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20.11.2008

Remarks by H.E. the High Commissioner of India, Shri Alok Prasad, at the function organised at the ICRC warehouse in Kelaniya for formally handing over 1680 tonnes of humanitarian relief supplies from India for civilians affected by the conflict in the North of Sri Lanka.

Mr. Paul Castella, Mr. Palitha Kohana, Mr. Divaratne,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you very much for joining us on this occasion. I also want to thank Mr. Castella and his colleagues in the ICRC delegation in Sri Lanka, for making this event possible and for their hospitality.

This is a simple but solemn occasion when we hand over 1,680 tonnes of relief material to ICRC for distribution to civilians affected by the conflict in the North of Sri Lanka, to help meet their humanitarian needs.

As you will see, the consignment consists of food, clothing, and personal hygiene items which have been packed individually into 80,000 family packs for ease of distribution, and to ensure the assistance reaches directly to the intended recipients.

This consignment comes as a follow up to the recent India-Sri Lanka Joint statement, where both sides decided that India will participate in providing humanitarian relief assistance in Sri Lanka. I am happy to note that this substantial consignment has arrived in Colombo within three weeks of that decision. It is a combined effort of the Government of India and donations received from the people of Tamil Nadu. It is a gesture of goodwill and intended to bring some relief to civilians in the conflict areas.

want to thank the Government of Sri Lanka for having so readily facilitated the arrival and dispatch of these relief items and I want to particularly thank the ICRC, in keeping with their humanitarian role and tradition, for agreeing to undertake the distribution of these relief items.

now formally hand over this gift certificate to the ICRC.

Thank You.
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17.11.2008

Humanitarian Relief Assistance from India for Civilians affected by the conflict in the North of Sri Lanka

PR-15

In keeping with the India-Sri Lanka Joint Statement of 26 October, 2008, wherein it was agreed that India would send a consignment of humanitarian relief assistance for civilians affected by the conflict in the North of Sri Lanka, a ship carrying 1680 tons of relief materials arrived at Colombo Port from Chennai on Saturday, 15 November, 2008. The consignment, which is contained in almost 100 containers, has been unloaded at the Port. Officials of the High Commission of India are currently working with the Customs and Port authorities for clearing and moving the relief items.

The High Commission of India hopes to be able to transfer the shipment to the warehouse of the International Committee of the Red Cross by the middle of this week, following which it will be formally handed over to the ICRC Delegation for onward transport and distribution to the affected populations.

The High Commission of India wishes to place on record its appreciation for the Government of Sri Lanka for facilitating the arrival of the consignment and to the ICRC for its assistance in its storage, onward transportation and distribution.

Colombo
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15.11.2008

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Engaging the Diaspora: The Way Forward 7-9 January 2009, Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai

The 7th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs of the Government of India in partnership with the State Government of Tamil Nadu and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is scheduled to be held at the Chennai Trade Centre from 7-9 January 2009. This is the first time that the convention is being organised in Chennai.

PBD 2009 will deliberate on issues of interest and concern to Overseas Indians, which include - role of Overseas Indians in India's emergence as a global power, Preservation of Language and Culture, Role of Diaspora Women and the Role of Diaspora Youth in the 21st Century India, Regional Working sessions on Diaspora in the Gulf, Asia-Pacific, Africa, USA, Europe, Caribbean and Canada, Building-the-Bridges Sessions on Trade & Investment, Diaspora Philanthropy, Education & Diaspora Knowledge Network, Media & Entertainment, and Tourism.

Separate sessions with the State Governments, a Trade and Industry Exhibition with participation from corporate sector, Financial Institutions, State Governments, NGOs and a market place of Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) are other highlights of PBD-2009.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon'ble Prime Minister, Government of India will inaugurate the event and Mrs. Pratibha Patil, President of India will deliver the valedictory address at the three-day meet. The High Commission of India seeks the support of all overseas Indians and Persons of Indian origin for disseminating the information to appropriate individuals, groups and organizations, in order to make the forthcoming PBD a success. The website < www.pbdindia.org > contains more information.
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14.11.2008

Tracing the roots: A programme to assist persons of Indian origin in tracing their roots

Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
Government of India

Guidelines for ‘Tracing the Roots’ Programme

  1. It is a programme designed by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, hereinafter called ‘Ministry’; to assist Persons of Indians origin in tracing their roots. For this purpose, the Ministry has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with "Indiroots, a non-governmental organization”, whose contact details are as below:

    Address: E-663/9 West Vinod Nagar, Delhi-110092.
    Tel: (0091) 9868464738,
    E-mail: indiroots@yahoo.com, sst11_in@yahoo.com

  2. Persons of Indians origin desirous of tracing their roots in India would be required to fill up the prescribed application form and deposit it with this High Commission along with a fee of Indian Rupees (INR) 20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand) in equivalent Sri Lankan Rupees in the form of a crossed cheque or Demand Draft in favour of “High Commission of India, Colombo”. Cash payment will also be accepted. The exact amount in Sri Lankan Rupees may be ascertained from Mr. R.R. Iyer, Attache (Administration) on the date of payment – (Tel:011-2439277). Any other useful information/document that could be helpful in tracing the roots may also be submitted with the application.

