annual report1-final.qxd - Overseas Indian

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
photos.
! Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, DG, NYKS, proposed an
interactive convention of diaspora youth and local
youth as well as a youth convention featuring
Indian and overseas Indian youth.
! Nageswara Rao from Andhra Pradesh said
that internees should explore rural areas and
observe local self-government. He was of the view
that MOIA must select one youth from each State
and send them out to different countries. This
would help in fostering mutual understanding of
each other’s culture and society.
! Prof. Chandrasekhar Bhat from the
University of Hyderabad opined that internship
should include academic session too and this was
also the view of many interns.
! One of the internees asked why there were so
few women in PBD.
! Another called for making the programme a
continuous one as this would work as a channel of
interaction for coming together and working
together. She said that though she had observed
the villagers and their poverty, she was helpless
and could not do anything for them.
! Pavan Kaushik from Taiwan said that the
laws and business in India were for rich people
only, nothing for the poor.
! Dr. Mirza suggested that an association of
Indian diaspora youth be created under the leadership
of Madhu Gaud Yashkhi, chairman of the session.
Chair:
Presentation:
Speakers:
Parallel IV: Opportunities in Education
Prof. Y.K. Alagh,
Vice-Chairman, SPIESR
Anju Banerjee,
Chairman, Ed.CIL
Dr. H.S. Ballal, V.C. MAHE,
Manipal
Ramachandaran,
Director, BITS-UAE, Dubai
Ravi Seethapathy,
Chair, Shastri Indo-Canadian
Institute, Canada
Panelists at the parallel session on ‘Opportunities in
Education’ in Hyderabad on January 9, 2006.
Prof. Y.K. Alagh set the tone for the discussions.
At the very outset, he stated that emphasis should
be given both on primary as well as higher education.
He also highlighted the significant achievements
made in India in higher education and
praised the initiatives taken by visionaries of
Indian independence such as Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru.
In her presentation, Anju Banerjee showed that
India was always a leader in establishing universities.
She cited the universities of Taxila and
Nalanda in the ancient period as examples. But in
the present context, that edge was not there, she
said and added that the need of the hour was to
improve the reach of higher education to different
clientele. In this regard, she outlined the progress
made by India in higher education after
Independence.
Ed.CIL started operating from 1981 and helped
in providing admission to courses in engineering,
technology, and architecture in 18 NIITs, and other
institutes funded by the Central Government. It
also helped in offering courses in UG, PG, diploma
and certificate courses. It had initiated DASA
(Direct Admission of Students Abroad) Scheme
under which foreign nationals of Indian origin and
NRIs who had studied at least for five years abroad
were eligible. She also talked about the scholarship
programme for diaspora children proposed by the
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs under which
23 countries would be covered and 100 scholarships
given from the forthcoming academic year.
MOIA had plans to increase the number to 500
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