distant universe is not negligible,” said Dr. Utsumi. “The HSC weak lensing map should contain signals from more distant galaxies in the 8 billion-year-old universe. Deeper redshift surveys combined with similar weak lensing maps should reveal an even greater contribution of star-forming galaxies as tracers of the matter distribution in this higher redshift range. Using the next generation spectrograph for the Subaru Telescope, Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS), we hope to extend our maps to the interesting era.”

Trump asked to host Diwali Celebration at White House

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Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has reportedly sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Sept. 26, urging the Trump administration to continue the tradition of celebrating Diwali at the White House.

In 2009, former President Barack Obama became the first president to participate in Diwali celebrations at the White House. The following year, the Obamas celebrated Diwali in India during the president’s first official visit to the country. Diwali celebrations at the White House continued throughout Obama’s tenure.

Indian American businessman and political activist Shalabh ‘Shalli’ Kumar – founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition – has informed the media that Hatch signed the letter to Kelly with the support of several Senate members and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. Kumar said Bannon was “a great supporter of the Hindu community.”

The request by the Senator has been made aAt the behest of the Republican Hindu Coalition, which itself sent a formal invitation to Trump Sept. 1, requesting a Diwali celebration on Oct. 18 or 19 at the White House, followed by a rally in Chicago Oct. 21 or 22.

Kumar envisioned the White House festooned in traditional Diwali decorations, and a celebration with about 200 people present. Plans for a larger celebration –with 10,000 people and Trump in tow – at the Sears Center near Chicago, Illinois, are also being formulated, said Kumar.

“Trump declared very loudly during his campaign that Indians would have a best friend in the White House if he was elected. We want our best friend to celebrate this holiday with us,” Kumar told the media.

In his letter to Kelly – a copy of which was obtained by India-West – Hatch said: “I am eager to help my Hindu and Indian American friends because they are among the most supportive groups in my ongoing effort to reform the tax code and restructure the H-1B program.”

In a sweeping overstatement, Hatch said: “In the recent election, with the support of the Republican Hindu Coalition – and thanks to the leadership of Shalli Kumar – the Hindu American community voted Republican for the first time in history.”

In fact, Indian Americans overwhelmingly voted Democrat this year. During the 1980s and 1990s, newly-enfranchised Indian American voters tended to vote for conservative candidates who supported traditional family values.

“The Hindu and Indian American community is not only critical to the future of the Republican Party, it is also representative of all that is right and good in the American immigrant experience,” wrote Hatch in the letter, adding: “This emerging minority group continues to distinguish itself by embracing the best of our nation’s values.”

“I believe our friends in the Hindu American community should be celebrated for their many contributions to our society,” wrote the senator.

‘SUCCEED Act’ by GOP to protect undocumented kids in US

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Three Republican senators introduced the ‘SUCCEED Act’ Sept. 25, designed to protect undocumented children, including over 7,000 Indian Americans, who currently face the threat of deportation following President Donald Trump’s repeal of DACA.

Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, James Lankford of Oklahoma and Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced the proposed legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill. The bill offers a pathway to citizenship to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Dreamers — as DACA children are known — will be offered conditional status and work permits for the first 10 years after they are approved for the program, and will then be eligible for a green card. After 15 years, the youths would be eligible for citizenship.

Unlike other green cards, DACA youth with green cards would not be allowed to sponsor family members for immigration purposes. “This is a merit-based solution that should unite members of both parties, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the path forward,” said Tillis in a press statement after the bill was introduced.

Earlier in the month, Trump met for dinner with Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, and House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in an attempt to hammer out legislation that would protect Dreamers, while also increasing enforcement at the nation’s borders. “Does anyone really want to throw out good, accomplished, educated people, some of them serving in the military? Really?” tweeted the president after the meeting.

A coalition of several Indian American civil rights organizations, including South Asian Americans Leading Together and Desis Rising Up and Moving, issued a statement after the meeting, soundly rejecting the tentative agreement between Trump, Pelosi, and Schumer, and demanding a “clean DREAM Act.”

“DACAmented youth should not be used as bargaining chips to further destroy immigrant families and to militarize our borders and neighborhoods,” stated the coalition of organizations. Hatch, who co-authored the DREAM Act with Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, stated in a press release: “I’ve said all along that we need a workable, permanent solution for the Dreamer population.”

“Immigration is a difficult issue, but I’m convinced there’s a path forward on this, and I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find that path and to enact meaningful reform, which must also include increased border security,” he said.

Durbin, however, did not state his support for the SUCCEED Act. “I appreciate that my colleagues recognize the need to pass legislation giving a path to citizenship to Dreamers, young immigrants who were brought here as children and grew up in this country — so do 75 percent of the American people. Unfortunately, the Republican bill falls short,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.

More than 7,000 Indian American children currently benefit from DACA, an Obama-era executive order launched in 2012 which offered relief from deportation to undocumented youth, along with work permits and drivers’ licenses. Trump rescinded the initiative Sept. 5, saying Obama had overstepped the boundaries of executive power.

The ‘SUCCEED Act’ — Solution for Undocumented Children through Careers Employment Education and Defending our nation — would require children to obtain their high school diploma, and then either gain full-time employment, enroll in college, or sign up for the military. Applicants would have to maintain their good standing for five years in order to renew their status. Applicants cannot be affiliated with a gang, and must pass a background security check. They also cannot receive any federal public benefits.

“It is right for there to be consequences for those who intentionally entered this country illegally,” said Lankford, in a press statement, following the bill’s introduction. “However, we as Americans do not hold children legally accountable for the actions of their parents,” he said, while also praising Trump for rescinding DACA with the proviso of urging Congress to step up and create legislation which would permanently protect Dreamers.

“To address the uncertainty facing children who were brought to America, the SUCCEED Act is a fair solution that gives them a place to call home, but it also discourages future illegal immigration,” said Lankford.

Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma Among Fortune’s ‘Most Powerful Women in Business’

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Indian American Indra Nooyi and India-based bank heads Chanda Kochhar and Shikha Sharma are among those recognized by Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in the word. In the 20th year of the Most Powerful Women in Business list in the U.S., Fortune recognized 26 chief executives controlling $1.1 trillion in market cap. It also featured seven newcomers, one returnee and nine women in the tech industry, it said.

The publication broke the list into two separate areas — a U.S. edition as well as an international one on September 24th. In the U.S. version of the list, PepsiCo chair and chief executive officer Nooyi came in at No. 2, the same position she ranked a year ago.

Fortune said, “PepsiCo filled the long­ vacant role of president in July, sparking talk that the CEO might be heading toward retirement. But Nooyi claims she has no plans to step down, and why should she? While revenue was flat in 2016, profits jumped 16 percent, and the stock has outpaced most of its Big Food brethren as the industry tries to adjust to massive consumer shifts.” Nooyi, Fortune added, has responded by moving the portfolio toward healthier fare. The company recently launched a premium water line and in 2016 acquired kombucha maker KeVita.

The international list featured Kochhar, ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive officer, at No. 5, the same rank she had in 2016. Kochhar, Fortune noted, has led India’s largest private lender for eight years, and under her stewardship ICICI Bank has thrived. In the 12 months ending Sept. 7, 2017, the bank’s market capitalization rose 20.2 percent to nearly $30 billion. Revenue climbed 9.1 percent in 2016, the publication added.

Kochhar also proved a smooth operator during crisis. Her bank was quick to respond last November when the government announced its surprise demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, partnering with retailers and small businesses to facilitate digital payments, according to the magazine.

At No. 21, dropping two spots from the previous year, was Axis Bank managing director and CEO Sharma. This summer, following resignation rumors, Sharma was reappointed to serve another three-year term as the head of India’s Axis Bank, Fortune said.

The announcement capped a tumultuous time for the private lender, India’s third largest, which has reported consistent drops in quarterly profits and was the subject of acquisition rumors, it said. “Now that she has been reconfirmed as CEO, Sharma can focus on beefing up the bank’s digital services, which includes expanding its digital payments app’s reach. In July, she announced that Axis Bank had acquired Freecharge, a digital payments company,” the publication said.

Topping the U.S. edition, just ahead of Nooyi, was General Motors chair and CEO Mary Bara. Rounding out the U.S. edition’s top five were Lockheed Martin CEO, chair and president Marillyn Hewson; Fidelity Investments chair and CEO Abigail Johnson; and Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

The international edition, in its 17th year, was topped by Banco Santander group executive chair Ana Botin and featured 11 newcomers. The women just ahead of Kochhar at No. 5 were GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley, Engie CEO Isabelle Kocher, and Gree Electric Appliances chair and president Dong Mingzhu.

Dermavant Sciences Appoints Vince Ippolito as President and Chief Operating Officer

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Dermavant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for dermatologic conditions, today announced the appointment of Vince Ippolito as President and Chief Operating Officer.

“I am extremely pleased to welcome Vince Ippolito to the Dermavant team,” said Dr. Jacqualyn A. Fouse, Executive Chair of Dermavant. “Vince brings a tremendous wealth of experience in dermatology. His track record speaks for itself and he has generated significant value for shareholders over the course of his highly successful career.”

“We now have four novel investigational drugs in our pipeline being developed by a highly experienced and dedicated clinical team,” continued Dr. Fouse. “Each compound has the potential to deliver significant value to patients with unmet medical needs in dermatology. It is a perfect time for Vince to join our team and help us take these programs forward.”

Mr. Ippolito has over thirty years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including twenty years in dermatology. He most recently served as the Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President of Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a dermatology-focused biopharmaceutical company. At Anacor, Mr. Ippolito was responsible for building marketing and sales functions, as well as developing the company’s product portfolio. Prior to Anacor, he was Executive Vice President at Medicis Pharmaceutical, an industry-leading dermatology company.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Ippolito has launched more than twenty brands in dermatology and he has played a leading role in two of the largest dermatology acquisitions of the past five years with combined valuations of $7.8 billion. Mr. Ippolito holds a B.A. in Business Administration, Management, and Operations from the University of Wisconsin with a minor in East Asian Studies from Sophia University in Japan.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Dermavant team and have been very impressed with their focus on bringing much-needed innovation to medical dermatology,” said Mr. Ippolito. “I am excited about the potential in Dermavant’s current pipeline and I look forward to advancing the current compounds in development while also building the pipeline further.”

Dermavant Sciences is dedicated to developing and, upon regulatory approval, commercializing innovative therapies in medical dermatology. Dermavant has four clinical-stage drugs in development: RVT-501, RVT-502, RVT-503, and RVT-201.

RVT-501 is a highly potent and selective topical phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor currently in development for patients with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. RVT-502, also known as cerdulatinib, is a dual spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor being developed as a topical therapy for a variety of serious dermatologic conditions. RVT-503 is an undisclosed preclinical asset being studied for the treatment of acne. RVT-201 is a caspase-1 inhibitor that acts to inhibit the production of inflammatory cytokines and is being developed for inflammatory skin diseases. For more information, please visit dermavant.com.

Juhi Chawla star attraction at SKN Hope Gala in New Jersey

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More than 500 supporters in the fields of business, arts, philanthropy and medicine attended the annual SKN Hope Gala on Friday, at the Marigold Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey, which focused its efforts to raise funds for South Asian children with special needs this year.

“We could not be more humbled by the love and generosity of the community,” said founder Dr. Naveen Mehrotra. “SKN’s goal is to educate the South Asian community about the various diseases that plague our loved ones, and this year, we wanted to shed light on how parents cope with their children with special needs.”

The major beneficiary of this year’s fundraiser will be the Special Needs Community Outreach Program for Empowerment (SCOPE).

Guest of Honor Juhi Chawla, a renowned Indian actress, humanitarian and former Miss India, spoke at the event and served as the show stopper for international fashion designer to the stars, Joy Mitra, who debuted a special collection he created just for the cause.

The fashion show spotlighted special needs children, who walked the ramp with their mothers, followed by an intimate Q&A between host Mini Mathur and the fathers.

“What an amazing opportunity for my son! I am so proud of him every day, and walking the ramp, dressed up so fabulously, allowed him to know that we love him just as he is,” said Radha Lath, mother of Aditya Lath, a child with special needs.

“Parents of special needs children have an unbelievable level of grit and determination, as they face daily life issues, and we are honored to be shedding light on some of their challenges at the SKN Foundation Gala,” said Sonalika Ahuja of Beyond Media, the woman who executed the event for the second year in a row.

Stony Brook University Dedicates Arya India Studies Library

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The Yashpal and Urmilesh Arya India Studies Library was dedicated at Stony Brook University.  The library is located in theBishembarnath and Sheela Mattoo Center for India Studies. Its naming recognizes the gift of $250,000 by Drs. Yashpal andUrmilesh Arya to the Center’s endowment campaign, which has been matched by the Simons Match Fund. The Aryas’ donation will allow for the expansion of the library’s services and initiatives, including special collections and online courses, to make the library’s resources more widely available.

The dedication ceremony drew a large gathering of Stony Brook faculty, staff, students and administrators, and members of the Indian American community. Dr. Yashpal Arya, flanked by Dr. Urmilesh Arya, described the library’s dedication as “one of the happiest days of our lives.” He told the audience of his family’s history of philanthropy, both in India and in the United States.  “I am proud to stand here today to continue this family tradition of perpetuating further education with the help of Stony Brook University through its forward thinking, visionary policy making, and the Mattoo Center for India Studies for its strong resolve and relentless pursuit that led to the creation of this library.” Dr. Arya thanked the Stony Brook administration for their “enlightened support” for the Center. He also thanked Professors S.N. and Kamal K. Sridhar, whom he described as the Center’s “Pitamaha” and “Matamaha” (grandparents).

“You make your living by earning. You make your life by giving,” Dr. Arya told the audience.

Dr. Nirmal K. Mattoo, Chair of the Center’s executive committee, praised the Aryas for their involvement “in philanthropy on a large scale.”  He noted their long-time “commitment to the Center’s vision.”

Dean Sacha Kopp dedicated the library, and thanked attendees for their “participation in the decades-long effort to create the Center for India Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.” “A public university” Dean Kopp explained, “has the responsibility not only to serve the public through education but to give back to the public in the form of knowledge and sharing and fostering community and culture.” A library is a “gathering of community” and the “lifeblood” of a campus. “As I reflect on ‘community,’ I see it here today.”

Professor S.N. Sridhar, founding Director of the Mattoo Center, described the vital functions of the India Studies library.  It features a collection of more than 13,000 works, including major reference works, such as the Critical Edition of theMahabharata and the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, and special collections on Indian languages donated by noted research scholars. The library’s resources are used by Stony Brook students, faculty, and visiting scholars and researchers from around the world. The Mattoo Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a Gala on October 29th at Leonard’s in Great Neck.

$3.8 million raised at Pratham gala in New York

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Pratham, one of the largest educational nonprofits in India that provides quality education to underprivileged children, hosted its annual New York Tri-State Gala on September 15, at the Cipriani Wall Street.

The event, which was attended by approximately 600 influential leaders from the business and Indian-American communities, raised over $3.8 million for Pratham’s innovative, award-winning educational programs targeted at the underprivileged in India.

Established in the slums of Mumbai in 1995, Pratham is now one of India’s largest non-governmental education organizations, having affected the lives of more than 50 million underprivileged children in the past two decades.

Guests were entertained by writer, comedian and Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj, who delivered a rousing 20-minute set. Born to an immigrant family, Minaj talked about his upbringing and stressed the importance of “giving kids an opportunity.”

Mangala Mehar, a Pratham vocational program graduate, shared the impact the organization has made on her life. Today, the 22-year-old is a senior housekeeper at a Maldives resort, earning enough to pay her father’s medical bills and send her younger brother to college.

“I had always dreamed of becoming a successful and independent woman. The Pratham course gave me something far greater than the skills to get a job at a fancy hotel. Pratham gave me the motivation and self-confidence to keep moving ahead,” said Mehar before receiving a standing ovation.

The evening honored Ajay Piramal, Chairman of The Piramal Group and the Pratham Education Foundation, who is stepping down from the latter position after a decade of service. In that time, the organization experienced tremendous growth, tripling in size to its current $36 million.

“This has been a very satisfying journey for me where I have learned a lot. I am most grateful to Pratham for this,” said Piramal. “We can look ahead with a lot of optimism,” he added as he reflected on how, in 22 years, Pratham has gone from a single program in a Mumbai slum to one of the most influential forces in India’s education sector.

In her speech, Pratham CEO Dr. Rukmini Banerji described the next frontier for Pratham: exploring an edtech approach to accelerating children’s learning of foundational literacy and numeracy. She praised the significant support Pratham has received from Google and a family-based trust to experiment with digital learning and determine the optimum solution for educating India’s 100 million children who are functionally illiterate.

Chapter President and PNC executive Gagan Singh attributed the evening’s success to the gala committee, staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly over many months, and to donors who have remained loyal to the organization year after year. “In the end,” he concluded, “what is also really important to recognize is that we have an amazing organization in Pratham led by truly passionate and inspiring leaders, which makes it easy for all of us to tell the story.”

Established in the slums of Mumbai in 1995, Pratham is now one of India’s largest non-governmental education organizations, having affected the lives of more than 50 million underprivileged children in the past two decades. To achieve its mission of “every child in school and learning well,” Pratham develops practical solutions to address gaps in the education system and works in collaboration with India’s governments, communities, educators and industry to increase learning outcomes and influence education policy.

Vasundhara Kalasapudi’s aging facility India Home on Next Avenue’s Influencers in Aging for 2017 list

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Dr. Vasundhara Kalasapudi’s aging facility, India Home, a non-profit serving the elderly Indian American population in New York has been named as one of Next Avenue’s Influencers In Aging for 2017.

Kalasapudi trained as a physician at first and became an expert on geriatric psychiatry, which allowed her to diagnose her own father with dementia in 2003, something she thought she would never do.

She then travelled to India several times to take care of her father and in the process became very much aware of the lack of culturally appropriate services and care facilities for the elderly in the Indian American community.

Kalasapudi founded India Home, a revolutionary nonprofit that serves the elderly Indian American community in New York City, providing hundreds with food, health care and social support which can be found in strong Indian values.

“I would advocate bettering integrating social and medical services for older adults. Senior centers are integral institutions to help Americans age in place and prevent or delay many health issues, but medical professionals are unaware of such social services,” Kalasapudi said about the one thing she would do to change aging in America.

“More than 100 million Americans are over age 50 now, and as life expectancy increases, it is imperative that policies, housing, science, technology and culture all evolve to better serve our population. These honorees on our list of Influencers in Aging are on the leading edge of this revolution,” said Next Avenue Editorial & Content Director Shayla Stern.

Next Avenue is public media’s first and only digital publication dedicated to covering issues for people 50 and older and this is the third annual list of the top 50 Influencers in Aging, which includes advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts at the forefront of changing how we age and think about aging.

Muslim Day Parade held in New York

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Scores of Muslims gathered for a parade along Madison Avenue in Manhattan Sept. 24, to celebrate the 32nd Muslim Day Parade. For the first time in its history, a rabbi was its grand marshal: Marc Schneier, the president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a group that works to bridge divides both religious and secular. Organizers wanted to send a message of inclusion, the New York Times reported.

The parade was founded as a means for Muslim New Yorkers to assert their place in this city, Imam Ali, the president of the Muslim Foundation of America and one of the organizers of the parade, told the Times. “This is a city of parades. We felt we must express ourselves as an integral part of the city. Parade is part of the New York identity,” Ali is quoted saying.

Over the years, the parade’s political significance has undergone several changes. In 2001, it was canceled after the Sept. 11 attacks but the year after that, it marched with thin crowds as anxious past participants stayed home at the height of Islamophobia.

But today, when every group in the nation seems to be under attack, the parade transformed into a solidarity march and the decision to have Rabbi Schneier as grand marshal came after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, Ali indicated. “Anti-Semitism is not his fight alone; it is mine, too. Islamophobia is not my fight alone; it is his, too. We must fight for one another,” Imam Ali said, referring to the rabbi.

Floats featured dancers and sparkly replicas of the Dome of the Rock, the central mosque in Jerusalem. A contingent of Muslim officers from the New York Police Department, also marched in formation in the parade, according to the report. Apart from a few protesters, the parade appears to have gone peacefully.

“This can serve as a wonderful paradigm,” Rabbi Schneier is quoted saying. This February Schneier led a rally in Times Square following President Trump’s Muslim travel ban, saying “Today I am a Muslim Too.”

Some women in colorful hijabs gathered on 38th Street holding American flags. “To see the Muslims like this in the middle of the street here, that means Muslims have some consideration, that we are being given a chance. That’s New York showing us a little bit that Muslims have a right, just like other people,” one of the attendees in town for the parade, Diakita Amadou told the Times. The parade began after afternoon prayers were offered by the crowd.

Nearly 50% Indian women at risk of heart disease: Survey

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Nearly 50 per cent of women in India live with an abnormal cholesterol level, an alarming indicator of the risk of their being prone to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a survey has showed.
The survey by diagnostic chain SRL Diagnostics revealed that 48 per cent women in the age group of 46-60 years had the highest level of abnormality in the lipid profile tests — the number one cause of death globally and in India.

A lipid profile test measures the amount of cholesterol present in lipid carrier proteins like low density lipoprotein (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and fats (triglyceride) present in the blood and determines the risk of CVD.

Further, women living in North India (33.11 per cent) and East India (35.67 per cent) had higher abnormal levels of triglycerides while low HDL and high total cholesterol levels were more commonly seen in women living in South India (34.15 per cent) and West India (31.90 per cent).

“In India, cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women. It’s an alarming situation as heart attacks appear differently in women than men and it is more fatal in the post-menopausal women than it is in men,” said Avinash Phadke, President Technology and Mentor (Clinical Pathology) from SRL Diagnostics, in a statement, on Thursday.

