At the outset, I take this opportunity to thank you all for appointing me to travel to India and attend PBD 2012. While it was a last minute decision and I had pack up my bags quickly and adjust many things in my official calendar, I would say that attending this event was one of the wisest decision. I take pride to say that I was the only delegate from the NE states of India representing NAMA and talking about our states and our association to many of the delegates and the MOIA personnel I met during those three days.
Key highlights of what I saw in the Convention.
1. PBD 2012 was held based on the theme "Global Indian - Inclusive Growth". There are several panel discussions and key note addresses by many state & central leaders. One point that stands out clearly is that the MOIA has created this convention as a platform to learn and intereact with NRIs residing globally. This platform is an opportunity to learn how other associations, organisations are doing in several countries including USA.
2. Another opportunity that MOIA has created is for the NRI community to interact with the state representatives and the central govt officials and have a dialogue on any related topics of the state. I believe that this is something that NAMA like organisations across the globe can
3. A key note address by Prof Mahbubani is something that rings in my ears every night. The video of his speech is available below. I have always thought that we at NAMA can do many things which does not cost money. We only need the members to contribute their time and their ideas / knowlegde that will make our organization much effective than where we are today. If you watch the video, you will see that Prof is saying that India no longer requires dollar remits from the NRI. What India requires is the knowledge from the NRIs to be able to transform India into a super power. How true is that?
4. The Chief Minister's conference was a showcase of what each state has achieved and what the NRI community can do for their states. I wished that we had our own CM giving a speech in such a platform where 1900 delegates from 130 countries can be educated about Manipur like the CMs of Jharkand, Kerala, Gujarat besides Rajasthan did.
5. On the last day, I was in OIFC stall where I met the CEO of OIFC Sujata Sudharsan and the Mr A Didar Singh, Chief Secretary to the MOIA. He pointed out NAMA like organisation should support the initiatives that are undergoing in the NE states and work closely with the DONER ministry to execute the projects. I also gave an survey interview with one of the projects on NRI that OIFC is doing currently.
4. The Convention was an absolute extravaganza and the registration fee of INR14,900 was justified. The evening events showcase the food & the culture of Rajasthan.
Every session started on time and ended on time including the cultural events in the evening. The day was long but it was planned so well that I did not feel tired and jet lag was just gone. I am now connected with more than 20 NRIs residing globally as we exchanged e-mails. Listening to speakers like Sam Pitroda, Advisor to PM, Shashi Tharoor and Narendra Modi was an amazing experience. My respect for the Central Govt and their efforts to make India better just increased many fold. I only wished that there were more NAMA members who could have witnessed the event. And I wish to travel again in future, as I am sure every event will improve my knowledge of the NRI community.
Thank you!
As reported by - Sapam Shyamananda
NAMA Member at PBD 2012.
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