Address to the Nation by the President of India

Address to the Nation by the President of India
Her Excellency Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil
on the eve of the 64th Independence Day
14th August, 2010.

My Fellow Citizens,

On the eve of our 64th Independence Day, I extend my warmest greetings to all of you from all walks of life, living in India and overseas. I convey special greetings to the brave personnel of our Armed Forces and the Para-military forces who guard our frontiers and to our Central and State police, as well as our internal security forces. I also compliment every citizen of this country whose hard work, productive prowess and enterprising zeal have put India among the front ranks of the nations of the world. I convey my heartfelt condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones, suffered injuries and whose properties have been destroyed in the recent cloud burst in Leh.

Dear Citizens,

Every year, we celebrate our Independence Day with great fervor as well as joy and justifiably so, as it commemorates that day, when after many years of subjugation, our country gained its freedom. Indeed, in the annals of history, 15th of August 1947 will always be remembered as a day of an extraordinary accomplishment, of when India won its freedom with unparalleled fortitude and unique means. Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, our movement for attaining freedom through Ahimsa and Satyagraha spread throughout the country, inspiring people in a manner rarely seen. Millions and millions of our men and women, willingly and enthusiastically responded to his call. They united to become an immense force that defeated the mightiest colonial power. Free India, was thus born.

As citizens of free India, we must reflect on the values and principles which were in the minds and hearts of those who fought and sacrificed for our freedom. They drew inspiration from the values nurtured in the country through millennia. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once described Gandhiji as, “embodying the old spirit of India, who held aloft the torch of freedom”. Gandhiji’s thoughts and his life were truly an expression of the philosophy of our ancient civilization in which peace and harmony, non-violence and truth, human dignity and compassion were given great prominence. Are we now forgetting these principles? Are we overlooking them? No, we should not. These are eternal values, which have sustained our nation, our society and also each one of us as individuals. Gandhiji’s thinking continues to have deep influence and is of increasing relevance in the world, with 2nd October, his birthday, being observed every year as the International Day of Non-Violence.

Dear Citizens,

We are at a historic phase when the world is shifting course. It is impacting our economy, polity, trade, commerce, education and pace of life. In this era of transformation, India definitely cannot lag behind. Our entire effort must be to ensure that there is overall development in which all people prosper. However, can our political approaches, economic progress and scientific advances be combined with values of human welfare, tolerance, mutual respect and selflessness propounded by learned men, leaders, philosophers and thinkers of our country? Our past and our future are linked. The future beckons us and the past guides us.

What has been our past? India, a mature and a harmonious society, had a rich tradition of learning and a philosophy based on experiences and knowledge of thousands of years. Swami Vivekananda spoke of India as, “the ancient land, where wisdom made its home before it went into any other country”. Ours is a land where religions have taken birth and all religions of the world have found a place. Ours is a land where different languages, cultures and customs flourished. So well known was India for its piety, scholarship and centres of study, that it attracted travellers from across the world. From early times, India always looked at progress and moral growth as mutually inclusive rather than mutually exclusive concepts. India’s depth of thought was matched by its material prosperity. Its fine goods, its spices, its silk, its cotton, were much sought after. India’s traders went to distant lands both to the East and the West, carrying with them not only goods from India, but also its reputation as a land of great culture and wealth.

We are the inheritors of this great civilization whose legacy has been passed on from generation to generation. We can be worthy heirs if we follow, in the true sense, the ideals of political, social and economic justice. Lip service will not do. We have to be ardent adherents. We are also duty-bound to pass on this rich inheritance to our younger generation - the 540 million youth. We place great hope on them and rightly so. They have been demonstrating their capabilities and strengths in various fields of human activity in India and abroad. Whether in multi-national business enterprises or the IT industry or financial organizations or global scientific bodies, young Indians are joining their ranks and making their mark. In sports, they have been bringing laurels to the country. Our youth are the architects of the nation’s future. We must educate them and inculcate in them a spirit of sacrifice, dedication, patriotism and service to the nation. This way, they would be ready to face the future with confidence and build on the achievements made so far.