High saturated fat, sugar and salt intake, very low consumption of vegetables and whole grains leading to obesity, coupled with sedentary lifestyles, rising stress levels and smoking are the major contributory factors for deterioration of heart health in women in India, the survey revealed. The analysis is based on more than 3.3 million lipid profile tests performed at SRL Labs across India during 2014-2016.

Aamir Khan’s ‘Secret Superstar’ Could Be India’s Next ₹1,000 Crore/$152M Box Office Hit

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Once every year or so in the past few decades the world has been exposed to a phenomenon that affects millions of people for the better in India and around the world, often with long-lasting impact. That phenomenon is the arrival of an Aamir Khan film, Forbes magazine reporteed.

Since 1973, when he made his screen debut as an 8-year-old in a minor role in the first Bollywood masala film, his uncle Nasir Hussain’s Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Aamir Khan has been delighting audiences with his natural charisma and his talent for creating empathetic characters in memorable, often award-winning performances.

If he were just a skilled artist, Aamir Khan would be a noteworthy actor. But it’s his enormous popularity and his business acumen that set him apart from just about every actor currently working anywhere in the world. Khan doesn’t just act, he also directs and produces under his Aamir Khan Productions banner. With the first film he produced, the superb Victorian era sports drama Lagaan, Khan proved he can simultaneously produce and star in commercially successful films that are also award-worthy. Lagaan was nominated for a foreign-language Academy Award, marking only the third time an Indian movie received that honor (Salaam Bombay was nominated in 1988, and Mother India was in 1957).

It’s in his capacity as an actor-producer that “Comet Khan” will once again circle back around from the movie star galaxy to bring his next film to his fans across the globe. This year his movie is the aspirational coming-of-age drama Secret Superstar, about a small town teenaged girl (played by his vibrant Dangal co-star Zaira Wasim) who uses the Internet to become a singing sensation. And given Khan’s extraordinary commercial track record, especially over the past decade, it’s perfectly reasonable to anticipate that the new picture, which opens at Diwali (the Hindu festival of lights) on October 19th, will be a contender for membership in the rarefied 1,000 Crore Club.

For any other Indian movie star—yes, even Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan—the suggestion of a ₹1,000 crore target would be an outlandish one. But considering that Aamir Khan has set new box office records with almost every new feature film he’s released since 2008, and that his popularity is practically unrivaled in China, the world’s second-biggest movie market, Secret Superstar’s chances look pretty good.

Since 2008 nearly every one of Khan’s new pictures has been a blockbuster hit, and most have broken new ground in box office history. In 2008 Ghajini became the first Indian movie to reach ₹100 crore in worldwide grosses. The next year saw his film 3 Idiots become the highest grossing Indian movie ever with ₹395 crore, a record that stood for four years until his movie Dhoom 3 established the next all-time record with ₹585 crore. And so it went with his 2014 release PK, and with his 2016 film Dangal, the highest-grossing picture in the annals of Indian box office history.

To be sure, Secret Superstar will face a few important challenges. For one thing the movie isn’t about Khan’s character; he plays a supporting role as the movie’s over-the-top villain. For another, the movie will open day-and-date against another hotly anticipated Indian blockbuster, Ajay Devgn’s Golmaa! Again. And thirdly, Secret Superstar hasn’t yet been approved for release in China. It’s hard to imagine that not happening, but if it doesn’t then the movie’s chances of 1,000 crore glory become much slimmer.

On the plus side, Khan has expressed supreme confidence about his new movie’s prospects, predicting it will be “much bigger than ‘Dangal’. While both are about the empowerment of the girl child, I feel it [Secret Superstar] is a much bigger film,” he says.

If Secret Superstar doesn’t become the third movie to join the 1,000 Crore Club—after Dangal and the SS Rajamouli-directed epic Baahubali: The Conclusion—Khan will get his next shot at glory soon, when his action-adventure movie Thugs of Hindostan releases a year from now at Diwali, 2018.

Sushma Swaraj in address to UN, acknowledges previous governments’ development efforts

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In a display of unity on the world stage, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj paid a compliment on September 23rd to previous governments in India, including the Congress party, by acknowledging their efforts to build India. She also showcased the demonetisation and the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) as successes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Outlining the contrasting trajectories of India and Pakistan during her address to the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Saturday, she said: “There have been many governments under many parties during 70 years of Indian freedom, for we have been a sustained democracy. Every government has done its bit for India’s development.”

“We have marched ahead, consistently, without pause, in education, health and across the range of human welfare,” she said, setting aside the rancorous debates at home. “We established scientific and technical institutions which are the pride of the world.”

“We produced scholars, doctors, engineers,” she said recognizing the contributions of governments that preceded Modi’s election three years ago. “Today India is a recognized IT superpower in the world.”

The Congress party ruled India close to 60 years of independent India’s 70 years. “Doctors save people from death, terrorists send them to death,” she said contrasting the achievements of the two neighbors birthed a day part in 1947. “Pakistan is recognised only as the pre-eminent export factory for terror.”

Among social programs, she said the “Save the girl, Educate the girl'” campaign is reducing gender inequality, while the Swach Bharat — Clean India — program is generating “a revolutionary change in social attitudes and habits.”

The scope of the Jan Dhan program of opening bank accounts for 300 million people – about the size of the United States population – made it “the world’s largest financial inclusion scheme,” she said.

Highlights of External Affairs Minister Swaraj’s address to the United Nations on Saturday: *World is trapped in a deluge of troubles of which the most dangerous is the relentless rise of violence and terrorism, and the ideas that promote them are spreading.

*Climate change threatens the world and developed countries have to step up to help the developing countries deal with it.

*Nuclear proliferation has re-emerged as a global threat — a reference to North Korea.

*Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen “the more radical route” of fighting poverty by empowering the poor, ho had been denied opportunities, instead of the traditional method of “incremental levels of aid and hand-holding.”

*In an unusual gesture to the Opposition, especially the Congress party, Swaraj acknowledged, “Every government has done its bit for India’s development.”

*Demonetization was a courageous decision to challenge one of the by-products of corruption, the “black money” that disappeared from circulation.

*More than 160 countries support text-based negotiations on the reform and expansion of the Security Council and adopting it and continuing with the reform efforts should be a priority.

*Terrorism is the top problem for the UN and the Comprehensive Compact on International Terrorism should be adopted.

*If the Security Council cannot agree on the listing of terrorists, the world can’t fight terror. “Stop seeing this evil with self-defeating and indeed meaningless nuance.

*Swaraj lampooned Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s attacks on India as a way to blunt them in the international forum: “He accused India of State-sponsored terrorism, and of violating human rights. Those listening had only one observation: ‘Look who’s talking’.”

*India has offered the hand of friendship and agreed to bilateral dialogue, but “Pakistan is responsible for the aborting that peace process.”

*Contrast the flow of history between the two neighbours: National development for the people in India and development of factories of terror export in Pakistan.

*Pakistan’s leadership should introspect why the two nations were on different trajectories.

*UN resolutions have been overtaken by history and bilateral negotiations are the only way forward.

Indian Americans express outrage over Nuh encounter killing; call for prosecution of police officers involved

State Dept. Tightens Rules for Visitors’ Visas: Misuse Results in Deportation

Staff ReporterTravel 0

The State Department has released changes to its foreign policy manual that tighten rules for people entering the U.S. on non-immigrant – specifically tourist – visas.

“This was a process of taking a closer look at visa ineligibilities and making sure that people follow the rules we have in place and that we apply our rules consistently and correctly,” a spokesman for the State Department told India-West.

“It is not a new ineligibility. It is tightening existing rules to make sure people don’t misuse their visas,” he said, adding: “This is about people entering the United States saying they’ll do one thing and then doing another, such as making misrepresentations to get visas, without proper authorization.”

Those found in violation of what is known as the “90-Day Rule” could be ineligible for a new visa, a renewal or a change of status. Those who continue to remain in the U.S. would be eligible for deportation.

Examples of such misrepresentations include people coming in on visitors’ visas – B1 and B2 – and then immediately beginning to work within the first 90 days. Others who enter on tourist visas and then enroll in a university would also be exhibiting “a clear intent to misrepresent,” according to the State Department.

People entering the country as visitors and getting married within three months would also be considered as intending to fraud the system, said the spokesman, noting that a K1 visa allows U.S. permanent residents or citizens to sponsor one’s fiancé.

“If someone comes to the U.S. as a tourist, falls in love and gets married within 90 days and then applies for a green card, this means the application would be denied,” Diane Rish, associate director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told The New York Times. “This is a significant policy change.”

Those who take up a U.S. residence within 90 days are also in violation of the proviso of their tourist visa, clarified the State Department.

“If an alien violates or engages in conduct inconsistent with his or her nonimmigrant status within 90 days of entry, you may presume that the applicant’s representations about engaging in only status-compliant activity were willful misrepresentations of his or her intention in seeking a visa or entry,” noted the State Department in a cable dispatched to all U.S. embassies abroad.

“If an alien violates or engages in conduct inconsistent with his or her nonimmigrant status more than 90 days after entry into the United States, no presumption of willful misrepresentation arises,” noted the State Department in its memo, clarifying, however, that consular officials who believe the applicant did lie on his application could call for a review.

In related news, India has a particularly high rate of people overstaying a B1/B2 tourist visa, according to data released by the Department of Homeland Security in May. For the fiscal year 2016, more than 1 million tourist visas were granted to people from India. An estimated 17,763 people initially overstayed their visas, with about 15,000 continuing to remain in the country.

In FY 2015, almost 900,000 visas were allotted to visitors from India; more than 14,000 initially overstayed their visas, with an estimated 13,000 continuing to remain in the country.

Germany had the highest number of overstays in FY 2016 – more than 20,000, with more than 14,000 continuing to remain in the country. Italy also ranked high on the number of overstays: almost 15,000 continued to remain in the country after their tourist visa had expired, according to DHS data.

Uttar Pradesh in the grip of an “encounter mania” under Yogi Adityanath

Staff ReporterIndia 0

The Indian American Muslim Council (www.iamc.com), an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos has called for the immediate suspension, arrest and criminal prosecution of the four police officers of Haryana’s Central Investigation Agency, involved in the grisly murder and cover up of Munfaid Hussain, a 30-year old young farmer belonging to the Meo community in the Nuh district of Haryana.

According to a report by a fact-finding team constituted by Citizens Against Hate, Munfaid was ordered by officers of the Haryana CIA to perform work for them on September 15, 2017 a day before he was brutally killed. The deceased was told if he complied they would remove false allegations from his records. Munfaid’s father and father-in-law told him to comply with the officers’ requests to have false accusations against him removed. However, the next morning, Munfaid’s family received the news of his killing.

The fact-finding team found that the police took the victim’s body first to Nalhad Medical College Hospital, Nuh and then to CHC, Nuh and then to a private doctor to get the post-mortem performed before the victim’s family could arrive, in an apparent attempt to tamper with the evidence.

Per the autopsy report, a reddish contusion and firearm entry wounds were found on the front side of the body, along with a deformed metallic bullet found over the right side of second thoracic vertebrae.

“We condemn this police atrocity against an innocent man, in the strongest possible terms,” said Mr. Ahsan Khan, President of IAMC. “The members of the victim’s family should be given witness protection immediately, in order to ensure a thorough and independent investigation into this murder,” added Mr. Khan.

What makes this encounter especially egregious are the discrepancies between the official police account and the corroborating accounts of the local physicians’ statement of not complying with an illegal post-mortem ordered by the police officers. In addition, the account of three witnesses, the father of the victim and the testimonies of the villagers speaks volumes about the high levels of impunity in the state apparatus, tasked with protecting the lives of citizens.  Munfaid’s murder by the State is the sixteenth extrajudicial killing of young Muslim men by police in Mewat within the last few years.

At UN, Priyanka Chopra bats for girl empowerment

Staff ReporterSocial Media 0

Actress Priyanka Chopra, a UN Goodwill Ambassador, spoke up for girl empowerment and felicitated an Indian woman working towards supporting acid attack victims, at the Global Goals Awards at the UN General Assembly here.

Priyanka, who has often spoken on girl child rights and gender issues, on Wednesday shared on social media a photograph of herself from the event, which highlighted the roles played by a girl to make progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Alongside the image, she wrote: “Honoured to have participated in the Global Goals Awards tonight (Tuesday) at the UN General Assembly. These awards highlight the role girls play in changing their lives and in making progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

She presented the Leadership Award to Indian girl Ria Sharma, who works towards supporting acid attack survivors, and said she felt proud.

“Ria founded Make Love Not Scars (MLNS), which is an organization that actively supports survivors of acid attacks physically and mentally, and campaigns to raise awareness of the issue’ Ria’s efforts are contributing to change the lives of many women who have survived acid attacks,” Priyanka wrote.

Priyanka shared that the organisation had ensured that the survivors receive free treatment under a Supreme Court order for the welfare of acid victims.

The National Award winner also posted a series of photographs and said it was an honour for her to speak at the UN Global Goals Awards on the importance of empowering girls, addressing global leaders and influencers from the UN, philanthropy, media, non-profits and business.

“We all need to come together and work to empower, educate, create opportunities and impart skill sets so that we can be their catalysts for change and to help them build their brave new world. If possible, a safe one where they can live their dreams and laugh together as one,” she wrote.

Priyanka said she had the opportunity to meet the youngest UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Muzoon Al-Mellehan, who is doing “such amazing work advocating education for Syrian girls. All in all, this was a very inspiring and uplifting night”.

Pratham Gala In Chicago raises $260,000 for children in India

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

Prominent business leaders, dignitaries and members of the local Indian-American community gathered in downtown Chicago for the annual Pratham Gala on September 9. Held at the elegant Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Center, the event was attended by 300 guests and raised $260,000 for Pratham’s award-winning education programs.

“A small amount will make big difference in a child’s life forever,” said Allstate Executive and Chapter President Suren Gupta. “Many people are astounded to learn that Pratham can educate a child with a mere $25 because its low-cost programs provide scalable and effective solutions for improving children’s reading and math skills in just six to eight weeks.”

It is estimated that 100 million Indian children cannot read or write.

Guest of honor Martin Radvan President, Mars Wrigley Confectionery and President, Wrigley Company Foundation shared their “sustainable in a generation” plan and was honored for the impact of the Foundation’s partnership with Pratham in educating 100,000 children in Uttar Pradesh’s mint farming villages.

In his keynote speech, Genpact Presdient and CEO N V “Tiger” Tyagarajan stressed the importance of educating girls: “It’s my firm belief that when you educate girls and women in society, the society changes. Women have this tremendous power of actually changing the sociocultural fabric of countries.” Pratham’s Second Chance program gives women who have dropped out of school an opportunity to finish their education and stand on their own feet.

A distinct multicultural flavor was reflected in the evening’s program, which included comedian Anish Shah and tantalizing food from India Garden, and in the fashion, a mix of ethic Indian and Western formal.

Gala co-chairs Alwar Narayanan and Smruti Rajagopalan delivered a memorable night with the support of the chapter Board, local volunteers and the following sponsors: Allstate Insurance Company, Ernst & Young LLP, General Electric, Genpact, Infosys, McKinsey & Company, Mondeléz International, Salesforce Inc., Vinakom Inc., United Airlines, and Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

Established in the slums of Mumbai in 1995, Pratham is now one of India’s largest non-governmental education organizations, having affected the lives of more than 50 million underprivileged children in the past two decades.

Indian American pharmacist Nirav Patel running for New Jersey Assembly

Staff ReporterPolitics 0

Indian American Nirav Patel has decided to run as a Democrat for the Assembly of the state of New Jersey. “I pledge that I am running for Assembly in order to serve the people of the 12th Legislative District,” Patel stated on his website, and while he is new to politics, he wants to guide New Jersey in the right direction “after eight years of a failed governor.”

Patel believes that his opponents’ spending habits to lower tax bills are out of control and states that “New Jersey has one of the highest property tax rates in the nation and our taxes only go up year after year.”

He also mentions that the state is currently ranked #50 out of 50 in terms of how much federal funding it receives for what the residents pay in federal taxes.

“As your state Assemblyman, I will also fight to ensure New Jersey applies for more grants and lobbies for more federal funding than we currently receive,” he said.

Patel also wants to rebuild the state’s infrastructure because New Jersey is a critical shipping hub on the East Coast.

“Under the failed Christie administration, NJ Transit saw a 90% reduction in funding, and the Governor constantly stripped money from our transportation budget in order to fund tax cuts for his wealthy donors,” he explained adding that as a Northeastern state next to the ocean, New Jersey faces the challenges of both winter weather and salt in the air, which degrade and destroy the infrastructure of the state, asking to build more roads, bridges and tunnels.

Patel also states that the opioid epidemic is getting out of hand and wants to introduce a threefold plan:

We will work with local law enforcement and healthcare providers to create a system that treats addicts for their heath issues, rather than just incarceration.

We will create a system that allows athletic trainers, school nurses, families, and doctors to work together to ensure the usage of medication in schools is regulated to prevent addiction from occurring.

We will work with EMTs to ensure a sufficient supply of Narcan, a drug used to treat overdoses, to bring down the high death toll attached to opioid addiction.

Adding that “if we are able to enact this plan” then “we should be able to address both the root causes of” it “as well as help those who are already addicted.”

“I will be available, I will be transparent, and my door will be open to any constituent with any concern, no matter how small they may think their issue may be,” Patel said, as “It is time to put the service back in public service.”

Patel is the son of Raju Patel, a well-known activist in Jersey City; he has acquired training in chemical engineering, is a graduate in the economics field along with earning a Doctorate in Pharmacy and now works as a pharmacist. Patel will be working with candidate Phil Murphy, who is running for governor.

Death of Indian American teen in Connecticut is still a puzzle

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

It will be almost one year since Indian American Jeffny Pally was killed in front of the fire department at the University of Connecticut where she was studying to become a nurse.

According to earlier reports, Pally was returning from an off campus party on the night if Oct. 16, 2016 when she ended up plopping herself against the garage door in front of the University of Connecticut’s Fire Department.

Approximately 20 minutes later, firefighter Dana E. Barrow Jr., received a call and rushed to the scene, not knowing that he was going to run over Pally, who had fallen backwards as he opened the garage door and found her lying lifelessly on the ground when he returned 30 minutes later.

State Police said that Pally’s autopsy confirmed that her death was caused by increased consumption of alcohol as her blood alcohol level was .25, which is three times the state’s legal limit, along with blunt-force trauma caused by the vehicle running over her.

However, new surveillance footage obtained by the Hartford Courant suggests otherwise.

According to a police report, Barrow was cleared of committing a crime as investigators reviewed the video and wrote multiple times that the SUV’s tire “contacts, pushes and travels over Pally,” “traveled over the pedestrian” and “traveled up onto and over Pally,” concluding that Barrow was “not knowingly involved in a motor vehicle collision.”

The report adds that Barrow also “felt a bump, but kept driving to the call, figuring he would check when he got back.”

Tolland State’s Attorney Matthew Gedansky also told the Hartford Courant that he too reviewed the surveillance video before concurring that Barrow committed no criminal or motor vehicle violations.

“The video is consistent with [Barrow’s] statement that he thought he ran over equipment that was often left around the fire house area,” Gedansky said. “Another factor was that he was going to what he thought was a dorm fire.”

However, Michael Walsh, the Pally family lawyer who gave the Hartford Courant access to the surveillance video, in which it shows that Barrow had a chance to investigate what, was in the SUV’s path before choosing to drive over it.

“There was at least a moment –a moment or two – where the driver of that vehicle perceived an obstacle in his path. He hesitated. He went through a thought process. And he decided to go over that obstacle,” Walsh told the Hartford Courant adding that he has filed a lawsuit against the University of Connecticut and Barrow.

“Regardless of what call he was responding to, taking the one, two, three seconds to essentially open the door, pop out, and look – I don’t understand why that wasn’t done. I don’t understand why the police didn’t look at that,” he added.

The Hartford Courant report continues to unfold the story of the tragic night: Pally arrived at her friend’s dorm room between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m., where her and her friends were drinking alcohol prior to attending an off-campus party hosted by members of her sorority and the Kappa Sigma fraternity.

The group got a “sober ride” ” to the off-campus house, which was about two miles away, at around 10:30 p.m. where about 150 were already partying and the fraternity had stocked up on 30-can packs of beer.

Pally stayed at the party about two hours and then got into an Uber car with a bunch of her friends, to return to her dorm room shortly after 12:30 a.m.

A witness told the police that Pally was so intoxicated by then that she kept trying to text a friend who was already in the car.

Pally and another student were then dropped off to their dorm a friend who was still in the Uber car saw both of them walking in the darkness toward the dormitory building.

Surveillance video then shows that Pally arrived at the fire department at about half a minute past 12:44 a.m., where she seemed to be unsteady on her feet as she swaying back and forth as she types on her iPhone eventually making her way to the edge of the building to lean against a windowed garage door and drops to a sitting position.

A few minutes later, it is seen that her head slowly falls to her knee and she remains motionless until 20 minutes later, Barrow receives a call from a dorm as pranksters begin shooting off a stolen fire extinguisher inside a dormitory, triggering multiple alarms inside the firehouse.

At about half a minute past 1:13 a.m., Barrow opens the garage door to pull out the Chevy Tahoe SUV, causing Pally to fall back however, the video shows that she is lying diagonally across the threshold and Barrow slowly drives forward stopping three seconds later as the SUV’s front passenger tire comes into contact with Pally’s body.

After another second, the vehicle then labors to mount the obstacle in its path. Four seconds pass as the front tire slowly climbs over Pally and pushes her forward. The SUV’s right rear tire then rolls over the teen, the vehicle visibly bouncing as it clears her body.

“I felt a bump as I was pulling out. I was not sure where the bump came from. I thought it was a little unusual, but there have been times that our vehicles have run over equipment left on the ground in the bays,” Barrow told investigators in his written statement to police adding that he did look back in a mirror as he left the station and “saw something on the ground which looked like bunker gear which is stored in the bay. I thought I would take care of it when I got back from the call, because we had 5 smoke detectors going off, and I needed to respond to the fire.”

