Tag: Honors – Awards and Accomplishments

Panjab University, Chandigarh Professor Emeritus Padma Shri Harkishan Singh

Professor Emeritus at the PU, is a Prof Harkishan Singh is a well-known pharmaceutical academic, medicinal chemist and renowned science historian

Prof Harkishan Singh is a well-known pharmaceutical academic, prominent medicinal chemist and renowned science historian.

On being asked for his reaction on the announcement of Padma Shri to him, 89-year-old Prof Harkishan Singh said, “I am pleased to receive this honor, but I was not working for awards. It is my passion to research and invent something fruitful for society.”

Prof Harkishan Singh is a renowned personality in the pharmacy industry not because of his books on research but for his rarest accomplishments, including the discovery of a clinically useful drug, Chandonium Iodide (HS-310), which was later named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as Candocuronium Iodide. Candocuronium is the only drug discovered by any Indian University till date.

Over 350 publications, 18 books and 14 patents are testimony to the outcome of his work. He mentored over 50 doctoral and master theses too.

One of his sons, Harry S Panaser who is settled in New Jersey State of USA said he was pleased that his father was selected by government of India for one of the highest civilian awards of India and added that his father was never after any awards and honors. All he wanted was to work to his ability to contribute his bit to humanity.

Professor Harkishan Singh was born on 25 November, 1928. He is a well-recognized pharmaceutical academic, medicinal chemistry researcher and science historian. He has experience of over half a century to his credit. He has worked at the Banaras Hindu University, University of Saugar, and the Panjab University in India, and abroad at the University of Maryland, University of Mississippi and the University of London.

Prof. Harkishan Singh is one of the Padma awardees who were
conferred the honor by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 30, 2017

His scientific research has been in organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry and natural products. Nearly 50 master and doctoral theses have been completed under his supervision. There have been published 125 original scientific research papers. 14 patents have been obtained. His research group has been successful in designing a clinically useful drug candocuronium iodide (INN) (chandonium iodide, HS-310), which is a synthetic azasteroid. Dr Singh has lectured on his research at several of the institutions and conferences in India, United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom and China. He delivered invited lectures at the Harvard School of Medicine and at the International Symposium on Molecular Structure sponsored by the International Union of Crystallography at Beijing.

As a science historian Professor Singh has examined the history of pharmaceutical developments in India of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His history research studies have been on pharmacopoeias and formularies, pharmaceutical education, pharmacy practice, biographies of pharmaceutical luminaries, and pharmaceutical journalism. He has published over fifty articles.

In addition to his scientific and history research papers, Dr Singh has authored and/or coauthored twelve books and nearly two dozen of review articles, including several book chapters. He has written extensively on educational, scientific, historical and professional issues. All told his total publications come well to over 300.

Prof. Singh (seated) with family. L to R: Alicia, Dr Manjeet, Ajooni Kaur and H S Panaser

Professor Singh has been on many academic, scientific, professional and governmental bodies. He was a member of the Committee on Education in Medicinal Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which prepared the Report on the International Education of Medicinal Chemists (IUPAC Technical Reports Number 13; 1974).

His affiliations with several scientific and professional organizations include emeritus membership of the American Chemical Society, life memberships of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association and Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India, and memberships of the American Institute of History of Pharmacy and British Society for History of Pharmacy.

Dr Manjeet Kaur, H S Panaser, Dr. Amarjit Singh, IAS with Prof Harkishan Singh

Professor Harkishan Singh is recipient of several scientific and professional awards and recognitions. He has been a National Fellow of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi. He has been General President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress. He received Eminent Pharmacist Award of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association. Dr Singh’s standing as historian has been recognized through his election to the Academie Internationale d’Histoire de la Pharacie. The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia conferred upon Professor Harkishan Singh the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in recognition of his distinguished academic career and outstanding contributions to scientific research in organic and medicinal chemistry and the history of pharmacy.

The Indian Panorama has a special reason to celebrate the honor to Prof. Harkishan Singh. The Chief Editor Prof. Indrajit Singh Saluja shares with Dr. Singh an association with Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where he studied for two years, and with Panjab University, Chandigarh, where he was a Member of Languages Faculty for a couple of years.

May 5, 2017 – 6:55 am EDT
Missouri State University Announces $5,000 Scholarship for Indian Students

NEW DELHI (TIP): The Missouri State University (MSU) in the US announced $5,000 scholarship for Indian students. The university will grant the scholarship on the basis of GPA scores — the students’ cumulative scores in 10th, 11th and 12th class — and their SAT scores.

“We have always welcomed Indian students and averaged a 120-130 of them till recently… Their current number is 55 and we would want this to grow, ” Stephen Robinette, Associate Vice President, International Program, MSU, told the media. There is no limitation on the number of scholarships and it can be extended to any number of students, he said.

Another university official tried to allay the fears of deportation or denial of visa, which have increased now in the light of President Donald Trump’s ban on immigrants from six countries and strict curbs on the H-1B visa holders.

“There has been no instance till date where applicants to MSU were denied visa… The Trump order is not on Indian students and the H-1B visa policy only applies to those who come to work here in professional capacity and not to those who study here and then continue to work,” Prateek Gujaral, Regional Head, South and Southeast Asia, MSU, said.

Apr 28, 2017 – 7:28 am EDT
Author Meghna Pant Wins Bharat Nirman Award

NEW DELHI (TIP): Meghna Pant, the award-winning author of ‘One & A Half Wife’, was felicitated with the prestigious ‘Bharat Nirman Award’ for her contribution to the field of literature. The award was given to her by the Bharat Nirman Foundation during the 3rd edition of the Asiad Literature Festival 2017, which aims to reward and empower women and promote the beauty of Indian literature.

The Asiad Literature Festival seeks to felicitate individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in their field of expertise. The noted author was bestowed with the award for her work and contribution as a pioneer amongst women writers.

Meghna Pant is an award-winning Indian author, columnist, feminist and TEDx Speaker. Her books have been published to critical and commercial acclaim. Meghna’s debut collection of short stories HAPPY BIRTHDAY (Random House, 2013) was long-listed for the prestigious Frank O’Connor International Award 2014, the world’s biggest short story prize. ONE AND A HALF WIFE (Westland, 2012) – her bestselling debut novel – won the national Muse India Young Writer Award and was shortlisted for several other awards, including the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Her latest book THE TROUBLE WITH WOMEN (Juggernaut, 2016) is considered a landmark in feminist writing and was described as ‘the best book from Juggernaut’ by The Hindu Business Line. Pant is also the winner of the coveted 2016 FON South Asia Short Story Award.

Meghna is known for having abridged the world’s longest epic, THE MAHABHARATA, into one hundred tweets that The Guardian (UK) quoted as ‘wonderfully descriptive and paced’. Meghna curates a monthly panel discussion on feminism called FEMINIST RANI, and interviews India’s top female leaders and opinion makers on two online shows–FIRST LADY With Meghna Pant (Firstpost/ Network 18) and GET REAL With Meghna Pant (SheThePeople). She is invited as a speaker for many of the nation’s biggest literary festivals and conferences. Meghna has previously worked as a business news anchor with Times Now, NDTV and Bloomberg-UTV in Mumbai and New York.

ABOUT BHARAT NIRMAN

Bharat Nirman is an organization launched by the Government of India in 2005 that promotes rural development across the country. The 3rd Asiad Literature Festival was launched in New Delhi with the purpose to promote Indian literature and reading.

Apr 28, 2017 – 7:25 am EDT
TV Asia Chairman HR Shah receives Padma Shri award

NEW DELHI (TIP): TV Asia Chairman H.R. Shah received the Padma Shri award from India’s President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on April 13.

Shah received India’s fourth highest civilian honor in the field of Literature & Education – Journalism.

Shah, who has lived in the United States for 46 years, is originally from Bahadarpur, Gujarat.

