Purulia arms drop case: CBI Director hopeful about Danish national”s extradition

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Apr 27 (ANI): Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar has said he is hopeful about securing the extradition of Danish national Kim Davy, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case.

Kumar noted that certain legal formalities are to be completed for the custody of Kim Davy.

“We are trying for his (Kim Davy”s) extradition since 2002 and Denmark government has agreed for it. Diplomacy has also agreed. Only the legal process remains since Kim Davy has filed an application in a court there that he doesn”t want to be extradited. India has given them all the guarantees but now we”ll have to fight the case because Kim Davy also has his rights and he doesn”t want the extradition,” said Ashwani Kumar.

“Thus, we will have to fight the case and hire a lawyer. We”ll fight the case and we have good evidence and government of Denmark is with us and I am sure we”ll be able to get him soon,” he added.

The Interpol had recently informed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that the Denmark authorities have decided to extradite Purulia arms drop case mastermind Kim Davy aka Neils Holck to India.

CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal had said the Interpol would facilitate the extradition of Davy to India after receipt of documents formally from the Danish authorities though diplomatic channels.

The CBI accused Davy as the person behind arms drop near Anand Marg ashram in West Bengal”s Purulia District.

On April 9, the Danish Police apprehended Davy.

The CBI said Davy has demanded that the legality of the decision should be tried by the Danish courts.

The CBI also accused Davy for conspiring to procure a huge quantity of arms and ammunition and to traffic it illegally into Indian territory for the purpose of waging war against India.

In course of investigation, the CBI had revealed that the aircraft AN-26 having call sign YLLDB had flown over the sky at West Bengal”s Jhalda Police Station on the night of 17 and 18 December 1995, while it was coming from Varanasi to Calcutta and dropped huge quantity of arms and ammunition.

The immigration authorities at the Sahara International Airport in Mumbai, where it was forcefully landed on 22 December 1995, detained the crewmembers of the aircraft– Peter Bleach and five other Latavian citizens– Alexender Klichin, Igor Moskvitine, Oleg Gaidach, Evgueni Antimenko and Igor Timmerman.

Davy, who was said to be in the aircraft managed to escape from the airport.

The investigators recovered several articles such as arms, ammunition, laptop and brief case of Davy, G.P.S. flight data recorder, Cockpit Voice Recorder, Velocity height gravity recorder from the aircraft.

On conclusion of trial, all the six accused persons were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- each under section 121A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and for violating Explosives Substances Act, 1908. (ANI)

Babri mosque demolition case: IPS officer says Advani gave incendiary speeches

Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 26 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi, on Friday told a Rae Bareilly court that senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani gave incendiary speeches on December 6, 1992 asserting that the temple would be built at the same place.

Gupta, who was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period, said in the court, “I received Advani from the Faisabad border and he was present at the Ram Katha Kunj along with a host of other BJP leaders.”

“Kalraj Mishra, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Giriraj Kishore, Ashok Singhal and Pramod Mahajan were the other leaders present at the venue,” she added.

“Advani said to his supporters that the temple would be built at the same place,” she claimed.

Encouraged by Advani”s speech, Gupta further said the ”Kar Sevaks” moved towards the area with daggers in their hands, as the Ram Katha Kunj was only 150 meters away from the site.

She also said that senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar provoked the crowd.

Earlier, she arrived in court this morning to record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders.

Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.

Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight over the demolition of the mosque.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.

A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.

The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)

Babri mosque demolition: IPS officer Gupta appears before Rae Bareilly court

Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 26 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi has arrived at a Rae Bareilly court to record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders.

Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.

Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight over the demolition of the mosque.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.

A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.

The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)

Babri mosque demolition: IPS officer Gupta to appear in Rae Bareilly court

Rae Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Mar 25 (ANI): Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anju Gupta, who is on deputation with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Delhi might record her testimony as a witness for the prosecution against senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani and other Sangh Parivar leaders in a Rae Bareilly court on Friday.

Gupta was posted as Advani”s personal security officer during the period when the BJP was bringing its supporters to Ayodhya for ”kar seva” at the mosque, claimed by the Sangh Parivar to be the birthplace of Lord Rama.

Immediately after the riots in 1993, Gupta had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) how Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and the rest had expressed delight.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar had reportedly written to Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar urging him to release Gupta for the important hearing on the Babri Mosque demolition case.