Less than a minute after Barrow left, a dispatcher glanced at a monitor providing a live feed of the surveillance camera and noticed the garage bay door was open, so she pressed a button to close it. “I did not notice anything out of the ordinary or anything that caught my attention,” she told police. “I was just looking to see if the door was closed.”

State police determined in their report that Pally had been pushed 19 inches by the SUV, which was far enough so that she was no longer blocking the path of the overhead door, allowing it to close properly.

About 25 minutes later, another dispatcher was looking at the monitor, trying to make out a shape in the dark by the garage and said “oh, that’s funny. That kind of looks like a leg,” to which her colleague replied saying “I don’t know; it looks like a shadow.”

Meanwhile, Pally’s boyfriend had texted her, sent a FaceTime request, a Snapchat message and even called her within a 10-minute period.

When Barrow returned from the prank call at about 1:51 a.m., he use his side mirrors to angle the SUV backwards toward the open garage and slowly moved the car closer and closer until he saw something on the ground.

“I noticed that it was a person because I saw a leg,” said Barrow, who was then seen getting out of the Tahoe and kneeling over Pally noticing that she was not breathing and also could not find a pulse.

He later told investigators that her eyes were “wide open and glossy” and that he “saw her mid part of her belly that had either dirt or tire marks on it.”

Barrow returned to the SUV to radio for help and then went into the firehouse, where dispatchers described him as distraught, in shock and remember him saying “I think I killed someone.”

When Barrow returned to Pally’s body, seconds later, paramedics and others came running out of the firehouse, they attended to Pally for 16 minutes but were unable to save her, she was presumed dead at 2:10 a.m.

Along with a blood-alcohol content of .25 percent, Pally’s autopsy showed that she had five broken ribs and injuries to her lungs, liver and the left ventricle of her heart.

Investigators recreated the scene from that night in numerous ways and concluded that “from the line of sight reconstruction it was concluded, that Barrow COULD NOT see Pally in her seated or supine position.”

“The goal in my career is the safety of the kids at the school. I can’t believe this happened to me,” said Barrow, who retired from the University of Connecticut’s Fire Department six months after the incident, he had been there since 1990. Six, Kappa Sigma fraternity members were also arrested in June and the fraternity has been suspended from the campus.

Friends of MP: NY/NJ host 3rd annual picnic

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

Friends of MP : NY/NJ, the nodal group for NRIs hailing from Madhya Pradesh and residing in New York tristate held its 3rd annual Picnic cum get together on Sunday 17th September at Princeton Country Club Picnic Area of Mercer Parks in NJ. The ‘House- Full’ event had around 300 participants of all age groups-including families and couples – originating from all small and big towns in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and in the tri state area.

In many firsts, this organizing team planned the morning breakfast slated as ‘Indore Kaa Sarafa’ (an area in Indore famous for its food delicacies). The very elaborate fare included traditional Indori dishes like Pohe with Indori Sev, Kachori, Saboodana Khichdi, and Indore’ s unique spicy food delicacy Garadu . This was laced with Chilled Jaljeera . The afternoon Lunch included Dal, Batee, Choorma served in special Thali. To set the ambience, the picnic area was plastered with banners show casing about MP’ unique features.

The food in authentic Indore taste was very much appreciated. To go with the sumptuous food, there were elaborate games, fun activities, Photo Booth with MP memorabilia, Snow Cones and Candy Floss (again in Indore style) and much more for the Couples, Ladies and Kids attending. Alongside, Cricket and Volleyball was played with lot of interest. Like in previous years, the name tags for all Attendees were made out in Hindi.

The picnic offered great opportunity for people from different cities/ towns of Madhya Pradesh to seek others from their origins. Many people got a chance to reconnect with friends after 10-15 years. The organizing team had been working on this event for over 6 months. It attracted such huge interest that many people were on wait list due to capacity constraints of the Picnic area. In the afternoon, Surprise best wishes messages for Friends of MP and this Picnic from the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP National Gen Secretary Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya (from Indore) and Principal Secretary to MP CM, Shri SK Mishra were played out . https://youtu.be/0ADoLGQSR2c Message from Chief Minister of CM, Shri ShivRaj Singh Chouhan https://youtu.be/cTqdR9WS-G8 Message from BJP National Gen Secretary, Shri Kailash Vijayvargiya https://youtu.be/0VWpAaIq-Ng Message from Principal Secy to CM MP,

Shri SK Mishra As the date coincided with Birthday of Shri Narendra Modi, the gathering conveyed its greetings for India’s Prime Minister. The Indian Consulate in New York also conveyed its best wishes for the Picnic. While most of the attendees in the Picnic were from MP, Community leaders from other Indian sociocultural organisations also attended. The organizing team of this Picnic is made up of volunteers hailing from MP and residing in NY Tristate. Key members of the team include the families of Jitendra Muchhhal, Rajesh Mittal, Sandeep Jain, Raj Bansal, Pankaj Gupta, Rajiv Goyal, Anupam Sarwaikar, Rakesh Bhargava, Dr Rajesh Kakani, Nipun Joshi, Anjani Mittal, Avinash Jhawar, Navneet Trivedi

AAPI’s Nine City Musical Tour by Talat Aziz to Help Create Everlasting Bonds Between AAPI Members: Dr. Gautam Sammader

Staff ReporterHealth 0

Funds raised from Talat Aziz musical tour to help victims of Hurricanes across USA

(Chicago, IL: September 20, 2017):  Talat Aziz, a popular ghazal singer, playback singer in Bollywood movies, composer, and actor, from Hyderabad, India, is all set to take the United States by storm during his Nine City Musical Tour starting on October 6th in San Antonio, TX. Organized by the American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), the musical tour is being organized across the nation, with CME Seminars for AAPI members and Régional Conférences in Nine Cities across the country. The grand finale of the musical tour will be held on October 28th in Atlanta, GA.

Following the highly successful tour by Shreya Ghoshal and Shankar Mahadevan, benefitting AAPI’s charitable works and local AAPI Chapters, the current tour is being led by the popular world renowned Gazhal singer and troupe. The proceeds from the musical tour is planned to be used for AAPI’s charitable works, benefitting those affected by the hurricane in the states of Texas and Florida, and other projects in India and the United States

The great Ghazal mastero will perform on Wednesday, Oct. 11 2017 in Fresno, CA; Friday,  October 13th in Huntsville, AL,Saturday, October 14th in Houston, TX; Sunday, October 15th in Augusta, GA; Friday, October 20th in  Columbus, OH; Saturday, October 21st in Chicago, IL; Sunday, October 22nd in St. Louis, MO; Friday, October 27th in South Jersey, NJ; and Saturday, October 28th in Atlanta, GA.

“Many of our industry partners liked this concept where they could get prime time with a few hundred doctors for product promotion/theater, non CME lectures, exhibits, booths,” Dr. Gautam Samadder, President of AAPI, says. “These multi-city mini-seminars and music concerts are a novel concept for education and recreation that will raise funds for the local chapters of AAPI, the national AAPI and the AAPI Charitable Foundation.”

Born in Hyderabad, India, the young Aziz grew in a family of talented artists, organizing Mehfils in their house, inviting artists and poets like Jagjit Singh, Jaan Nisaar Akhtar to name a few. Influenced by these great artists, Aziz started learning music from an early age and took his initial training in music from Kirana Gharana. He was trained primarily by Ustad Samad Khan and later by Ustad Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan from the Kirana Gharana and from Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan.

Talat Aziz released his first album in February 1980, under the baton of Jagjit Singh, which was a runaway hit and the ghazals are still favorites of all ghazal lovers. Starting with debut in the Bollywood world in 1981 in the classic film, Umrao Jaan, Talat Aziz won national recognition and won chance to sing in hundreds of other Bollywood movies, winning the hearts and souls of millions around the world.

Talat has also composed music for TV serials and has also acted in several of them. As an actor he has acted in several TV serials and in the film ‘Dhun’ directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Recently, Talat Aziz acted in the feature film ‘Fitoor’ produced and released by Disney in 2015 where he played a cameo. He has toured around the world winning laurels from all. In 2015, he toured the U.S. for a special show titled ‘The Iconic Tour’ in conjunction with Prria Haider Productions in USA, who executed it for six packed concerts all over the U.S. where for the first time he sang Bollywood retro songs with Asha Bhosle ji.

The Seminars and workshops are being led by accomplished faculty of leading Cardiologists, Cardiovascular Surgeons and Psychiatrists.  Each of the nine medical-educational-programs is expected to have an audience of 250-400 Physicians, which will be followed by annual gala event and entertainment with over 2,500 audience at each location.

The need to organize the national level campaign is a way towards realizing one of AAPI’s main goals, Dr. Samadder said.  “Our primary goal is to educate the public on diseases and their impact on health, AAPI has physicians in almost every city and town of USA. With this extensive network we should be able to spread message on healthcare by following the template plan. We are also exploring the use of social media and phone ‘apps’ as healthy lifestyle tools.”

Dr. Samadder, who assumed charge of this premier ethnic organization representing 100,000 physicians and residents, gave credit to the whole hearted support of AAPI executive committee, hard work of local Chapter members, and God’s blessings in the plan and execution of the Musical Tour around the nation.  “Success of credit goes to the entire national organizing committee, AAPI executive committee, Board Of Trustees and AAPI Charitable Foundation members,” he said.

AAPI is a forum to facilitate and enable Indian American Physicians to excel in patient care, teaching and research and to pursue their aspirations in professional and community affairs. For more details on the Nine City Tour and AAPI, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

Trump, top Democrats agree to work on deal to save ‘dreamers’ from deportation

Staff ReporterU.S. 0

Democratic leaders announced late Wednesday that they agreed with President Donald Trump to pursue a legislative deal that would protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation and enact border security measures that don’t include building a physical wall.

The president discussed options during a dinner at the White House with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that also included talks on tax reform, infrastructure and trade. Trump has showed signs of shifting strategy to cross the aisle and work with Democrats in the wake of the high-profile failures by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Trump, however, appeared to send shifting signals Thursday on how far he would go with Democrats over signature issues such as the border wall and the fate of so-called undocumented “dreamers.” In a series of tweets, Trump wrote that “no deal” was made on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an Obama-era program that has allowed 690,000 dreamers to work and go to school without fear of deportation. He further wrote that agreements on “massive border security” would have to accompany any new DACA provisions, and insisted that “the WALL … will continue to be built.”

But he again put lawmakers on notice that he favors some protections for the young dreamers. “Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?” Trump wrote in back-to-back tweets. Really! … They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own – brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security.”

Trump tweeted, “The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built.” A possible alliance between Trump and the Democrats on immigration would represent a major political gamble for a president who made promises of tougher border control policies the centerpiece of his campaign and pledged to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border. A majority of Republicans, especially in the House, have long opposed offering legal status, and a path to citizenship, to the nation’s more than 11 million undocumented immigrants.

In a sign of the potential trouble for the president, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, an immigration hard-liner and early Trump supporter, wrote that if reports of a potential immigration deal are accurate, the president’s “base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair. No promise is credible.”

Trump has vacillated over the fate of the dreamers, who have lived in the country illegally since they were children. Under mounting pressure from the right, Trump moved two weeks ago to begin dismantling the program.

In announcing the decision, the president made clear that he expected Congress to pursue a plan to protect the DACA recipients, offering a six-month delay until their two-year work permits begin to expire in March.

In a statement, the White House described the meeting as “constructive” and said the administration “looks forward to continuing these conversations with leadership on both sides of the aisle.”

Congressional aides familiar with the exchange said that Trump and the party leaders agreed to move quickly on legislation to protect dreamers, though aides did not disclose whether they agreed that the goal should be for dreamers to eventually be offered a path to citizenship.

In a statement, Schumer and Pelosi said they had “a very productive meeting at the White House with the President. The discussion focused on DACA. We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.”

And Republican leaders are already wary of the spending agreement Trump brokered with Democrats last week on a three-month spending plan to raise the debt ceiling and keep the government funded. Pelosi and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., met earlier Wednesday to begin discussing the broad parameters of the forthcoming immigration debate. Ryan’s team signaled that despite the administration’s eagerness to quickly seal the deal, it will take awhile.

Sankara Eye Foundation to be part of Diwali at Times Square

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This year, Event Guru Inc. will be team up with Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF), an organization committed to eradicating curable blindness in India, for Diwali at Times Square, according to a press release issued here. SEF (https://www.giftofvision.org/) aims to reach out to the underprivileged communities in India and provides them with quality eye care free of cost by building operationally self-sufficient super specialty eye care hospitals across the country.

“Diwali is the harbinger of hope and all things good, which is why charitable works are encouraged during this time of the year. To fulfill the most important tenets of Diwali, we are pledging to support Sankara Eye Foundation and I urge everyone to donate and spread the light of sight,” said Neeta Bhasin, the founder of Event Guru Inc.

The objective for Diwali at Times Square this year is to stand up with Sankara Eye Foundation’s work by raising awareness and formulating fundraising opportunities on visual impairment, which affects about 55 million people.

SEF has, to this date performed over 1.6 million, free eye surgeries for the needy and is urging everyone to donate and gift the light of sight this year during Diwali at Times Square, which is on October 7.

“Sankara Eye Foundation, is very happy to partner with Event Guru Inc., for ‘Diwali at Times Square.’ This partnership will help SEF bring light into the lives of many more visually handicapped people. On the occasion of this grand ‘Festival of Lights’ let us light many many lamps and spread love – Jyot se jyot jalate chalo, Prem ki Ganga bahate chalo,” said Murali Krishnamurthy, the founder and CEO of Sankara Eye Foundation.

Dimple Ajmera wins place on ballot for Charlotte City Council

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Charlotte City Council member Dimple Ajmera has advanced to the general election for the Charlotte, N.C., City Council’s at-large seat with a fourth-place finish in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary election. Ajmera just made it to the November election, with the top four finishers of the election advancing to the next phase.

Indian American financial accountant Dimple Ajmera says supporters of President Donald Trump have no business running for office in Charlotte. It’s a silly thing to say. It’s an unproductive thing to say. I sort of recognize why she said it.

Ajmera, who was appointed to the council in January to replace fellow Democrat John Autry, is running for an at-large seat this fall. In an appearance Sunday on the news show Flashpoint, she said: “Republicans that are supporting Trump, they should have no place on City Council whatsoever or in the mayor’s race.”

The candidate, in being named to the seat, agreed not to seek re-election, though she drew the ire of some councilmembers who voted her into the seat when she announced she would seek election for the at-large post. Ajmera, who works at TIAA in University City, said she has worked to make progress on redeveloping Eastland Mall and wants to do more to encourage businesses to relocate to east and west Charlotte.

She said the city could change its economic development grants to steer companies toward struggling areas of the city, according to the report. Ajmera immigrated with her family to the United States from India when she was 16. She graduated from Southern High in Durham and then the University of Southern California.

Indian American Tennis Ace Vijay Amritraj’s story to be made into a biopic

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Former Indian American tennis champion Vijay Amritraj’s life story will be told through a biopic. He said that the film will delve into how parents’ love can make a child’s dream come true. A boutique film studio, Cinestaan Film Company, has acquired the rights to make the biopic.

Talking about the biopic, Amritraj said, “Parents love compassion dedication and hard work under the most trying circumstances can make a child’s dream come true even if he or she is nowhere near good enough in anything. I am humbled that a company like Cinestaan Film Company would want to tell my story but this is about mothers, children and overwhelming love.”

He has achieved many firsts as India’s number one tennis champion. Amritraj has also shown his prowess as a sports commentator. The celebrated sportsman, who also had a brief acting career featuring in “Star Trek” and “Octopussy,” was honored with a Padma Shri in 1983. In 2006, he established the Vijay Amritraj Foundation, and was named the UN’s Messenger of Peace.

Interestingly, his son Prakash Amritraj will be producing the film with Cinestaan. “I’ve always felt beyond blessed to have my greatest hero and my father be the same person. While the world knows of his numerous achievements, my brother Vikram and I have always felt if everyone was to know his character and the love that made him; the world could truly be a better place and more seeds of love, inspiration, and hope will be sown,” said Prakash. “I can’t be more excited to bring this story to the big screen.”

Rohit Khattar, the Chairman of Cinestaan Film Company said, “Before Vijay, no Indian sportsman has been celebrated on the world stage in this manner. We all felt so proud as Indians to read about his triumphs overseas and today we, at Cinestaan Film Company are thrilled to help bring his incredibly inspiring story to the screen. Many who know of Vijay’s successes will be in awe when they see the challenges that were presented to him in early life before he achieved greatness, as we were when we heard it first hand from him.”

Indian-origin men plead guilty in US call center scam

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Four Indian-origin men have pleaded guilty to charges of their involvement in a multi-million US dollar telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres.

Nisarg Patel, 26, of New Jersey, Dilip Kumar Ramanlal Patel, 30, of Florida and Rajesh Kumar, 39, of Arizona each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering offences. The pleas were entered before US district judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

All three have been in federal custody since they were arrested in October 2016. In a related case, Dipak Kumar Sankalchand Patel, a resident of Pennsylvania, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in May this year.

Nisarg, Dilip and Rajesh and 53 others, besides five India-based call centers have been charged for frauding American people through a money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas in October last year.

According to admissions made in connection with their pleas, the three men and their accomplices perpetrated a complex scheme in which people from from call centers located in Ahmedabad called people living in the US, posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the accused targeted and threatened people in the US with arrest, imprisonment, fines or deportation if they did not pay money, which the accused alleged they owed to the US government.

Those who agreed to pay money to the scammers were instructed how to make the payment, including by purchasing stored value cards or wiring money. After the payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of “runners” based in the US to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds.

In connection with his guilty plea, Nisarg admitted that beginning in around June 2013 and continuing through December 2015, he acted as a domestic runner in the criminal scheme, liquidating victim funds for conspirators from India-based call centers and organisational co-defendant ‘HGLOBAL’.

He communicated about the fraudulent scheme with various India-based co-defendants via telephone, email and WhatsApp text messaging. Dilip Kumar admitted that he to had served as a runner, liquidating victim scam funds per the instructions from his accomplices in India, who were running the fake call centres.

He communicated via phone and email in furtherance of the criminal scheme with his India-based associates, including by sending lists of re-loadable card numbers to be activated and loaded with funds siphoned off from the victims.

Kumar also operated as a runner, laundering scam proceeds from reloadable cards and purchasing money orders using those funds in and around south-central Arizona at the direction of both domestic and India-based co-defendants. He admitted to using fraudulent identification documents, including drivers’ licenses, to receive wire transfers of money directly from victims of the fraud scheme.

Trump makes it harder to shift from work visa to green card

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that those who are on work visas and applying for permanent residence are now required to go through an in-person interview, a step that could slow down the application process and make it more difficult for the applicant. The new policy will go into effect on October 1 this year.

Thousands of immigrant aliens every year transited to US Green Card through their work visa in the US.. H1 B route was found to be quite convenient to obtain a green card. But it appears it is not going to be the same “easy and convenient” route anymore. In technical parlance, it refers to an I-485 adjustment of status interview. This announcement was made on August 28 and was reported immediately by The Indian Panorama

On another front, US immigration attorneys are seeing an uptick in number of ‘Requests For Evidence’ (RFEs) being issued by the USCIS. These RFEs relate to petitions (applications) filed on or about April 2017 for H-1B visas that will be valid from October 1, 2017.

A vast majority of those to whom green cards are allotted comprise those who are already working in the US on temporary visas. During the four-year period up to 2014, over 2 lakh green cards were allotted to H-1B visa holders, according to a report by the Bipartisan Policy Centre.

Latest available data released by the USCIS shows that during 2015, as many as 34,843 Indians adjusted their temporary visa status and obtained green cards. Of this, 25,179 were holding jobs in the US (primarily under the H1-B category).

Immigration.com managing attorney Rajiv S Khanna says, “A new wrinkle in the inquiries is that, as USCIS had warned, they will not accept level-1 wages to be given in H-1B cases easily. They are questioning level-1 wages almost uniformly.” He explains the various levels and illustrates the wages. Level-1 category relates to entry-level jobs and, at the other end, is the level-4 category which calls for a more technical and leadership role.

The prescribed wage at level 1 for a software developer in San Jose is $88,733 a year, which rises to $155,147 annually at level 4. Khanna adds, “It is the USCIS position that level-1 salary indicates a non-professional position that does not require a specific college degree and is a job that would be inappropriate for an H-1B visa.

Pope Francis meets kidnapped and now freed Indian Salesian priest

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Father Tom Uzhunnalil says he prayed for the pope every day during his captivity. One day after his release from captivity, Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil met with Pope Francis. According to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, the pope welcomed Father Uzhunnalil at his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Sept. 13.

Arriving before Pope Francis, the Salesian knelt before him and kissed his feet. Visibly moved by the gesture, the pope helped him up and kissed his hands, the Vatican newspaper said. Before blessing Father Uzhunnalil, the pope embraced him and said he would continue to pray for him as he had done during his imprisonment.

Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped March 4, 2016, from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. Four Missionaries of Charity nuns and 12 others were murdered in the attack. According to Oman’s state-run news agency ONA, Father Uzhunnalil was “rescued” on Sept. 12 by Oman authorities “in coordination with the Yemeni parties.”

Father Uzhunnalil thanked the pope, telling him that “he prayed every day for him, offering his suffering for his mission and the good of the church.” Recalling his time in captivity, the Salesian told the pope that although he was unable to celebrate Mass, “every day, I would repeat to myself, in my heart, all the words of the celebration.”

Father Uzhunnalil said he continues to pray for all those who have been spiritually close to him, particularly for the four nuns and 12 people murdered when he was abducted. One day after his release from captivity, Salesian Father Tom Uzhunnalil met with Pope Francis.

According to the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, the pope welcomed Father Uzhunnalil at his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Sept. 13.