Two other Indian-Americans named for this year’s Padma Shri award include Ustad Imrat Khan in the field of Art-Music and Anant Agarwal in the field of Literature & Education.

Even before Shah received the award formally from Rashtrapati Ji, his friends and admirers celebrated his selection for Padma Shri and felicitated him.

Indo-American Press Club organized a felicitation evening in the month of March. Some other organizations were keen to felicitate him but he wanted them to wait until he received the award formally from President of India.

Apr 21, 2017 – 7:43 am EDT
Dubai gurdwara creates world record with breakfast for people from 101 nations

A gurdwara in Dubai broke the world record for serving free breakfast to the maximum number of people from diverse nationalities.

Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar entered the Guinness World Record on Thursday for serving continental breakfast titled ‘Breakfast for Diversity’ to 600 persons from 101 countries in an hour-long event in Jebel Ali.

The Khaleej Times reported that schoolchildren, government officials and diplomats attended the event while Indian ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri was the chief guest. People from different parts of the city flocked to the Jebel Ali Gardens and filled a temporary tent made for hosting the marathon breakfast event.

The officials from the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that the gurdwara broke the previous record of 55 nationalities having a continental breakfast, organised by Nutella at the Milan Expo in Italy in 2015.

The gurdwara, which is known for serving free meals to all visitors through its community kitchen, caters to over 50,000 Sikh devotees in the United Arab Emirates.

“Sikhism has always embraced diversity as it has been part of our faith and belief that we are all human beings to be treated with respect,” Surender Kandhari, chairman of the Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, told the daily. “The gurdwara has been spearheading charity and volunteer work not only for the Indian community but for the entire UAE community as well. We feel blessed to give in any form, as this is our selfless service to the society,” he said.

Apr 21, 2017 – 6:40 am EDT
India’s Abdulqadir Rashik Wins Top Prize at UN Challenge For Open Source Tool

United Nations: An Indian software engineer has won the top prize at a global challenge for an open-source tool that enables users to interactively view UN General Assembly resolutions and gain a deeper understanding of the voting patterns of member states.

Abdulqadir Rashik, also an entrepreneur, won the ‘Unite Ideas #UNGAViz Textual Analysis and Visualisation Challenge’ for his ‘Global Policy’, an open-source tool that enables users to search and interactively view General Assembly resolutions to gain a deeper understanding of the voting patterns and decisions made by United Nations Member States.

Mr Rashik’s prototype will be made public and shared with United Nations bodies and member states. He will also receive recognition from the Department of State and the Office of Information and Communications Technology.

Mr Rashik is a frequent contributor to Unite Ideas challenges and he previously won the top prize in the #LinksSDGs challenge for his ‘Links to Sustainable Cities’, an interactive visualisation that identifies and maps the links between various Sustainable Development Goals.

The world body said the project was the first collaboration between the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT) and the US Department of State.

The UNGAViz challenged developers worldwide to create an open-source tool capable of providing greater visibility into Member State voting patterns, as well as greater public transparency about their voting choices.

Solutions were judged not only on their technical merits, but also on their potential to support policymakers dealing with humanitarian challenges, peace and security issues, and other international matters, sometimes under extreme time pressure.

A State Department official Andrew Hyde said the UN General Assembly has drafted and passed thousands of resolutions affecting people in every corner of the world since its establishment in 1946.

“In support of transparency and accountability, we believe that everybody, from the general public to policymakers to diplomats, should have easy and timely access to this vast body of knowledge,” he said.

The first runner-up position was awarded to Maximiliano Lopez, an information technology consultant from Argentina, and the second runner-up was Thomas Fournaise, an information technology manager from France.

The Chief of the Global Services Division in the Office of Information and Communications Technology Salem Avan said the global network of talented open-source developers responded with insightful and practical solutions that can be easily implemented and made available to United Nations offices and Member States.

UNGAViz is the sixth challenge issued by Unite Ideas, a big data crowd-sourcing platform developed by the Office of Information and Communications Technology to facilitate collaboration among academia, civil society and UN offices, and to mobilise data scientists and software developers around the world to help tackle the complex issues faced by the Organisation and its member states through the creation of open-source technology solutions.

To date, academia, the general public and private companies have responded to the Unite Ideas challenges with more than 50 open-source solutions, many of which will be used by the United Nations or shared with member states.

Apr 14, 2017 – 7:44 am EDT
Three Indian Americans among others awarded 2017 Guggenheim Fellowship

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announced 173 fellowships on Friday, April 7, to artists, writers, scholars and scientists, including three Indian Americans – Sandeep Mukherjee, Pramila Vasudevan and Shalini Shankar.

Appointed on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise, the successful candidates were chosen from a group of almost 3,000 applicants and represent 49 disciplines and artistic fields, 64 academic institutions and 27 states and the District of Columbia. The recipients range in age from 27 to 79. Sixty-eight Fellows have no academic affiliation or hold adjunct or part-time positions at universities. In addition, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation is once again underwriting the Fellowship in Constitutional Studies.

Sandeep Mukherjee from Fine Arts Category ,Pramila Vasudevan in Choreography category, and Shalini Shankar in Anthropology and Cultural Studies. All winners get the same prize, around $50,000.

“It’s exciting to name 173 new Guggenheim Fellows. These artists and writers, scholars and scientists, represent the best of the best. Each year since 1925, the Guggenheim Foundation has bet everything on the individual, and we’re thrilled to continue to do so with this wonderfully talented and diverse group. It’s an honor to be able to support these individuals to do the work they were meant to do, said Edward Hirsch, president of the Foundation.

The size of grants vary and are given for six months to one year, depending on the scope of the project. The foundation was established in 1925 and has awarded more than $350 million in fellowships to more than 18,000 people who, according to the organization’s website, “have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.”

Shalini Shankar

SHALINI SHANKAR

Field of Study: Anthropology and Cultural Studies

Dr. Shalini Shankar is Professor of Anthropology and the Director of the Asian American Studies Program at Northwestern University. She is a sociocultural and linguistic anthropologist concerned with issues of race and ethnicity, youth and migration, language use, and media. She has conducted ethnographic research with South Asian American youth and communities in Silicon Valley, with advertising agencies in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and with spelling bee participants and producers in various US locations.

During the Guggenheim Fellowship year, Shankar will be based in Brooklyn, NY. She will research Generation Z, exploring how this demographic category can be defined in ways that more centrally account for the contributions of immigrants and minorities.

More Info – http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/shalini-shankar/

PRAMILA VASUDEVAN

Field of Study: Choreography

Website: http://www.aniccha.org/

Pramila Vasudevan is a choreographer and interdisciplinary artist based in Minneapolis. She has a combined 30+ years of experience in Bharatanatyam (classical Indian dance) and contemporary Indian dance, plus a B.F.A. in Interactive Media and a B.A. in Political Science, all which inform her interdisciplinary voice and socially conscious performance practice.

Vasudevan is the founder and Artistic Director of Aniccha Arts (2004), an experimental arts group producing site-specific performances that examine agency, voice, and group dynamics within community histories, institutions, and systems. Aniccha Arts is best known for the all-night outdoor performance project ‘Census’ (2016) and ‘In Habit: Living Patterns’ (2012), both commissions of Northern Lights.mn that were experienced by thousands of audience members through the Northern Spark Festival; and ‘Every Other’ (2015), a site-specific installation performance at the Grain Belt Studios, which was nominated for an ‘Outstanding Performance’ Sage award. Aniccha Arts also has been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, to develop and present F6 as part of the Momentum: New Dance Works series (2013), and by the Weisman Art Museum, as part of the ‘Clouds: Temporarily Visible’ exhibit (2016).

