EDISON, NJ (TIP): “Ideas are in our DNA and in our constitution. Buddha to Gandhi, we have a wealth of ideas and wisdom. And my idea is to facilitate sharing of ideas. That’s why we have this outreach program”, said the Consul General of India in New York, January 17, at an outreach initiated by the Consulate.

 

Addressing  hundreds of Indian Americans gathered in the large conference room of TV Asia in Edison, New Jersey, who gave an impression of attending a mini Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan, Ambassador Mulay spoke of the importance of making relationships. He said, “We come together in a spirit of togetherness. Relations are built not by governments but by people. We need fire and passion for making a relationship.”

 

Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay explained the aims and objectives of such event that he intended to hold in various places that fall under his jurisdiction. “We are going to work hard to connect with Indian-American people who needed our help and assistance”, he said adding that the consulate launched a help line for emergency services available on weekends. The Consul General invited everyone to visit the consulate to attend various events being held there regularly. “We continue to hold intellectual lectures, cultural and art events at regular intervals at the Consulate.”

 

Mulay pointed out that India was rich in culture and heritage. He advised the people of Indian descent to proudly help present all known and unknown resources of places they came from.

 

US Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. was the chief guest of the event, who praised the close ties between the people of India and the United States. Pallone announced that even though he was known to be the mastermind behind the establishment of Indian Caucus at the Capitol Hill, he really took pride in representing a vast population of Indian Diaspora, settled in his Congressional District of Middlesex County of New Jersey. Presence of Pallone at the function was indicated as symbolic of Indo-US relationship. Pallone delved upon various measures both countries took in recent years to expand business opportunities for entrepreneurs of both countries. Pallone was introduced by H R Shah, Chairman of TV Asia, who introduced Pallone as a great supporter of India in the United States. Shah recalled a number of occasions when he accompanied Pallone on trips to India.

 

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s Principal Secretary S.K. Mishra  spoke about the vision of the Chief Minister and about   the portal “Friends of Madhya Pradesh ” which the Chief Minister will be formally launching at a conclave at Lincoln Center on February 1, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

It was rather unusual exercise for most of the representatives of Indian banks with offices on posh Park Avenue to come all the way to New Jersey to talk about their accomplishments. Most of them, however, made lengthy presentation to bring home the fact that their business was successfully functioning in USA. Padmaja Chundru of State Bank of India pointed out that she strived to make her bank one of the best in the world and second to none. Others who presented accomplishments of their organizations were Ashok Kumar Garg of Bank of Baroda, Bank of India’s P. K. Pattanaik, Andhra Bank’s P. Radhakrishna, a New Jersey based community bank, Indus American Bank’s  Anil Bansal, Amy Hariani of US India Business Council, Meenakshi Vashist of India Tourism and Air India‘s Rishikant  Singh. Canara Bank’s CE T. Shreekantan and ICICI Bank’s CE Reddy also spoke about the performance of their banks.

 

Deputy Consul General of India Dr. Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, enthusiastically highlighted the new measures undertaken at the Consulate office for improving passport, visa and consular services. Mahapatra told the audience that an exclusive help line was available to seek help and register complaints.

 

Ashok Ojha of Hindi Sangam Foundation provided an overview of the forthcoming International Hindi Conference being held at Rutgers University on April 3-5, 2015. He said that everyone interested in promotion of Hindi should attend the conference by registering through conference web site. The conference will attract educators, professionals, teachers and parents from various parts of USA, Canada and South American nations where Hindi is taught and learned.

 

Prior to the meeting the Consul General addressed the organizers of International Hindi Conference, to be held at Rutgers University, on April 305, 2015.