Arriving before Pope Francis, the Salesian knelt before him and kissed his feet. Visibly moved by the gesture, the pope helped him up and kissed his hands, the Vatican newspaper said. Before blessing Father Uzhunnalil, the pope embraced him and said he would continue to pray for him as he had done during his imprisonment.

Father Uzhunnalil was kidnapped March 4, 2016, from a home for the aged and disabled run by the Missionaries of Charity in Aden, Yemen. Four Missionaries of Charity and 12 others were murdered in the attack. According to Oman’s state-run news agency ONA, Father Uzhunnalil was “rescued” Sept. 12 by Oman authorities “in coordination with the Yemeni parties.”

Father Uzhunnalil thanked the pope, telling him that “he prayed every day for him, offering his suffering for his mission and the good of the church.” Recalling his time in captivity, the Salesian told the pope that although he was unable to celebrate Mass, “every day, I would repeat to myself, in my heart, all the words of the celebration.”

Father Uzhunnalil said he continues to pray for all those who have been spiritually close to him, particularly for the four nuns and 12 people murdered when he was abducted. Also present at the meeting was Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India, who told L’Osservatore Romano that “after this terrible experience, the essential message Father Tom wants to convey is that ‘Jesus is great and he loves us. Truly, every day, I felt Jesus close to me,” Father Uzhunnalil said. “I always knew and felt in my heart that I was never alone.”

 “Is the World Integrating or Disintegrating?”

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“Is the world integrating or disintegrating,” was addressed by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.  The venue was the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board High-level dialogue: Is the world integrating or disintegrating? Geneva, September 12, 2017.

“The increasing economic inter-dependency among nations captured by the ‘globalization’ rubric has been driven by a combination of technology, policy, business behavior, and public attitudes,” according to the Archbishop.  He went on to say: “The present degree of global and regional challenges requires strong cooperation and solidarity among States, regions and international organisations, as no actor alone can positively cope with issues such as economic crisis, inequalities, future of work, climate change, social exclusion and migration.”

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva UNCTAD Trade and Development Board High-level dialogue: Is the world integrating or disintegrating? Geneva, September 12, 2017.

“Mr. President, The Delegation of the Holy See welcomes the opportunity of this High-level dialogue and the note prepared by the UNCTAD Secretariat which focuses on “the possibility of a new normal in global trade relations, provides an overview of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in developing countries and addresses the role of regionalism in economic development”.

The increasing economic inter-dependency among nations captured by the ‘globalization’ rubric has been driven by a combination of technology, policy, business behavior, and public attitudes. While all of these factors help to explain economic growth generally, they have contributed especially to global integration through trade, finance and migration. The present degree of global and regional challenges requires strong cooperation and solidarity among States, regions and international organisations, as no actor alone can positively cope with issues such as economic crisis, inequalities, future of work, climate change, social exclusion and migration.

Regional integration has long been a tool in trade promotion; increased trade flows and evolving commercial links within Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have been forged between regions in the last two decades. In developing countries, trade agreements help determine national trade policy and potentially amplify the impact of trade on development. RTAs have the potential to promote higher standards in terms of labour, environment, transparency and other progressive reforms and non-economic policy objectives. RTAs have become the instrument of choice to increase trade. Since 1995, 445 regional trade agreements covering goods and/or services have been reported to the World Trade Organization1 and to date “all WTO members […] have an RTA in force”2. In the last decade, a new approach to RTAs has seen their evolution into mega-regionals and multiparty agreements. Furthermore, a growing number of bilateral, regional and interregional trade agreements incorporate provisions that address social and developmental concerns, such as labor policy considerations, sustainable development and environmental protection. All of these considerations must be based on the dignity of the human person. Following this premise both individual actors and multilateral institutions can work together with the goal of reaching the common good.

Mr. President,

The Nairobi Maafikiano highlights the importance of regional integration in promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development through, inter alia, strengthening regional economic cooperation among developing and developed countries. Regional integration can be an important catalyst to reducing trade barriers, implementing policy reforms, decreasing trade costs and increasing developing country participation in regional and global value chains”. Nonetheless, it should not be forgotten that modern business and free trade, “even if they have reduced poverty for a great number of people, often have led to a widespread social exclusion.”3

Trade is unbalanced and unjust when it complements the landscape of social exclusion and inequality – when it transgresses anyone’s dignity anywhere in the world; when it neglects the common good of the whole of humanity; when it worsens the distribution of income; when it fails to create sustainable employment; when, worse, it takes advantage of human trafficking and modern slavery; and when in effect it bars the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable from participating in economic life. Such a trading system cannot be justified when it protects or even enhances the ability of large corporations to cut corners, avoid paying taxes and discard workers rather than supporting the ability of the poor and marginalized to earn a decent living and live in dignity. It cannot be defended when it runs roughshod over basic human rights, refusing to hear the cries of the poor who toil long hours for scandalously low pay in unsafe working conditions. It cannot be defended when it treats the natural environment as yet another resource to be plundered, rather than a precious gift to be stewarded prudently and wisely, including with self-restraint.

Regional Trade Agreements can help developing countries to gradually adjust to the increased degree of free trade competition. However, we must recall, as Pope Paul VI affirmed, that “free trade can be called just only when it conforms to the demands of social justice.”4 In this sense, we have to identify the inequalities of the economic system and start fixing them. RTAs should be seen and used as powerful tools of solidarity and subsidiarity, but not as a substitute of the wider multilateral framework. Member States can enhance the facilitating role that cooperation within and among RTAs can have in areas where policy coordination and coherence is most needed to increase synergies between trade and the Sustainable Development Goals, such as “reducing trade policy uncertainty; avoiding the extremes of trade protectionism at regional and multilateral levels; promoting the structural transformation of low-income and/or commodity-dependent developing countries; devising regulatory measures and standards, for example in the areas of health, the environment and competition policy, that enhance and do not undermine the trade flows of developing countries; and formulating policy measures to achieve inclusive trade, for example for small and medium-sized enterprises, women and youth”5.

RTAs and multilateralism must be centered on the integral development of all human beings. Economic policies must respect the dignity of every person and negotiations must promote the common good. If not, the roots of the last, devastating crisis will not be cut. If the current problems are not addressed, the economic situation will ultimately worsen the global political landscape, fueling fears and tensions worldwide.

In conclusion, Mr. President,

UNCTAD can play a fundamental role in shaping a new spirit in global trade relations. What the world needs now, more than ever, is a new culture of fair multilateral relations based on cooperation and international solidarity. This should be the permanent role of UNCTAD, to be an opportunity and a place for a renewed and effective dialogue on development. Multilateralism, if promoting a human-centred approach to the economy, and RTAs, if aimed at improving the common good, can promote a just trade and will strongly help the human family build a better world and fairer societies. Thank you, Mr. President.”

Aziz Ansari wins Emmys 2017

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For the second year in a row, Indian American actor-writer-director Aziz Ansari earned an Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series’ for “Master of None” at the 69th Emmy Awards nite held at Microsoft Theater September 17th in Los Angeles, Calif. He shared the honors with Lena Waithe, who made history as the first African American woman to win for comedy writing for the “Thanksgiving” episode from Season 2 of Netflix’s “Master of None.”

Ansari and Waithe beat out Alec Berg of “Silicon Valley,” Donald Glover and Stephen Glover of “Atlanta,” and Billy Kimball and David Mandel of “Veep” for the honor. In 2016, Ansari shared the win with his “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang.

In his speech, the activist and rapper also highlighted the importance of the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that works towards exonerating wrongly convicted people, and the New York-based South Asian Youth Action organization.

“It’s always strange reaping the rewards of a story that’s based on real world suffering,” Ahmed said in his acceptance speech. “But if this show has shown a light on some of the prejudice in our society, Islamophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that’s something.”

The night was also special for British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed who became the first man of South Asian descent to take home the Emmy for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.’ Ahmed was honored for his portrayal of Nasir “Naz” Khan on HBO’s “The Night of.” In 2010, Indian American actress Archie Panjabi won an Emmy for her role in “The Good Wife.”

“Master of None” and Ansari were also nominated for ‘Outstanding Comedy Series’ and ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.’ Adding charm to the list of presenters for the second time was Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who shone on the red carpet in an encrusted white feathered gown from the shelves of Balmain. And the 34-year-old, who complemented her look with dark purple smoky eyes and a matching matte lip, also landed on the best dressed list. Chopra and Anthony Anderson presented the ‘Outstanding Variety Talk Series’ award to John Oliver for his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

Dr. Vemuri S. Murthy installed as the President of the Chicago Medical Society

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By Asian Media USA ©

 Chicago IL: Dr. Vemuri S. Murthy, a Chicago-based Anesthesiologist and resuscitation expert has become the 169th President of the prestigious Cook County Medical Organization, The Chicago Medical Society (CMS) in a well-attended inauguration ceremony @ Maggiano’s Banquets in Chicago on September 12, 2017.  He is an alumnus of Guntur Medical College and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi) in India and Rush Medical Center in Chicago.

The Chicago Medical Society is one of the largest county medical societies in the nation, representing approximately 17,000 physicians offering their services to about 5 million people.

Dr. Murthy served the organization in different capacities since 1983.  He is the Founder of the CMS Community CPR project SMILE (Saving More Illinois Lives through Education) in raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrests with CPR education throughout the greater Chicago communities for several years. SMILE is the first community CPR project offered to the public by a Medical Society in USA. The training participants included the US Congressmen, Illinois and Chicago legislators and members of the Chicago Consular Corps including Indian Consulate.

A past Chairman of the Anesthesiology department @ West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, Illinois and past President of the Indian American Medical Association, Illinois (IAMAIL), Dr. Murthy has been a veteran volunteer of the American Heart Association for many years and is a member of the International Committee.  A pioneer of resuscitation education in Indian Medical Colleges, he is an advisor to the training centers and a visiting University Professor.  A “Champion of Global Health” and recipient of several national and international awards for his contributions involving resuscitation and public health education, he is leading a national Hands-only community CPR project in India involving the University of Illinois @Chicago, IAMAIL and Share India.

In his inaugural address, Dr. Murthy stressed the need for more active physician participation in organized medicine through the Medical Societies in this age of rapidly changing healthcare arena affecting physician practices and patient care.  He also encouraged the younger physicians including medical students and residents to become members of a medical society even before they start their medical practices. He mentioned the advantages of CMS membership such as advocacy, education, informational exchange and networking.  Chicago Medical Society has been serving the interests of physicians in Cook County and promoting quality patient care for several decades and as the incoming President, Dr. Vemuri S. Murthy is committed to this mission!

Sushma Swaraj in New York to attend UN General Assembly meet

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrive here today to represent India at the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session with a packed schedule of super diplomacy among an array of world leaders.

During her week-long stay, Swaraj, leading a high-powered Indian delegation, is expected to hold about 20 bilateral and trilateral meetings with leaders attending the session.

Swaraj, was received at the airport by the Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna, and India’s permanent Representative to the United Nations Syed Akbaruddin.

She would kick off her official engagement later today with a trilateral meeting with her American and Japanese counterparts Rex Tillerson, and Taro Konorespectively.

Aimed at lending momentum to cooperation between the three countries, the meeting also turns significant amid China flexing its muscles in the region.

In a day jam-packed with consecutive meetings, Swaraj will also participate in a high-level meeting on UN reforms, hosted by the US and chaired by president Donald Trump.

India is among the 120 countries who have supported the reform efforts of the UN Secretary General.

India has said that the UN reforms need to be “broad- based and all-encompassing” and the changes should not be restricted to its Secretariat only.

In a preview of the Swaraj’s engagements during her week-long stay in the US, Akbaruddin had said that issues of climate change, terrorism, people centric migration and peacekeeping are other key focus areas for India this year.

Swaraj will also participate in a special panel of selected countries by the UN Secretary General on climate action, he said earlier. She will address the UNGA onSeptember 23.

The minister is scheduled to have a series of meetings today including that with Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and her Bolivian counterpart Fernando Huanacuni Mamani.

Vegetarian Vision holds 1st wellness event in New York City

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Thousands from New York and around the nation came to participate and learn at the Vegetarian Vision during its first International Health and Wellness Exposition on September 9-10 at Penn Pavilion in New York City.  Renowned speakers included dozens of internationally recognized physicians, scientists, authors, and wellness experts, who spoke about the many health and environment benefits of a plant based/vegetarian diet.  Exhibitors and booth demonstrators filled a 40,000 square foot arena at Penn Pavilion’s expo hall, entertaining guests with live food demonstrations, on site yoga exercises, holistic therapies and new age massage techniques, and the very latest in health and wellness products.

Vegetarian Vision founder H.K. Shah, and his wife Malti Shah, expressed their joy at a ribbon cutting ceremony, which marked the inception of the event and the organization’s 25th jubilee anniversary.  President Chandra Mehta led with the lamp lighting ceremony, alongside Bollywood star Mahima Chaudhry.  Attendees included  Dr. Sudhir Parikh, H.R. Shah, meditation guru Patri Ji,  Air India’s Vandana Sharma, David Green, president of Vegan Association, Andrew Zwicker, New Jersey assemblyman, Mr. K. K. Mehta, convention chair, Nitin Vyas convention coordinator, and Flora Parekh, vice president.

Gary Null, host of award winning radio shows, and author of numerous NY Times best sellers, delivered a keynote lecture on reversing heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and mental decline through vegetarianism and veganism.  Harvard trained cardiologist, Dr. Robert Ostfeld spoke further on the many benefits of plant based diet.

Bollywood star Mahima Chaudhry was chair and judge of the Mr. and Miss Vegetarian Beauty Pageant.  The pageant was followed by a special gala event, hosted with honorable Congressman Tom Suozzi and Vegetarian Vision founder H.K. Shah.  The keynote speech was made by Chandra Mehta. The Expo’s grand finale had  a live fashion show, organized by Suhag Mehta, president of Shreenath Enterprise Inc, and MC’d by Flora Parekh.

The exposition was a first for the Vegetarian Vision organization, bringing plant based lifestyle and wellness, to a global stage.  Null, host of award winning radio shows, and author of numerous NY Times best sellers, delivered a keynote lecture on reversing heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and mental decline through vegetarian and veganism.

Harvard trained cardiologist, Dr. Robert Ostfeld spoke further on the many benefits of plant based diet Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute lectured on advanced healthcare, preventing and reversing disease, premature again, and renewing happiness.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman, New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live, The End of Diabetes and The End of Heart Disease, further demonstrated the healthiest ways to eat, and scientific principles of superior nutrition. Mark Becker, yoga specialist, who opened the first Non-Hindu yoga center in NYC, Serenity, over 40 years ago, focused on “ahimsa,” nonviolence, as a spiritual cornerstone of vegetarianism.

Pavilion hosts, booth exhibitors, and other speakers displayed unique healing techniques through crystal bowl sounds, infrared light saunas, hydrogen water, and ayurvedic remedies.   Famous vegan chefs, including, Mark Reinfeld, lit up the Expo with live cooking demonstrations featuring their celebrated recipes.  The food hall also showcased a variety of oriental teas, live juice and smoothie samples, and vegan meals by Chickpea.

Vegetarian Vision’s International Health and Wellness Exposition proved to be a success of mega proportion.  Attended by thousands, and hosted by a star-studded list of pioneers and wellness experts, the Expo made for a special, and memorable experience.

India Celebrates 70 Years of Independence at the United Nations

Staff ReporterIndia 0

To celebrate the 70 years of India’s Independence, the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations organized a special event on September 8th, 2017.Although traditionally, such celebrations are held on August 15, the actual day of independence, the UN held its event on Sept. 8.

Ambassador Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the UN was present along with PRs/Ambassadors of several countries at the celebrations at the world headquarters of the United Nation. Over 600 hundred guests from around the nation joined in the historic celebrations organized by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative, Ambassador  Syed Akbaruddin, who along with his wife Padma Akbaruddin, personally welcomed every guest. The deputy PR and his wife also joined them in welcoming guests who all were greeted at the entrance with a tilak on the forehead, an Indian way to show respect and express warmth.

The Jersey City-based Surati dancers and musicians have made a point each year of celebrating Indian Independence Day. Surati, a nonprofit dedicated to education in the performing arts, performed before the audience. The performance featured 15 dancers and musicians who performed Indian classical, folk, martial arts, and Bollywood, as well as hip-hop, jazz, afro-fusion, Flamenco and other world music and dance genres.

The performances were designed to highlight the various genres of Indian dance and music as well as art forms from all over the world, which drives home the universality of dance and demonstrates the camaraderie and goodwill among nations.  “We feel fortunate to have been hand-picked to showcase authentic Indian performing arts and world music and dance in all its diversity, for this momentous occasion at this prestigious venue.” said Rimli Roy, Founder and Artistic Director of Surati, who conceptualized and directed the performances.

Raj Shah appointed as Deputy Assistant to President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary

Staff ReporterProfiles, U.S. 0

Raj Shah, another Indian American has been moved up the ranks in the White House by President Donald Trump. According to a White House announcement, has shifted one of his top Indian-American White House appointees from a communications position to one where he will be dealing more directly with the press as a second-in-command spokesperson for the administration.

Raj Shah will serve as Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary. He formerly served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Communications Director. In a White House staff reshuffle, President Trump made Hope Hicks, his Interim Communications Director, permanent. Trump co-opted Mercedes Schlapp, a conservative columnist and entrepreneur, as his Advisor for Strategic Communications.

Trump also bumped up another Asian-American, Steven Cheung, to the position of Special Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Response. Cheung previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Assistant Communications Director.

Shah proved his mettle at the research and communications director in the Republican National Committee before he came to the White House. At the RNC, Shah was the director of research and deputy director of communications. Best known for having developed the playbook for the GOP to defeat then Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, Shah kept up a barrage of attacks on her through the campaign. When his former boss, Rience Preibus, head of the RNC, was recruited by Trump, Shah moved with him to the White House. The latest reshuffle is a result of a somewhat tumultuous couple of months in the communications wing of the White House, with several resignations and firings.

As an RNC Research Director Shah manned an army of dirt-diggers against Democrats, big and small. In an interview with News India Times when he was at the RNC in 2016, Shah spoke about his ‘laser focus’ on Clinton’s record and the alleged email scandal that rocked the Clinton campaign.

During 2013-2014, Shah was the co-founding partner and managing director of America Rising LLC, a Republican opposition research group, where he developed the organization’s Hillary Clinton opposition research book.

Something about his tenacity and qualifications is apparent from what Priebus said about Shah when he made him director of research at RNC — “Raj will take the helm of a top-notch Research Department as we prepare to defeat Hillary Clinton and the Democrats in 2016 and to hold them accountable for their records. Raj is the expert on the subject of all things Clinton, and his expertise will be an asset to our party.”

Shah’s work with the RNC began when he was just 22-year old , pulling news clips at 5 a.m. fresh out of college after getting his Bachelor of Arts and Government degree from Cornell University. This even though he was born and brought up in an apolitical and religious Jain family of Democrats in Connecticut. He would have followed the then traditional Indian-American career path of medicine or law, but 9/11 happened as he was graduating from High School and his focus changed completely. Now at the White House, he will be directly working with current Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and in her absence, he could be officiating for the daily press briefings on national television.

Rep. Ami Bera, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi appointed co-chair of the New Economy Task Force

Staff ReporterFinance/Economy, U.S. 0

Indian American Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Ami Bera have been appointed on September 13th to serve as co-chairs for the New Economy Task Force for the Democratic party, along with representatives Susan DelBene, Debbie Dingell and Darren Soto. Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., the House Democratic Caucus chairman, announced the launch of the “Jobs for America” task forces, for which Indian American freshman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and three-time congressman, Rep. Ami Bera, were named among the co-chairs.

The task forces serve as a unified effort from House Democrats to craft a real legislative agenda for America that will benefit the hardest-working Americans and middle-class families across the nation, according to a Democratic Caucus news release.

They will create opportunities for job growth, boost hardworking families and give every worker the opportunity to achieve the American dream by developing legislation focused on investing in key industries, restoring worker benefits, removing barriers to help workers find stable and well-paying jobs, helping our veteran communities transition to the workforce, and identifying jobs of the future, the caucus added.

“I’m honored to take a leading role in crafting our job-focused agenda for the new economy. Fundamentally, building the economy of the future means ensuring that out workers have the in-demand skills they need to thrive and that businesses have the advanced infrastructure they need to grow. On the New Economy Task Force, I look forward to working with my colleagues to accomplish both these goals,” Krishnamoorthi said in a press release.

The task force will take a forward-leaning approach to job growth by looking at rapidly advancing technology, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and ensuring that workers are trained for the jobs of tomorrow. The task force is one of five Democratic Caucus Jobs for America Task Forces aimed at identifying opportunities and solutions for American workers in five key areas: Rebuilding America, Jobs with Dignity, Access to Jobs, New Economy, and Reinvesting in Our Returning Heroes.

“Congressman Krishnamoorthi understands just how important it is to take a proactive and aggressive approach to jobs and our economy, and I’m grateful for his leadership in this important endeavor,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley.

“Our economy isn’t working for far too many Americans. Middle-class families and hardworking men and women struggle to attain the opportunities they so greatly deserve, find financial security and retire with confidence,” said Crowley in a statement. “Americans want to know what Democrats stand for and how we’ll fight for them. This effort will provide a specific roadmap for how families in Queens, the Bronx, and across America can obtain better wages, better jobs, and a better future.”

Over the course of several months, Bera, Krishnamoorthi and the 18 other co-chairs of the task force will meet with business and labor leaders, entrepreneurs and middle-class Americans to develop a legislative package that will benefit all Americans, the news release said.

The New Economy Task Force is one of five Democratic Caucus Jobs for America Task Forces aimed at identifying opportunities and solutions for American workers in five key areas, including Rebuilding America, Jobs With Dignity, Access to Jobs, New Economy and Reinvesting in Our Returning Heroes.