More Info – http://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/pramila-vasudevan/ &/or http://www.aniccha.org/

For full list – visit – http://www.gf.org/fellows/current/

Apr 11, 2017 – 8:15 am EDT
Troy University’s Indian American Professor Dr. Priya Menon receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to study Emigration

TROY – Dr. Priya Menon, associate professor of English at Troy University, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program grant to India from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

In her research, Dr. Menon will study and document a counter-archive of the typical success stories of emigration to the Arabian Gulf States disseminated by mainstream media in India. In addition to her research, Dr. Menon will be offering a series of lectures and discussions on the topic and will help local faculty develop curricula, host seminars and engage in community services that will benefit expatriates who have returned to India from the Gulf States.

Dr. Menon is one of more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research and provide expertise abroad for the 2016-2017 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.

“This is an incredible honor, and I am very excited and humbled to be a part of the illustrious Fulbright alumni,” Dr. Menon said. “There is an exciting and growing body of literary texts, primarily conceived and circulated in southeast Asia, featuring these emigrant workers’ quotidian experiences which often involves exploitation grounded in a neo-colonial model of economic inequality and exclusion. It will be interesting to study whether literature can aid in bringing about social change apropos Arabian Gulf emigration.”

Dr. Larry Blocher, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, commended Dr. Menon for the award.

“It is exciting to see Dr. Menon’s scholarship recognized at this level,” Dr. Blocher said. “She is a bright light among our Communication and Fine Arts faculty and all Troy University faculty. We certainly commend her for the dedication she has to teaching, her scholarly research and service to others.”

A member of the TROY faculty full-time since 2007, Dr. Menon received the University’s Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching in 2009. She holds two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree from Calicut University in Kerala, India. She also earned a master’s degree in English education from TROY in 2005, and received her doctorate in literary studies from Georgia State University in 2011.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build relations between the people of the United States and other countries that are needed to solve global challenges. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

Apr 11, 2017 – 8:14 am EDT
2 Rice students, including an Indian American, named Goldwater Scholars

Two Rice University undergraduate students have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Rohan Palanki and Constantine Tzouanas were nominated by Rice and selected based on academic merit from a field of 1,286 natural sciences, mathematics and engineering students nationwide. The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Rohan Palanki, a Rice sophomore from Mobile, Ala., is majoring in bioengineering and pursuing an M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine through the Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program. He intends to attain a Ph.D. in bioengineering and become a professor and researcher in academia.

“I hope to lead a cutting-edge research group that utilizes translational bioengineering and synthetic biology methods to develop diagnostic point-of-care medical devices, while also carrying out clinical work at a hospital,” Palanki said.

Palanki is currently studying the optimization of two-component bacterial systems for biosensor applications in the Tabor Lab at Rice.

“By using mathematical modeling, bioinformatics and site-directed mutagenesis, I have engineered sensitivity-tuned, mutant bacteria,” Palanki said. “These bacteria can be incorporated into an oral diagnostic, such as yogurt, that can be ingested to detect intrinsic disease biomarkers for intestinal disease. The sensitivity-tuning method that has been developed can also be applied to create a wide range of biosensors for other medical, industrial and environmental applications.”

Palanki holds a number of roles in Rice organizations, including campus chairperson of Rice University Global Brigades, president of Rice South Asian Society, Jones College senator for the Rice University Student Association, campus tour guide for the Rice Student Admissions Council and a member of two Indian dance teams: Rice Chowl Bhangra and Rice Riyaaz.

– See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2017/04/10/2-rice-students-named-goldwater-scholars-2/#sthash.QzDYYEjO.dpuf

Apr 11, 2017 – 8:13 am EDT
Indian-American Student at Rice University awarded Watson Fellowship

An Indian American student is among among the 40 students, chosen from 149 finalists nominated by private liberal arts colleges and universities across the United Sates, who were named a 2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellow and will each receive $30,000 for a year of international travel to study their field of choice.

Madhuri Venkateswar, from San Antonio, is majoring in chemical engineering, minoring in poverty, justice and human capabilities and pursuing a certificate in civic leadership at Rice University. Another Rice University major Allison Yu has also been named a 2017 Thomas J. Watson Fellow.

Madhuri plans to travel to Peru, Malawi, New Zealand, China and Germany, where she will study women’s choices and how they are constrained by unique social and political climates. From sexual violence to discrimination in higher education, she will learn how power structures engage and often oppress women in complex ways.

This year’s class of Watson Fellows shows “the enormous depth, width and creativity of our next generation of leaders,” said Chris Kasabach, executive director of the Watson Foundation. He noted that the year of unparalleled international exploration funded by the foundation helps expand the vision and develop the potential of remarkable students.

“My personal interactions with gender discrimination spurred me to learn more about it in college and quickly become passionate about doing my part to fight it,” Venkateswar said. “By leading a Women’s Empowerment Alternative Spring Break my sophomore year, I became aware of the breadth of issues that women face and want to further broaden my perspective by studying this abroad.”

During her education at Rice, Venkateswar has served as president of her residential college and as president of Rice’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, which works to effectively engage students in Houston policy. She researched gender inequality in education through a Loewenstern Fellowship in India, where she helped a local nonprofit assess the impact of its mobile library program on women in the community.

Upon completion of her Watson Fellowship, Venkateswar plans to move to Boston to work as a strategy and operations consultant for Deloitte.

– See more at: http://news.rice.edu/2017/04/06/2-rice-university-students-awarded-watson-fellowships/#sthash.N2nEm0yV.dpuf

Apr 11, 2017 – 8:12 am EDT
SHAURYA CHAKRA AWARDED TO HEROES OF SURGICAL STRIKE

NEW DELHI (TIP): President Pranab Mukherjee on April 6 awarded Shaurya Chakra to the officers who took part in the surgical strike across the Line of Control (LoC) last year.

He also awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously to Lt Col Niranjan Ek, who died while recovering IED from the bodies of Pathankot terrorists in January 2016.

As per the citation against Shaurya Chakra awardees, Major Rajat Chandra killed two terrorists during the surgical strike, while Captain Ashutosh Kumar eliminated four terrorists. Both belong to 4 Para Special Forces, which took part in the surgical strike in September last year.

Major Deepak Upadhyay and Paratrooper Abdul Qayum, both of 9 Para Special Forces, were also awarded with Shaurya Chakra for their role in the surgical strike.

Nineteen soldiers of the 4 and 9 Para — units of the special forces —,who undertook the cross-border surgical strike across the LoC, were awarded with gallantry medals, including a Kirti Chakra, on January 25, while their commanding officers have been given Yudh Sewa Medal.

Shaurya Chakra was also posthumously awarded to Sanjewan Singh, head constable with the J&K Police, Naib Subedhar Kankara V Subba Reddy, Naik Pandurang Gawande, and Kirti Chakra to Lance Havildar Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar of the Gorkha Rifles. All laid their lives fighting terrorists. Family members of Singh, Reddy, Gawande and Magar received the honour by the President.

Lt Gen PM Hariz, one of the two senior most officers superseded by Chief of Army Staff Gen Bin Rawat, was awarded Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Hariz is the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command.

Shaurya Chakra was also awarded to Atu Zumvu, Sub-Divisional Police Officer with the Nagaland Police, who shot down three National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) outfit members, responsible for killing 81 people.

Captain Elisen Y Jami of the 12th Battalion Parachute Regiment; Kukudapu Srinivasulu, police constable with the Telangana Police; Lt Col D Vinay Reddy of the Madras Regiment and Havildar Hanuman Ram Saran of the Rajputana Rifles were also awarded with Shaurya Chakra.

Apr 7, 2017 – 9:10 am EDT
At long last, Bob Dylan accepts the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

STOCKHOLM (TIP): After months of uncertainty and controversy, Bob Dylan finally accepted the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature at a secret meeting on Saturday with the Swedish Academy, local media reported. Asked by Swedish public broadcaster SVT if Dylan had received his Nobel diploma and medal on Saturday afternoon, Academy member Horace Engdahl said: “Yes”, without making any further comments.

