The Indian Weekender, 11 June 2021

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4 NEW ZEALAND Friday, June 11, 2021 The Indian Weekender Yoga event organised at NZ parliament grounds in build up to International Day of Yoga 2021 SANDEEP SINGH The High Commission of India organised a Yoga event at the New Zealand Parliament grounds on Monday, June 7 to generate anticipation in the build up to the upcoming International Day of Yoga 2021 later this month on June 21. A group of Yoga teachers along with Bharatanatyam students of Natraj School of Dance performed Yoga and Dance fusion postures to connect Indian classical dance with Yoga techniques. Yoga postures were led by Ravi Mistry of The Art of Living and Bharatanatyam postures were led by Prabha Ravi, Founder, Natraj School of Dance. The Indian High Commission was represented by Durga Das, Second Secretary (Press, Info & Culture) and other staff members. Speaking about this Yoga event in NZ parliament, which was more a precursor of range of Yoga events planned throughout the country in coming weeks to mark the occasion of International Day of Yoga, the High Commissioner of India, Muktesh Pardeshi said, “The event was a success as there was huge interest amongst the curious onlookers on the day.” “It was an innovative concept of fusion of two traditional forms of art and health practice which traditionally traces their origin from India,” Mr Pardeshi said. Yoga and Bharatanatyam both represent India’s ancient art form and health practices, with former involving a series of movements designed to increase strength and flexibility, and breathing, while the latter being a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. “We are envisaging a lot of Yoga events throughout the length and breadth of the " It was an innovative concept of fusion of two traditional forms of art and health practice which traditionally traces their origin from India." country to mark the occasion of International Day of Yoga in couple of weeks” Mr Pardeshi said. Notably, for quite some time, the world has looked towards Yoga as an accepted form of mental and physical fitness, however, ever since United Nations General Assembly adopting a Resolution on December 11, 2014, making June 21 as the International Yoga Day, there has been a considerable increase in yoga’s global acceptability.
The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021 NEW ZEALAND 5 India’s fight against Covid: Kiwi-Indian philanthropist donates 380 oxygen concentrators and 5 generators SANDEEP SINGH The Indian diaspora in New Zealand continues to chip in India’s fight against the deadly second wave of Covid, with the latest case of a philanthropist donating 380 oxygen concentrators and five generators worth a few million New Zealand Dollars. Dr S Gurushankar – a health administrator who has been a resident in the country for a few years and the President & Managing Trustee of Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research Centre in India – donated procured oxygen concentrators in New Zealand and donated 50 of them to the Government of Tamil Nadu and 25 to the Government of Bihar. The office of the Indian High Commission acknowledged the gesture in a social media post on Monday, June 7, “We deeply appreciate the noble gesture of Dr S Gurushankar.” Speaking with the Indian Weekender, Dr Gurushankar said, “I was deeply moved by the covid situation in the capital and other parts of India. “Being in the health sector for more than three decades, I knew that sooner or later that wave will reach my home state of Tamil Nadu and therefore felt the desire to do something. “We have a big hospital chain back in Madurai and Tanjore Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research Centre, which is already at the forefront of providing health care amidst Covid.” “We managed to purchase 380 oxygen concentrators from New Zealand and sent it back while purchasing five oxygen generators locally in India for our Madurai & Tanjore operations.” Madurai’s Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) is the biggest multi super-speciality hospital in Tamil Nadu outside of Chennai. On being probed further about the total dollar value of the medical help generated through his personal funds, Dr Gurushankar reluctantly told the Indian Weekender that it was a few million dollars as the Oxygen Concentrators were bigticket items that are desperately required at medical facilities back in India. Notably, the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, along with many other local businesses and charitable organisations, has been running a sustained campaign to generate funds that can be used to send help to India in its fights against Covid. Earlier last month, Indian diaspora organisations of New Zealand have come together to raise more than $300,000 to send around 150 oxygen concentrators in two separate baches. Additionally, several other diaspora organisations and individual members of the Kiwi-Indian community have been fundraising and sending money to help India fight the deadly second wave of the Covid pandemic. The funds are largely being channelled through various agencies on the ground, primarily to provide oxygen concentrators