Amazon launches largest Fulfillment Center in India

Staff ReporterBusiness, India 0

Amazon has announced the expansion of its infrastructure footprint opening its largest fulfillment center in India. The 400,000 square feett center, located in Shamshabad, has roughly 2.1 million cubic feet of storage space. It is the fifth fulfillment center in Telangana and the largest in the country, Amazon said in a news release. In total, Amazon has upped its storage capacity to 3.2 million cubic feet in Telangana to enable faster deliveries to customers in the region, the company said.

“Amazon India’s latest investment … evidently signifies the growing interest of large global enterprises in the state,” K.T. Rama Rao of the government of Telangana said in a statement. “The (center) will enable thousands of small and medium businesses selling locally created products such as apparels, handlooms and handicraft to service customers seamlessly across the country and the globe,” he said.

“It will also fuel the growth of ancillary businesses such as packaging, transportation, logistics and hospitality across the state,” Rao added. “We are committed to enabling the ease of doing business and enabling companies like Amazon.in to expand their presence in Telangana.”

Added Amazon India vice president of India customer fulfillment Akhil Saxena, “Our vision is to transform the way India buys and sells. At Amazon, we have been consistently investing in our infrastructure and delivery network, so we can increase our speed of delivery and provide a superior experience to both – customers and sellers.

“With the launch of our largest fulfillment center here in Telangana, we strongly believe that we will be able to better serve our customers with one-day and two-day delivery,” Saxena added. “The (fulfillment center) will enable sellers to use local infrastructure, save capital and help them grow their businesses.”

Saxena noted that the center will work with the local communities to create many employment opportunities for the youth. Amazon continues to work with sellers in Telangana providing them with a marketplace to sell their products to millions of customers and scale their business to greater heights, he said. There are more than 10,000 sellers in Telangana, according to Saxena.

Leveraging its fulfillment centers with state-of-the-art infrastructure, Amazon provides a positive customer experience through its Fulfilment By Amazon program, the company said.

When using FBA, sellers across India send their products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and once an order is placed, Amazon picks, packs and ships the order to the customer, provides customer service and manages returns on behalf of the sellers, it said. Orders fulfilled by Amazon are eligible for cash on delivery, guaranteed next-day, same day, release day, morning delivery and Sunday delivery, the company noted.

Sellers always have the flexibility to choose the number of products they want to have fulfilled by Amazon and scale according to their business requirements, it added.

Trump nominates Kenneth Juster as ambassador to India

Staff ReporterIndia, Profiles, U.S. 0
Kenneth Juster, who had played a key role in laying the foundations of the India-US nuclear cooperation agreement, has been nominated as the new U.S. ambassador to India.
President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Juster was announced by the White House on Friday evening. It will have to be approved by the Senate. His nomination is a mark of importance that Trump places on building closer economic, trade and strategic relations with India.
Juster, 62, had served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs from January to June under President Donald Trump. He was also the Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security from 2001 to 2005 under former President George.w. Bush.
Juster still holds the position of Acting Counselor of the Department of State. The diplomat represented Trump for the advance work and negotiations for the May G7 summit in Italy.
The New Delhi position has been vacant since January when Richard Varma resigned along with most political appointees of former President Barack Obama’s administration.
The nomination of the new envoy follows Trump’s announcement in his Afghanistan policy speech last week that “another critical part of the South Asia strategy for America is to further develop its strategic partnership with India”.
He simultaneously delivered Pakistan the sternest warning by a US leader saying that it has “much to lose” if it continues to harbor terrorists.
As the Under Secretary for Commerce, Juster played a key role in developing the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement between US and India.
During his tenure, he founded and chaired the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group, and played an important role in developing the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) initiative.
The NSSP laid the foundation for increased civilian nuclear and space cooperation, and high-technology trade and expanded dialogue on missile defense.
For these contributions, the US-India Business Council honored him with the Blackwill Award in 2004.
Between leaving the Bush administration in 2005 and joining the Trump administration this year, Juster had served as the executive vice president of the technology company Salesforce.com and as managing director at the global investment firm Walter Pincus.
Juster is a graduate of Harvard University. He has served as the chairman of Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and as a vice chairman of the Asia Foundation.

HAB Bank

Staff ReporterBusiness, Finance/Economy 0

HAB BANK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH HABIB BANK LIMITED (HBL)

“In light of recent news regarding HBL, HAB Bank, strongly affirms it has no direct, indirect or any affiliation whatsoever or shared ownership with Habib Bank Limited, a Pakistan-based financial institution with an office in Manhattan”, as stated in a press release issued by HAB Bank, New York.

The release further stated that HAB Bank is a U.S.-based community bank headquartered in Manhattan with FDIC membership. HAB Bank has no operations outside the US.  The institution has operated continuously and successfully since its original incorporation in 1983 and has branches in NY, NJ and CA.

“HAB Bank proudly serves our consumer and commercial banking customers in the New York Tri-state area and California for over three decades,” said Saleem Iqbal, President and CEO of HAB Bank.

We reached out to HAB Bank’s President & CEO Mr. Saleem Iqbal to seek clarification on the penalties assessed by the New York State against Habib Bank Limited. In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Mr. Iqbal answered a series of questions clarifying HAB Bank’s position. on the whole matter and reiterated the fact that HAB Bank has no affiliation, direct or indirect, with Habib Bank Limited or HBL.

Reporter: What is the difference between HAB Bank and Habib Bank Limited or HBL?

Saleem Iqbal: HAB Bank is a US chartered, FDIC Insured bank with branches in three states. Our charter dates back to 1983. Habib Bank Limited on the other hand is Pakistan based foreign bank with a branch in New York City. As we have categorically stated over the last so many years, HAB Bank is not affiliated in any manner whatsoever with Pakistan based Habib Bank Limited or HBL.

Reporter: How does this action by the NY regulator impact you?

Saleem Iqbal: This has no impact on HAB Bank, we are two different banks.

Reporter: How do you safeguard and protect your bank from such matters?

Saleem Iqbal: HAB Bank, from day one of its inception, has built a strong culture of compliance. We recognize that banking industry in our country is highly regulated and there are number of federal as well as state laws that applies to us as a community bank. We have a top-down approach in complying with various regulations including Anti Money Laundering laws currently in place. Our frontline personnel are fully aware of such laws and trained by the Bank on an ongoing basis. Then there is active oversight by the senior management and the board of directors in addition to an extensive risk management framework.

Reporter:  What does future hold for HAB Bank?

Saleem Iqbal:

The Bank has shown steady and consistent growth; we are one of the largest South Asian-American banks in the US with assets over $1.3 billion with branches in three states. We were one of the few community banks in the US which remained unscathed and actually grew during the Great Recession, which started in 2007. We will continue to grow and to serve the banking needs of the South Asian community in the US.

HAB BANK was incorporated in 1983 as a New York State Chartered Bank. HAB is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and holds $1.3 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in New York, the Bank and besides Manhattan maintains branches in, Jackson Heights, Richmond Hill, Hicksville in NY, Iselin in NJ, Artesia and Downtown Los Angeles in CA.

For further information, please visit HAB Bank’s website at www.habbank.com and Click on “Important Announcement”.

Murder of Gauri Lankesh; an ominous sign for India’s flailing democracy!

Staff ReporterProfiles 0

By George Abraham

Gauri Lankesh, a prominent Kannada journalist and a vehement critic of communal politics of the BJP government, was gunned down at her doorstep in Rajarajeswari Nagar in Bangalore by some unknown assailants.  She worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike.

She was known as a fearless journalist and activist who opposed communalization of politics, casteism, and marginalization of minorities in the society. Her forceful advocacy on behalf of  Rohingya people is a true manifestation of her deeply held convictions. Death threats or intimidation from any quarters never stopped her from confronting the ever increasing challenges to the freedom of expression by the media, the fourth estate.

Undoubtedly, journalists, opinion makers, and reporters are being increasingly targeted by Hindu nationalists who are on a crusade to promote their hateful agenda. In the last few years, journalists who appear to be critical of Hindu nationalists have been threatened, berated on the social media, while many women journalists have been threatened with rape and assault.

India has just celebrated its 70th anniversary of its independence. The Democratic Institutions that were created under the Nehruvian vision are increasingly under threat from right-wing forces that are closely aligned with BJP. The fundamental right to express one’s opinion is under assault as either sedition charges are filed against the individuals or the institution that exercise those rights or the law enforcement mechanism is being manipulated to intimidate and silence those voices.

Gauri Lankesh’s death appears to be a meticulously planned and executed to silence a powerful voice. The opposing forces could not match her rationale pointing up the dangers of right-wing politics and its possibly disastrous effect on the secular fabric of the nation. Her harsh criticism of prevailing casteism in the society was often directed at Institutions that still harbor those sentiments and made her more of a passionate activist who had little patience for the status-quo.

This is not the first murder of a rationalist and thinker after the ascension of BJP to the power at the Center. A rationalist professor and thinker M M Kalburgi was murdered in the quaint town of Dharwad. In the neighboring state of Maharashtra, rationalists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar were also shot, and the one thing that united them all was their strident voices against intolerance and hatred of the right wing ideology.

It is no more an exaggeration to say that India is governed under a ‘simulated emergency’ without truly declaring it. Shani Prabhakaran, a television reporter from Kerala, spoke candidly about the treatment of the media by the BJP government at a recent seminar in Chicago sponsored by the India Press Club. According to her, as soon as she finished a television segment analyzing the last three years of the governance by the Modi regime, a questionnaire from Delhi had arrived with a number of questions asking her to substantiate each criticism! Commenting on the recent raids, NDTV’s Prannoy said the following ‘our fight is not against the CBI, I-T or the ED but against politicians who were using these Institutions and ruining and destroying our country.’

The basic responsibility of a journalist is to inform the public free of hype and bias. The fourth estate, as the media is often dubbed, acts as a mirror and a watchdog for the good of the public. However, most of the media in India today are controlled by big corporations whose professional responsibilities of the news outlets they own are intertwined with their business interests. The result is an abject failure in reporting the news with fairness and balance that could prove to be detrimental to a vibrant democratic society.

Never in the history of India, a governing party had made such blatant attempt to eliminate an opposition party (Congress Mukhta Bharat), intimidated and scared Media houses from reporting factual news, invoked colonial-era sedition laws to silence student activists from speaking out or created a hostile environment where these killings go unabated.

Through her sacrifice, Gauri Lankesh has woken up our conscience once again. She had recognized the fact that our hard fought freedom and liberty, once again is in danger. In her death, our flailing democracy will be missing one of its strongest defenders. May I salute this brave soul for her true grit and passion for justice! ‘The power to question is the basis of all human progress’ – Indira Gandhi

(Writer is a former Chief Technology Officer of the United Nations and Chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA)

3 NRIs among top 16 contestants at America’s Miss World Pageant

Staff ReporterEntertainment, Fashion 0

Krithika Rajkumar, Marjana Chowdhury and Shivali Patel have been selected to be among the 16 who will be competing for the title of America’s Miss World 2017.

Rajkumar, 25, of Ohio, triumphed in the multimedia round while placing fourth in the ‘beauty with a purpose’ competition. She received a double-major bachelor of arts degree in political science and psychology and is currently pursuing a law degree from Case Western Reserve University. Rajkumar, who aspires to become a civil rights attorney, will graduate with her juris doctorate in May 2018.

Chowdhury’s ‘beauty with a purpose’ project of ‘The Young Women’s Leadership Network’s Collegebound Initiative’ landed her the third spot in the competition. Chowdhury, 23, received her bachelor of arts from Columbia University. She currently works as a legal analyst at BlackRock, Inc., an investment management company. She is also the lead coordinator with the Robin Head Foundation, New York’s largest poverty fighting organization.

Twenty-year-old Patel of North Carolina, who was the first runner-up at the 2016 edition of the pageant, was ranked third in the ‘top model’ round of the competition. She is currently obtaining her a double-major degree in psychology and communication with a minor in biology at North Carolina State University. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine.

Eat beef in your country and then come to India, says tourism minister

Newly sworn-in Union tourism minister K J Alphons has an advice for foreigners visiting the country: Eat beef in your own countries and then come to India. Asked whether cow vigilantism and restrictions on beef consumption in several states had affected India’s hospitality sector, the minister said on Thursday: “They [foreigner tourists] can eat beef in their country and come to India.”

He was speaking on the sidelines of the 33rd annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators in Odisha’s capital city. Alphons’s comment comes just days after he purportedly said people in Keralawould continue to eat beef. “As Goa chief minister, Manohar Parrikar, has said that beef will be consumed in the state. Similarly, it will be consumed in Kerala,” the former bureaucrat was quoted as saying after taking charge as tourism minister.

When asked about his earlier comment, Alphons said: “It’s a cock-and-bull story. I am not the food minister to decide on it.” Talking about the tourism sector, Alphons said his ministry had sought innovative ideas to promote tourism across India. “We are getting people to come and give us ideas and within a month we will have a plan for action soon,” the minister said.

Berklee College of Music Releases Videos of A.R. Rahman’s 2014 Tribute Concert

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

In 2014, the Berklee Indian Ensemble, a Boston, Massachusetts- based group comprised of students and faculty of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, paid tribute to Grammy and Academy award-winning composer A.R. Rahman at Symphony Hall in Boston. On the occasion, Rahman also received an honorary doctorate from the college.

Berklee faculty and students paid tribute to the living legend, who joined them on select pieces in a concert celebrating his music and life. The repertoire for the concert spanned Rahman’s illustrious discography of over 25 years.

The college is now releasing all the 16 pieces presented at the concert featuring 109 performers from 32 countries representing The Berklee Indian Ensemble, The Berklee World String Ensemble, and Boston University’s Indian American dance troupe, BU Bhangra. Special guests included Carnatic guitar exponent and Berklee alum Prasanna, as well as Indian bass prodigy Mohini Day. On Sept. 1, the first video, Rahman’s “Bombay Theme,” was released. Additional videos from the concert will be released on the first of every month.

“The concert repertoire represented every single year of Mr. Rahman’s astounding body of work. Rearrangements and reinterpretations of his compositions made it a fresh perspective on Mr. Rahman’s music which, for many Indians, has been the soundtrack of their lives,” said Annette Philip, artistic director of Berklee India Exchange, and the producer of the concert.

The show, according to the Berklee College of Music, sold out five weeks in advance, and recorded close to 60,000 hits on the concert window live stream the night of the show. Since then, Berklee Indian Ensemble and Berklee India Exchange supporters globally have been clamoring for videos of the concert, claimed the college.

“The concert was a monumental event that raised $250,000 that created a full tuition scholarship model in A.R. Rahman’s name to support talented musicians from India to have an opportunity to follow their dreams to attend Berklee in the U.S.,” said Clint Valladares, co-producer of the event, and managing director of Berklee India Exchange.

​Indian​ ​Classical​ ​Dance​ ​and​ ​Music​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York​ ​City

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion, Entertainment 0

New York, NY: Drive East presented 21 magnificent concerts in 7 days and ​1200+ audience members at one venue — a feat that requires meticulous planning, a lot of coordination and a driving passion to salvage, promote and propagate Indian art forms with tremendous pride. ​From August 21-27, Dixon Place hosted this very prestigious festival, bringing a wide variety of performances, including some gems who did their debut performance in New York.

The festival opened with Grammy-nominated sarod maestro, Ustad Aashish Khan​, playing intricate unrehearsed compositions in Hindustani classical music, followed by legendary Odissi dancer, Sujata Mohapatra​, whose poise, grace, discipline and years of experience could be seen in even nuanced movement throughout her performance. Drive East hosted the premiere NYC performance of one of the finest Bharatanatyam dancers in the world, Apoorva Jayaraman​. She is a disciple of the brilliant Priyadarshini Govind, and performed complex pieces that challenge both stamina and a wide range of emotion.

Drive East Leela Dance Collective ​dancers — Rachna Nivas and Rina Mehta ​(students of Chitresh Das of Chhandam school fame) — perform their New York debut where they collaborated with the very talented tap dancer, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, to bring out the parallels between Kathak and Tap Dance set to the same beats. Other Kathak collaborations included Kathak and Korean Drums ​set to the Seungmu tradition where in Jin Won performed Kathak to the beats played by Sue Yeon Parks​. Yet another interesting collaboration was to see Battery Dance Company​’s beautiful choreography meshing ballet with Bharatanatyam — which featured Unnath​ ​Hassan​ ​Rathnaraj​u.

While Odissi was performed by Sujata Mohapatra, we brought other rarer classical dance forms like Manipuri on stage. This year, Devdutta Sengupta Ghosh performed Manipuri along with her student Pramit Ghatak, where they showcased different episodes of Krishna’s life in Manipuri style. Kuchipudi came to the festival, with Pranamya Suri’s ​performance bringing out the feminine side of the style; contrasted with the fast-paced masculine approach used by Kuchipudi dancer Avijit Das​. They both performed on different days and showed us so much variance in the same style, even though they used similar elements like dancing on the ‘tarangam’.

Our Bharatanatyam performers, though a handful, brought very different flavors to the table. Apoorva Jayaraman ​brought such crisp finesse and grace to her movements; while Christopher Gurusamy displayed the more traditional Kalakshetra style. Janaki Rangarajan ​brought dance theater to stage where she spoke and performed to help the audience divulge into her feminist explorations of Draupadi, a celebrated character in the epic, Mahabharatha. We also had celebrated duet Renjith & Vijna​, who tandem dance to perfection and leave the audience mesmerized. Lastly we also had our own Navatman Dance Company ​perform with both our co-founders, Sridhar Shanmugham ​and Sahasra Sambamoorthi​, along with 3 other dancers, to create complex choreography in fascinating unexpected ways.

On the music front, this year we had Hindustani Classical vocalist Indrani Khare perform beautifully. We also had 17 year old Shankhadip Chakraborty perform in New York, providing a platform for young artists to perform at prestigious festivals. Instrumental music graced the stage as well witha group of 10-12 year olds, Carnatic Guitar Power​, who performed carnatic music on electric guitars. Other instrumentalist performances included, Ustad Aashish Khan on the sarod; Kinnar Seen ​on the sitar (accompanied by two tabla players and a tanpura player); and a band of musicians from the Rajasthani Caravan that combined mellifluous notes from traditional Rajasthani folk music combined with antics in both song and dance. Carnatic music was showcased by vocalist Shankar Ramani​, who brought out such beautiful compositions throughout his performance.

We also had Ananya Ashok perform who has a voice that can transport you to another place and time.In addition, our very own Navatman Music Collective​, a carnatic acapella group, performed a wide set of songs ranging from traditional carnatic to Bollywood music. Throughout the week, Drive East engaged both artists and audiences in conversations that include Indian art forms and finding opportunities to open up the dialogue to promote the arts to New York and beyond. We live streamed a panel discussion with male dancers, to see how they felt about being in a career that can sometimes be frowned-upon by society. Admist this was the creation for the Artist-Hub, a resource for artists to learn from each other, and from other experts in the field — exclusively for participating artists.

From topics like grant writing and fundraising, to creating a press-kit, to understanding physical therapy in Indian Dance, Navatman collaborators will be conducting a host of workshops to help empower our community of artists as a whole. In addition we also had Saturday Youth Day, to promote young artists like Shankhadip Chakraborty and Carnatic Guitar Power, as well as an interactive fair to engage little minds to develop a love for the art forms from a young age. Here​ ​is​ ​a​ ​link​ ​to​ ​some​ ​of​ ​their​ ​pictures.

About​ ​Navatman: Navatman, Inc was founded with an eye on creating a sustainable home for the South Asian arts in New York City and its surrounding neighborhoods, particularly emphasizing Indian classical music and dance. We are a game-changing organization dedicated to creating groundbreaking work in the South Asian classical performing arts in the areas of education, performance, and production. We are best known for our Manhattan-based classes, critically acclaimed productions, dynamic dance company, and stellar carnatic choir, all of which have received reviews in mainstream press including the New York Times, India Abroad, The Hindu, the Financial Times, and The Star-Ledger, to name a few. Navatman continues to see success in their goal to preserve Indian classical music and dance through democratizing these art forms by increasing their accessibility.

New Google Feed to personalize Search experience for Indian users

Staff ReporterScience & Technology 0

In a bid to improve Search experience for the Indian users, Google on Friday announced the launch of a revamped Feed in the Google app for Android and iOS devices.

The revamped Feed — now available globally after the initial success in the US — will use machine learning algorithms and scan your browsing history, compile relevant content and deliver personalised experience to you.

“The update would be rolled out over the weekend in the Google app for Android and iOS. It will be initially available in English and Hindi in India,” Shashi Thakur, Vice President (Engineering), Search, Google, told reporters at Google India office here via video conferencing from Mountain View, California.

The update would help users better tune the flow of news and information from the web to smartphone, enabling users to dig deeper on topics you’re passionate about.

The Feed can be accessed by updating and launching the Google app on your phone. It will display cards containing the latest highlights, top news, engaging videos, new music and stories about a user’s hobbies.

With the update, the users would see a new “Follow” button which he can tap to get regular updates from movies, sports teams, favorite bands or music artists, famous people, and more.

Google has also given the power into users’ hands. A user can also unfollow a topic or interest by tapping the given card in feed.

The new Feed will not only be based on a user’s interaction with Google but also factor trending topics in their chosen areas from around the world.

If a user is a photography enthusiast but is casually interested in fitness, the feed will reflect stories accordingly. Moreover, the Feed will continue to evolve based on users’ engagement with it.

“The Feed will also include information from diverse perspectives and multiple viewpoints. If you search for a movie, Feed will tell you about show timings at nearest theater, reviews and ratings of that particular movie,” Thakur said

Tina Tandon introduces new Fall/Winter line during New York Fashion Week

Staff ReporterFashion 0

Indian American designer Tina Tandon showed off her “Fall and Winter 2017/2018” line on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 230 5th Rooftop Bar, at the New York Fashion Week.

The fashion line started off with red and maroon colored clothes reflecting the typical color of the Fall season and continued onto purple, which linked the reds with the blue color clothes that ended the line, highlighting the cold temperatures of the Winter season.