A special Ayodhya court in Rae Bareilly had earlier discharged Advani on the plea that charges against him were based on mere suspicion. The CBI dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy – Section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) – in its revised charge sheet submitted before the Rae Bareilly court on the directives of the Allahabad High Court.

The revised chargesheet contained relatively milder sections under the Indian Penal Code – Sections 153-A, 153-B (propagating communal violence), 147, 149 (rioting) and 505 (spreading ill-will). This was believed to be the result of CBI”s failure to press the charges strongly. (ANI)

CBI chief for friendly association with foreign investigating officers

New Delhi, Mar 19 (ANI): Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ashwani Kumar on Friday said that association of teams of investigating and law officers from the requesting countries should be encouraged.

Addressing the Conference of Police Liaison Officers (PLO) of Foreign Countries, Kumar said: “We should encourage association of teams of investigating and Law Officers from the requesting countries while execution of such requests by the requested countries.”

“These teams will be available on the spot to explain the requirements of requesting agencies to the execution agencies of the requested country. This will also mitigate the necessity of seeking further clarifications by the requested countries and that of sending supplementary Letter of Requests by the requesting countries,” he added.

Kumar also said the institutions of Interpol and Police Liaison Officers posted all over the globe have become a very important platform to facilitate International Cooperation amongst the law enforcement agencies of the world.

“I have no hesitation in saying that it is because of timely assistance provided by PLOs that many requests of Indian agencies for assistance in investigation and extradition of fugitives have been executed in a record time,” Kumar said.

In his address Kumar recalled the assistance extended by PLOs of various countries while investigating Mumbai Bomb Blast Case.

“The extradition of Abu Salem, a terrorist and gangster is still afresh in our memory, similarly the extradition of Maninder Pal Singh Kohli to U.K. on the charges of rape and murder, Dharmendra Debi to Netherlands on the charge of murder and Kala Abdul Gafoor to South Africa on the drug charges could be possible because of effective and smooth coordination amongst the Police Liaison Officers, NCB-India and the law-enforcement agencies of the various Indian States’, he said.

The conference aims at bringing missions of more than 25 countries in India, External Affairs Ministry, Home Ministry and the International Police Cooperation Unit, CBI at one platform and to share the experiences and discuss issues relating to bilateral and multilateral cooperation in common fight against crime. (ANI)

Aarushi murder case: CBI reconstitutes team

New Delhi, Sep 9 (ANI): The CBI has reconstituted its team of officials investigating the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case.

CBI chief Ashwani Kumar took the decision in this effect, as he did not agree with the line of investigation taken by the team, sources said.

The new will most probably start investigation right from scratch as now even the vaginal swab of 14-year-old Aarushi seems to have been misplaced or not taken at all, they said.

Sources said that there was no semen, as alleged initially, in the slides sent to the centre and corroborative testing revealed that the material was not drawn from Aarushi.

Aarushi was found murdered in her Noida home on May 15, 2008. Their domestic help Hemraj was later found dead on the rooftop. (ANI)

Himachal farmers taking to floriculture

Kullu, Aug 19 (ANI): Floriculture is the buzzword for farmers at Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. More and more farmers are growing flowers as the new lucrative commercial crop.

Chrysanthemum, roses, carnation, marigold and gladiolus are some of the flowers, which are being preferred by the farmers over their traditional khareef (summer-sown) crop, apples, plums and apricots.

“Floriculture is growing rapidly. Its growth rate is one of the best among other businesses and it has a bright future. Flowers are in great demand everywhere, in small towns and cities, especially during marriage season when flowers become scarce and their prices rise very high,” say O. P. Singh, a floriculture expert.

Floriculture can be the new alternative for farmers fearing low yield and a heavy loss due to the delayed monsoon and deficient rain.

“If there is any natural calamity, like this year, there is a drought and people cannot sow regular crop. So we are suggesting farmers and training them that they can switch to other commercial crops. They need not depend on traditional crop or even on orchards. They have to switch to other commercial crops, mainly floriculture,” said Ashwani Kumar Gupta, Deputy-Director Horticulture, Himachal Pradesh.

Gupta added that the State Government is providing floriculture training and polyhouses to farmers on subsidised rates. By Prem Thakur (ANI)

Spain wants to conquer India’

Christopher Columbus’s landmark journey to discover a shorter and more profitable trade route to India was sponsored by Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus got his calculations wrong, but five centuries later Spain and India pledged to replicate his enterprising spirit to double trade and investment between them.

