Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
CHICAGO
Consul General of India in Chicago, Ausaf Sayeed, hosted a “Meeting with the Media” event at its downtown premises March 11. Sayeed briefed representatives from print, audio-visual media organizations and freelance journalists on the consulate’s proposed activities for the current year. He introduced their new Information Officer, O.P. Meena, Consul.
Among the official events planned are celebration of International Yoga Day (IYD) June 21 in collaboration with established Yoga Institutes. The free public Independence Day flag hoisting will be observed at Daley Plaza Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. together with various Indian community organizations. The national day reception for local dignitaries the same evening at 6 p.m. at Union League Club of Chicago will be strictly by invitation. The second annual “Arts Festival” (Kala Utsav) or India Independence Day Night will be held again at the Copernicus Center Sep. 6 to showcase local talent. Gandhi Jayanti will be observed Oct. 2 in collaboration with the Gandhi Foundation of Niles Township as well as organizers at Milwaukee.
All consular officers will be available without appointment every day between 10 and 11 a.m. Two consular camps are to be organized March 22 at Bhartiya Temple of Troy, Michigan, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and March 29 at Oak Creek Gurudwara, Milwaukee, from 1 to 3 p.m. Camps in Illinois are planned at BAPS Shri Swami Narayan Temple in Bartlett, the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in Lemont, the Jain Temple in Bartlett, and the Gurudwara in Palatine in the second quarter. Cox & Kings Global Services will participate in these consular camps.
Sayeed outlined the new OCI guidelines upon withdrawal of the PIO scheme. Stamping of permanent visa on PIO cards is offered gratis, as is the procedure for extension of passport facilities for those who have not renewed their passports for more than three years. Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) is to be extended to 150 countries in a phased manner. Timelines for services have been reduced: 1-2 days for visas, 1 week for new passports.
Consulate organized “India & The Midwest – An Economic Partnership Seminar”– in conjunction with Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Feb. 18. To capitalize on projected high economic growth in India of over 7.4 percent during and over 8 percent from 2016 onward and encourage investment especially in infrastructure, manufacturing, industry, renewable energy and health care, the consulate is reaching out to a growing number of chambers of commerce and economic groupings across the Midwest.
A Life Sciences summit is proposed for May 21. An automotive industry, manufacturing and information technology services event in Detroit in May/June is being discussed with Michigan Economic Development Corporation. US-India Health Care Summit is finalized for Aug. 3 to 5 at Radisson Blu in downtown Minneapolis, cohosted by state of Minnesota and Wisconsin Bio alliances.
An investment mission from Michigan led by Kevin T. Kerrigan, Senior Vice-President, Michigan Automotive Office and Senior Adviser to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder visited India from March 2 to 10 to meet with diverse stakeholders in the automotive industry and to prepare for Governor Snyder’s possible visit to India late this year or early next year.
Chairman of India Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Sean Nelipinath, heads a delegation March-April to explore the possibility of making substantive investments in India over the next five years in sectors such as oil & gas fields, refineries, power and manufacturing projects, as also through infrastructure projects such as airports, dams, shipping docks, bridges etc.
Sayeed briefed Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Feb. 26 on economic developments in India, particularly initiatives taken by the Modi government to make India a favored destination for foreign investments and businesses and its huge potential for Midwest companies. They discussed strengthening trade, economic, cultural and educational ties. Rauner has in principle accepted Sayeed’s invitation to lead a high-level trade mission to India that he has not visited before. India’s trade with Illinois amounts to $1.9 billion, $1.36 billion in exports and $648 million in imports from Illinois.
The consulate collaborates in organizing regular cultural events such as Eye on India, South Asian Film Festival and Ragamala. Last year it collaborated with Anila Sinha Foundation for the Third International Kathak Festival in which a dance troupe was sponsored by Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). Collaborations are to be expanded this year and extended to other cities in the Midwest. English and Urdu performances of two plays ‘Quli: Dilon ka Shahzada’ and ‘Savaan-e-Hayat’ by Padma Shri awardee Mohammad Ali Baig of Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation is planned for May 17 with Indo-American Heritage Museum. Staging of Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati plays is also being explored. ICCR has been approached to sponsor cultural troupes, painting and photo exhibitions for 2015-16.
Purdue University President Mitch Daniels visited India Nov. 4 to 8 to consolidate the University’s engagement with alumni and partners. Purdue has currently nearly 1400 Indian students enrolled and nearly a 100 of its faculty are of Indian origin. Alumni occupy key positions in Indian government, business, industry and academia. The University has partnerships with IITs in Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad, IIMs including Ranchi, IISc, Cummins College of Engineering for Women in Pune, etc. Professor Alok Chaturvedi, Director, Institute for Social Empowerment through Entrepreneurship and Knowledge (ISEEK), is in India March 13 to 28 to discuss with HRD minister Smriti Irani how Indian-origin faculty can help the “Make in India” initiative and “Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan.”
University of Urbana Champaign is about to open a center in India, while University of Chicago has been operating in New Delhi since last year. Washington University (WU) in St. Louis is partnering, through McDonnell International Scholars Academy, with Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, Tata Institute of Social Science and Jawaharlal Nehru University. There are 150 WU faculty connected to India or have projects underway.
Sayeed has been addressing students at Chicago’s universities and meeting with university administrators across the Midwest. Kellogg School of Management students taking the “Global Initiative in Management” (GIM) program are visiting later this month. Sayeed mooted the idea of making a directory of resource persons among Indian-Americans in the Midwest.