Portugal PM Da Costa and Nisha Desai Biswal, a top ranking Indian-American official in the outgoing Obama administration, were among 30 people conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Portugal Prime Minister Antonia Luiss Santos Da Costa and Nisha Desai Biswal, a top ranking Indian-American official in the outgoing Obama administration, were among 30 people conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The first award was received by Costa for his contribution in the field of public service. Biswal, who is serving as Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in the United States Department of State received it for her contribution to public affairs.
Six persons from the US received the award, leading the list of the NRI awardees, while two each were given to those from the UK and UAE.
One award each was given to NRIs from 20 countries, including Australia, France, Canada, Israel, Libya, Fiji, Brunei, Singapore, Portugal and others.
Among the NRIs from the US, Hari Babu Bindal was honoured for his contribution in the field of environment engineering, Sampat Kumar Shidramapa Shivanagi for community leadership, while Mahesh Mehta, Ramesh Shah and Bharat Haridas Barai were awarded for their contribution in the field of community service.
Neena Gill and Priti Patel from the UK were honoured for their contribution in the field of public service. In the list of NRIs from the UAE, Vasudev Shamdas Shroff and one organisation Indian Social and Cultural Centre were awarded. In the field of business, Rajasekharan Pillai Valavoor Kizhakkathi from Bahrain, Mukund Bhikhubhai from Canada and Susheel Kumar Saraff from Thailand were honoured.
In the field of medical science, Lael Anson E Best from Israel and Carani Balaraman Sanjeevi were selected.
Sandip Kumar Tagore from Japan was awarded for his contribution in the field of arts and culture, while Muniandy Thambirajah from Malaysia and Zeenat Musarrat Jafri from Saudi Arabia were honoured for education and community service.
In the field of public service, Pravin Kumar Jugnauth from Mauritius and Winston Chandarbhan Dookeran from Trinidad were honoured.
Vinod Chandra Patel from Fiji was selected for his contribution in the field of social service.
After presenting the awards, the President said, "We are here today to celebrate your successes and achievements. You have been the frontline of Indian culture since long and I hope that you will remain the foremost emissaries of the unfolding Indian story." One of the largest community of expatriates amounting to about 31.7 million, the Pravasi Bharatiya stands out for its innate ability to assimilate and yet maintain its identify.
"In doing so, you have contributed immensely to your adopted lands through your dedication and hard work," he said.
Noting that the NRI community exemplifies the belief of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam', he said, "The synergy of the west and the east that you represent provides you with a unique position and opportunity that involves sharing knowledge between your homeland and your adopted countries." Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union ministers Ananth Kumar, Sadananda Gowda and General V K Singh were among those present at the event.
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 "President Pranab Mukherjee giving the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman to Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa as Suriname Vice Presi")
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