“We have had very good political relations and #8230; Now, Spain has to conquer India,” Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told President Pratibha Patil as she inched towards the last leg of her visit to Madrid. Zapatero’s reference was to the renewed interest within Spain towards India in its search for new markets for its products and investment.

Spain has invested nearly euro 100 billion in other countries, while its investment in India is a meagre euro 306 million. “I see clear synergies between our two countries,” Patil said, while addressing a summit of business leaders from India and Spain.

Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Commerce, said India inked three agreements with Madrid to benefit from Spain’s expertise in tourism, agriculture and renewable energy that will provide the framework for this new chapter of cooperation. Spain is world’s second most visited country, has an efficient agriculture sector that accounts for one-sixth of its exports, has the world’s second largest installed capacity of wind energy and is the third largest producer of solar energy.

India, Poland sign pacts to boost cooperation in tourism and health

Warsaw, April 24 (ANI): India and Poland on Friday signed two agreements-one on bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector and the second on cooperation in the health and medicine sector.

Katarzyna Sobierajska, Under Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism signed the agreement on tourism cooperation from the Polish side. Minister of State for Industry, Ashwani Kumar, signed on behalf of the Indian side.

The agreement calls for the facilitation of border and customs formalities with the aim of promoting tourism exchange and support for Indian and Polish entrepreneurs and organizations taking part in the development of international tourism and undertaking investments in the field of tourism.

It calls for undertaking of joint ventures with the aim of providing tourism-related services and to facilitate the exchange of experts and assistance in the training of tourism personnel.

It also provides for the exchange of information in tourism statistics, educational programs in tourism-related areas, promotion activities, legislation and activities related to the protection of environment and cultural heritage, legislation related to the regulation of tourism activities besides exchange of personnel and experts in tourism sector and cooperation between institutions dealing with promotion of tourism.

It calls for establishment of tourism information centers in each other’s country and exchange of information and share know-how gained as a result of their participation in international tourism organizations. he agreement is valid for five years and would be automatically extended for another five years unless decided otherwise by either party.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of health and medicine was signed Jakub Szulc, Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Health, and Minister of State for Industry, Ashwani Kumar.

Under this agreement, both sides will cooperate in areas such as mother and child health, family planning, public health, nursing, communicable diseases, medicine research, medical devices and medicinal products, hospital management and natural and traditional medicine.

The agreement also provides for exchange of delegations of health and medical specialists for a total period of up to 30 days per year for either party; training in the mutually agreed areas; delegation of specialists to attend international meetings held in either country. y Ravinder Singh Robin(ANI)

Patil arrives in Spain, calls for strengthening forces of peace

Madrid (Spain) , April 20, 2009 (ANI): President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil on Monday called for strengthening the forces of peace soon after arriving in Spanish capital Madrid.

Patil, who was received by Spain’s Minister for Science and Innovation, Cristina Garmendia, said she was delighted to be visiting both Spain and Poland, countries with whom India has close relations.

She said that India shares with Spain and Poland common values and principles such as plural democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedom, tolerance, the determination to fight terrorism and to strengthen democratic values.

Earlier talking to the media onboard her presidential aircraft, the President expressed her determination to curb the terrorism with the support of countries like Spain and Poland.

She said: “Both Spain and Poland were forthright in their condemnation of the Mumbai attacks in November last year. We greatly appreciate that both these countries were forthcoming in expressing strong messages in the global fight against terrorism”.

She said: “My visits to Spain and Poland will also help consolidate our rapidly developing relations with Europe and the European Union. The European Union is a strategic Partner of India and we are in the process of implementing a comprehensive joint action plan”.

This is first state visit by an Indian President to Spain and the fourth by an Indian President to Poland. The last visit to Warsaw was undertaken by late Dr. Shanker Dayal Sharma in October 1996. India has multi sectoral and useful exchanges in trade matters, investment, science and technology, tourism, culture, defense and renewable energy. Patil would address the Parliaments of both Spain and Poland during her week-long visit.

“I am looking forward to my visit and discussions, and I am confident that following this, we will begin a new phase in strengthening our partnership with these two important European countries along with whom we face common challenges and that common determination to strengthen the forces of peace, security and development,” she said.

The president is being accompanied by a composite business delegation comprising members of CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM, besides Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Ashwani Kumar.

Spain is a leading power in wind and solar energy, tourism, automobiles, IT, infrastructure, science and technology.

