IndiaPost.com - All set for PBD New York 2007

NEW DELHI: The Government of India's Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture have joined together with the Confederation of Indian Industry to organize India@60 celebration in New York starting September 23.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) has also joined the efforts by organizing a mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD New York 2007) and would be geared to attract participation of those non-resident Indians (NRIs) who had not been able to attend the annual PBD in India.

The objective of the PBD New York 2007 is to provide tangible roles for the Indian Diaspora in North America and its neighboring regions to contribute in a meaningful way to the development challenges that India faces today.

This one day conference will set itself apart by presenting an action oriented agenda focused on how the Indian American community can be involved with India's progress. By prioritizing key areas like education, investment, infrastructure and health, PBD New York 2007 will showcase thought leaders from the social and financial arenas.

This event is a unique platform for the individual Indian American to get engaged with India via contributing their expertise and knowledge capital. The day long meeting will conclude with a community interactive session with MOIA. The theme is "Engaging the Diaspora: The Way Forward." It will be held at Pier 60 - The Lighthouse, 23rd St and West Side Highway, New York on September 23 starting at 9 a.m. The inaugural session will have Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for External Affairs; Vayalar Ravi, Minster of Overseas Indian Affairs; Nirmal Singh, Secretary MOIA; Ambassador Ronen Sen; Sunil Mittal, President, CII, and Chairman and Group CEO Bharti Enterprises. Session 2 covers "India's social building blocks: Education and health for the masses." Its moderator is Ramalinga Raju, Founder and Chairman, Satyam Computers Service Ltd.

Panelists are Sam Pitroda Chairman, National Knowledge Commission; Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner, Mckinsey & Co.; Analjit Singh, Chairman Max India Ltd; Dr. Hemant Patel, President AAPI; Dr. Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International. Keynote speaker at the networking lunch is Professor C.K. Prahalad, Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan. Session 3 will deal with "Bridging economies: Creating opportunities for foreign direct investment from the Diaspora." Panelists are: Kamal Nath, Minister, Commerce and Industry; Parag Saxena, Chairman, Vedanta Capital; Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies; Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Economics, Columbia University; Anil Kumar, Director, McKinsey. Session 4 is titled "Sustaining India's Growth: Partnership to Resolve the Infrastructure Challenge." Panelists are: Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Govt. of India; Raj Gupta, CEO, Rohm and Hass); Deepak Parikh, HDFC; KV Kamath, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank; Sam Kannappan, President, ABI Enterprises (awaiting confirmation).

The last session is a community interactive session with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs on the topic "Engaging the Diaspora: Feedback from the overseas Indian Communities." Its moderator is Sree Sreenivasan, Co- Founder, South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA). Panelists include Minster Ravi and Nirmal Singh, Secretary of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. All major national and international umbrella organization representatives will bring up their perspectives and issues related to theme of the conference.

All PBD registrants will be provided invitation to a spectacular show of specially choreographed production of Dances of India (Kathakali & Theyyam, Odissi, Kathak, Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi & Manipuri) at the inaugural ceremony of Incredible India @ 60 at the Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York City. It will be followed by a reception with Culinary Experience of India.