The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, had been tight-lipped about the prospective meeting and declined to comment on the report. The first songwriter to receive the prestigious award, Dylan joins a celebrated group of laureates including Thomas Mann, Samuel Beckett, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Doris Lessing.

The meeting took place at a secret location ahead of Dylan’s first concert in Stockholm, the first stop on a long-planned European tour for his latest album of cover songs, “Triplicate”. His second concert is on due Sunday.

Apr 7, 2017 – 8:32 am EDT
IAA Women Achievers Awards make a powerful statement

NEW JERSEY (TIP): With all eyes on a beautifully decorated stage, almost 300 guests from New York and New Jersey in audience, the expectations were running high to know the names of 15 women “Honorees” who have left an indelible impression on society in USA. An event which has been the talk of the town since it was announced three weeks ago by Brain Storm Entertainment in association with Renascent Enterprise, IAA Women Achiever Awards held at newly built MARIGOLD in New Jersey offered everything that raised expectations.

Manish Malhotra Fashion Show

Fifteen women to be selected through a process audited by Ernst and Young, a fund raiser with Chief Guest Shabana Azmi and a fashion show by superstar of fashion industry, Manish Malhotra for Mijwan Welfare Society (NGO run by Shabana Azmi) at a venue that has created a name for its grandeur in such a short time, it was an evening to watch.

Tanvi Prenita Chandra, local promoter of the show

Guests started arriving early at 5 pm and crowded the reception to ensure they got best seats after a formal photo-op. The bar was filled soon with hundreds and an air with best fragrance and some of outfits that would have surprised celebrity designer Manish Malhotra. Many wanted to know the names of the winners since such events have rarely presented surprise. But Tanvi Prenita Chandra, promoter and Vandana Krishna, brain behind the event lived upto her promise, and nobody including “Honorees” knew about the surprise about to unfold. Some wanted to have a glimpse of Manish Malhotra who was busy with models and wanted to make his maiden presentation the best ever in East coast. Photographers ensured they clicked the pics of the most notable guests from Tri-State which would fill the Facebook after the event. Selfie stars were busy too, almost competing with each other in putting maximum in one frame.

Cineyug promoter Aly Morani was quietly checking the finishing of the grand room for stage and settings, first of its kind where the evening was to unfold. Side panels with white fabric were used as screens with a state of the art projectors and backdrop lit to make the setting most serene. A totally new concept of a fashion show with top models were to walk on the floor with a ramp-style setting between front three rows, thus, giving the audience a closer view of beautiful dresses of Mijwan collection by celebrity Manish Malhotra.

A warm welcome from Vandana Krishna

Vandana Krishna introduced the evening and awards event to a hall filled with 300 plus guests. She shared the overview of upcoming Indian Academy Awards to be held in California in July. Vandana Krishna and Saurabh Pandey, two veterans from the entertainment industry are launching their awards event in SFO with Bollywood, Tollywood and Hollywood stars as guests and performers when the winners will be announced once again through a popular selection process audited by Ernst and Young. The grand 2-day event is expected to host 50,000 in audience. The event was announced in Mumbai in last week of December by RAEES Bollywood Badshah Shahrukh Khan and launched at a media conference by superstar Madhuri Dixit in Santa Clara in January.

Vandana said, “As an initiative of the Indian Academy Awards we want to share the success stories of real women with the world, to encourage all the Non Residents of India. True stories of women entrepreneurs are an inspiration to change the world. Today’s women are making the difference with their innovative ideas, seeking solutions and reclaiming their status as equals. We want to create a platform to honor these women and to share their success with the world.”

One could see smiling Tanvi Prenita Chandra of Renascent Media who was the local promoter for hosting the show. “Women empowerment …this cause is very close to my heart and I feel fortunate to get this opportunity to host this history making event with most respected Bollywood icon Shabana Azmi ji and world famous designer Manish Malhotra. A big thank you to the sponsors Nirvani restaurant, Morgan Stanley, Laxmi (House of Spices), Mphasis Corporation, Hometowne rx, Pro Beauty Academy, KTC Edibles Ltd, The Marigold and Corporate Limousine Services for the support of this great cause. I have done my best to present a different type of show with celebrities from Mumbai and feel happy it has all come together in flying colors witnessed by elite crowd in such a short span of three weeks” said Tanvi.

Host Nisha Mathur, herself a celebrity, opened the evening and in her inimitable style announced the winners one-by-one. The honorees graced the stage and accepted the honors to an applaud by audience which marked the recognition by all. Fifteen honorees who had travelled from all over just like other guests to attend the event and were caught by surprise when their names were announced. Ms Shabana Azmi presented the awards to each honoree as Nisha invited them after a brief introduction.

The winners were selected via a nomination process managed by EY. The final jury members comprising of Bollywood actresses Manjari Phadnis and Chitrashi Rawat, Wellness and grooming expert Avni Gandhi Varma will made the final selection.

The next segment included the introduction of Mijwan Welfare Society by none other than Ms Shabana Azmi who shared the details of her father, Kaifi Azmi’s dream for the small village in U.P. which has been converted by funds raised by the NGO to support women.

Shabana Azmi and Manish Malhotra

Ms Azmi’s humility and happiness was visible as she fondly recalled the time she spent with her father who was a great poet and supported for equality of women. She expressed her gratitude for Manish Malhotra and generous audience as well as every donor till date who have supported the Society.

Actors & Activist Shabana Azmi was the guest of honor for the final event.

Mijwan today is not only a story of the progress of a small village in India, but it’s also the story of women journeying on, past the patriarchal conforms of their society. It’s the hope for a better tomorrow, beating in the hearts of rural women who have taken charge of their own destinies

The finale was the fashion show as colorful lights came up and beautiful modelsdisplayed the dresses. One could see the audience was dazzled with the exquisite hand embroidery called Chikankari by Mijwan Women. The ‘Mijwan Summer Couture 2017’ was clearly the highlight of the evening. The grace with which each model walked and carried the dress, almost everyone in audience captured the view with eyes while top photographers and cameraman from television channels captured through their lens. Music enhanced the walk on the ramp between the aisles and many females almost touched the dresses with their cell phones cameras to decide on their choices. About thirty minutes of mesmerizing presentation before Manish Malhotra came to the stage himselfin his customary style to accept the honors.

Manish Malhotra has pulled women out of oblivion and brought their craft to the doorsteps of Bollywood by creating glamorous outfits in his signature style. By giving women gainful employment, he has given the women to negotiate more space for themselves within the family structure.

The show epitomized the continuous realization of Kaifi Saab’s vision and the wonderful legacy of hope for his village, Mijwan. (www.mijwan.org)

Evening closed with the fund raiser and Ms Azmi assisted by her US associate Ketki Parikh collected the checks with humble thanks that will help spread the word for the Mijwan Society all over US in times ahead.

A landmark is created by Brainstorm Entertainment in association with Renascent Media in East coast as West coast now waits for the mega event in July when superstars will land in Silicon Valley. (Press Release)

Apr 7, 2017 – 6:10 am EDT
OUTSTANDING WOMEN HONORED FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS AT THE SIXTH IAF GALA

HICKSVILLE, NY (TIP): As Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, Town of Hempstead Clerk Nasreen Ahmed (Among many other VIP’s) walked into Antun’s of Hicksville on Friday March 24, they all very well felt the pride and achievement in the air. The Grand ball room was full of so many accomplished and elite, who’s who of the society gathered for one singular purpose, to be the part of and celebrate 6th Outstanding Women’s Achievements Gala, part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day Celebrations

IAF (Indian American Forum) led by Indu Jaiswal, known for her strong commitment and dedication to the community cause was the organizing force behind the gala. This year well known business woman Vandana Govil was the Chairperson of the Gala. And of course, the hall was beautifully decorated with Peacocks, and spring flowers theme courtesy Sunita Sadhnani of Glamorous Event Planners. Evening started with lighting of the lamp. Indu Jaiswal Chairperson of IAF in her remarks welcomed all the guests congratulated all the honorees and praised their efforts in achieving such success.

