NEW YORK: The Global Organization of Persons of Indian Origin (GOPIO) has inducted senior Indian bureaucrat T.K.A. Nair in its Honor Roll and has recognized three other distinguished persons with Service Awards at a pre-Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in New Delhi on Jan 6.
At its Annual Community Service Awards Banquet at the Ashoka Hotel, T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was inducted to GOPIO’s Honor Roll for his exemplary services to India and support for the Indian Diaspora causes. Previous inductees include former President late K.R. Narayanan, former Prime Minister Inder K. Gujral, the late Dr. L.M. Singhvi, former Fiji Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry, former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, and Lord Navneet Dholakia.
The Community Service Awards were presented at the banquet in the presence of Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. GOPIO’s annual CSA awards were established to recognize and honor those NRIs and PIOs who have provided significant community and public service or done philanthropic work for the Indian Diaspora and/or to India.
The awardees for this year included Gambhir Watts, Executive Chairman of the Australian Branch of Bhratiya Vidya Bhavan; Prof. M.C. Madhavan, Founder of San Diego Indian American Society USA; a special recognition award was presented to Prof. Prabhat Jha, world-renowned scientist and author who has worked tirelessly to improve the health and quality of life of resident Indians.
“We at GOPIO feel privileged to recognize Mr. T.K.A. Nair and a few NRIs/PIOs who have contributed significantly to their respective countries of adoption as well as to India, and have also contributed to the remarkable resurgence of India,” said Lord Diljit Rana, President of GOPIO International.
GOPIO Chairman Inder Singh said, “The award is a reflection of their remarkable accomplishments and commendable services. By honoring such people, we hope that their example will motivate more NRIs/PIOs to serve overseas Indian community and the people of India with their service and generosity.”
T.K.A.Nair has the distinction of serving three Prime Ministers – I.K. Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and currently Dr. Manmohan Singh. Before joining as Principal Secretary at the PMO, he served as Chairman of Public Enterprise Selection Board.
Gambhir Watts (Australia) is Executive Chairman since July 2003 for Australia Chapters of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; Commissioner, Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW and Chairman of Northern Regional Advisory Council 2006-2009; Founder patron of Priyadarshni Academy Bombay India honoring high achievers in various social, cultural and art related fields all over the world; a Director of Advocacy for Inclusion Australia (an NGO for Disability). Watts also initiated the installation of first ever Mahatma Gandhi bust in New South Wales at the University of New South Wales jointly with the Consul General of India.
Prof. M.C. Madhavan (USA) may perhaps be remembered for a long time for founding the San Diego Indian American Society to establish Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture program with the support of his friends in 1984. Over 400 outstanding students have received the scholarship. The society has also funded over 20 projects in India benefiting the states of Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and various organizations in the San Diego.
Prof. Prabhat Jha (Canada) is a world-renowned scientist and author who worked tirelessly to improve the health and quality of life of resident Indians. He recognized that since almost all deaths in India did not have medical documentation or assigned causes of deaths, governments and individuals did not have the necessary information to plan effective healthcare initiatives in the country or for individuals to know their own risk of premature disease. He understood that millions of Indians would continue to die needlessly unless there was a revolution in the way health information was collected. Thus, in collaboration with the Registrar General of India, Professor Jha started the Million Death Study in 2001. Partly funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this ongoing study will quantify the causes of deaths in over 1 million homes in India from 1997-2014.
Results from the study have already demonstrated that India has over 1 million deaths each year from smoking (10% of all deaths; New England Journal of Medicine, 2008), and fewer deaths from HIV than expected (British Med Journal, 2009), but many more malaria deaths than expected (about 0.2 million; Lancet 2010). He has also documented that the major causes of child deaths in the country are avoidable (Lancet, 2010). Future studies from the Million Death Study will continue to shape the direction for India’s health.
India Post News Service