Dear Citizens,
Where does our country stand today? Our credentials as the world’s largest democracy have been further reinforced with the deepening of democracy at all levels. We have elected bodies existing from the national to the grassroot level. Democracy has given citizens the right to participate in the affairs of the nation. It has become a way of life in India. On the economic front, we are ranked as the world’s fourth largest economy based on purchasing power parity and one of the fastest growing. The resilience of our economy was evident during the global financial crisis which we weathered, better than many other countries. The future holds great potential and promise. However, many issues demand attention and the way we address them is important.

Foremost, among our tasks is to ensure the welfare of all. It is for this reason that India has adopted inclusive growth as a pillar of its economic edifice and is pro-actively pursuing it. Our task will be complete only when no one sleeps on a hungry stomach, when no one sleeps on the footpath and when every child is in school. Therefore, fittingly, education, capacity building, housing, healthcare and nutrition are a priority on the agenda of the Government. All of us should also pause to think how as responsible citizens, each one of us can contribute to Government efforts in these areas. It is a huge task to be achieved for a billion plus population, but we should not be overwhelmed. In every village and in every colony of every town, city or metropolis, people can come forward to form groups to work for the disadvantaged. Some amongst us may ask, what difference can these small efforts make? For them, I recall a story of a man walking down a beach, moments after a storm. He noticed a person ahead of him picking up starfish washed ashore and throwing them back into the sea. He asked the person how his efforts could make any difference, as the beach was long and there were lakhs of starfish washed ashore who would die. The person looked at the starfish in his hand and threw it into the water saying, "it makes a difference to this one". The message is clear - every effort, big or small, does make a difference.

Dear Citizens,

I believe that empowerment through education is important as it opens many doors of opportunity. The Right to Education Act has made free and compulsory primary education for children a fundamental right. It is important that secondary education is also universalized, as we seek to increase enrollment levels in higher education. This will provide the “brain power” for the nation. We are living in an age where innovation is shaping many areas of human activity. New technologies can enhance our agriculture and industrial productivity. Efficient technologies can facilitate the optimum utilization of capital, labour and resources. We have seen the impact of mobile telephone connectivity even in our villages. Innovation and invention were always given weightage as agents of change but perhaps never as high as now. The categorization of nations as rich and poor, developed and developing may well be overtaken by a new definition of those nations that innovate rapidly, as opposed to those which do so on a lower scale. To be in the forefront of cutting edge technologies, research and development in all fields must be encouraged and pursued in the country.

We must also speed up the construction of physical infrastructure. We need new roads, ports, airports, power projects as well as reinforcement of existing facilities. The augmentation will fill the infrastructural deficit that impedes overall economic growth and is, in many ways, out of sync with our image of an emerging global player.

Our industries must continue to grow. Indian companies should persist with efforts to be efficient and globally competitive. Some are already making their presence felt overseas. Our agriculture requires a fresh perspective, with new and radical ideas to steer it towards a second Green Revolution, so that agriculture production, productivity and profitability are increased. This is essential for our food security as well as price stabilization. At the same time, agriculture cannot be looked at in isolation. It needs to be connected with other sectors of the economy. Linking industry with agriculture would provide a basis for growth of industry in the rural areas and also promote agriculture business. Models of farming which give economies of scale, while protecting the interests of the farmer must be explored. Efficient distribution networks that link farmers with the consumers should be encouraged, so as to bring greater remuneration to farmers for their produce, while giving a price advantage to the consumer. Value addition on-site will generate employment and income opportunities for the local population. Support to the rural poor and farm labour through skill development, vocational training and social welfare programmes, must be a priority. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is an important mechanism for providing livelihood. If specific local conditions are taken into account in its implementation and innovative approaches for convergence of various Government schemes encouraged, rural growth will be greatly enhanced. For example, agricultural productivity in rain fed areas can be increased with improved farm practices as well as conservation of soil and water, with the construction of farm ponds and village tanks and their proper upkeep and de-silting. Undertaking such activities in a coordinated manner can make a meaningful difference.