  3. The Ministry would forward the application with all supporting documents to “Indiroots”

  4. The details of the roots in India (where traceable) i.e. name of close surviving relatives, details of the place of origin of their forefathers (paternal and maternal side) and a possible family tree will be prepared by “Indiroots” and submitted to the Ministry approximately within a period of three months from the date of receipt of the application by it.

  5. The information received from “Indiroots” including family tree prepared by it, would then be sent to the concerned Indian Mission/Post at the earliest for onward transmission to the applicant.

  6. In case of any doubt about the genuineness of the ‘roots’, the decision of the Ministry, taken in consultation with the applicant and ‘Indiroots’ will be final and binding on ‘Indiroots’.

  7. In case of a successful attempt, the balance of Rs 14,000/- (Rupees fourteen thousand) will be released by the Ministry to “Indiroots”. In case the attempt is not successful a further amount of only Rs 4,000/- (Rupees four thousand) will be released to “Indiroots’ and the Indian Mission/Post would be authorized to refund foreign currency equivalent to Rs 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) to the applicant at the official rate of exchange, as determined by the Government of India, applicable on the date of the refund.

 

N. B. The programme provides for gathering of the information of the ancestors of the applicant and does not have any provision or arrangement for the visit of the applicant to his/her ancestral place(s). In case the applicant wishes to visit these places, the Ministry/Indiroots would facilitate such visits but the applicant would have to bear all related expenditure.

 
 

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS
Government of India

Application for Tracing the Roots

 

A. Personal details of the applicant

  1. Name of the Applicant

  2. Contact particulars

    (a) Complete postal address
    (b) Telephone No.
    (c) Fax No.
    (d) E-mail

  3. Profession

B. Particulars of the Ancestor with whom the link is to be established

  1. Name

  2. Year when he/she migrated

  3. Approximate age at the time of migration

  4. Caste

  5. Profession at the time of migration

  6. Name of the Village

  7. Name of the Police Station

  8. Name of the Pargana/Tehsil

  9. Name of the Post Office

  10. Name of the Zila (District)

  11. Name of the State

  12. Names of the Neighbouring Villages

  13. Details of property owned by the migrant

  14. Name of the Parents and immediate family members of the Migrant with nick names, if any

    (a) Father
    (b) Mother
    (c) Brothers
    (d) Sisters
    (e) Wife
    (f) Sons
    (g) Daughters
    (h) Paternal uncles/aunts
    (i) Maternal uncles/aunts
    (j) Others, please specify

 

C. Details of Migration

  1. Name of the ship

  2. Particulars of the Agent

  3. Port of embarkation

  4. Date of embarkation

  5. Date when reached destination

  6. Port of disembarkation

 

D. Particulars of other ancestors of the applicant

  1. Name of the Parents with nick names, if any

    (a) Father
    (b) Mother

  2. Name of the Grandparents with nicknames, if any

    (a) Grandfather
    (b) Grandmother

  3. Name of the Great Grandparents with nick names, if any

    (a) Great Grandfather
    (b) Great Grandmother

E. General

  1. Do you have copy of correspondence exchanged
    by the Migrant with his relations or others in India?
    If yes – give details and enclose copies

  2. Has the applicant heard any stories or:
    details with regard to his Ancestors who migranted
    from India? If yes, give details

F. Documents attached
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08.11.2008

Scholarship Programme for Diaspora (PIO) Children – 2009

To assist children of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in pursuing Under Graduate courses in Higher and Technical fields in India, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs of the Government of India introduced a Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) in 2006.  Under this Programme, 67 PIO/NRI students were granted scholarship during the academic year 2006-07 while 81 students were granted scholarship in the next academic year.  The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs seeks application for the Scholarship Programme for the academic year 2009-10.  The highlights of the scholarship are as follows:

  • 100 scholarships are being offered for Undergraduate courses in disciplines including Engineering/Architecture/Technology, Humanities/Liberal Arts, Commerce, Management – BBA/BBM, Journalism, Hotel Management, Agriculture/Animal Husbandry, Science, Law etc.
  • The Programme is open only to PIOs/NRIs from the specified 40 countries including Sri Lanka.
  • The last date for receipt of duly filled in prescribed application form by Educational Consultants India Limited (Ed.CIL) is 9th September, 2008.
  • Candidates would be selected on the basis of a common entrance test to be conducted by Ed.CIL on 26th October, 2008 at the High Commission of India, Colombo.  Exact timings would be intimated later.  The candidates would also have to fulfill the entire criterion prescribed for the purpose.
  • The amount of scholarship admissible would be 75% of Institutional Economic Cost (IEC) or US$ 3,600 (US$ Three thousand six hundred), whichever is less.  IEC includes tuition fee, hostel fee and other institutional charges.

For further information, please visit Ed.CIL websites www.edcil.co.in; and www.educationindia4u.nic.in
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