CHICAGO: India’s Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Alphons Joseph Kannanthanam met with select Chicago community members at a Breakfast Reception hosted by Consul General of India Ms Neeta Bhushan in partnership with Dr. Bharat Barai on Thursday June 21.
Minister Kannanthanam expressed his keen desire to meet Indian Diaspora and keeping the aspiration of the Minister, Dr. Bharat Barai convened a welcome reception attended by community figures.
The reception encompassed discussion on wide ranging topics as to how to make India as an ultimate tourist destination. Dr. Bharat Barai pledged to the Minister Chicago community’s support in advancing the mission of the minister in development of tourism. The discussion included enhancements and improvements of tourism infrastructure at various tourist destinations.
The Minister thanked PM Narendra Modi for providing all the necessary tools, resources and funding to expand both domestic and international tourism in India. He said that his ministry is undertaking a massive campaign to promote tourism on various social media platforms including the massive international “Incredible India” campaign that is eliciting remarkable response.
The minister donned a Shawl presented jointly by Dr. Bharat Barai, CG Neeta Bhushan, Keerthi Ravoori, Sunil Shah and Nirav Patel to showcase a warm traditional Chicago welcome. The Minister is a former Indian civil servant, advocate and the second BJP Central Minister from Kerala belonging to the 1979 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (I.A.S.), Kerala cadre.
He was in Time Magazine’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders. He pioneered the literacy movement in India by making Kottayam the first 100% literate town of India in 1989. He also served as Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority.