However, achievement of goals and targets is dependent on an effective governance structure. Powers have been given to those in Government for formulating policies and for implementation on the field. It should always be remembered that this power must be used in a responsible manner. Zero tolerance towards corruption and working with the highest standards of public service will definitely result in efficient governance systems and will have a multiplier effect on development and growth.



Dear Citizens,

We must be law abiding and also work for moral upliftment. I mention this because with an increasing emphasis on materialism, there is growing insensitivity towards each other. Strong family bonds are weakening. Social consciousness is on the decline. Some social evils persist. This must change. Today is the best opportunity when ground-breaking achievements alongwith a moral and ethical renaissance can take place. In this way, progress would be anchored in values of compassion, tolerance and selfless service, which are important for making human life meaningful and purposeful. These values will make our multi-cultural, multi-religious, multi-lingual society more robust. They will also give us a strong base on which a stable structure of prosperity and progress can be raised. For example, as a kite surges high into the sky, it is affected by the breeze and the clouds. If the string is firm and skillfully handled, the kite will stay afloat, otherwise it can go adrift, be cut off, fall and be destroyed. The kite is much like our growth voyage with the string and the firmness with which it is handled, representing the ethical base. India is the abode of infinite values – let us strive to restore these as we go along the path of progress.

Tomorrow’s India will be constructed by the hard work of today. I call on all citizens to contribute to making the future of the nation, stronger and brighter. Let everyone understand their role and responsibility to achieve this. As I said earlier, every effort counts. Nation building demands the ability to work diligently and patiently, where the reward is the growth of the nation rather than personal promotion. It requires unity of purpose and the ability to focus on issues which unite. It requires a spirit of conciliation. This is possible when dialogue is chosen as the channel for communication. By listening to each other, respecting each other’s viewpoint and understanding one another, we can address issues before us. The proponents of extreme ideologies and the followers of Left Wing Extremism must abandon their path of violence. I call on them to join national efforts for growth and development. I hope that everybody, including the civil society will come forward and move them in this direction. Protracted development efforts will be needed in these areas.

Dear Citizens,
India’s growth and progress will take place in an environment that is also influenced by global events. We believe that peace is essential, if prosperity is to be achieved. Terrorism poses the biggest threat to global peace, stability and security. To defeat it, all nations of the world must work collectively, so that terrorists have no sanctuaries, no training grounds, no access to financial resources, no infrastructural support, and no defenders of their ideology. Violence and hatred can have no place in the world. Indeed, the interests that we share as human beings are far more powerful than forces which are divisive. Across the world, the message of peace and not of destruction must spread, if this Century powered by the most rapid advances in science and technology, is to be the Century of the most spectacular gains made by humankind, accompanied with human values. I am confident that India will contribute substantially to the forward march of the human race.

The human spirit has a tremendous capacity to reach new horizons. With faith in ourselves, faith in our capacity to work together and faith in success, we will continue our journey. We have the talent, to create a great nation; and with our collective will and hard work we will do so. And as we progress and as our flag proudly flutters, like it will tomorrow on Independence Day, we can with pride cite the lines of a well known Indian poet,




Which means:-

Across the skies your fame has spread,
with every breeze your strength grows.

With these words, I once again wish all Fellow Citizens peace, prosperity and progress on the occasion of Independence Day.

Jai Hind.

Key Indian Companies feel discriminated by Border Security Bill

The Indian government protested to Washington on Tuesday against what it called a highly discriminatory U.S. immigration bill that will double the cost of work visas for some high-profile Indian companies.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to bolster security along the Mexican border, grappling with the flow of illegal immigrants that has become an explosive issue ahead of November congressional elections.

The border security bill aims to fund the new measures by raising visa application fees on a select group of companies, which would affect some of the major IT companies in India.

India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma wrote to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk expressing serious concern over the proposed legislation.

"Though the need of the U.S. government to strengthen their border security is understandable, it is inexplicable to our companies to bear the cost of such a highly discriminatory law," he said, according to a government statement.

The Obama administration has urged passage of the $600 million program. Republicans also have been calling for a stronger border controls as well as a crackdown on illegal immigration. The bill passed the House on a voice vote.