Tandon works with natural fabrics, such as cottons, modals, linens, silks, and wools, but her new line is made with leather featuring 12 outfits; being a mix of bottoms and tops, and dresses above knee length.

The first three outfits were all vegetable dyed with the first one being a jumpsuit with pintuck details and umbrella cut sleeves making the wearer look “out of this world,” something you would see in a Star Wars movie; the second one looked like a simple dress that one would wear in the late Summer, early Fall time, as it had a V-neck with ruffled details; the third outfit was a pleated flared sleeve cape worn with Ponte leggings. Burgundy, vegetable dyed leather jumpsuit with pintuck details and umbrella cut sleeves

The next two outfits in the line were burgundy silk burnout prints, one that was a top with origami trim detail and puff sleeves worn with Ponte lace-up side pants with the other being a dress with pleated puff sleeve details and a burgundy leather peacoat.

The sixth outfit was a lace top with georgette cape and a Ponte pencil skirt with Needlepoint embroidered leather ruffles; the seventh outfit was a violet Ponte bodycon dress with leather and lace-up details on the shoulders and hips; the eight outfit was a sapphire blue silk top with a cold shoulder worn with Leather and Houndstooth brocade lace-up pants.

Vegetable dyed pleated flared sleeve cape and perforated leather and Ponte legging

The line ended with darker colored outfits, one which happened to be made of silk and was a multi-stripe print fitted waist dress with origami trim detail; another was a black leather lace-up bodycon vixen dress after which came a black leather mini fitted dress with a laser cutout hem; the last outfit in the line was a sapphire wrap-front jacket with wace-up sleeves worn with sage leather joggers.

All of Tandon’s outfits define femininity while she finds her strength in it and her toughness while she hides her softness in it. Tandon started her fashion career with designers Escada and Christian Lacroix and has now completed 10 years in the fashion industry.

She was born in the U.S. but spent her early childhood in India and grew up in North Carolina before moving to New York, aspiring to have a career in fashion from an early age while she was still living in India and took courses in fashion design while attending high school and won recognition for her work.

Tandon then received a scholarship to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City and graduated Summa Cum Laude, receiving many awards, including the Presidential Scholars award, from the school’s faculty and top industry professionals, including Jay Baker, the former President of Kohls.

Her fashion line and company, T.Tandon, is a Contemporary RTW line that is known for its feminine, sophisticated, luxuriously draped and adorned collections; her silhouettes are modern with a hint of vintage, blending the two to create newly inspired classic pieces that are timeless, yet effortlessly modern and chic and are designed to be comfortable, practical, and versatile, while also being style-forward and novel as well as eco and socially-conscious.

$25K Reward Offered for Information About New Jersey Software Engineer Sasikala Narra’s Murder

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

A $25,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons involved in the murder of Indian American software engineer Sasikala Narra and her six-year-old son, Anish, who were found dead in their Maple Shade, New Jersey, apartment on March 23.

Narra, 38, and Anish were found slain in the bedroom of their home by Narra’s husband, Hanumantha Rao. Both mother and son had been stabbed multiple times, Joel Bewley, spokesman for the Burlington County, New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office, told India-West.

“We’re hoping that this reward would be an incentive for someone to come forward with information,” said Bewley, noting that the investigation was “very active and ongoing.” Police have been going door to door in the community where Narra and her husband Hanumantha Rao lived with their son, passing out flyers offering the reward printed in Hindi, Telugu, Spanish, and English.

Bewley thanked the Indian Cultural Center in Evesham, New Jersey, for helping to translate the flyers into Hindi and Telugu.

Rao found the bodies of his wife and son on the evening of the murder, and called 911. He told dispatchers he did not know what had happened, as he had just returned home after “happy hour” after work with some of his co-workers from Cognizant.

Questioned by detectives, Rao said he could not remember whether he had used his key to get into the apartment, a key question in the case which would determine whether there was breaking and entering into the apartment.

In the 911 call released by Maple Shade police, an unidentified woman’s voice can be heard in the background. When the 911 dispatcher asked Rao if he could perform CPR on his wife and child, the woman screamed: “No you can’t. Their throats are slit.”

She can also be heard on the recording telling Rao: “Don’t go back in there.”

Rao was believed to have been having an affair with Deepa Ajit, who also works at Cognizant’s office in India. Narra had allegedly confronted her husband about Ajit: Rao allegedly told his wife there was no harm in an extramarital affair.

Bewley told India-West he could not state whether Rao and Ajit were under investigation. He also could not state whether there was any new information on how Rao entered the apartment that night or whether Ajit was in the U.S. at the time, saying the release of such information would compromise the integrity of the investigation.

Both Rao and Ajit were questioned by police after Sasikala and Anish’s bodies were found. The Telugu Association of North America raised funds to have their bodies returned to Vijayawada for the final rites.

Rao did not attend the funeral of his wife and son, though his passport had not been confiscated (see earlier India-West story here).

AAPI floats Hurricane Relief Fund

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

(Houston, TX: August 30, 2017) AAPI members are well known around the world for their generosity, commitment and dedication to their motherland India and to their adopted land, the United States. AAPI, the largest ethnic medical association in the natrion, leads and facilitates collaboration with leading experts of India origin from all over the globe enabling exchange of best practices, knowledge, and experiences to develop sustainable, actionable programs, skills development and training that enhance capability and enable access to affordable and quality healthcare for all people of India.

“AAPI physicians represent only 10% of all physicians in the United States but service approximately 30% of the US patient population,” Dr. Samadder said. “Many have fostered personal relationships with members of Congress (as well as the highest levels of Government in India) that are invaluable assets to influencing legislation and insuring appropriate, patient-focused healthcare reform. Our business partners can be assured of a receptive audience and, once engaged, a loyal client and ambassador of the product and company,” he added.

In this context, AAPI members are concerned about the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey and are in the forefront to support and help people affected by the historic storm, said, Dr. Gautam Samadder, President of AAPI.

“Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas area with severe winds and flash flooding. This serious natural disaster inflexed a grave loss of lives and property. Our hearts are with the victims of the disaster. Our AAPI members and families were also suffering the damage. Still, they come forward to help the community at large,” said Dr. Sammader in a statement issued here.

While calling upon his fellow physicians to rise upto the occasion and give their best, Dr. Samadder said, “At this time of the need, it is our responsibility to provide all the possible assistance to the victims of this grave natural disaster in Texas. Our AAPI physicians in Texas will serve the victims at no charge for next 2-4 weeks. This gives a clear message that we care and we know how to give back to the community.”

AAPI appeals to all the members of AAPI to contribute to those affected by this once in your life time natural disaster in Texas. Please write a check to AAPI (In the memo, please write Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund). The collected donation will be given to the Governor of Texas.

The donations are Tax Deductible. “Please donate generously. Please make your check payable to: American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (Harvey Relief Fund); and have the checks mailed to: AAPI Headquarters, 600 Enterprise Dr., Ste 108, Oak Brook, IL 60523. For additional information on AAPI and its Global Healthcare Summit, please visit: www.aapiusa.org;www.aapighsindia.org

HAB BANK

Staff ReporterUncategorized 0

 

 

 

To Our Valued Customers,

HAB BANK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH HABIB BANK LIMITED (HBL) NEW YORK, NY – HAB BANK

In light of recent news regarding HBL, HAB Bank, strongly affirms it has no direct, indirect
or any affiliation whatsoever or shared ownership with Habib Bank Limited (HBL),
a Pakistan-based financial institution with an office in Manhattan.

HAB Bank is a U.S.-based community bank headquartered in Manhattan with FDIC
membership. HAB Bank has no operations outside of the US. The institution has operated
continuously and successfully since its original incorporation in 1983 and has
branches in NY, NJ and CA.

“HAB Bank proudly serves our consumer and commercial banking customers in the
New York Tri-state area and California for over three decades,” says Saleem Iqbal,
President and CEO of HAB Bank.

HAB BANK was incorporated in 1983 as a New York State Chartered Bank. HAB is a
member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and holds $1.3 billion in
assets as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in New York, the Bank and besides Manhattan
maintains branches in , Jackson Heights, Richmond Hill, Hicksville in NY, Iselin in NJ,
Artesia and Downtown Los Angeles in CA. HAB also has an International Banking Facility
(IBF) that provides correspondent services to international banks. HAB specializes
in Financial Institution Services, International Trade Finance, Asset Based Lending,
Commercial and Residential Mortgages and Consumer Banking Services. HAB’s family
of Consumer Banking Products includes HAB eBanking, Remote Deposit Capture, Debit
Card, Visa Credit Card & 24-hour Telephone Banking. As it celebrates over three
decades of operations, HAB continues to focus on providing value to its corporate, consumer
and correspondent banking customers.

For further information, please visit HAB Bank’s website at www.habbank.com
and Click on “Important Announcement”

Click here to read more

“All started with a dream. Wanted to find something that would bring me pleasure daily:” Olga Noskova Tells Ancy James in an Exclusive Interview

Staff ReporterBusiness, Fashion, Profiles, Social Media, Tourism 0

By Ancy James

Cake Artist and Columnist

Olga Noskova, Russian Pastry Chef extraordinaire broke Instagram on May 2016 by gaining 300k followers overnight, a jump from her previous 34,000 followers, after sharing a few pictures of her eclectic cake which would go on to become her trademark “mirror glaze” technique. The internet drooled over every glamorous and blindingly shining masterpiece that she shared. Even as thousands of cake enthusiasts shared her cake designs praising it with words like “flawless”,”trippy and groovy”, “mesmerizing” and it was Britney Spears tweet: “This cake is too perfect to eat” that made the Russian Pastry Chef realize her own multimedia celebrity status.

A year into her phenomenal rise as the most sought after Cake designer and being in the spotlight has in no way dampened her ongoing passion to deliver the most perfect, glamorous and awe inspiring confection and her thriving Instagram account is proof of that

Currently she is gearing up for a Mega event where she will get to rub shoulders with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Samuel L Jackson, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and many others at “The 9th Shorty Awards” to be held in October this year in New York City. She has bagged a prestigious nomination as a finalist in the “Food” category. The Shorty Awards annually honor the best of social media by recognizing the influencer, brand and organization on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, snapchat and others.

Ancy James got in touch with her to share with our viewers her inspirations and share some light on the creative process of making her gorgeous cakes. We asked her about her journey to the top and how much life has changed since 2016, between then and now and her plans for the coming years.

Ancy James:

You have to give yourself credit for making history in instagram by adding 300k followers in less than 24 hrs last year with your glamorous mirror cakes  and being the inspiration for cake afficianados around the world. Even the DIY(Do it yourself) kitchen table entrepreneurs  are trying their hand at replicating your mirror glaze technique. In less than a year you have been recognized as a social media influencer with your prestigious nomination in the food category this year at ‘the shorty awards thanks to your every increasing followers. How do you feel about your phenomenal path to the top?

Olga Noskova:

In cooking, as in the fashion industry has its own legislature, trendsetters. Most often, they are world-famous masters of their craft, working with well-known restaurants or influential persons. Perhaps ordinary people have never heard of them, but they are well known in their circles. However, sometimes previously unknown confectioner can surprise the world with any of his incredible technique and conquer it, becoming the progenitor of a new trend. This is what happened to me. Many manufactures made mousse cakes, but my style of mirror glaze helped me stand apart from the general mass, and now, many associate mousse cake with my name. It’s a big responsibility because, now the world, professionals and amateurs alike are watching me and my work, and I always must be at a decent level in representing this trend in the confectionery art.

Ancy James

Pl share a little bit of the journey to becoming a multimedia celebrity. How has life changed after becoming the most popular and followed cake artist on the net? 

Olga Noskova:

All started with a dream. I was an economist but I wanted to find something that would bring me pleasure daily. Do you know the English say: “Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away”? So, every day I tried to create something so beautiful and lovely. And thanks to my unbelievable mirror and delicious cakes my popularity started to grow. The stars smiled at me.  In my case, the first star who rated my talent is Britney Spears 🙂

The British “Independent” wrote my cake is “absolutely impeccably”. The BuzzFeed called my work is “absolutely flawless” and wrote that they are “too good to be eaten”.

One day I woke up famous in the world. My Instagram increased to 613K followers. I could not believe what had happened to me! Their comments, admiration, love – that’s what makes me understand that this is not a hobby and not a job. This is my life!

Ancy James

You have seen phenomenal success in an industry where it is very important to offer something unique and different. How have you kept yourself grounded and what is your strategy to keep the internet drooling over you flawless and incredible creations in the coming years?

Olga Noskova:

I do not follow trends; I try to develop myself in the direction I have chosen. I love to experiment and explore new design options, combinations of textures, fillings and colors. Minimalism in details, incredible play of colors and combinations, memorable taste – all part of my style. Therefore, throughout 2017. I plan to continue to develop in this direction. But that’s not all) To remain trendsetter, it is needed to look ahead of the curve. Therefore, I now firmly engaged in studying extremely difficult, but at the same time, incredibly beautiful and unique technology that will not leave anyone indifferent.

Ancy James:

What inspires you to work so hard to create new designs. How do you draw inspiration from your life?

Olga Noskova:

My cake for me is pure “art”.  I’m a pastry chef and an artist. I’m inspired by paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, Korovin. Their style and the transmission, infinite movement, fluidity of moment, a riot of colors – everything is so dynamic and passes you up a glimpse of the artist. The cake is my canvas. I paint my works in the soul and reproduce it.  I strive to make every of my cake better than the previous. I guess what my followers want; I feel them and create for them. I draw inspiration from everywhere: from nature and its constant mutability, from the universe and its forces, from the world’s largest events. For example, when I think of infinity and majesty of the universe, I feel her strength and energy. I know that the universe helps, if you really want, and so always speak to her. I have a whole lot of cakes, dedicated to space, each of which is unique, as the universe itself. Every time it’s a new cosmic history, combining the incredible aureole, shine, color versatility, depth and power of outer space. As they say it is better to see once, so check my Instagram @olganoskovaa.

Ancy James:

Every month we see new and innovative tools and technology being introduced to the Cake decorating and Pastry world on some social platform or another. Which ones are your favorite? 

Olga Noskova

To be honest, I like to do everything myself, using my hands. I do not have a large, mass production, which requires special equipment to accelerate the process.

I can afford to create. Sometimes ideas for cake decoration come during the actual creation process, and sometimes I ponder them in advance each detail, color. In each cake I put my love, happiness, and a piece of my soul. I think this is one of the secrets of the popularity of my cakes.

Ancy James:

How do you de-stress/let-off steam after a hard day at work?

Olga Noskova:

Orders are enough. Even if I’m not making cakes, I’m always looking for ideas. Now a lot of problems for the development of the brand, especially abroad. The Arab countries are showing great interest in my cakes and spent a lot of time to negotiate and discuss details.

But I always find time for family! It is very important for me to be there, do not miss any important moment. We like to spend weekends out of town, a break from the city bustle, enjoying nature and family gatherings.

And I love hockey! I try not to miss the games of Salavat Yulaev and root for them with all my heart. Now, I began to actively participate in the life of the club, most recently, my cake was put up for charity auction as a lot, and we helped to make this world a better place for special children.

Ancy James:

What advice would you give cake decorators who are flooded with new ideas but haven’t yet managed to develop their own style? 

Olga Noskova:

Of course, in the beginning it is important to get the basic knowledge of the confectionery business in any kind of courses or workshops. This will be your foundation. I got my first experience from well-known foreign and Russian chiefs, absorbing like a sponge, their knowledge and advice. But if you want to become a true professional, stand out from the masses, you should not be afraid to take a chance. Begin to experiment, to try, to mix and find your perfect recipe. The true recipe can only be achieved by trial and error. Do not look at others, choose what you like, what you do best and take that route, developing and improving. Always keep learning, do not stop there.

Ancy James, after pursuing a career (16 years) as a television producer, at age 37,  changed her life course by getting a Culinary and cake diploma and a few international cakes decorating certifications from international cake artists. Her stint of two years (2014-2016) running a small business in New Delhi, boosted her network with top notch cake aficionados and it got her thinking of writing a column with their views on global cake decorating trends. In 2016, she wrote columns for Indian top two bakery industry magazines, bakery biz and bakery review.

https://www.instagram.com/olganoskovaa

http://www.youtube.com/c/OlgaNoskova

https://www.facebook.com/olga.noskova.311

Survivors in wake of Harvey’s floods being searched in Texas

Staff ReporterU.S. 0

A week after Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Texas, rescuers kept up a marathon search for survivors on Friday as large pockets of land remained under water after one of the costliest natural disasters to hit the United States.

The storm has displaced more than 1 million people with 44 feared dead from flooding that paralyzed Houston, swelled river levels to record highs and knocked out the drinking water supply in Beaumont, Texas, a city of about 120,000 people.

Chemicals maker Arkema SA and public health officials warned of the risk of more explosions and fires at a plant owned by the company. On Thursday blasts rocked the facility, about 25 miles east of Houston and zoned off inside a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) exclusion zone, after it was engulfed by floodwater.

With the presence of water-borne contaminants a growing concern, the National Weather Service issued flood watches from Arkansas into Ohio on Friday as the remnants of the storm made their way through the U.S. heartland.

The Neches River, which flows into Beaumont and nearby Port Arthur, was forecast for a record crest from Friday well above flood levels. The flooding and loss of drinking water forced the evacuation of a hospital on Thursday. Two of the last people remaining in their flooded home near the river, Kent Kirk, 58, and Hersey Kirk, 59, were pulled to safety late Thursday.

“They were the last holdouts, the last house,” said Dennis Landy, a neighbor who had spent the day in his airboat ferrying people from a small, remote group of houses near Rose City, Texas, close to the Neches’ banks, to safety. It took an hour of coaxing by a rescuer but Hersey Kirk finally let herself be carried from her wheelchair to the airboat and then to a Utah Air National Guard helicopter.

“I’m losing everything again,” she said. “We got flooded in Ike, in Rita. My husband just got a new car – well it was new to him anyway. It’s sitting in 5 feet of water.” Harvey roared ashore late last Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in half a century. It dumped unprecedented quantities of rain and left devastation across more than 300 miles (482 km) in the southeast corner of the state.

Moody’s Analytics estimated the economic cost from Harvey for southeastern Texas at $51 billion to $75 billion, ranking it among the costliest storms in U.S. history. Much of the damage has been to Houston, the U.S. energy hub.

At least 44 people were dead or feared dead in six counties including and around Houston, officials said. Another 19 remained missing. Some 779,000 Texans have been told to leave their homes and another 980,000 fled voluntarily amid dangers of new flooding from swollen rivers and reservoirs, according to federal estimates.

Tens of thousands crowded in evacuation centers across the region. A new hurricane, Irma, had strengthened into a Category 3 storm, the midpoint of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, on Friday. It remained hundreds of miles from land but was forecast to possibly hit the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and neighboring Haiti by the middle of next week.

Seventy percent of Harris County, which encompasses Houston and has a population of about 4.6 million people, was covered with 18 inches (45 cm) or more of water, county officials said. As signs of normal life returned to Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city, there were concerns about health risks from bacteria and pollutants in floodwater.

The Houston Astros baseball team, forced to play away from the city due to the floods, will return and play at its home field on Saturday. It has invited shelter residents to attend its double header against the New York Mets, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said on his Twitter feed.

Flooding has shut some of the nation’s largest oil refineries and hit U.S. energy infrastructure, which is centered along the Gulf Coast. It has sent gasoline prices climbing and disrupted global fuel supplies.

The national average for a regular gallon of gasoline rose to $2.519 as of Friday morning, the highest since August 2015, up 17 cents since before the storm hit, according to motorists advocacy group AAA. The storm knocked out about a quarter of U.S. oil refining capacity and the signs of restarts were tentative.

In major Texas cities including Dallas, there were long lines at gas stations, prompting state regulators to tell people they were sparking a panic and saying there were ample fuel supplies. Power outages had decreased from peaks of over 300,000 to about 160,000 homes and business in Texas and Louisiana as of Friday morning, data from utilities showed.

H-1B visa applications see spike in inquiries from US authorities

Staff ReporterTravel 0

Indians working in the US may find it more challenging to transition from a work visa (such as H-1B) to a green card. From October 1, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has made an in-person interview mandatory in such cases. In technical parlance, it refers to an I-485 adjustment of status interview. This announcement was made on August 28.

On another front, US immigration attorneys are seeing an uptick in the number of ‘Requests For Evidence’ (RFEs) being issued by the USCIS. These RFEs relate to petitions (applications) filed on or about April 2017 for H-1B visas that will be valid from October 1, 2017.

As regards the amendment made for adjustment of status to that of a green card, NPZ Law Group managing attorney David H Nachman explains, “USCIS currently requires interviews for family-based green card and naturalisation (obtaining citizenship) processes. But most of the time, it waives the interview requirement for the above category of applicants. While interviews for those transitioning from employment-based visa status to green cards were standard a decade ago, waivers have been regularly granted since then.

Under the new policy, there will be no further waivers. Thus, the new process will lengthen the waiting time for green card applicants.”

A vast majority of those to whom green cards are allotted comprise those who are already working in the US on temporary visas. During the four-year period up to 2014, over 2 lakh green cards were allotted to H-1B visa holders, according to a report by the Bipartisan Policy Centre.

Latest available data released by the USCIS — which was analysed by TOI — shows that during 2015, as many as 34,843 Indians adjusted their temporary visa status and obtained green cards. Of this, 25,179 were holding jobs in the US (primarily under the H1-B category).

H-1B inquiries spike Immigration.com managing attorney Rajiv S Khanna says, “A new wrinkle in the inquiries is that, as USCIS had warned, they will not accept level-1 wages to be given in H-1B cases easily. They are questioning level-1 wages almost uniformly.”

He explains the various levels and illustrates the wages. Level-1 category relates to entry-level jobs and, at the other end, is the level-4 category which calls for a more technical and leadership role.