and oxygen generators wherever required. For the uninitiated, Oxygen generators are completely different from medical oxygen concentrators; while the latter are used in hospitals or at home to concentrate oxygen for patients, the former is used in producing industry-grade medical oxygen. Indian High Commission acknowledges support from people of NZ Meanwhile, in another social media post, the office of the Indian High Commission has acknowledged all support – private, public and govt to govt – in India’s fight against Covid and humbly requested that now there was no need for any assistance. “High Commission of India, Wellington gratefully acknowledges NZ $1 million provided by the government of New Zealand to Red Cross for mobilising medical supplies and equipment in India during the exceptionally severe second wave of the Covid-pandemic in India.” " Being in the health sector for more than three decades, I knew that sooner or later that wave will reach my home state of Tamil Nadu and therefore felt the desire to do something. “It also deeply appreciates the contributions of Indian Associations and the people of New Zealand for sending Oxygen concentrators and other essential supplies that saved many precious lives.” “There has been a continuous scaling up of our domestic capacities and the case load has been a sharp and continuous decline in the last few weeks,” “The High Commission of India would like to convey that India does not have any further need for Government to Government or Private to Government assistance. However, private assistance offered through the Indian Red Cross Society will continue till August 31, 2021,” the office of Indian High Commission said on a social media post. Changes to onshore visas to provide certainty to employers and visa holders IWK BUREAU Changes to onshore visas will provide employers and visa holders with more certainty, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi has announced. Around 10,000 Working Holiday visas and Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) work visas due to expire between 21 June 2021 and 31 December 2021 will be extended for another six months to help manage ongoing labour shortages while New Zealand’s COVID-19 border restrictions remain in place. SSE visa holders will also be given open work rights, allowing them to work in any sector. “This will provide employers with an assurance that they can continue to access the current onshore workforce to help fill roles. “It will also put the minds of visa holders at ease knowing they can stay and work in New Zealand for the foreseeable future,” Kris Faafoi said. “We will continue to monitor the border and labour market situations and will extend these visas again if necessary.” Essential Skills work visas will not be extended again, but the duration of Essential Skills visas for jobs paid below the median wage will increase from six to 12 months taking them back to pre-COVID settings. The implementation of the standdown period for these jobs will also be further postponed until July 2022. “These changes will provide more certainty to workers and their employers that workers whose skills are still needed can remain in New Zealand, subject to labour market testing to prove there are no New Zealanders available to fill the role if an employer wants to support a work visa application,” Kris Faafoi said. “The visa extensions and deferral of the stand-down period are temporary measures and reflect the Government’s commitment to support employers and sectors facing workforce shortages while our border restrictions remain in place. “This approach is in line with the overall objective of new temporary work visa reforms that are designed to ensure New Zealanders are prioritised for work opportunities.” Alongside these changes to Essential Skills work visas, from 19 July, visa applications will be assessed against the updated median hourly wage rate of $27. This pay rate will determine whether jobs are treated as higher or lower paid. The wage rate was set following public consultation. Employers paying under the median wage can still access migrant workers but will need to check with the Ministry of Social Development to see whether a registered job seeker is available. “The Government recently outlined our long-term vision for New Zealand’s immigration system which will involve sectors making a managed transition to new ways of attracting, training These changes will provide more certainty to workers and their employers that workers whose skills are still needed can remain in New Zealand, subject to labour market testing to prove there are no New Zealanders available to fill the role if an employer wants to support a work visa application. and upskilling Kiwis into jobs and investing in productivity measures that will support New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery. “We encourage sectors and employers to think about how to make this shift and look for ways to recruit New Zealanders before turning to temporary migrant workers,” Kris Faafoi said. Immigration New Zealand will contact all visa holders eligible for the Working Holiday or SSE visa extension by 25 June 2021.
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