Kumu Gupta recently attended  an Ethnic Media Roundtable with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick at the State House on Beacon Hill in Boston.  The Round table was organized as a joint effort between MA Office of Immigration and the Governor's office following Governor Patrick's 2013 State of the Commonwealth Address, in which various newspaper and television outlets from Chinese, Haitian and other ethnic communities in the state were present.

The Governor started out by talking about some key points from his State of the Commonwealth Address, main one, being the budget. The Governor's FY 2014 budget recommendations will grow jobs and opportunity by continuing the Governor's unprecedented commitment to investing in education, innovation and infrastructure. These investments will create a better Commonwealth for the next generation. The FY 2014 budget also proposes a series of reforms to achieve savings, improve performance and increase transparency in state government.Governor Patrick called the new budget a "Growth Budget" and said that the main power of the state is its "brain power" and investing in the people  is its 'strong edge'. The FY 2014 budget is different, in that, Governor Patrick proposes to cut Sales Tax to 4.5%,  increase Income Tax to 6.25 % which will raise the threshold at which the Income Tax kicks in, i.e., Income Tax for someone making $40,000 and less goes down, making $40,000-$60,000 is about the same and for those making over $60,000 is according to ability to pay. The reason for this new proposal is meeting needs of the state's aging infrastructure and inadequacy of funds for the Transit system (train's, buses) which have led to cuts and stoppage of services in some areas.
 
Kumu had a chance to ask the Governor about questions pertaining to MA - India relations. She started out by thanking Governor Patrick for celebrating Diwali, last November,  for the first time in the state's history, at the State House by lighting an auspicious lamp and celebrating with the Indian American community gathered for the ceremony. In answers to my question on MA-India sector, praising the strong growth between the state and India and contributions of the Indian American community in Massachusetts,  Governor Patrick said he was looking at making  2 or 3 short trade missions to India this calendar year and once the new budget was approved, he would consider making a more longer elaborate trip next year. Governor Patrick also talked about how investing in the new students and Entrepreneurs coming from India, especially in Technology and Financial Services area,  to the prestigious universities in MA  like Harvard and MiT was a win-win situation for both India and MA.  Finally on the question of a direct flight between Boston and India, the Governor said they were looking into the possibility based on requirements of Boston's Logan International Airport and fully loaded, fully fueled  747 and 787 long haul flights such as between India and Boston.

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