The host and Master of Ceremonies was Vasan Srinivasan, the first Indian nominated to the Multi-Cultural Council of Australia. The Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria with membership of 28 bodies of the diaspora from most Indian states and Fiji, invited their top office bearers to an Indian restaurant for this meeting. Every head of an association spoke briefly to welcome the Minister and his delegation and present their views. The federation gets an annual grant of a$75,000 from Victoria government.

More than 240,000 people in Australia are of Indian origin and around 52,000 Victorians were born in India. A total of 84 Indian associations are registered in Victoria. A large number of students from India are studying for higher education in Victoria.

After Modi’s recent visit, NRIs are happy with Modi’s vision and getting more respect in Australia as compared during UPA rule. But the Australian media does not report positive Indian news like the Mars spaceship, the UN International Yoga Day after India’s proposal or the safe return of thousands of Indians from Iraq and Yemen.

The delegation arrived in Melbourne on 19 May 2015. After Melbourne, they will travel to Canberra and Sydney and then to New Zealand. In Victoria, the delegation visited the state assembly welcomed by the speaker Telmo Languiller and President of the Legislative Council Bruce Atkinson. They explored the opportunities for deeper ties between the two countries.