The prescribed wage at level 1 for a software developer in San Jose is $88,733 a year, which rises to $155,147 annually at level 4. Khanna adds, “It is the USCIS position that level-1 salary indicates a non-professional position that does not require a specific college degree and is a job that would be inappropriate for an H-1B visa.

There are often situations where level 1 is indeed the appropriate level — even the largest consulting firms in the US do send out entry-level professionals for assignments.”

Nachman explains, “The question that continues to arise in the RFEs is to prove that the position that the H-IB applicant will be taking is in a speciality occupation. The new set of questions that we are seeing has to do with why the level-1 wage has been chosen if the position is a ‘speciality position’ calling for a complex set of duties. As you can see, the US government is requiring us to argue that the position is ‘complex’ and then, on the other side, asking that if it is so complex why is a lower salary being assigned?”

The increase in inquiries is an administrative cost for all, and is especially challenging for those employers (mid-tier companies) that had designated level 1 even for more experienced visa applicants.

UAE topples Saudi as top draw for Indian job seekers in Gulf

Staff ReporterBusiness, Travel 0

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the leading destination for Indians migrating to the Gulf in search of work, as per emigration clearance data for the first six months of 2017. The UAE has toppled, by a wide margin, Saudi Arabia which used to traditionally lead the pack.

Of the total emigration clearance of nearly 1.84 lakh, as many as 74,778 Indians (or 40.6%) obtained emigration clearances for the UAE during January-June this calendar year, while only 32,995 (or 18% ) migrated to Saudi Arabia.

Oman came a close third with 30,413 migrants, which is 16.5% of the total Gulf migration. In 2016, Kuwait was the third most popular destination. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is an alliance of six countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

The other surprise in store is that Bihar edged Uttar Pradesh to occupy the top slot as the leading source state during the first half of 2017. Bihar contributed 35,807 (or 19.5%) of the total migrants to the Gulf. UP sent 33,043 migrants (or 18%).

Contrast this with 2015, when of the total 7.58 lakh Indian migrants to the Gulf, 31% hailed from UP and only 14% from Bihar. The main reason for this shift in ranking is a drastic fall in migration from UP to Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2017. Of the total migrant figure of 3.06 lakh to Saudi Arabia in 2015, 1.28 lakh migrants (or 42%) hailed from UP. The pan-India figure of migrants to Saudi Arabia dipped to 1.65 lakh in 2016 of which 36% were from UP.

Between January to June, only 1,179 workers from UP obtained emigration clearance for Saudi Arabia. This works out to a mere 3.57% of the total migration to this country. On the whole, emigration clearance statistics reflect a steady decline in migration to the Gulf, as per the statistics of the ministry of external affairs (MoEA). The pan-India emigration clearance during 2016, of 5.07 lakh, was a decline of 33% as compared to the previous calendar year.

While comparative six monthly figures of 2016 are not available, with only 1.84 emigration clearances during the first half of 2017, it shows that the falling trend will continue. Contrary to popular notions, Kerala doesn’t occupy the top slot of source states for Gulf bound migration. S Irudaya Rajan, professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), who spearheads the annual Kerala Migration Survey, says: “Historically, Kerala was the leading source state for migrants going to the Gulf countries. One out of every five migrants who left India in 2008 was a Keralite. After the global crisis that followed, this is down to one out of twenty in 2016.”

Kerala occupied eight slot in 2015, with 42,731 migrants (or 5.6%) of the pan- India total. Its eighth position continued in 2016 with 24,962 Keralities migrating to Gulf and its ratio to all-India migration was 4.9%. Kerala’s ranking was up to seventh in the first half of 2017, with 8,995 emigration clearances or nearly 5% of the pan-India emigration clearances (See graphic). Rajan explains: “The wage differential for unskilled labourers between Kerala and Gulf has narrowed, plus savings for Gulf workers are hit by the high cost of living.

Keralites are slowly vacating from Gulf and are replaced by people from UP, Bihar, and neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. Unlike the rest of India, Kerala is experiencing an ageing population-—this too impacts migration.”

A study done by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2016 illustrates that India has fixed the referral wage for carpenters and masons at Saudi Riyal 1,700 per month, which is 40% and 10% higher than that set by Nepal and Philippines “The higher referral wages may periodically reduce employers’ preference for Indian workers. But if this tendency continues for long, it may adversely impact migration outflows from India, which in turn will restrict livelihood options and dampen remittance inflows,” the report said.

Americans have more respect for Sikhs now: Survey

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

Recent statistics from The National Sikh Campaign’s (NSC), We Are Sikhs effort have shown a drastic improvement in helping to educate the American public so they can understand their Sikh American neighbors better.

Although Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, it is the least understood major faith in the United States and because of that, Sikhism and the Sikh American community have had to face a significant number of hate crimes and bullying incidents since 9/11.

Since April, the We Are Sikhs campaign has been holding grassroots events in gurdwaras across the United States and airing ads on CNN & and Fox News nationwide, that show Sikhs as neighbors and proud Americans.

The We Are Sikhs campaign then ran a comprehensive effort in the local media market of Fresno, California, where tens of thousands of Sikhs live and where violence towards Sikh Americans has been occurring frequently in the past few years, including two deaths in the recent months.

To test whether the effort in California’s Central Valley was successful, We Are Sikhs conducted two polling surveys through Hart Research Associates. One poll was conducted prior to the launch of the digital and television advertising campaign and the other was conducted after the completion of the ad campaign.

The surveys’ highlights included: 59 percent of Fresno residents say they know at least something about Sikhs who live in America; 68 percent saw Sikhs as good neighbors and 64 percent saw Sikhs as generous and kind; The amount of residents (78 percent) who saw the ads are nearly twice as likely to say they know at least something about Sikhs who live in America than those who did not see the ads (40 percent); Out of the 78 percent who saw the ads, 57 percent are more likely to associate a bearded man wearing a turban with Sikhism and 67 percent believe that Sikhs believe in equality and respect for all people with 60 percent believing that Sikhs have American values; The amount of Fresno residents who know nothing about Sikhs decreased, especially among older residents, whites without a college degree and Republicans; Prior to the campaign less than half of Fresno residents believed that Sikhs believe in equality and that Sikhs have American values.

Thus the campaign was able to successfully establish Sikhism as an independent faith in the eyes of about 58 percent of participants. A similar nationwide survey was taken in 2015 before the campaign had shown that a solid majority of Americans had no clue about Sikhs or Sikhism and would associate Sikh physical identity with extremism.

“Despite tense race relations and an extremely polarized political environment, the We Are Sikhs campaign has been able to make headway in creating awareness of Sikh Americans, who can commonly be identified by their turbans and beards,” said Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research Associates.

“This effort is a testament to the Sikh community’s commitment to reaching out to people of all faiths to help them recognize that we all have shared values, and that is a ray of hope that proves that understanding can bring people of all walks of life together,” he added.

“This research shows that Sikhs anywhere can successfully create an appreciation of our values of equality, tolerance and service, and consequently an improved perception of our unique articles of faith among all Americans, whether liberal or conservative, young and old,” said Gurwin Singh Ahuja, co-founder of the National Sikh Campaign.

“We have demonstrated that an inclusive position is the best and only way to educate our neighbors on the benefits of diversity and religious freedom,” he added.

“We are thankful to all Sikhs for their confidence in this strategy and a well-planned approach to create awareness about Sikh faith. This is the first time that an immigrant community like ours has reached out to all Americans to create understanding. This is not an end and we must continue on this path,” said Dr. Rajwant Singh, co-founder and senior adviser of the National Sikh Campaign.

The ads showed Sikhs as part and parcel of American society while explaining that Sikhs and turban stands for equality and respect of all religions.

These ads were shown based on the survey and the input received by the focus groups convened by the NSC and they narrate who Sikhs are in a manner to which common Americans can relate to.

Some examples include: “I’m obsessed with ‘Star Wars,’” says a turbaned man who appears in one of the videos.” “I’ve seen every episode of ‘SpongeBob,’ because that’s what my daughters like to watch,” says another. Sikhs are also seen as fans of “Game of Thrones.” The ads were tested before the launch and had shown a significant increase in people having respect for Sikhs.

Thousands of Americans also visited WeAreSikhs.org and left positive notes after watching the ads on TV and many are now following the social media sites of the campaign.

USCIS to Expand In-Person Interviews for Permanent Residency Applicants Starting October 1st

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The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it is expanding in-person interviews for persons applying for permanent residency (Green Cards). Beginning October 1st, USCIS will being conducting in-person interviews for individuals applying for permanent residency under the following benefits types: Employment (Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status); Refugee/Asylee Petitions (Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition) for beneficiaries who are in the United States and are petitioning to join a principal asylee/refugee applicant.

Previously, in-person interviews were not conducted for applicants under the above categories. The change is in compliant with Executive Order 13780 “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” unveiled by the Trump administration earlier this year, says USCIS.

USCIS says conducting in-person interviews will provide USCIS officers an opportunity to prevent fraud of the system and verify the information provided in an individual’s application, and to determine the credibility of the individual seeking permanent residency.

“This change reflects the Administration’s commitment to upholding and strengthening the integrity of our nation’s immigration system… USCIS and our federal partners are working collaboratively to develop more robust screening and vetting procedures for individuals seeking immigration benefits to reside in the United States,” said James McCament, Acting USCIS Director. USCIS plans to expand in-person interviews for other immigration benefit types.

Sam Pitroda vows to expand Congress party globally, in New York

Staff ReporterPolitics 0

By Rajendar Dichpally

The newly appointed Chairman of the Overseas Congress wing of AICC, Sam Pitroda, addressed The Indian National Overseas Congress USA members in New York, last week.

INOC USA hosted a welcome event for Pitroda at the Cottelion Banquet Hall in New York on August 26. The event was attended by all the chapters of Overseas Congress, the executive committee and National President Shudh Parkash Singh.

The event started with Singh introducing Pitroda as a great patriot and a man who brought revolution in telecom and digital Communication in India working with the complex bureaucracy, a difficult system and obsolete resources in the 1980s.

“Our dynamic leader Rahul Gandhi could not have appointed a better person to lead overseas Congress in my opinion,” said Singh. In his address, Pitroda spoke of his journey in transforming digital and telecommunication system in India. He recalled the support he received from the then Prime Minister, the late Rajiv Gandhi. He said that he was specifically entrusted to rebuild and energize the overseas Congress by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

Pitroda said he will work on building overseas Congress in many countries around the world. “Only Congress can build a strong, secular and progressive India due to its inherent ideology,” he said.

Pitroda recalled developments seeds that were sown with his initiatives and during the tenures of Rajiv Gandhi and the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh that India is now reaping the benefits.

Talking of his health, Pitroda admitted he is battling to stay in shape, with two multiple bypass surgeries and fighting cancer. “My only mission is to sow more seeds that will build a better India in the future,” he said.

Rajendar Dichpally, the National General Secretary, INOC, spoke on how NRIs can play an important role in developing the Congress Party in India and hoped Pitroda will encourage NRIs to return to India to serve in social and public life.

Other INOC members who spoke at the meeting, included: Senior Vice President Phuman Singh, National VP Kalathil Varghese, Executive VP Ravi Chopra, Vice President Kulwant Deol, Chapter Heads Charan Singh Prempura, Sher Madra, Sushil Goyal, Joby George, Gurmit Singh Mulanpur, and Dr. Rajinder Jinna. Two veteran leaders from Punjab, KK Bawa and Dakha, also addressed the gathering.

Dr. Ramesh Kumar Foundation Launches Silent Auction

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By Ajay Ghosh

The Ramesh Kumar Foundation has planned a silent auction, which is going live starting September 2nd, 2017and the winners will be announced on September 23, 2017, announced the Board of Directors of Dr. Ramesh Kumar Foundation.

Dr. Ramesh Kumar Foundation has also planned a first ever “Giving On The Green: A Charity Golf Outing,” to raise funds for the many noble causes the Foundation is planning to undertake in the coming months/years. Several of physicians and community leaders are expected to participate at the Golf event on September 23rd at the Saginaw Country Club, Saginaw, MI.

All proceeds from this event will go towards eliminating the barriers of financial burden on individuals and families in need of medical treatment and also advocating for programs of medical research and education.

The silent auction items include Diamond Jewelry, Rolex watch, art collection, five-star hotel get away packages, football, basketball jerseys and many others, which have been donated/discounted to the Foundation by friends and well-wishers of Ramesh.

The Dr. Ramesh Kumar Foundation was created in honor of the urology resident at Henry Ford Hospital to continue his generosity, according to a Detroit News report. Soon after the death of Dr. Ramesh Kumar, friends and family of Michigan-based Indian American physician Dr. Ramesh Kumar, had set up a foundation in his name to help make medical treatment more affordable for people in financial need. Dr. Kumar was known for his largesse, once paying for the surgery of a woman he didn’t know, friends said, according to the report.

The Indian American doctor was the son of Narendra Kumar, former president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, and Meenakshi ‘Minni’ Kumar. He also left behind his sister, Sarada Das. Dr. Ramesh Kumar was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Detroit late evening on May 4. Kumar, 32, who worked in the Urology Department of the Henry Ford Hospital, was found dead on the passenger seat of a car in a rest area, some 90 miles from Detroit, Michigan.

Police are investigating the case to ascertain the cause of his death. The family members of Kumar say they do not suspect anyone and have ruled out the possibility of it being an incident of hate crime. “We do not know (the reason for his murder). They (The police) are yet to find out,” his father

Kumar was born in Cleveland and raised in Saginaw. He graduated from Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Boston University before receiving his medical degree from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, India.

A YouCaring crowdfunding page has been set up to raise funds for the foundation. “Our family has been overwhelmed by the love and support and kind words we have received over the last several days,” Kumar’s sister Sarada Das, who serves as the foundation president and a board member, wrote in a post on the crowdfunding page.

“Ramesh is not gone,” Mason Kashat, one of Kumar’s friends and vice president and board member of the foundation, said in the Detroit News report. “His legacy is not dead. This is not how it ends. We’re going to continue the giving and helping of others, just like he did.” More information about the foundation can be found at www.drrameshkumarfoundation.org.

The Ramesh Kumar Foundation, a tax-exempt organization with 501(c) (3) status, Tax ID number # 82-1463499, is dedicated to eliminating the barriers of the financial burden on individuals and families in need of medical treatment and also advocating for programs of medical research and education.

One can bid for one or more items and can re-bid as many times as you would like. Bids will be updated every few days. One must be logged in order to bid.  You can register on the website and then go to the auction page to bid. Once you login, you can bid for more than one item and can also re-bid. PLEASE VISIT: https://drrameshkumarfoundation.org/auction/

Sonia Shah Organization, “Changing the world, one girl at a time”

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By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: August 27th, 2017, there was a musical evening featuring globally acclaimed artist and vocalist Humera Channa, organized to benefit Sonia Shah Organization. Key friends and supporters of Sonia Shah Organization (SSO) gathered at Deerfield Illinois for a memorable evening to support the mission. Iram Shah gave the progress on school in Pakistan and Sonia Shah scholarship program here in U.S. The board members Dr. Saira Alvi, Zahir Lavji and friends provided their perspective followed by a speech of Pakistan Councel General Faisal Trimizi.

Late Sonia Shah who at the tender age of 17 started the organization to educate and empower underprivileged girls in rural Pakistan and USA. Although Sonia died suddenly in a car accident in 2012, her dream lives on through dedication of her mom, Iram Shah, extended family, and a dedicated team of volunteers and friends who continue to run the Chicago-based nonprofit organization.

“Sonia was a gift who kept giving and tonight I want to share what we have achieved with your generosity and support,”. We have come a long way. Giving progress report of the school”, Imran said. We have now capacity children in the SSO School. Our filtration plant continues to provide clean drinking water to the village. “While other Schools in area repeatedly are being bombed and destroyed across Pakistan by Islamic militants, SSO school in Kangra village has thrived in the remote due to dedicated volunteer work”. All the money raised helps SSO to continue its life-changing work on behalf of “young girls in Pakistan who otherwise would never have gone to school, young adult women who had given up on higher education, and mature women learning skills to be economically independent,” Iram said.

Additionally, all three major projects started in 2015 are accomplished or well under way to be completed to include: Installed on the roof of Sonia Shah Memorial School, Solar panels, which provides uninterrupted electricity and security at night.” A vocational center for women, “where we are teaching women skills that can give them economic independence,” opened in June and “to our surprise 40 women registered the first day in 1st. year. Today we have a wait list of 100 women.” Since 2015, SSO’s distributes two scholarships to the recipient female students, who start college in Chicago area each fall. “This scholarship is going to help them have a new life,” Iram said.

This scholarship has made what I thought were impossible dreams a reality. “It is just a whole new experience for me. It gives me hope that I can ensure financial status for my family”, said one of the recipients.

But the journey is not done; we have many mountains to climb together. “Many [students] come to school without a proper breakfast and appear chronically malnourished. Some of these kids don’t even have shoes. We want to provide school nutritious meals, uniforms and medical check-ups and expand the Sonia Shah Scholarship program. It is a journey of hope and promise. “Please join us.”

At the conclusions of the successful fund raiser, cultural program started by one and only Versatile Diva – Humera Channa, icon of Pakistan is blessed with a soulful voice, elegant personality and immaculate vocal delivery with precision. With nearly three decades long music career, Humera Channa is one of the most refined female vocalists Pakistan has produced to date. In addition to being a great musician, Channa is a polished and down-to-earth personality. If one analysis the languages in which she has sung in, one is astonished to realize that she has sung in almost every language spoken in Pakistan. However some of the languages in which her songs became significantly popular include Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, Saraiki, Marwari, Thai and Bengali. This is a rare feat for any Pakistani vocalist. According to an estimate, to date, she has lent voice to over 5000 songs.

She has made her country proud in India, UAE, Bangladesh (SAARC Leaders Conference), Canada, UK, rest of Europe and many other countries around the globe as a true ambassador of peace and serenity.

Humera Channa gave an amazing entertainment with her team of musicians and kept the guests engaged and entertained till late at night. Humera Channa is a unique artist who has won most awards after madam Noor Jehan from Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, to 4 times winner of Nigaar Award. Now Sonia Shah Organization preparing for their annual gala on September 16th at Logan Square Auditorium.

The Consulate General of India Chicago Celebrates Fourth Kala Utsav

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By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL: The Consulate General of India organized 4th edition of “Kala-Utsav” the Annual Cultural Festival on August 26, 2017, at Yellow Box, Naperville with 19 different Indian Cultural Organizations to promote the rich heritage of Indian Art and Culture in the US Mid-west. The event provided a platform for over 200 renowned as well as new Indian artists, from across the US Midwest to showcase their talents through various performances.

Hon’ble Cogressman from 8th District of Illinois Raja Krishmoorthi was Chief  Guest and Mr. Juan Ochoa, Special Advisor to Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emmanuel and Board of Director of MPEA [Metropolitan Exposition Authority] was the Special Guest on the occasion. The festival was inaugurated by Consul General of India, Ms. Neeta Bhushan, by lighting of the lamp as per the traditional Indian customs. The Chief Guest, Special Guest, prominent community leaders and volunteers participated in the lighting of the lamp. This was followed by the Indian and the US National Anthems.

Nearly 700 people comprising of the Indian-American Diaspora hailing from different parts of US Midwest, including many US nationals and different ethnic groups attended the event.

In her inaugural address, Consul General Ms. Neeta Bhushan underlined the ancient, rich and diverse culture of India. She added that the objective of the annual ‘Kala-Utsav’ festival, which was launched by the consulate in August 2014, is not only to encourage and showcase the extraordinary talents in the Indian-American community but also to reiterate and celebrate India’s unity in diversity.

During his address, Hon’ble Congressmnan Raja Krishmoorthi also appreciated the efforts of Consulate in providing a platform for showcasing India’s various folks and classical dance forms as well rich musical tradition through the local talents.

The function started with a stunning performance of “ChendaMelam” by the Chicago Kalashetra which is the best –known and most popular kshetram vadyam (temple percussion) genre followed by a sequence of captivating dance performances representing the classical, folk and modern dance forms of India from different dance schools.

The classical dance segment included Kathak performances presented by Anila Sinha Foundation,  Bharatnatyam performance presented by Natya Dance School, Kuchupudi by Nrityamala Dance Academy, Odissi dance presented by Utkalaa Dance Group, Adardhnareshwar by Rina Rockers, Jugalbani and Bharatnatyam by Yakshagana from Indiana.

The folk dance segment was quite large. There were 6 folk dance representing six States of India. The Bengali Folk Dance presented by Jhankaar Dance, Shingari Dance School presented Kerala Folk Dance, Rhythms & Grace Dance Studio presented Rajasthani folk dance, the Assam Association of Greater Chicago presented Assam’s Folk dance and high energy Punjabi folk dance “Gidda” by Bollywood Dance Academy. The performance of “Garba”, Gujrati   folk dance, by MAFS Seniors Dance Group enthralled the audience.

The kids from Bolly Dance Fit and Fun creative kids also participated and performed in the festival.

There were four presentations under the Contemporary/Fusion dance category in which over twenty five artists participated. The presentation ‘Rain , Drought & Flood’ by Soorya Dance School captured the hearts of the audience.  “Bollywood Dance ” was presented by Bollywood Rhythm and Rhythm of Kerala by Team Ghunguru. Mythilli Dance Academy attempted to keep the flame of vibrancy in the heart by presenting “ Parai Drum Dance”.  Lakshmi Parmeswaran and Ms. Tanvi Bhatt ably anchored the event as emcee and kept the audience engaged. Mr OP Meena, Consul [HOC], proposed a vote of thanks.