But because of a legal technicality, it will have to return to the Senate, even though that chamber has approved an identical measure, before President Barack Obama can sign it into law. The Senate, however, is in its summer recess.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said it was hoped the bill could be passed by "consent" by the end of this week. Such a process would mean the entire Senate would not need to return to Washington, so long as party leaders agree.

Here is a related blog/ article on The Heritage Foundation site:

The Wrong Way to Deal With India - Derek Scissors, Ph.D.



Do as I say, don't do as I do. This is the message the Obama Administration and Congress are sending to fellow democracy India. While correctly pressing India to liberalize trade and investment, President Obama continues to hector India on outsourcing, and Congress has now transformed the talk into ugly action.



Last week, the President continued his portrayal of India as trying to take American jobs. A few days later, the Senate passed legislation requiring companies that hire a large number of high-skilled foreign workers to pay thousands more in fees for each one. This was intended to target certain Indian companies by constraining American access to them. Never mind that access to global markets makes America more competitive and ultimately creates more jobs and more wealth. This President and Congress are going with a simplistic-even patronizing-zero-sum argument that it's either them or us.



And as usual, when they have nothing to offer on an issue, they turn to blame someone else.

To be sure, India's own trade and investment policies are far from ideal and the U.S. has plenty of legitimate criticisms to level at New Delhi. But India is a consumer-oriented economy running a large trade deficit, not an export predator. There are strong reasons, in addition to the commercial ones, to engage more fully and equally with India, not punish it. Not only is it a democracy but also the U.S. and India have emerging and important strategic interests.



The President wants to double exports to help our economy. In advocating restrictions on carbon emissions that will hurt our economy, the Obama Administration argues the world will not act unless America leads. In trade, though, the President and Congress set no example for the world to follow-quite the opposite in fact. The Administration resorts more and more to punitive trade and investment actions like trade duties and disincentives to invest, such as the visa fees directed at India.



India is a rapidly growing economy driven by its consumers. It is an American friend. Picking on India, especially, tells the world that the U.S. commitment to open trade and investment is weakening, a message that will end up hurting both our foreign policy and our economy.



Derek Scissors is a Research Fellow for Asia Economic Policy at The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center. Scissors focuses on the Chinese economy as well as broader Asian economic trends and challenges facing the United States.

The IAPACer - August 2010

IAPAC Board Members

Ramesh Anand, Vish Bhaskaran, Ramesh Cherivirala, Gitesh Desai, Preanka Desai, Sujeeth Draksharam, Jagat Kamdar, Pranav Kothari, G. V. Krishnan, Sam Merchant, Manisha Mehta, Rick Pal, Hasu Patel, Sanjay Ram, Ashok Rao, Sanjay Rao, Rao Ratnala, Randhir Sahni, Dinesh Shah, Karun Sreerama and Mini Timmaraju.

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Dear Friends,

Crews working to permanently plug the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico could soon begin pumping mud and possibly cement down the well on Tuesday, in an engineering procedure called the "static kill." Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man on the oil disaster cleanup, said at a morning briefing that an "injectivity" test that determines whether oil can forced back down into a reservoir should be completed in a matter of hours. If the test signals that the static kill can began, it could start later Tuesday. The process would last between 33 and 61 hours. The "general timeline is we should be in static kill by this afternoon," Allen said. Click here for the full story: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/03/gulf.oil.spill/index.html?hpt=T2
BP and Bhopal seem to have evoked different responses from the US Government and has been a cause for anger among Indians. An interesting article on Double Standards, written by Bill Quigley and Alex Tuscano. Click here for the article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/01-5.