American National Anthem sung by Inesha Singh and Indian National Anthem sung by Roopam Maini… Master of Ceremonies Mr Anuj Rihal and Chanbir Kaur Sethi made the evening enjoyable. Chanbir Kaur, Roopam Maini and Inesha Singh coordinated a brief Q&A session with the honorees discussing and emphasizing their accomplishments

In addition to Madeline Singas who was also Chief Guest and Keynote speaker was presented with an award, 4 other distinguished women who had excelled in their profession and community services were presented with Outstanding Women’s achievements Awards

Kalpana Patel is President and Chief Executive officer of Unique Comp Inc (UCI) an award-winning information technology services company providing IT Solutions and services to Federal, NY State and NY City agencies. Kalpana Patel has received many National and International award and recognition for her performance. Kalpana attributes her success to her parents’ upbringing, Bansi Shah and UCI Team which is with her since inception is really Unique in her opinion which has put UCI on runway to succeed

Ranju Batra is a woman driven to success and serving him public good by working harder and always paying attention to details. Her successful and historic 7 years journey towards Diwali Stamp is a matter of Pride for generations to come. It was officially dedicated on October 5, 2016 at The India Consulate. She is a loving wife, and a devoted mother of two, one of whom is a special needs miracle daughter Angela. And another capable lawyer son. Ranju has excelled in the public arena and made a difference with her excellence-with-humility approach at all things. She also served as Past President of AIA NY… Ranju’s diligence and goal oriented “grassroots philosophy has made her a strong and worthy bridge between United States and India, bringing both national both peoples closer and together.

Dr Binita R Shah has bestowed upon the highest academic rank of distinguished Teaching Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrician 2013 the State of University of New York Trustees Albany honoring her mastery of teaching. Binita R Shah has earned a national and international reputation through her highly acclaimed pediatric books 5 so far. Dr Shah’s quest for improving the quality of care delivered to critically ill and injured children globally has led her to travel all over the world. Binita also has passion for performing arts. She also started organizing cultural programs in Herricks Community center. Binita considers herself fortunate as her children and their spouses are practicing in the field of medicine

Mrs. Vandana Sharma Air India Regional Manager- Americas, has been with Air India for more than 22 years. She hails from Allahabad, and most recently from Mumbai. She came to New York as Regional manager -Americas 2015. So far during her tenure here she has inaugurated two new flights from the USA between Fan Francisco and Delhi and between Newark and London.

This Year IAF also introduced Awards from Young Achievers and Future Leaders Jiya Singh a senior at Jericho high School. Jiya is very active in community projects such as Project Dignity aims to building bathrooms in India, Jiya has was placed third in the Nassau County for Tennis and qualified to the New York State tournament. Jiya also received Future Business Leaders of America Scholarships and formed E Commerce Website for ecofriendly banquet halls. Jiya is also a successful Golfer.

Setu Mehta is a is fun loving, caring and kind with a talent for making others around her smile. She is a senior at Herricks High Scholl and is the Valedictorian of her class. Her passion includes playing viola. She has played her t Carnegie Hall, Lincoln center, Adelphi School of performing arts. In addition, she loves Indian Classical dances, Setu has been named toas a National merit Commended Scholar and a member of the National honors Society. She is known by her friends as someone who is approachable and ready to help out. She loves the outdoors, cooking and reading and is always having fun…

NASSAU County DA Madeline Singas was all in praises for the efforts of Indian American Forum and Indian American Community. She congratulated all honorees and stressed the importance of role women are playing in this world. Citations of behalf of Nassau County Executive Edward P Mangano were presented by Zahid Syed, Chairman of Human right Commission Nassau County to all honorees. Syed praised their efforts and congratulated them for their achievements. Citations were presented from the town of Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino by Councilwoman Goosby and town Clerk Nasrin Ahmed. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Saladino and Councilman Imbroto and Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth presented Citations to the honorees

Among those present during the event were Bobby Kalotee Founder of IAF, Nassau County Human right Commissioner Sharanjit Singh Thind, Bina Sabapathy, President of India Association of Long Island, Sher Madra , Shammi Singh and Peter Bheddah, Board of Directors of Nargis Dutt Foundation, Shashi Anand well known business woman, Haseena Mooppan and Jasia from Domestic Harmony Foundation, Rizwan Qureshi from HAB Bank, Roopam Maini from Indus American Bank, Sangeeta Bahl, Past President of Rotary Club, Shiv Dass and Subhash Kapadia, Kamal Dandona, Bharat Jotwani, T S Anand, Peter Bheddah , Smiti Khanna and several other dignitaries were present

Dance performances presented by students of well-known Choreographers Swati Vaishnav and Dr Ari Datta. Mr Mohinder Taneja and Animesh Goenka gave special thanks for all of our sponsors and media partners.

Board of Trustees Dr Azad Anand, Surinder Rametra, and Bobby Kalotee, a, Animesh Goenka, Volunteers Nirmala Rametra, Jaya Bahadkar, Anu Gulati, Dr Meena Jaiswal, Vijay Goswamy, Tejal Kamath, Sunny Thakkar and Many other helped in making the event a grand success. It was indeed a very successful evening, showcasing and honoring outstanding women achievers, who are successful in business, cultural, professional, education, and medical. Community and social services.

(Press Release)

Mar 31, 2017 – 9:33 am EDT
Liberian Indian American Dr Raj Panjabi to receive Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship

NEW YORK (TIP): Dr Raj Panjabi, a Liberian Indian American physician and social entrepreneur, is among four recipients of the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. The other recipients are Kola Masha, Bradley Myles and Dr. Elizabeth Hausler.

The Skoll Awards distinguish transformative leaders whose organizations disrupt the status quo, drive sustainable large-scale change, and are poised to create even greater impact on the world. Awardees’ organizations receive $1.25 million core support investments to scale their work and increase their impact. Four social entrepreneurs will accept their awards at the Skoll World Forum’s Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.

“Social entrepreneurs share several important characteristics: concern for the vulnerable, optimism about our future, an ability to think and do, and most importantly, an unfailing belief in solutions,” said Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman of the Skoll Foundation. “These four remarkable people give us great hope that a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future is within reach.”

Dr Panjabi is CEO of Last Mile Health and Associate Physician in the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Last Mile Health saves lives in the world’s most remote communities by partnering with governments to design, scale, and advocate for national networks of community health professionals.

In 2016, TIME Magazine named Dr. Panjabi to its annual list of the “100 Most Influential People in the World”, with a tribute from President Bill Clinton. In 2015, Fortune Magazine named Dr. Panjabi one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” recognizing Last Mile Health’s work to support the Liberian Government to build a national community health workforce. Dr. Panjabi is a Forbes 400 Philanthropy Fellow, a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Social Entrepreneur, and an Echoing Green Fellow. He is a recipient of the Clinton Global Citizen Award, Outstanding Recent Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins, the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from the University of North Carolina, and the Global Citizen Movement Award.

Mar 31, 2017 – 8:43 am EDT
Indian American Physician Couple donate $5 million to Florida Hospital Carrollwood

CARROLLWOOD, FL (TIP): Florida Hospital Carrollwood has received a significant donation of $5 million from Dr. Kiran Patel and his wife, Dr. Pallavi Patel. This gift will help fund a $21 million project aimed to bring a modernized Catheterization (Cath) Lab and sizable Emergency Department expansion to the Tampa Bay community.

“We are all in, to help make Florida Hospital Carrollwood’s Cardiac Cath Lab second to none and are excited to bring this advanced facility to the community that we call home,” said Dr. Kiran Patel.

