United States

Dinesh Bhargava, a successful plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the US, who studied in Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College went overseas decades ago because at the time there were limited opportunities in India. Now, he says, things have changed significantly and he wants to return to India and start over.
Bhargava went to Albany in 1974, did his residency and training at the University of Rochester and Westchester County Medical Centre, is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.
He is opening an aesthetic surgery centre at Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital in Vaishali, Ghaziabad.
Surendra Garg another US based interventional cardiologist is to join the same hospital after over 24 years in Detroit, Michigan.
S.N. Mishra, president of the Indian Medical Association, says the perceived greener pastures overseas are paling in comparison with Indian health services that are growing in terms of quality, size and financial viability.

India

Kerala later this year will hold a global meet of Keralites living outside the state, governor R.L. Bhatia told the state legislative assembly. Bhatia's address to legislators formed the basis of the policies for the year ahead of the ruling V.S. Achuthanandan government.
"The government is considering issuing identity cards to NRKs (non-resident Keralites)," the governor said. The Kerala government expects more investment in the state from the NRKs and more so to set up high tech dairy farms in Idukki and Wayanad districts.

UAE

Targetting 850,000 Malayalis in the UAE, a new Malayalam FM channel Oxygen 94.7 FM, the channel from Radio Asia Network, has been launched
With a brand new positioning 'Listen to life!' Oxygen is set to redefine Malayalam FM entertainment in the UAE. It will feature a mix of music, film and general entertainment. The program formats address all tastes and age groups.
“The modern trend is always relaunching and giving something new to listeners, and Oxygen is sort of putting in fresh air to make the programmes vibrant and trendy," said Swapan Sadhan Bose, Chairman of the Network's Dolphin Recording Studio.

Mauritius

Prime minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam visited his ancestral village in Bhojpur district of Bihar to a rousing welcome from local residents and the local administration who pulled out all stops to decorate the town, organise welcoming folk singers and schoolchildren to greet him.
Ramgoolam's grandfather Mohit was one of the hundreds of labourers forcibly taken by the British from Bihar to work in the Mauritius sugarcane plantations in 1871. His father was Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
Ramgoolam was accompanied by his wife Veena and an official delegation including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and was flown in to Harigaon by a special Indian Air Force helicopter.
Ramgoolam delivered a brief speech and spent a while laying foundation stones of various projects and announced an investment of $250,000 for the development of roads and hospitals in Harigaon.

United States

Vedic mantras filled the Washington State Senate chamber as it opened its session with a Hindu prayer for the first time. Saffron-clad Rajan Zed, a prominent Hindu chaplain, spoke in Sanskrit and English and recited "Om" as lawmakers listened.
Washington was the latest of six Western state senates that Zed has opened in Hindu prayer, each for the first time, in the past eight months.
Zed had also opened the US Senate session with Hindu prayers in July that drew protests from some Christian members in the gallery. He had sought permission in August to open Washington State Senate with Hindu prayers and was allowed.
Zed's prayer, which ran four minutes, included portions of three ancient Hindu scriptures: the Rig-Veda, which dates from about 1,500 BC, and the Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord). He spoke in Sanskrit, then translated in English: "We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky, and inside the soul of the heaven. May He stimulate and illuminate our minds...”

United States

Some nri groups have joined the protest against the screening of the movie Jodhaa Akbar. In a press release in Silicon Valley, the groups said they considered these "distortions extremely insensitive and it hurts the sentiments of millions of people who love the culture, history and traditions of India."
Calling for a boycott of the movie directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, the supporters of the campaign-led by Rajput Karni Sena said that while the film may be fictional in nature, a mere 30-second disclaimer at the beginning of a movie rarely gets registered in the mind of the moviegoer. They said the epic film "grossly distorts" Indian history.

India

At a meeting of NRIs from Assam held in Guwahati, it was decided to initiate a move to unite Assamese NRIs from different parts of the world and the NRI Association of Assam was formed with headquarters in Guwahati.
The Meeting was presided over by Dr Anil Ranjan Borthakur and constituted a seven member executive committee. Also at the meeting were Dr Ashraf Bora, Dr Karuna Sagar Das, Lahori Borthakur and Julie Bora among others.
The association expressed its intent to serve the interest of their homeland particularly in the fields of socio-cultural, educational, scientific and technological development.