Ground Zero Mosque wins key vote. New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission denied landmark status Tuesday for a building at the site of a proposed Islamic center and mosque near ground zero. The commissioners voted unanimously against landmark status for 45-47 Park Place. It and an adjoining building are owned by real estate developer Soho Properties, which intends to build an Islamic center two blocks north of the former site of the World Trade Center. Click here for the full story: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/category/ground-zero-mosque/?hpt=T1
Britain's prime minister delivered a sober message last week to Pakistan: Don't export terror. "We want to see a strong and a stable and a democratic Pakistan," David Cameron said in Bangalore, India, "but we cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country is allowed to look both ways and is able in any way to promote the export of terror, whether to India or whether to Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world." Click here for the whole story: http://tinyurl.com/2ebs9hy
Recently, the family of a prominent Indo American of Greater Houston, Munir Ibrahim had a traumatic experience at the hands of the Hedwig Village Police. According to ABC News, the chief of police for Hedwig Village is apologizing to a family for what happened to them at the hands of his officers, but the family says it'll take more than an apology to make up for the incident. Click here for the whole story: http://tinyurl.com/24kjj6c


IAPAC commends Mayor Allen Owen of Missouri City and the Chief of Police, Mr. Joel F. Fitzgerald, Sr. for responding to IAPAC's offer of conducting an Indo American 101 for their Officers. Over two weeks, IAPAC Directors Manisha Mehta, Gitesh Desai, Sam Merchant and Pranav Kothari along with Meghna Goswami of DAYA conducted a two hour presentation on India and Indo Americans for about 50 Peace Officers of the Missouri City Police Department. This covered the history of India, contribution of Indo Americans to the US, background of immigrant Indians and 2nd generation Indians and the unique psyche of an Indo American woman with details on the various religion practiced and the culture of Indo Americans.The presentationswere followed by active participation by the officers with queries ranging from culture and habits to what they can expect when visiting a typical Indian home. IAPAC thanks Sgt. Broussard for facilitating the orientation programs. IAPAC is now in active conversation with other city police departments and the sheriff offices and hope to have a similar orientation programs for their through the year.
IAPAC has embarked on outreach with the other Asian Community Organizations. Last month IAPAC commenced the IAPAC - VA PAC (Vietnamese PAC) dialogs. This month IAPAC has started with the IAPAC - AJC (American Jewish Community) relationship. Please read the article below for more details. IAPAC is already in active first level discussions with similar Asian organizations and is confident of having a group interaction with most of them commence within the next couple of months. IAPAC hopes to open windows for Indo Americans to interact with other Asian communities in the city.
IAPAC Directors, Vish Bhaskaran (Email: vbhaskaran@sbcglobal.net ) & Jagat Kamdar (Email: JagatK@aol.com have launched the IAPAC initiative of Indo Americans for Rick Perry & Bill White respectively. Any person interested in participating in either of these initiatives may contact them.
If you have not registered to vote - please do so. Remember, your vote counts and only you can make it count!!!
If you havean article you want published in your IAPACer or know a youngster who has any form of high achievement, write to me at ramesh@iapacgh.org

Regards

Ramesh Anand
President
IAPAC
Cell: 832-731-6133
EMail: rhappy@gmail.com
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Consulate General of India
Houston
INDEPENDENCE DAY FLAG HOISTING


The Flag Hoisting ceremony on India's 64th Independence Day will be held on Sunday, 15 August, 2010 at 10:00 AM at the Consul General's Residence (5634 Briar Drive, Houston, Tx - 77056). Consul General Sanjiv Arora will read President of India's message on this occasion. Refreshments will be served.
Indian nationals and friends of India are cordially invited to the function. Participants are requested to assemble at Consul General's Residence by 9:45 AM. Kindly bring a photo ID
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On behalf of the Board of Directors of ICC and the Indo American Community of Greater Houston, I invite everybody to the 64th Independence Day celebrations of India, being celebrated on August 15th 2010, Sunday at The George Brown Convention Center.
It's a fun filled daylong event from 11am to 7pm. It's a FREE EVENT.

This year Heritage India is dedicated as A Tribute to Tagore whose 150th Birth Anniversary is being celebrated across the world.



Day long events include:

Tribute to Tagore
Flag Honoring
Awards
Commercial Bazaar
YLDP Graduation
Kids Zone
Boogie Boogie Dance Contest
A Passage to Bollywood-- A Cultural extravagance in the evening is the highlight of the show.