A noted Indian American entrepreneur and philanthropist from Tampa, Dr. Kiran Patel is the Chairman and President of Freedom Health, Inc. and Optimum Health, Inc. in Florida. He sees philanthropy as his responsibility and passion. Dr. Patel built the WellCare Management Group which he sold in 2002 to a private equity group. The Patel’s have used these proceeds to continue their generous philanthropic work in the Tampa Bay community. Recently, Dr. Patel purchased the former Clearwater Christian College property and has plans to create a college of osteopathic medicine to attract more doctors to this area. Their non-profit organization, the Kiran and Pallavi Patel Foundation for Global Understanding, funds a number of initiatives in health, education and culture. It even offers an annual scholarship to the underprivileged youth in the United States.

As longtime residents of the Carrollwood community, the Patels have been giving back to the Tampa Bay area for decades. In addition to their previous accomplishments, Dr. Patel served as an accomplished Cardiologist and his wife, Dr. Pallavi Patel specialized in Pediatrics.

“We feel blessed that the Patel’s have chosen Florida Hospital Carrollwood to donate $5 million. This major contribution will help us better serve our community by building a state-of-the-art Cath Lab. In addition, these funds will go directly to expanding our Emergency Department. Most people look forward to receiving gifts on their birthday however, Dr. Patel is celebrating his birthday today, by giving back to the community,” said Joe Johnson, President and CEO of Florida Hospital Carrollwood.

The new Cath Lab will open in July 2017 and ground-breaking on the “Dr. Kiran C. Patel” Emergency Department expansion will occur in late 2017.

Mar 31, 2017 – 6:13 am EDT
Indra Nooyi and Fareed Zakaria named recipients of Ellis Island Medal of Honor

NEW YORK (TIP): Six Indian-Americans have been named recipients of prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor 2017- the highest civilian award in the US for immigrants.

Among 88 recipients, the six Indian- Americans are – PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Fareed Zakaria, Author and host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show, Harman International Industries chairman CEO Dinesh Paliwal, Dr Annapoorna S Kini, Yashvant Patel, and Mohan H Patel. The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, which awards the medals, announced that 88 people will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor during an official ceremony on May 13.

According to the NECO website, “the Ellis Island Medals of Honor embody the spirit of America in their celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity. They recognize individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity; all while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America. As always, NECO remains dedicated to the maintenance and restoration of America’s greatest symbol of its immigrant history, Ellis Island.”

Indra Nooyi was named President and CEO of PepsiCo on October 1, 2006 and assumed the role of Chairman on May 2, 2007. In addition to being a member of the PepsiCo Board of Directors, Mrs. Nooyi serves as a member of the boards of U.S.-India Business Council, The Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Tsinghua University. She is also a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and was appointed to the U.S.-India CEO Forum by the Obama Administration.

Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN’s flagship foreign affairs show, a Washington Post columnist, a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a New York Times bestselling author. Esquire Magazine called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.” From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Zakaria served as editor-at-large for TIME. Before that, he spent ten years overseeing all of Newsweek’s editions abroad. Before joining Newsweek, from 1992 to 2000, he served as managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a post he was appointed to at only 28 years old.

Mar 31, 2017 – 6:07 am EDT
Indian American engineer to head Houston’s Public Works Department

HOUSTON, TX (TIP): Houston Mayor Mayor Sylvester Turner has nominated Veteran Indian American engineer Karun Sreerama to head the Houston Department of Public Works and Engineering (PWE). Sreerama is a highly respected engineer with 28 years of experience managing multi-million dollar capital projects across the U.S. and abroad. He is a registered Professional Engineer and holds a doctorate in civil engineering as well as a Master’s degree in business administration. He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Dale Rudick, who has led PWE since 2014. Pending council approval, the new appointment is to be effective April 3, 2017. In the interim, PWE’s Deputy Director for Engineering and Construction Carol Haddock will manage the department.

“Karun has developed an impressive 100 day transition plan,” said Mayor Turner. “He is focused on the organization’s culture and spending as well as collaboration with City Council, neighborhoods and the engineering community. He definitely understands the important role the city plays in boosting quality of life for all Houstonians. He will be able to build upon the excellent progress made during Dale Rudick’s tenure. I want to thank Dale for his service and wish him well in this next chapter of his life.”

Sreerama comes to the city from ESPA Corporation where he served as president and CEO. Under his leadership, the firm secured contracts with the Harris County Hospital District, Harris County Toll Road Authority, the City of Houston, Pearland, Missouri City, Rice University, University of Houston, Houston Independent School District, Aldine Independent School District and the Texas Department of Transportation. Prior to joining ESPA, Sreerama was senior vice president and chief engineer for Professional Service Industries, Inc.

Sreerama serves on the boards of the Houston Downtown Management District, Houston Community College Foundation, American Council of Engineering Companies of Houston and the Indo American Political Action Committee of Greater Houston.

Mar 31, 2017 – 6:02 am EDT
Indian American students win top three spots at USA Brain Bee Championship

MARYLAND (TIP): Indian American students sweep top three spots at USA Brain Bee Championship hosted by the University of Maryland. The winner of the competition, which took place March 17 through March 19, is Sojas Wagle of Little Rock, Ark. The second- and thirdplace winners, respectively, are Aarthi Vijayakumar of Minneapolis, Minn., and Amit Kannan of Indianapolis.

This is the 10th anniversary of the Brain Bee, a neuroscience competition for high school students that was founded by Dr Norbert R. Myslinski, associate professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD).

“Its purpose is to motivate young students to learn about the human brain and inspire them to seek careers in the basic and clinical neurosciences to help treat and cure diseases of the brain and nervous system,” Myslinski said of the Brain Bee. “We build better brains to fight brain disorders.”

As the first-place winner, Sojas Wagle advances to the international competition, to be held in August in Washington, D.C.

Mar 31, 2017 – 6:01 am EDT
Two Indian American scholars at Rice win prestigious CAREER Award

HOUSTON (TIP): Two Indian American scholars from Rice University have been named CAREER Award recipients by the National Science Foundation.

Anshumali Shrivastava, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Statistics and Ashok Veeraraghavan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering earned prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award.

The NSF awards CAREER grants to young scientists who show the potential for leadership in their fields. The five-year grant to Veeraraghavan is for $549,000.

While Shrivastava’s research interests lie in machine learning and big data, Veeraraghavan specializes in the use of computer technology, statistics and sophisticated algorithms to see both farther and deeper, and at increasingly sharper resolution.

“My research leverages the existing algorithmic advances for pushing machine learning to the extreme scale,” said Shrivastava, who became a member of the Rice University faculty in 2015, in a statement. “I design ‘hashing and sketching algorithms,’ a class of randomized algorithms that can process humongous datasets in seconds.”

Veeraraghavan, who joined Rice in 2010 said, “Apart from the theoretical and algorithmic improvements, we’re looking at applications like obtaining high-resolution images from long distance. In particular, we’re building applications to answer questions like, can you do face recognition from a kilometer distance?”

CAREER awards support the research and educational development of young scholars likely to become leaders in their fields. The five-year grants, which are among the most competitive awarded by the NSF, are given to some 400 scholars each year across all disciplines.

Mar 24, 2017 – 7:43 am EDT
The Indian Academy Awards to honor Women’s global achievements through Women’s Achievers Award

To commemorate International women’s day, Indian Academy Awards launched IAA WOMEN ACHIEVERS AWARDS; a campaign urging NRI women to share their personal success stories so that they could be rewarded and felicitated.

IAA aims at felicitating those women holding positions of decision making. We are requesting NRI women to share their real life stories in their respective field with the intention to empower the women of today.

In today’s world, women play important roles in Politics, ecommerce, education, investing, travel, fashion, arts etc. However, it is not easy in another country especially in the USA.

Vandana Krishna, Director, Brainstorm Entertainment adds “As an initiative of the Indian Academy Awards we want to share the success stories of real women with the world, to encourage all the Non-Residents of India. True stories of women entrepreneurs are an inspiration to change the world. Today’s women are making the difference with their innovative ideas, seeking solutions and reclaiming their status as equals. We want to create a platform to honor these women and to share their success with the world.”