Bollywood has always encouraged experimental subjects: R.S. Prasanna

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Prasanna, who is making his Bollywood debut with the film “Shubh Mangal Saavdhan”, which deals with erectile dysfunction, says the Hindi film industry is encouraging filmmakers to explore unusual subjects and thanks to the new age audience, such films are making a difference.
Considering the fact that the film is the remake of its Tamil version “Kalyana Samayal Saadham”, which was also directed by him, asked if it was a safe choice to make a debut with, Prasanna told IANS here: “Well, I think Bollywood has always encouraged experimental subjects. Therefore, films like ‘Vicky Donor’, ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ and ‘Hindi Medium’ have been made and accepted in mainstream cinema of Bollywood.
“Even when I was making the film in Tamil, I knew that the subject of erectile dysfunction has a universal appeal. So when in a conservative environment of Tamil cinema, the multiplex audience received the film well, I realised that the story touched the right notes. So yes, that gave me a certain level of confidence.”
While the Hindi version of the film is set in Gurugram, the Tamil version was set in southern India. According to him, it was quite an interesting process to set the film in a different city, capturing the culture of that city, its society and the texture.
“Making the transition from south to north was not a challenge for me because as a maker, I knew what story I want to tell. I worked with a wonderful team where the producer (Aanand L Rai) and writer (Hitesh Kewalya) are from that part of the country and managed to make their mark. So the collaboration was fantastic,” said Prasanna. “Shubh Mangal Saavdhan”, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar, is releasing on Friday.

India LaRoda crowned Miss India America 2017

Staff ReporterFashion 0

Indian-African American India LaRoda was crowned Miss India America 2017 at the 25th anniversary gala, in Los Angeles, California. The Miss India America 2017 and The Elite Awards were announced during a star-studded red carpet gala in Los Angeles. The event organized by South Asia Magazine, Wells Fargo, and JINmodels.com will be later aired on B4U TV.

Jinnder Chohaan, producer and creator of the show, organized this year’s event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event, which is touted as a show to showcase the South Asian community internationally.

“I’ve been dedicated for decades promoting South Asians internationally and enhancing the South Asian community image,” said Chohaan in a press statement. She is the creator of many prestigious pageants, such as Mr. & Miss South Asia, Mr.  & Miss India Globe.

Chohaan’s pageants are the longest running South Asian pageants by a female in the world. She was the first to create and produce a Mr. India pageant; the event superseded India’s version by five years. Also to her credit is the successful trend of Mr. India pageants that she continues to produce. It has now become the longest running Mr. India event in the world.

Chohaan added, “Over the years, I have mentored and guided thousands of young South Asians that I met for the first time through my pageants. It’s not an easy task to do this for one year, let alone twenty-five years. “

“I have worked diligently to provide them with a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The continued positive results and success of the pageants speak volumes about their impact,” she said.

Chohaan also created ‘The Elite Awards’ to honor those in the entertainment industry that have gone on to inspire others. Past recipients have included: Garry Marshall, Randall Emmett, and Steven Seagal.

The Elite Awards 2017 saw Actress Briana Evigan (Step Up) and actor Brett Dalton (Agents of Shield) presenting the Media Legacy Award to the founder of E! Entertainment Television Larry Namer.

Actor Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds, Godfather 3) was awarded for over 40 years in Hollywood. Actress Rekha Sharma (Star Trek Discovery) and actor Charles Mesure (The Magicians) honored executive producers Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky with their Elite Award.

Bollywood director Vivek Agnihotri (Chocolate, Zid, Hate Story, Buddha in a Traffic Jam) was also honored. The Elite Awards were brought on stage by the gorgeous Priya Patel, Miss India America, Heart Hayes, Miss India Globe, and Gurleen Kaur, Miss India Galaxy.

Celebrity judges for the night included – director Vivek Agnihotri, Bollywood actress Pallavi Joshi, actress Rekha Sharma, actor Charles Mesure, actress Rini Bell (Jarhead, The Terminal), Playmate of the Year Kennedy Summers, award winning TV host Sarah Zapp, actress Alice Amter (Big Bang Theory), Cindy Cowan (IEG co-founder) and other celebrity attendees included: popular singer Mickey Singh, model/actress Eugenia Kuzmina (Bad Moms, Dirty Grandpa), actor Brett Dalton (Agents of Shield), actress Briana Evigan (Step Up franchise), Chris Osborn (How I Met Your Mother, Vampire Diaries, The Game), actor Ken Davitian (Borat), actor Yancey Arias (Queen of the South), actress Debbie Sherman (The Forgiven), actress Kate Linder (The Young& The Restless), Punjabi singer/actor Jasbir Jassi, actress Wedil David (Valentine’s Day), Playmate Khloe Terae, executive producer Sunil Perkash (Salt), actor Monty Geer (Awkward), Julia Ling (Chuck), and many others.

The dazzling fanfare concluded with India Laroda being crowned Miss India America by singing sensation Mickey Singh. India Laroda has an African American father and East Indian mother.

While receiving the award, Laroda said, “I’m honored to be crowned Miss India America 2017! It’s a blessing to be part of history as the first African American & East Indian to win this title in 25 years”.

Mr. India America 2017 was grabbed by Karan Malik from Virginia. Other 2017 winners included: Jaskiran Waraich – Miss India Globe, Georgia’s Satrugna Chowdry – Mr. India Globe, Veena Gurbani of Michigan – Miss India Global, Ricky Prasad – Mr. India Galaxy, Anisha Gupta – Miss India Galaxy, Aditi Parikh – Miss India North America, and Navjot Kaur – Miss India California 2017. India LaRoda and Karan Malik also won JINmodels.com’s Mr. & Miss Photogenic 2017. Navjot Kaur and Arizona’s Nitish Singh were People’s Choice Awards for 2017. The evening ended with celebration dance party by DJ Raj Gujral of Sound Nation.

Rs. 200 Notes Launched in India

Staff ReporterIndia 0

The bright yellow coloured Rs. 200 notes been launched a day after the finance minister gave go-ahead to the Reserve Bank of India or RBI to issue the new currency bill. The Indian central bank, while announcing the move on Thursday last week, said that the Rs. 200 notes will act as a “missing link” and make it easier for people to transact in lower denomination currency, thereby bringing greater efficiency into the system.

“The Reserve Bank of India will issue on August 25, 2017 Rs. 200 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (new) Series, bearing signature of Urjit R Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India from select RBI offices, and some banks,” RBI said in a press releaseAs per the new policy on theme-based currency notes, the Rs. 200 bill bears motif of Sanchi Stupa to depict India’s cultural heritage.

This is the fourth new note to be announced since November, when the Narendra Modi government announced a ban on Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes to choke tax evaders. Following the demonetization of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes last November, the central bank had introduced Rs. 2,000 notes and new Rs. 500 notes. The phasing out of the high-value notes led to severe cash shortage in the economy and put pressure on low value notes.

India has currency denominations of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 2,000. As such, in the lower end of the denomination series, Rs. 200 has been the missing link. The RBI had recently introduced Rs. 50 note with a new look and additional security features. “To achieve the optimal system of currency that would minimise the number of denominations while increasing the probability of proffering exact change, especially at the lower end of denominations, there is a logical need to introduce the missing denomination of Rs. 200, which will make the present currency system more efficient,” RBI said.

Among prominent features, the Rs. 200 banknote will carry portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre and the denominational numeral “200” with rupee symbol in colour changing ink – green to blue – on the bottom right on the obverse (front) side of the note, RBI said.

For visually impaired, the front side of the note will have intaglio or raised printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, raised identification mark ‘H’ with micro-text Rs. 200, four angular bleed lines with two circles in between the lines both on the right and left sides.

The reverse side of the note will carry a Swachh Bharat logo with slogan and the Sanchi Stupa motif, RBI said. The new note will be in a dimension of 66mmX146mm.

RBI said the introduction of a new currency denomination and design is done keeping in consideration various factors like ease of transactions for the common man, replacement of soiled banknotes, inflation and the need for combating counterfeiting.

3rd Sree Narayana Gurudeva Convention in New York

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

By B. Arandakshan

The Followers of Sree Narayana Guru in the United States and around the world are spearheading for a National Convention in the Catskill’s Mountains of New York.  About 100 miles north of New York City lays the world famous picturesque Catskill valleys and mountains where rich and famous vacations year round.

The third Sree Narayana Gurudeva convention organized by Federation of Sree Narayana Guru Organizations in North America is scheduled for July 19 -22, 2018 and it will be held at Honors Haven Resort & Spa in the mountain village of Ellenville, said Mr. Sudhan Palackal, organizing committee President.   Followers of Guru and delegates from India and around the world are expected to taking part in the 4 day event in Catskill Mountains.  In the past, the organization Chaired by Aniyan Thayyil held biennial National Conventions in Philadelphia (2014) and Houston (2016).

Disciples of Guru from Sivagiri, Kerala and organization heads of many Sree Narayana Guru Organizations and SNDP Yogam will be attending and coordinating this mega event in July 2018.

The delegates and disciples of Narayana Guru will be analyzing and debating the doctrines of Sree Narayana Guru, Nataraja Guru, Nithyachaithanya Yati and Kumaranasan, the legendary poet and follower of Guru. There will be verity of cultural programs including Indian classics.

The organizing committee includes representatives from USA, India and around the world, said Sajeev Chennath, General Secretary (1-917-979-0177) and Sunilkumar Krishnan, (1-516-225-7781) Treasurer.   The convention venue in Catskills resorts provides enchanting solaces to mind and feels like in Sivagiri, India. The organizers may be reached by e-mail: snconvention2018@hotmail.com. Contact: Sudhan Palackal, President at 1-347-993-4943.

Indian Consul General (New York) Offers Creative Ideas to Serve Community Better

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

By Rajender Dichpally

A delegation of The Indian National Overseas Congress along with prominent community leaders met the new Indian Consul General of New York His Excellency Sandeep Chakravorty in his office at the Indian Consulate in Manhattan on August 22nd. The delegation was led by President Mr. Shudh Parkash Singh. The delegation  discussed issues relating to the Indian American Community like issues with emergency visa, delays in services etc. Many other issues were bought to the notice of the Consul General.

Rajender Dichpally General Secretary of INOC informed media that the Consul General told delegation he wants to make the consulate more inviting and more open for the Indian Community. Mr. Chakaravorty plans to bring all Indian organizations under one mobile umbrella  app of the consulate where everyone can post their events and share the information.

Shudh Parkash Singh raised the issue of issuing passport and visas to Indians including the Sikhs & Punjabis taking political asylum.  Consul General replied it is a policy decision of government of India and not under his control.

Shudh informed CG that he has taken up the issue of NRI’s property rights with the Chief Minister of Punjab and asked for protection of NRI property in cases where they were being duped by relatives in India.

Rajendar Dichpally spoke on how the Organization has taken active part in supporting candidates who are friendly with the Indian community and also wished and hoped that the Community will have more its own candidates running for office in the near future. Dr.Rajender Jinna spoke of the conventions that were organized by Telugu associations to highlight the cultural, social and business seminars. Mr.Ravi Chopra and Phuman Singh spoke on the need to have a 24 hours help line that can guide the community during emergencies. The Consul General said that this facility is already being implemented under his tenure. Any one can write to the consulate on at the email –helpline@indiacgny.org and they will get a reply within 24 hours.

Kalathil Varghese Vice President  pointed out issues relating to OCI cards and new Adhaar card rule.

Quddus Mohammed from Hyderabad Cultural Association asked for an event in the Indian Consulate to show case the Hyderabadi Culture which the Indian Consul General agreed immediately.

We found the new CG have new creative ideas. He’s very open minded and considerate man, stated Shudh Singh after the meeting. Our community here can expect a lot of good coming out of our consulate in coming days, Shudh further added. The meeting ended with the delegation fully satisfied with Consul General and his deputy for accepting all their proposals.

SRK, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar Among Forbes’ Top 10 Highest Paid Actors in the World

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Indian superstars Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are among the top 10 highest paid actors in the world in a list compiled by Forbes that has been topped by “Transformers” actor Mark Wahlberg.

Shah Rukh Khan is at the eighth spot on the list with earnings of 38 million dollars, followed by Salman on the ninth position with 37 million dollars. Akshay is completing the top 10 with 35.5 million dollar earnings.

Wahlberg is Hollywood’s highest-paid leading man, earning USD 68 million in the scoring period. Forbes said the Boston native recorded his highest-ever payday thanks to soaring fees for movies such as “Transformers: The Last Knight” and the forthcoming “Daddy’s Home 2.”

Wahlberg replaced last year’s top-ranked star, Dwayne Johnson who comes in at the second spot with 65 million dollar earnings.

On the third spot is “The Fate of the Furious” star Vin Diesel with USD 54.5 million earnings.

Rounding out the top five is Adam Sandler at the number four position with 50.5 million dollars and Jackie Chan at number five with USD 49 million dollars. Sandler returns to the list courtesy the lucrative deal with Netflix that allows him to produce his movies for the platform.

The world’s 20 highest-paid actors tallied a combined USD 720 million between June 2016 and June 2017, before fees and taxes. A quarter of this year’s list hail from outside the US, including the three stars from Bollywood. Forbes said this year, newcomers comprise one fifth of the list, including Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo.

Hollywood’s highest-paid actors continue to out-earn their female counterparts, Forbes said adding that the top 10 actors banked a cumulative USD 488.5 million –nearly three times the USD 172.5 million combined total of the ten top-earning women. While only three actresses made more than USD 20 million in 12 months, 16 actors broached the mark, it said.

Nina Davuluri to judge Miss America 2018 competition

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Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri has been nomintated on the panel of celebrity judges for the final night of the Miss America Competition on Sept. 10. “I understand all too well the emotions of stepping on to the Miss America stage. I’m honored to be able to help shape the legacy of the Miss America Organization over the next year,” Davuluri said in a statement.

Davuluri, 28, was the first Indian American and South Asian to win the Miss America beauty pagent and she is also the host and producer of the new weekly reality show, “Made In America,” which premiered on ZeeTV Americas in North America, earlier this month.

The Miss America Organization, dick clark productions and ABC have announced that the former Miss America Nina Davuluri will join ACM Male Vocalist of the Year Thomas Rhett, author, actress and model Molly Sims, multi-platinum recording artist and actress Jordin Sparks and PEOPLE Editor in Chief Jess Cagle as the esteemed panel of celebrity judges for the final night of “The 2018 Miss America Competition.” The live broadcast will air from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 (9:00 – 11:00p.m. ET/PT) on the ABC Television Network.

The judges panel will evaluate the contestants’ performances in Lifestyle and Fitness, Evening Wear, Talent, Interview and On-Stage questions during “The 2018 Miss America Competition.”  The evening will showcase the intellect, grace and exceptional talent of 51 accomplished women representing their home states (and District of Columbia) as they compete for the coveted title of Miss America. The seventh judge’s name for the final night of “The 2018 Miss America Competition” will be revealed closer to the competition.

Nina Davuluri is an acclaimed host, speaker and ardent advocate. Currently, she is the host & producer of the new weekly reality show, “Made In America,” which made its series premiere August 2017 on ZeeTV Americas in North America. The premise of the show is to empower young women to discover more about themselves through a series of challenges as they embark on a new journey to fulfill their dreams in America.

Nina first gained international acclaim by becoming the first Indian American and South Asian Miss America 2014; through her experiences, she realized how much of a need there was in the marketplace for this type of content to be created for young South Asian millennials. Since serving as Miss America 2014, Nina has logged approximately 500,000 miles traveling across the world to address an array of audiences on her platform: “Celebrating Diversity through Cultural Competency.”

As part of her consciousness-raising efforts on behalf of diversity, Nina also launched a social media campaign, #CirclesOfUnity, to encourage constructive and civil dialogue on diversity issues. Through her social media channels, Nina asks people to share “representative thoughts and stories about their experiences on how we as a nation can advance cultural awareness.”

In addition to her personal platform, Nina also partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Education promoting women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related fields. Nina’s work in advocacy became apparent when she was first recognized by President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. In April of 2014, she was invited to collaborate with the First Lady on her campaign, “Let’s Move.”

She then went on to help launch “Act to Change,” an anti-bullying campaign led by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In July of 2015, Nina was invited to be a speaker at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya during President Obama’s historic first visit. She was honored to be the youngest speaker on the main stage sharing her experiences as an entrepreneur & trailblazer in the field of diversity.

Voting is still open to the public for the “America’s Choice” contestant. The public can vote at missamerica.org/voteand facebook.com/missamerica and are permitted one vote per day, per user. Voting will close Tuesday, September 5th at 9:00pm ET and the chosen contestant will be announced during the live broadcast of “The 2018 Miss America Competition” with the Top 15. The remaining contestants in the Top 15 are selected by the Miss America Preliminary Judges Panel.  It is possible for America’s Choice to also be among the judges selection.

Amol Sinha Named Executive Director of ACLU-NJ Chapter

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Amol Sinha, an attorney who has been an advocate for people wrongfully convicted has been chosen as the new executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. Amol Sinha, who grew up in New Jersey, will be the first person of color to lead the organization. He said his initial plans call for setting up meetings throughout the state to listen to the needs of residents, organizations and community groups.  He wants them to know that the ACLU-NJ will be there to collaborate with them to make the state better.

“We should be out in communities and letting people know that we are here for them, and I’m certain there are folks that either have a misunderstanding of what we do, or don’t understand it, or aren’t aware of us at all and I want to fix that,” he told the media.

Sinha was director of the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Suffolk County chapter and recently led state advocacy campaigns to address wrongful convictions nationwide at the Innocence Project. The son of Indian immigrants, Sinha grew up in Lawrenceville. In a statement, Sinha says the issues South Asian communities face are “emblematic of civil rights issues.”

In his first 100 days on the job, Sinha plans to primarily listen.

“In the first few months, my plan is to travel across the state, listen to the needs of people here, meet with as many organizations, community groups, and people as possible, and make the ACLU completely accessible,” Sinha said. “I want people across the state to know that we’re here as a partner, to collaborate together to make New Jersey better and more welcoming than it already is.”

For Sinha, taking the helm is a homecoming, not just to his home state, but to an organization that has always anchored him. Sinha’s first role as a new lawyer – after interning for the national ACLU while a student at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law – was as director of the Suffolk County Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union. He said the job posting had an unforgettably fluid yet empowering description: “Be the face of the NYCLU.”

Ravin Gandhi Racially Abused By Trump Supporters In The US

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An Indian-origin CEO was racially abused and told to “go back to India” and also take along Nikki Haley after he said that he will not support President Donald Trump’s economic agenda after the US leader appeared to defend white supremacists following the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia where white supremacists clashed with counter-demonstrators.

US-born Ravin Gandhi, 44 founder, and CEO of GMM Nonstick Coatings, a global supplier of coatings for cookware and bakeware, wrote an op-ed for CNBC following Trump’s Charlottesville remarks but was quickly trolled and racially abused by readers, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“I recently told the New York Times I was ‘rooting’ for certain aspects of Trump’s economic agenda,” Gandhi wrote in his article for CNBC. “After Charlottesville and its aftermath, I will not defend Trump even if the Dow hits 50,000, unemployment goes to 1 percent, and GDP grows by 7 percent. Some issues transcend economics, and I will not in good conscience support a president who seems to hate Americans who don’t look like him,” he added.

In reaction, he received many emails and tweets about the words he put in the article.

“You’re a f****** Indian pig” and “Get your f****** garbage and go back to India, and sell it there,” a woman said in a voicemail she left on YouTube.

“You can stick your stickies up your sticky Indian (expletive) and you can take that other half-(expletive) Bangladesh creep with you, Nikki Haley. She’s the one that started all this when she took down the Confederate flag. So don’t tell us that you gave him a chance. We don’t give a (expletive) who you gave a chance, OK? We’re going to start taking down Buddhist statues and see how you and Nikki Haley like that,” the Trump supporter continued.

“Even though my race is a complete non-issue in my day-to-day life, the sad reality is there’s a group of racists in the USA that views me as a second-class citizen. I wanted my peers in the business community, the civic community, my friend community to see that this can happen to me. Because there’s this delusion that racism is dead because Obama was elected,” he added.
With that he wants to make it clear that he doesn’t think these haters are Trump supporters yet they continued to racially abuse him.

“Republicans and Democrats alike, liberals and conservatives alike, can agree this is a fringe element,” Gandhi said. “The fact that Trump equated hate groups with those protesting hate lit me up,” he said. “His moral leadership on this issue is reprehensible,” he added. “I know I’m on the right side of history here. That’s how I sleep at night,” he stated.

After ambassadorship, Swati Dandekar forms new consulting firm

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Swati Dandekar – who served in the Iowa state legislature for nine years and then served as the U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank in Manila – has formed a new consulting group, Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies.

Dandekar is one of the first Indian American women to be elected to a statewide office. She was an Obama appointee to the Asian Development Bank and served in that role for 10 months until President Donald Trump took office and recalled all ambassadors appointed by the previous administration.

Swati Dandekar of Marion, Iowa, as United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador.  President Obama nominated Dandekar for the position.  Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following comment on the confirmation. “Swati Dandekar has served Iowa in many ways over a long period of time.  She’s shown her talent for building relationships that lead to productive dialogue and initiatives.  Her enthusiasm for public service and willingness to take on new challenges and responsibilities are what the public deserves.  The President and the Senate made a good decision in choosing Swati Dandekar to represent the United States in this capacity.”

At the ADB, Dandekar worked with 60 countries in Asia and the Pacific Rim on energy, telecom, water and transportation issues, as well as developing infrastructure projects.

Swati A. Dandekar is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board.  Ms. Dandekar served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013.  Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Ms. Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008.  From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors.  Ms. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.  Ms. Dandekar received a B.S. from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.

Dandekar formed Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies in July with veteran pollster Marc Silverman, who formerly served on the White House National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration. Silverman played a key role in helping to shape the administration’s policy process for energy, telecommunications, and environmental issues. Mark Pritchard, a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, will serve as the group’s international advisor. Thirty-Ninth Street Strategies is working with U.S. companies aiming to do business in Asia.

“We’re hoping to get people focused on the Democratic message,” she said. The consultancy is already working with several Democratic congressional candidates, including Reps. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania and John Conyers of Michigan; and Danner Kline, who is running for a House seat in Alabama’s sixth congressional district.

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