Last year, India’s bilateral trade with Spain was pegged at 4.5 billion dollars.Trade exchanges with Poland exceeded one billion dollars in the same period. Patil said Indian companies are showing growing interest in Poland in areas such as energy, health , information communication technology and chemicals. By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)

Rita Bahuguna Joshi named Congress candidate from Lucknow

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh’s Congress unit chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi was Tuesday named the party’s candidate for the prestigious Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency.

She is the daughter of the late Hemavati Nandan Bahuguna, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

‘Rita Bahuguna Joshi will be the Congress candidate from Lucknow,’ said Congress spokesman Ashwani Kumar at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.

The Samajwadi Party, the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have already announced their candidates for the Lucknow seat.

With the Congress fielding Rita, the election in the constituency, currently represented by senior BJP leader and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has become quadrangular.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Sanjay Dutt Sunday announced the candidature of actress-turned-social activist Nafisa Ali from Lucknow after the Supreme Court prevented the Bollywood actor from contesting elections.

Nafisa Ali left the Congress and joined the Samajwadi Party to join the fray from Lucknow.

While the BJP fielded senior party leader Lalji Tandon to retain the constituency, the BSP fielded Akhilesh Das Gupta, who joined the party after quitting the Congress.

CBI hunts origin of ‘false’ report on Mulayam Singh

New Delhi, March 26 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday revealed that it was probing the origin of a “false, fabricated and forged” report which stated that the Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had been “framed” in a disproportionate assets case.

CBI Director Ashwani Kumar said the agency would investigate the origin of the “report”, which was claimed to be an internal report of the agency, and as to how it reached the media.

It (CBI) would file its views before the Supreme Court once the agency’s investigation is over, Kumar said.

“In some newspapers and news channels such documents have come which we feel are not right. They are false, fabricated and forged. We are investigating to find out who gave, how did it reach the media and by whom was it forged. This is being probed and the report will be presented in the Supreme Court,” the CBI Director told reporters in the Capital.

In February, some news reports had claimed that the agency, in an internal note, had already prepared the ground for burying the politically sensitive assets case against Mulayam, by admitting in effect that it was a frame-up.

The reports had quoted an alleged 17-page document prepared by CBI’s Deputy Inspector General Tillottama Varma claiming that no case of disproportionate assets was made out against the former UP Chief Minister, a contention which was denied by the CBI immediately. (ANI)

Need for international crisis management plan to detect cyber crimes: Govt.

New Delhi, Mar 26 (ANI): Concerned over the growing number of cyber crime cases in the country, the Government on Thursday said that an international crisis management plan needs to be put in action.

It also laid emphasis on information exchange, investigation and coordinated response at a global level by the law enforcing agencies to deal with the menace effectively.

Inaugurating a conference on Police Cooperation against Cyber Crime here, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandersekhar revealed that government has organised a computer emergency response team at a national level.

He revealed that this team is working round the clock in close coordination with the other countries to keep a stringent check on online crimes.

Chandersekhar pointed out threats to the people, economies, services and national security from cyber criminals. He noted that over one trillion US dollars move electronically annually and that makes it the target for criminals.

He also said that 97 per cent of cyber offences go undetected.

Speaking on the occasion, CBI Director Mr. Ashwani Kumar called for cooperation between the law enforcing agencies and private sector entities.

Kumar said that cyber crime played a significant role in carrying out Mumbai terror attack.

The one-day conference, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) witnessed a participation of 160 delegates from across the world. (ANI)

You can enjoy a real nightlife at pubs in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, March 14 (ANI): Not very long ago Chandigarh city lacked nightlife. Things changed recently after pubs were opened here and today the young at heart can enjoy their life with friends or peers till late in the evening.

Many youngsters in Chandigarh have today started enjoying nightlife, a development, which was unheard of in this part of the country despite the city being known for being second to none in modernism for a long time.

New bars and nightclubs are coming up in the city while offering a lot of working couples here the convenience to chill out at such places.

For Chandigarh-based Bedis, it’s a weekend routine to visit a bar and discuss work and family issues over a drink.
“Bar culture in Chandigarh has just started. Earlier, Delhi and Mumbai were far ahead from it. But with some places like this, we are very thankful to them that we are really having a good time here. We don’t have to go to Delhi, Mumbai to go to bars,” said Bobby Bedi, a resident.

“Both of us are working and we hardly get time in the entire week to talk to each other. When we return home, kids and parents are there, you tend to spend some time with them. So this is probably the only time to spend with each other. You discuss your work, you discuss what happened in your office in the entire past week and what all we are planning to do in future or whatever, so good thing to sit, relax, drink and have a good time,” said Sonia Bedi, Bobby’s wife.

