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GOPIO International elects new team at its convention in New Delhi |
The Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) at its convention held in New Delhi in January 2007, elected Inder Singh as president for a second term. Other members of the team elected at the convention include Lord Daljit Rana (UK) as Executive Vice President; Dr Piyush Agrawal (US) as Vice President, North America Region; Ambassador Krishna Nandoe (Suriname) as Vice President, Caribbean Region; and Sunny Kulathakal (Bahrain) as Vice President of the Middle East Region.
As immediate past president, Dr Thomas Abraham (US) will continue to be the chairman of GOPIO International for the term. GOPIO International also appointed Ashook Ramsaran (US) as Secretary General; Haresh Panchal (US) as Treasurer; K. Sital (Hong Kong); Charan Gill (Canada) and Dr Ganesh Chand (Fiji) as regional coordinators for South East Asia, Canada, and Fiji respectively. Dr Jagat Motwani was appointed Chairperson of the GOPIO Academic Council.
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Indian mangoes to hit US market this summer
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US Ambassador to India David C. Mulford speaking at the second Annual Conference on Indo-US Economic Cooperation said that Indian mangoes such would hit US shores this season.
This is in conjunction with the new commitment to increase farm trade with India and the US. Ambassador Mulford further pointed out that following the promise made by President George W. Bush last year during his visit to India to allow mangos from India, both countries have been working to achieve a timetable for this opening that would permit Indian farmers to ship to the US in this year’s season. We are on track to meet that commitment, and literally, for Americans and Indians to enjoy the fruits of our labor, Mulford added. The US had been stalling import of Indian mangos on the grounds that New Delhi will have to comply with the Food and Drug Authorities norms.
Also, the US had wanted India to comply with regulations for pesticides and preservatives.India regards this as a non-tariff barrier imposed through sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures. However, the issues have been discussed during Bush’s visit here and the US has, in principle, agreed to permit Indian mangos.Since each variety has its own life cycle the mango season in India extends over several months.
This makes it possible to sustain exports over a longer period.
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Trinidad PIO wins engineering oscar
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Dr Anil Kokaram, 39, a Trinidad-born person of Indian origin (PIO) and lecturer of engineering at the department of electronic and electrical engineering at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, has won the Scientific and Engineering Academy award at a ceremony held in Beverly Hills, California. He has been given the award for his involvement in the development of visual effects software for films.
Dr Kokaram received the award, known as the Engineering Oscar, with three members of UK software developer, The Foundry’s development team, namely Dr Bill Collis, Simon Robinson and Ben Kent, for their work on the design and development of Furnace, an integrated suite of software visual effects. Dr Kokaram said, “I feel very privileged to get this award because not many people get the chance. I knew of the nomination since November, but I really didn’t expect this. The Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) employed a stringent examination process in selecting the winners, almost like a police investigation.”
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World Australian Hospital and NRI group to exchange health professionals with India |
India and Australia have arrived at an agreement for exchanging doctors and other personnel between India and Australia. The agreement will benefit both countries tremendously. It all started with Dr. Balram Mahendra presenting the Division of Surgery with a proposal for the PA Hospital to explore the development of an exchange program for clinicians and allied health professionals.
This collaboration will promote training rapport and understanding between India and Australia and assist in healthy living for people in both countries. A VIP from India was fortunate to receive care at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, one of the worlds leading centers for head and neck surgery.
The treatment was provided by a variety of surgeons lead by Dr. Coman, and staff in Intensive Care Unit. Dr Daryl Wall, Director of General Surgery who also teaches in surgery, surgical development and education, stated that the surgery went well with the patient now attending outpatient appointments to ensure continued good health. This provided an opportunity to initiate a program with India.
The PA Hospital Head and Neck Cancer Unit, which aided in the patients treatment, attracts applications from over 60 surgeons every year wishing to participate in the training course. The surgical endeavors are supported by experts in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Radiology, Speech Pathology, and Dietetics.
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Visas for Indian techies up in UK |
Last year, work permits for foreign IT workers were increased from 25,000 to 34,000, up by 32% from previous year. The boost raised fears of importing cheap foreign high tech professionals at the cost of Britons. As many as 27,000 visas, about 80% were given to IT professionals from India. While low-skilled jobs continue being shipped to India, high skilled Indian IT professionals are taking up managerial roles.
Trade unions complained that IT workers in UK are losing jobs or failing to find work in their own country. The employers representatives feel that IT skills of UK staff fall short of foreign rivals, convincing them to hire better qualified skilled professionals. There is consensus that global competitiveness is changing the way businesses hire staff; quality staff will get preference regardless of where they come from.
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Becoming Singapore citizen is click away |
Foreigners thinking of applying for Singapore citizenship will soon be able to assess their chances online. Singapore’s immigration and checkpoints authority (ICA) has launched a free self-assessment online tool. It will allow foreigners working or living here to check their eligibility based on personal information such as type of work pass held, occupation, nationality, educational qualifications and annual income, according to Todayonline newspaper.
The ICA is hopeful that the new online initiative will improve the approval rate. Last year, the agency approved 58,200 and 13,900 applications for permanent residency and citizenship status respectively. The online form takes about five minutes to fill and results are given instantaneously. Under the present system, an applicant for permanent resident status has to wait at least three months for a result. A candidate has to submit the forms in person and sit for an interview, during which he or she will be told of their chances of success. To go ahead, he or she then pays a $90 processing fee, with a six-month wait for the result.
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