For more details, contact Jasmeeta Singh 713-8588229 or Swapan Dhairyawan at 281-3820348 or visit www.icchouston.org

Regards

Regards
Swapan Dhairyawan
President ICC
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On behalf of the Board of Directors of The Indo American Chamber of Commerce of greater Houston, I invite everybody to the 11th Annual Chamber Gala & Awards Banquet that will be held on August 14that The Westin Galleria Hotel at 5:30 pm. Council General of India in Houston, Hon. Sanjiv Arora and Mrs. Chhaya Arora are the chief guests and Mayor Parker will be the special guest. This year's theme is "Think India...Think Houston" and the Chamber stands ready to play a major role as Houston and India expand bi-lateral trade. The recipients of the Annual IACCGH Awards will be announced and presented at the Gala. For more information contact: Mr. Jagdip Ahluwalia, Executive Director, IACCGH at almamach@aol.com or call: 713-624-7131

Madhukar Prasad
President, IACCGH

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Houston Indo Americans make us proud

Sanjay Ramabhadran appointed President of HESS Club

The Houston Engineering & Scientific Society (HESS) club has been in existence since 1915. The venerable institution has been home to organizations and professionals in the engineering, construction and scientific community for the last 96 years.

In June of 2010, Sanjay Ram, PE became one of the youngest Presidents in the rich history of the club. The HESS Club's Board of Directors comprises industry leaders in the engineering and construction industry.

Sanjay Ram is a Past President of IAPAC and also currently serves on the Board of Leadership Houston and the Indo-American Charity Foundation and the Board of Advisors of the American Society of Indian Engineers.

In 1997 the club moved from the Downtown area to the prestigious Carlyle Building located at 5430 Westheimer in the Galleria area. This was only the second move in the more than 90-year history of the H.E.S.S. Club. Major renovations were made to the Carlyle restaurant, and the location is now a perfect home for the many meetings and functions that the H.E.S.S. Club staff plan and execute for the Club's members, professional and civic organizations and other guests.

The HESS Club is one of Houston's most elegant and luxurious settings for any event - Meetings, Conferences, Weddings, Graduation Parties and so on. The marble foyer welcomes you, inviting you to step inside the intimate Sam Houston Room, which has a cozy fireplace and an entry into the jade marble bar. This free standing building, with two floors, is comprised of nine rooms with a total of 22,000 square feet of meeting space. The Club's interior offers beautiful private settings, or a Grand Texas Ballroom for you to choose from.

The Club's outstanding reputation has been earned from impeccable service, attention to details, and expert preparation, for the best of everything. That's why HESS can boast an existence of 90 plus years and is still going strong.

For information on the club, contact Debra Bellinghausen or Linda Benson at 713-627-2283.
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HOUSTON INDO AMERICANS, SAN & TRISH LAUNCH BODHISATTVA
San Banarje of Houston shot and directed the feature film Bodhisattva with Soumitra in Calcutta. This is San's first Indian film. He has earlier made a feature film MONEY in Paris and Houston and several shorts and music videos. The film Bodhisattva was co written by San Banarje and Houston based Trisha Ray as an independent film and was shot in seven days in Calcutta. The film, a thriller, made in bengali with English subtitle received platinum remit at world fest international film festival 2010 for best feature film and currently traveling festivals. San is ready to make his new film based on a script he is writing with Soumitra in mind.
Here is their official English language trailer for the film BODHISATTVA shot in Calcutta, India and currently in festivals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkRNm5G6-2k
IAPAC wishes them all the best!
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Indian government approves new symbol for rupee