The Indian Academy will now celebrate woman empowerment through nominations and authenticated online voting process. Women achievers will be honored for their achievements as strong Indian-American women. Those who have made a significance will be nominated for a special category of awards which would be part of the main event scheduled on 26th March, 2017.

Tanvi Prenita ChandraFounder and Presidentof Renascent Media, who is also theorganizerand local promoter for hosting IAA WOMEN ACHIEVERS AWARDS. Tanvi, a highly respected personality has been dedicated to help the South Asian Community in New Jersey for over 17yrs through her work at Radio, Television, Stage, Marketing and Events.

The winners will be selected via a nomination process by EY. The final jury members comprising of Bollywood actresses Manjari Phadnis and Chitrashi Rawat, Wellness and grooming expert Avni Gandhi Varma will make the final selection.

Actor & Activist Shabana Azmi would be the guest of honor for the final event.

The legendary poet, Kaifi Azmi & his daughter Shabana Azmi’s NGO, Mijwan Welfare Society has been invited by The IAA to showcase the exquisite hand embroidery called Chikankari by Mijwan Women. The ‘Mijwan Summer Couture 2017’ by designer Manish Malhotra would be the highlight of the evening.

The fashion show is a fundraiser and the proceeds collected at the event would be donated to the NGO to support its aim, i.e Education and Empowerment of the girl child.

Manish Malhotra has pulled women out of oblivion and brought their craft to the doorsteps of Bollywood by creating glamorous outfits in his signature style. By giving women gainful employment, he has given the women to negotiate more space for themselves within the family structure.

The show epitomizes the continuous realization of Kaifi Saab’s vision and the wonderful legacy of hope for his village, Mijwan. (www.mijwan.org)

Mijwan today is not only a story of the progress of a small village in India, but it’s also the story of women journeying on, past the patriarchal conforms of their society. It’s the hope for a better tomorrow, beating in the hearts of rural women who have taken charge of their own destinies.

Recently, the Indian Academy Awards celebrated the first of its kind, The Indian Worldwide Academy and all that it stands for, was announced by superstar Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai @ US Consulate and in January it was launched by Actor Madhuri Dixit in California!(AV Link – FB & YT of both the AV’s)

From exchanging cultures to building bridges for tourism, engaging cinema lovers to creating a platform to identify potential talent for the Indian film industry, the IAA, is a real-time celebration for cinema lovers, by cinema lovers and of cinema lovers across the world.

What makes these awards stand out, is the fact that it invites a global audience to be part of the jury, by a simple registration process.

The Academy also has one of the biggest certifying agencies in the world to make the voting process authentic.

This is how it becomes a truly global, democratic award ceremony that will redefine the entertainment world.

Managed by Asia’s largest production company Cineyug and choreographed by contemporary dance guru of Bollywood Shiamak Davarthis extravaganza, will be nothing short of a mega show that bringing the best of Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood together to create history in the entertainment world and will be hosted at the Oracle Arena in the Bay Area of California.

INDIAN ACADMEY AWARDS – HOSTED, PRESENTED & CURATED BY INDIAN CINEMA

AWARDED BY THE VIEWERS!

www.indianacademyaward.com www.iaawomenachievers.com Facebook – Indian Academy Awards Indianacademyawards17@gmail.com

Mar 24, 2017 – 7:19 am EDT
Dr. VK Raju to be inducted in to Global Medical Missions Hall of Fame at University of Toledo

COLUMBUS, OH (TIP): Dr. V.K. Raju, MD, FRCS, FACS, the Founder and Medical Director of the Eye Foundation of American, who is on a crusade to eliminate avoidable blindness around the world, has been selected for induction in to the Global Medical Missions Hall of Fame.

Eye Foundation of America began its work in 1979 in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. EFA grew out of his earlier work providing services and treatment near his birthplace in Rajahamundry, a town in Southeast India’s Andhra Pradesh. Raju organized teams to go to remote areas and deliver eye care in areas where there otherwise were none. These traveling clinics were known as “eye camps.” (Eye camps remain a standard part of the Foundation’s services today.)

Raju dedicated virtually all the spare time he had outside his busy ophthalmological practice in West Virginia and used his own funds to cover many of the expenses. Eventually it became apparent that the lack of accessible, affordable eye care was very large and shared by an enormous number of people worldwide. In order to battle avoidable blindness on a global scale and to gain strength by partnering with other organizations, Raju created the 501 © 3 nonprofit organization that we know today as the Eye Foundation of America.

Today, Foundation has grown far beyond its original size and scope but never outgrew the vision of its founder, who continues to look ahead. EFA has built modern eye hospitals and trained ophthalmic assistants and other personnel to carry on our work. We provide workshops and fellowships for physicians and medical students throughout the world. We also conduct research to find better ways of preventing blindness, to learn how to distribute Vitamin A efficiently

His team has done wonders, considering the tremendous work done by them.

*          2 million+ outpatients

*          300 thousand+ eye surgeries

*          25 thousand+ on children

This is completed by the Eye Foundation of America team since 1977 in India and 21 other developing countries. Additionally, the Eye Foundation of America lays great emphasis on teaching and training of health professionals who receive the Foundation’s support at every level.

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2017 in the Howard L. Collier Building on the UT Health Science Campus. Following the induction ceremony, which begins promptly at 7:30 p.m., there will be a plaque unveiling and reception in the Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center Atrium.

Mar 19, 2017 – 6:08 am EDT
Indian American girl wins top science prize

ORADELL, NJ (TIP): Indian American Indrani Das, 17, of Oradell, New Jersey, won the top award in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition. Forty finalists, including Indrani, were honored on March 14 at the annual Regeneron Science Talent Search Awards Gala for their research projects demonstrating exceptional scientific and mathematical ability, taking home more than $1.8 million in awards provided by Regeneron.

Indrani won the top award of $250,000 for her study of a possible approach to treating the death of neurons due to brain injury or neurodegenerative disease. Another Indian student got third place. Arjun Ramani, 18, of West Lafayette, Indiana, came third for blending the mathematical field of graph theory with computer programming to answer questions about networks.

Archana Verma, 17, of Jericho, New York, Prathik Naidu, 18, of Potomac Falls, Virginia, and Vrinda Madan, 17, of Orlando, Florida took fifth, seventh and ninth places respectively. Eight other Indian-origin students were among the 40 finalists.

“Now more than ever, we need our nation’s best and brightest young minds to pursue their interest in science and use their talents to solve our world’s most intractable problems,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO of Society for Science & the Public and Publisher of Science News. “I congratulate our finalists, who are all poised to become our future scientific leaders.” Society for Science & the Public has organized and produced the Science Talent Search since it was founded in 1942.

Mar 17, 2017 – 3:53 am EDT
Two Indian American authors make it to Wellcome Book Prize shortlist

NEW YORK (TIP): Two Indian Americans – Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee and late Stanford neurosurgeon Dr. Paul Kalanithi were among those shortlisted for 2017 Wellcome Book Prize.

Siddhartha Mukherjee is a cancer physician and researcher, a stem cell biologist, and a cancer geneticist. He is the author of ‘The Laws of Medicine’ and ‘The Emperor of All Maladies: A biography of cancer’, which won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction and the Guardian First Book Award.

Siddhartha Mukherjee was shortlisted for his non-fictional work “The Gene: An Intimate History,” which was published in May 2016. The Gene’ is an epic, moving history of a scientific idea coming to life. The story of the gene begins in an obscure Augustinian abbey in Moravia in 1856, where a monk stumbles on the idea of a ‘unit of heredity’. It intersects with Darwin’s theory of evolution, and collides with the horrors of Nazi eugenics in the 1940s.

Paul Sudhir Arul Kalanithi, who died of lung cancer in March 2015, was named to the list for his memoir, “When Breath Becomes Air,” which was released posthumously in February 2016.

Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon and writer. At the age of 36, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.

