India is rolling out a red carpet for its expatriates living in more than 110 countries of the world. To celebrate the success of the 20 million Non Resident Indians (NRI's) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), the government of India has organized the first-ever conference in New Delhi on January 9, 10 and 11, 2003 (Pravasi Bharatiya Divas). The government has teamed with the highly respected national trade organization called Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) to help organize the event.

Attending this conference is a must if you are interested in exploring business opportunities in India or abroad, networking with government officials or other NRI's, or simply to have a great time fun. The Indian Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and their senior colleagues will be there as will be top civil service officials and a number of Chief Ministers (equivalent of Governors in the United States). But that is just the start. There will be business executives, Nobel laureates and a gallery of entertainment legends, including Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Sushmita Sen, Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachhan, Javed Akhtar, Shahrukh Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, to name some of them.

For Indian Americans, this conference provides a special opportunity. There is an increasing understanding and appreciation for India's role on the international stage. Getting a first hand look at what is happening in India will help you foster closer US-India relationships, a process in which you may already be playing an important role. The conference also provides a unique environment for you to meet other like-minded people.

On the second and third day of the conference, several breakout sessions have been planned. They cover areas such as Information Technology, Science & Technology, Health Care, Hospitality and Tourism, Financial Sevices, etc. Another session which could be of much interest to Indian Americans is entitled "Opportunities in Defense and Homeland Security R&D". This session aims to explore how you can tap the huge Indian and American markets - mostly focusing on government customers - by setting up R&D operations in India. It will help you tap into the well educated Indian talent at an affordable cost. At the session you will meet the top brass from the Indian Ministry of Defence as well as executives from defense companies in India. *For more information on the Defense and Homeland Security session you can contact the session chairman, Sharad Marathe, through e-mail at smm@uts.com *. Be sure to indicate your areas of expertise and where you see specific opportunities that could be further developed.

The conference caters to a variety of interests. For example: if you are interested in art and heritage, you will find notable display items brought in from leading Indian museums specially for this occasion. You will be proud to know that India was a leader in the fields of science, mathematics, architecture and the like going back several centuries . This knowledge has been captured in a number of books written in Sanskrit. The catch is how many of us know Sanskrit? The Indian government has put in considerable effort and resources into translating these great works of knowledge and scholarly contributions into English. Perhaps you will be interested in learning more about this initiative.

The 20 million strong Indian community has done well for itself accounting for an economic output of over $400 billion through hard work and ingenuity. Those attending the New Delhi conference will have a huge opportunity to network amongst themselves in areas of mutual interests. The conference planners are providing a mechanism to help make this happen.

Registration fee is $200 for adults. Students get a 50% discount. To get more information, log on to http://ww.indiaday.org/index.htm. The website has a registration form. Contact points: indiaday@indiaday.org or indiandiaspora@ficci.com

Everyone knows that China today is developing very rapidly. A lot of this happened because of the early initiatives taken by Non Resident Chinese. Similarly many Indian Americans have been active in setting up businesses in India but this effort has merely revealed the enormous potential of such collaboration. The track record has yielded mixed results so far. As such, the Indian government is working determinedly to remove the obstacles such that both people of Indian heritage living abroad and India will be able to realize the full potential of their collaborative enterprise, and enable the country to assume its rightful place in the community of great nations .

Most of all, this conference provides you with a tremendous opportunity to "reconnect" with your Motherland.

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