India is to have a new symbol for its currency, the rupee, after the government approved the winning entry in a national competition.
The symbol is a cross between the Roman letter R and its Hindi equivalent, and was designed by a teacher at the Indian Institute of Technology.
A panel of artists, officials and bankers picked the new design.
The Indian government hopes it will soon be as recognisable as the dollar, the pound or the euro.
Correspondents say choosing the symbol reflects India's ambition to be seen as a global power.
The winning entry was one of five shortlisted in the public competition announced in March 2009. Designers were given a brief to come up with a symbol that captures the ethos and culture of India.
'Distinctive'
Until now the rupee has generally been shortened to the letters Rs or sometimes INR (Indian rupee).
India's government says these are not symbols but mere abbreviations.
The new symbol will be the "identity of the Indian currency", information minister Ambika Soni says.
"It will distinguish the rupee from other currencies."
The winning design is made up of half the letter R with a horizontal line on top and in between to make it also look like its equivalent in the Devanagari script, which used in a number of Indian languages including Hindi and Sanskrit.
It will soon be introduced on computer keyboards and banknotes in India and is expected to take a year or two to be fully implemented.
The winning entry was submitted by D Udaya Kumar, a newly-appointed teacher of design at the Indian Institute of Technology. He will receive prize money amounting to $5,350 (£3,500).
Experts say implementing a new currency symbol can be an expensive exercise.
According to one estimate, when the euro was introduced in 1999 it cost Europe's biggest companies more than $50bn to update their computer systems to deal with the changeover.
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Other updates

IAPAC launches IAPAC-AJC joint sessions - Preanka Desai, Director, IAPAC

Following the recent joint meeting between some of IAPAC and VA-PAC Board Members, IAPAC recently has renewed the IAPAC-AJC (American Jewish Committee) joint sessions.

The IAPAC team was welcomed with a big "NAMASTE! KAISE HO?" written in colorful, bold letter on the blackboard. Mr. Stephen Friedman, Board Member of AJC, Houston Chapter and Head of Community Outreach, welcomed the IAPAC Board members to the discussions. He shared his excitement with the scope of the discussions and looked forward to working with IAPAC closely.
AJC Director, Nat Levy, talked about the various activities of AJC and the role that AJC played in contributing to harmony through such interactions and other interfaith initiatives.
Jack Lascar, who has recently assumed to role of President of AJC, Houston Chapter, echoed Nat's thoughts and stated that he looked forward to working closely with IAPAC and pick up the baton from where it was left by his predecessors. Barbara Shepard, Assistant Director of AJC, shared some of the initiatives that had been undertaken earlier and about strengthening the AJC-IAPAC relationship.

IAPAC was represented by its President, Ramesh Anand, immediate past president, Gitesh Desai and other Board Members, Preanka Desai and Sam Merchant.

Ramesh Anand, President of IAPAC, thanked the AJC members for the hospitality and briefly talked about the history of IAPAC and some of its recent initiatives. Gitesh Desai shared with the group the long relationship the India has had with Jews and the contribution that Jews had made to India providing examples, including that of General Jacob. Gitesh stated that it is only natural that IAPAC and AJC work towards fortifying this long standing relationship. Sam Merchant and Preanka Desai related their thoughts and the vision of the two PACs working together as well as the opportunities they provide the communities.

IAPAC and AJC will now develop immediate, short-term and long-term strategies on working together for the betterment of both communities.

For more information on the Interpac Initiative, contact IAPAC Directors
Gitesh Desai C: 281-300-7346 EMail: giteshdesai@gmail.com or
Sam Merchant, Director, IAPAC Cell: 713-277-4033; email: samm@gorelianceusa.com or
Preanka Desai C:281-723-1183 EMail: preanka@yahoo.com

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Update on Healthcare Insurance and you - Sam Merchant, Director IAPAC

There was good news last week for those who are concerned that the medical loss ratio provision (MLR) of the new federal health care reform law could seriously harm quality improvement programs and member counseling programs. The law requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of premium revenue on medical claims in the individual and small group markets and 85 percent in the large group markets. But exactly what qualifies as medical costs is still an open question. Representatives of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which is developing a recommendation for the federal government on what should be counted, indicated last week that they are inclined to allow some quality-improvement programs to be considered medical costs. This comes as good news for employers and consumers. Aetna has actively argued that narrow MLR definitions could lead to the elimination or reduction of valuable care review programs, increase health care costs overall and employer premiums, and threaten the solvency of some insurers or force them to leave certain markets.
Members of Congress are trying to pass time until the August break, which could start the last week of July and end the second week of September, without doing anything to harm their reelection chances. What happened on the health care front bears this out.
Although Congress passed (and the President signed) a six-month unemployment insurance extension bill, none of the health-related additions made the final cut. The signed bill does not include any extension of the 65 percent COBRA subsidy nor does it include any Medicaid relief for the states (the FMAP formula). These items will be in limbo until the Fall -- more likely in the lame duck session after the elections. Additional work on the 2010 Medicare physician reimbursement rate fix, which runs out November 30, and the 2011 "doc fix" are in the same boat.
Sam Merchant is the CEO of Reliance Business Solutions, Inc. (www.gorelianceusa.com)