‘When Breath Becomes Air’ chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and a new father.

The Wellcome Book Prize celebrates the topics of health and medicine in literature. It awards £30,000 each year to the winning author, and aims to stimulate interest and debate about medical science through books and reading. The prize crosses genres: fiction and non-fiction are both eligible, so its shortlists can include biography, crime, historical fiction, current affairs, sci-fi and more.

The shortlist for the prize was announced at a press conference on Tuesday 14 March at the London Book Fair. The winner will be announced at an evening ceremony on Monday 24 April at Wellcome Collection.

Mar 17, 2017 – 3:49 am EDT
DCG of India Dr. Mohapatra hails Indian American community for their ‘Enormous Support’

NEW YORK (TIP): A career diplomat, Dr Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy Consul General of India in New York, who is returning to New Delhi end of this month after serving in New York for almost three years, says whatever good job he has done here is because of the “enormous support of the Indian community”. He was speaking with Bidisha Roy, assistant Editor of The Indian Panorama in an exclusive interview which he said was his last interview to The Indian Panorama and recalled his first interview to a newspaper in New York was also with The Indian Panorama.

Dr Mohapatra , who assumed the office as DCG (Economic, Political, Consular & Women’s Affairs) on 31 July 2014. has served in a variety of positions with the Indian Foreign Service. He has served as third secretary in the Embassy of India in Berlin; at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi as the desk officer for India’s bilateral relations with Bangladesh; and as the first secretary and counselor in the Indian diplomatic missions in Budapest, Hungary, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, where he was in charge of political and commercial relations between India and these countries.

He has successfully coordinated many historic events in New York area such as the reception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Garden in September 2014, a little after he joined as DCG in New York; International Yoga Day Celebrations in 2015 and 2016, and visits of many Chief Ministers from India which included Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis.

Dr. Mohapatra played a significant role in bringing together people of a State to form a group named “Friends of” Thus, people here belonging to Madhya Pradesh formed a group called “Friends of Madhya Pradesh”. Similarly, with other States. The net result was a better coordination in extending reception to the visiting Chief Ministers by the people belonging to that State. At each of these visits, cooperation of Indian Americans with the State to which they belonged was the major issue of discussion. How people of a State could contribute to the development was an issue which remained the focus of all meetings. Reports from various States in India have suggested that, as a result of these visits by the Chief Ministers of some States and their interaction here with Indian American community which was facilitated by the Consulate here with Dr. Mohapatra leading and coordinating, great enthusiasm was evinced by investors to invest in various States. So much has been a single man’s contribution.

But this humble person gives all credit to the Indian American community. “Community has been an asset. They have always supported us. The events like PM’s reception at Madison Square Garden could not have been so successful without their help. It was made possible because of the tremendous support we got from the community”, Dr Mohapatra told The Indian Panorama.

Dr Mohapatra, who is credited with bringing efficiency and transparency in the functioning of the Consulate General of India, also shares the credit with the media. “I could excel because of the great help from media. The media was so helpful that in a very short period the Consulate was able to change its image. The perception of people (about Consulate) changed because of media.” He was particularly appreciative of The Indian Panorama and its editor-publisher Prof. Indrajit S Saluja who he said, was “my guruji and guided me on many issues”.

Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos presents a Citation to Dr. Mohapatra at the Indo-American Press Club gala, March 4, 2017
Photo/ Mohammed Jaffer-SnapsIndia

Dr. Mohapatra takes pride in the success of Outreach program of the Consulate. “We conducted community outreach programs in all ten states (under the jurisdiction of NY Consulate) and I met eight governors out of ten in a short period of time. It feels good that the Consulate played an important role in strengthening bilateral relationship.” Dr. Mohapatra believes that as a result of contact with the State governors and administration officials there was a growing desire among almost all States to have a closer relationship with the States in India.

And finally, he is confident that the bonhomie between the consulate and the community will continue. “I would request the community to give the same love and support to the Consulate and my successor that I got from them. The Consulate is for the community and vice versa. Our relationship should touch the sky.”

Indian Americans on March 21 will host a reception at Royal Albert’s Palace in Fords, New Jersey to bid farewell to their beloved outgoing Deputy Consul General of India.

The Indian Panorama family, spread over the US and India, looks upon Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra as a worthy son of India who has done his best to keep the flag of India flying high here in the US, and wishes him all success and happiness wherever he goes on his next assignment.

Also, The Indian Panorama is happy to let him carry with him the warm appreciation coming from some community representatives who, in turn, represent adequately, the Indian community in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra (10th from right) administered oath of office to FIA officials, January 28, 2017. Mr. Andy Bhatia, President who was sick and could not be present, was administered oath over the phone. Photo/ Gunjesh-Nayaface.com

Dr Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy Consul General of India in New York

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From Connecticut, Mr. Andy Bhatia, President, Federation of Indian Associations, NY/NJ/CT says in appreciation of Dr. Mohapatra:-

“Dr. Manoj Mohapatra, Dy. CG has been a true friend of the Indian American community and it has been my privilege to have known him and work with him.

He has been tireless in his efforts to help the community and has always made himself available to us any day of the week.

He is credited for putting in systems in place In bringing efficiency and transparency in the Consulate.

He is a clear thinker and knows how to structure his thoughts to get his point across.

We will miss him and wish him lots of success in his new assignment in New Delhi.”

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One of the senior community leaders, who is credited with having founded some of the first and the oldest organizations of Indians in the US, and presently, Chairman of GOPIO International, Dr. Thomas Abraham, from Connecticut writes:

“Dr. Mohapatra has been one of the most sincere and dynamic Deputy Consul General who also served as Acting Consul General during the absence of the Consul General. He has been on the top of most of the Consulate activities and has been performing very well with the outreach and resolving issue of the Indian community. He provided leadership in sorting out many of the consular issues and has been instrumental in organizing Open House meeting with the community every week. He had expanded the outreach to American political leaders by utilizing the Indian American community contacts. Community organizations found a good friend in him to promote common goals of our community and India. We will miss him in New York and wish him all success in his new assignment.”

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And, Dr. Navin Mehta, who has for long been associated with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan says of Dr. Mohapatra:

“Silent worker-

“When I am silent, I fall into that place where everything is MUSIC – Rumi”

Dr, Mohapatra works silently and have observed that his work is his music. Very few people can be this dedicated and still smile.

As Chanakya says about a diplomate

“मनसा चिंतित्म कर्म, वचसा न प्रकाशयेत्”

People of Indian origin, who are living in USA on refugee status, will soon be able to travel to India with a valid travel visa. The Government of India has decided to grant visa to applicants with refugee status living in USA.

This issue was handled by Manoj Mohapatra.

Pioneer and initiator of Outreach program where consulate for the first time reached door steps of common people.

One of the most excellent organizers ,,,, be it outreach program, Visa and Passport facility or PM visiting Madison Square Garden.

We will surely miss him but wish Dr. Mohapatra the best in life and wish that he continues to serve the Nation’s cause.”

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And here is a comment from Ranjeet Singh, Manager at CKGS who worked under the watchful eye of Dr. Mohapatra .

“DCG Dr Mohapatra has been an inspiring diplomat who has always put community interests on top of his priorities.

Working with him was an enlightening experience. He went out of his way on many occasions to streamline things and make the consular services accessible to Indian diaspora in the best possible way.

He tirelessly worked on reducing the gap between Indian-American diaspora and the Indian government represented by its mission in NY through his innovative ideas and extraordinary execution of day to day work at NY Consulate.

CKGS family joins me in wishing him a great life and an extraordinary career ahead!!!”

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And, the last comment which proves the saying “brevity is the soul of wit” comes from Mr. Rajiv Khanna, President of India-America Chamber of Commerce: “It was a great pleasure to work with Dr. Mohapatra. He is an outstanding foreign service officer who is dedicated to furthering India’s interest”.

Mar 17, 2017 – 2:58 am EDT