New changes in the life in Chandigarh, has also brought a cheer among girls or women, who can be spotted enjoying time in bars with friends unwinding after a hard day’s work.

With the pubs getting popular here, their owners are in no mood to spare any possible effort to fascinate women customers. One can notice a lot of youth becoming regular tipplers at the pubs and lounge bars.

“Earlier girls who used to drink were looked down upon. Now an understanding has developed among people. All are working and everybody has got some or the other problem on their mind so it is necessary for them to relax. Everybody has a right to enjoy and the girls also have the right to enjoy themselves. We are very happy that now girls have been given equal status in society,” said Balbir Singh , a manager with the Vintage Bar.
One can only say that the new changes, suitable to the youngsters’ preference and lifestyle have made nightlife very much part of the general life in Chandigarh, as with money in their pocket a growing number of youth are out to celebrate life their way parting out at night.

Moreover, an entire industrial complex is coming up in Chandigarh, solely for the IT software development and outsourcing services. And nightlife in the city is changing rapidly to cater to the needs of professionals employed here.

Chandigarh is fast emerging as the consumer capital of the north India, where people wish to taste the best that the world has to offer. By Ashwani Kaushal (ANI)

Centuries old Nature Park well cared at Manali

Manali (HP), Jan 29 (ANI): Nature Park, frequented by thousands of tourists at Manali in Himachal Pradesh, is an ideal example on conservation as evident from healthy century-old pine and oak trees and other flora alongside colourful flowering shrubs.

Nature Park is literally a mini forest of pine and oak trees, which were originally planted by the British over 100 years ago.

Unlike rampant deforestation elsewhere, this place has been well preserved with utmost care. So much so, the agricultural universities, Conservator of Forests and Horticulture Departments have evinced keen interest in this garden by facilitating extension centres for the research botanists.

In turn, the tourists have gained from the fruits of these initiatives.

“Idea behind plantation of arboretum and pinetum trees was to preserve the species of these trees in Himalayan region,” said Dr. B S Bhardwaj, Senior Scientist, Hill Agriculture Research and Extension Centre, Bajoura, Kullu.

The British colonials planted almost 650 species of trees between 1902 and 1935. Most of these trees are continental and also originally from the Americas and even Japan.

Spanish Chestnut, Beach, White Poplar, Qurecus Serotina, Quercus Cerris, Tilla Europia were among the species planted by the Englishmen in 1902.

Later, in 1935 they planted some other species such as Scot Pine, Red Cedar and Japonica, Erizonica among others.

Fortunately, after the departure of the British and other European residents, the local people cared for these trees.

Nature Park is not only famous for its temperate trees, but also a place where one can spot hundreds of migratory birds during winter.

“This is one of the best places I have visited so far, one can find rare varieties of trees and birds over here. This place is really beautiful,” said Ashwani, a tourist. By Prem Thakur (ANI)

Indian economy set to grow at about 6.5 percent

Chennai, Jan 9 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Industries Ashwani Kumar has said that India is still a good growth story, as its economic fundamentals are strong.

Addressing the session ”Building Bridges: Trade and Investment” at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009 here, Dr Ashwani said: “A GDP growth of 6.5 per cent is expected, even while most countries are suffering economic downturn.”

He stressed that the diaspora must bring funds into India. “At the same time, it should engage in skill-building activities in the country,” he added.

Gopinath Pillai, Ambassador-at-large and Chairman, Institute of Asian Studies, Singapore, said that compared to the Chinese Diaspora, Indian Diaspora has brought in less investments, but on the other hand, it has brought better skills which is also of enormous significance.

He suggested that to properly utilise the skills of returning workers, they should be involved in developmental activities.

Hari Pandey, President, Wealth Management, North American Region, ICICI Bank Group, Canada, stressed that overseas Indians must show the world how to invest in India.

Continuing the emphasis on education and knowledge exchange at the concurrent session on ”Education and Diaspora Knowledge Network”, D Purandeswari Devi, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, urged the Indian diaspora to supplement the efforts of the Indian Government to make India a knowledge-based economy.

The Minister outlined the educational initiatives of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Mid Day Meals Scheme, which have attracted more students to schools.

However, she urged, there is a long way to go as seven million children are still out of school and the short fall in faculty is about 25 per cent. (ANI)