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Planned Parenthood moves to new facility - Mini Timmaraju, Director IAPAC
Thanks to the support of Houstonians and their commitment to affordable health care, Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas has moved into a new flagship health center and administrative headquarters named Prevention Park. We are proud to provide a brand new warm and welcoming place for the thousands of women and men of our community to receive the services and information they need to live healthy lives. Located at 4600 Gulf Freeway, Prevention Park houses our administrative headquarters, a call center for scheduling appointments, and education and training center, a more spacious family planning health center, a surgical suite, a central lab, an HIV testing and counseling wing, and a clinical research center. Prevention Park joins our eleven other health centers including locations in Stafford, Rosenberg, Dickinson, Huntsville, Bryan, Lufkin, and two in Louisiana.
Planned Parenthood's mission is to help women and men manage their sexual and reproductive health. At our larger new health center we will continue to provide preventive reproductive health care including annual well-woman exams, birth control, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing and counseling, cervical and breast cancer screenings, treatment for precancerous conditions of the cervix, sexuality education and training and much more. Women and men trust us to provide them with affordable and compassionate health care. When they need a service related to their reproductive health they turn to Planned Parenthood and we're here for them. We've been in this community for nearly 75 years and we will continue to be here for generations.
More than 1 million people in Harris County lack health insurance and nearly half are of reproductive age. Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas is a vital part of the health care safety net for the uninsured and under-insured women and men living in Houston and Harris County. In our new building we'll have more room to serve current client demand and room to meet the need in the future.
For more information about Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas and our services please visit www.pphouston.org
- Mini Timmaraju, an IAPAC Board Member, serves as the Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas.


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DAYA acquires new Transitional Home

The Board and staff of Daya are pleased to announce that Daya has obtained a three bedroom property to be used as the transitional home for its clients. Named 'Harmony House,' the home will be a safe haven for qualified clients (and their children aged 12 and under) for several months while they work on becoming emotionally and economically independent so that they can find the courage to build violence-free homes for their families and break the cycle of abuse that can perpetuate from one generation to the next. This additional program moves Daya closer to its goal of finding lasting solutions to the problem of family violence.
The transitional home services will include individual and group counseling, child care, legal advocacy, career counseling, money management, job training and education. To protect the privacy of clients and ensure their safety, the location of Harmony House will remain confidential.The purchase price of the home including closing costs and repairs is about $200,000. In its March 2010 fund-raising gala, Daya announced its intention to own and operate a transitional home, kicked off a capital campaign for the same and received pledges in the amount of $60,000. Those who pledged on this occasion were individual supporters including a few board members of Daya as well as the Indo-American Charity Foundation of Houston that has been an ardent supporter of Daya since its inception in 1996.
Now that the home has become a reality, Daya plans to accelerate its capital campaign in order to raise the funds, pay off the loan and own the home outright. It is the Board's earnest hope that, as in the past, Houston's South Asian community will come forward and help Daya achieve this goal. Please call Daya's Capital Campaign Coordinator Renu Sood at 713-623-4545 for more information and participation in this worthwhile project. For information on Daya, please visit: www.dayahouston. org
Together with the Houston community, Daya is poised and ready to take this major step forward.
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Top 10 Vehicles reported stolen to HPD

The following is a rundown of the "Top 10" makes of vehicles reported stolen to the Houston Police Department
during the month of June 2010.
Ford Trucks 132
Chevrolet Trucks 116
Dodge Trucks 102
Honda Cars 93
Dodge Cars 49
Chevrolet Cars 45
GMC Trucks 39
Ford Cars 33
Chrysler Cars 25
Toyota Cars 25
Buick Cars 19
Jeep Trucks 19
Source: Houston Police Department