annual report1-final.qxd - Overseas Indian

Valedictory
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam releasing the ‘Special Cover’ on the occasion
of the 4th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad on January 9, 2006.
rience and expertise of overseas Indians. !
The valedictory/award ceremony was
attended by President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam. Ahmed Kathrada was the Chief
Guest. Andhra Pradesh Governor Sushil
Kumar Shinde, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minster Dr.
Y.S.R. Reddy, MOIA Minister Oscar Fernandes,
MOIA Secretary S. Krishna Kumar, and FICCI
President Saroj K Poddar also attended the function.
The President felicitated the Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman (PBS) 2006 awardees. This year, 15 Pravasi
Bharatiya Samman awards were conferred of whom
11 received the award in person.
The PBS awardees for 2006 were: Shivnath Rai
Bajaj, Thailand; Eliahu Bezale, Israel; Abdool Raouf
Bundhun, Mauritius; Pratima Kale, Philippines; Dr.
Majid Uddin Kazi, Saudi Arabia; C.K. Menon,
Qatar; Sir Gulam Kaderbhai Noon, United
Kingdom; Dr. Sudhir Parikh, U.S.; Yesu Persaud,
Guyana; V. Ramadoss, Seychelles; Niranjan S. Shah,
U.S.; Sisupal Rambharos, South Africa; Rusy M.
Shroff, Hong Kong; Jean-Paul Virapoule, Reunion
Island; and Fareed Zakaria, U.S.
Conferring the awards, the President requested
the winners to let him know how they achieved
their success so that it could serve as a message for
the younger generation. On this occasion, a ‘Special
Cover’ was also released by the President.
Earlier, MOIA Secretary S. Krishna Kumar welcomed
the President and said how the President had
taken great interest in the planning of this event.
Sushil Kumar Shinde also welcomed the gathering
and spoke on the importance of this conclave.
While addressing the august gathering, President
Kalam congratulated the award winners for their
contribution in promoting international understanding
for healthy bilateral relationship between
the countries and projecting the right image of India
abroad. He further talked of cultural deprivation
and the empire of overseas Indians, saying, “Today
the sun truly cannot set on the empire of the Indian
minds. Some children of Mother India are always
working wherever the sun is shining on this planet…
Every year it is increasing, because they are
needed.”
He shared an experience of Prof M.R. Raju, who
had worked at several high positions in American
laboratories. He decided to move with his family to
his village and serve the society with their knowledge
and wealth. His contribution during the last
one decade had made a difference to the village, he
said, while explaining how overseas Indians were
attracted to Mother India and had the urge to pay
back their debt.
“This happens because we belong to the same
umbilical connectivity whether one is in India or outside,”
he said. He shared his vision of rural India,
which could be transformed into an economically
developed India before 2020. This could happen with
the transformation of six hundred thousand villages,
he said. This would need creation of seven thousand
PURAs (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas)
spread in different areas of the country with physical
connectivity, electronic connectivity, and knowledge
connectivity leading to economic connectivity. He
shared some examples of PURAs with delegates.
In the end, Saroj K. Poddar, President, FICCI, gave
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