Overseas Indian: Connecting India with its Diaspora

Home

Official e-zine of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

-----------------------

:: Current Issue

-------------------------
:: Hindi
-------------------------

:: Archives

:: Contribute an
article

THE 63rd REPUBLIC DAY R-DAY IN PICTURES

:: India Features

From space vehicles to vaccines, Indian science takes giant strides
Starting out 60 years ago as a poor country with a history of famines and underdevelopment, India today stands poised as the surprise powerhouse of cutting-edge science and technology - competing with far richer countries on everything from space research to vaccines.

Improving India-Gulf ties, brick by brick
Townships, luxury condominiums, shopping malls and hospitals... these are the building blocks on which ties between India and the Gulf are being strengthened with the construction and realty industry in both regions working in synergy to tap the boom.

Foreign students put India on the global education map
In the years from 5th-13th century AD, eastern India's ancient university of Nalanda was home to foreign students from as far away as China. Thousands of years later, history spills over to the modern-day Indian nation that continues the tradition of being a centre of educational excellence and a lodestone for students from all over the world.

Booming India key to global economic growth
Sixty years after independence, India has entered a virtuous circle of long-term economic growth, strong fundamentals and a booming young population - forcing the world to sit up and take notice.

India at 60: a remarkable success story
A sepia-coloured newspaper picture underlines, in retrospect, a central feature of India's success as a nation. It shows groups of men sitting in front of rickety wooden tables, counting tiny slips of paper obviously taken out of a steel box. The occasion was India's first general election in 1952 and the slips were the ballot papers cast for 18,000 candidates by an electorate of 176 million people. The mammoth exercise marked the first step in India's remarkable journey to become the world's largest and, in its pluralistic ethos, the most successful democracy.

The gateway that bridges India's past and present
Built by the British in memory of those who died fighting for the British Army in World War I, the India Gate monument in the heart of the national capital now holds an eternal flame to salute Indian soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for the country -- in every way a gate that is a bridge between the colonial past and the patriotic present.

Exploring India: land of a thousand contrasts
Rainforests, sand dunes, mangroves, temperate coniferous forests... few countries in the world can match India's astonishing geographical diversity. All harbouring some of the biggest concentrations of endangered wildlife on earth.

India's institute of distance learning brings the world closer
It's the connect between a student in a village in eastern India's Orissa state and another in swank Dubai. India's Indira Gandhi National Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, bridges the gulf between villages, cities and countries and provides education to nearly 1.5 million students.

India's fairytale - marginalized move to mainstream professions
They are the children of labourers, farmers, waiters and watchmen. Many are from the much discriminated against Dalit community. But, in a remarkable coming of age story of modern day India, hundreds of men and women have beaten back centuries of odds like caste and poverty to make it to the country's most privileged professions this year.

Boom time for India's outbound tourism industry
Cruising in Alaska, trekking in New Zealand, shopping in Singapore and the gold souks of Dubai or simply lapping up the delights of Disneyland, the world has opened up for the middle class Indian who is holidaying like never before.

All weather friend India cheers democracy-bound Bhutan
As Bhutan, the idyllic Himalayan state that prides itself on measuring its national wealth in terms of gross national happiness, prepares to usher in democratic reforms, the predominantly Buddhist monarchy sees an all-weather friend and backer in neighbour India.

India's civil society groups to the fore
They educate street children, camp in slums to help local artistes revamp their art, intervene in cases of domestic violence, plead in court for riot victims, give lessons in legal literacy or take on the task of preserving the environment.

Saving every drop from a rainy day - the Indian example
Will the next wars in the world be fought over water? The doomsday scenario may be very real with water scarcities being felt the world over, but not if residents, school students and prisoners in the Indian capital New Delhi can help it

India now readies for a mission to the moon
Two events within a period of 11 days in April are significant pointers to the capabilities India has acquired in space technologies as it prepares for its first unmanned mission to the moon and moves to acquire a credible air defence capability.

India remembers 1857 - with sentiment, nostalgia and resolve
Uprising, mutiny, rebellion or war of independence... historians have long argued on what to call the revolt of 1857 that spread through north India. But that is mere semantics for the thousands of people who this May commemorate 150 years of the movement that sowed the seeds of India's freedom from British rule in 1947.

A microchip that helps Big Bang theory, and tiny tumours too
From detecting the smallest tumour in the body to facilitating research on the Big Bang theory and how the universe evolved, a microchip developed by a nuclear physics laboratory in India's West Bengal state is ready to break new frontiers.

Indian coffee to brew new flavours for connoisseurs
Steaming cappuccinos, foaming lattes, no-frill espresso shots and home filtered brews... as coffee becomes a lifestyle statement and evolves from the instant to the carefully percolated, the Indian coffee industry is also charting a growth spike.

Common gods, shared values thread India, Sri Lanka together
From kings to gods, from rivers to religion, from languages to entertainment, a shared heritage born centuries ago continues to embrace India and Sri Lanka even in this modern age.

Indian Air Force - at 75, 'touching the sky with glory'
It started out in 1932 with four creaky biplanes of World War I vintage. Today, at 75, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has evolved into the second largest air force in Asia, and the world's fourth.

Tracking the Indian Railways' turnaround saga
It's a turnaround story that has not only amazed management experts but also caught the attention of premier global business schools like Harvard and Wharton - the dramatic return to profitability for the 154-year-old Indian Railways, among the world's largest railroad networks.

Freezing Buddhist culture in stone - 2,200 years later
Carved out of the austere rocks of central India's Sahyadri mountains are a breathtaking set of grottos that depict life over eight centuries. As world heritage monuments go, the Ajanta and Ellora caves in the western Indian state of Maharashtra - about 400 km from Mumbai - are unique because they capture the evolution of a remarkable culture for such an extended period and freeze it for posterity in rocks that survive over two millennia later.

Indian botanical garden - a green oasis in an urban jungle
Right in the middle of the madding crowd that is the city of Kolkata lies a green haven of tranquility - the famous Indian Botanic Garden that harbours in its sprawling 273 acres not just 12,000 trees and shrubs but also many a weary city dweller taking refuge in its soothing spaces.

The shared heritage of an emerging South Asia
As leaders of eight South Asian nations ended their regional summit in the Indian capital earlier this month, there was a greater sense of purpose and a sense of shared heritage in a region that is not only home to nearly a fourth of humanity but is a cradle of ancient civilisations and the birthplace of major religions.

Romance of the Taj lives on, thanks to India's artisans
It took 20,000 artisans 17 years to build the magnificent Taj Mahal, Mughal emperor Shahjahan's ode to love for his wife. More than 350 years later, the exquisite craftsmanship that went into making the marble mausoleum is being diligently kept alive by thousands of families in India's city of the Taj, Agra.

Tagore: India's unofficial (and immortal) ambassador of the arts
Poet, thinker, playwright, novelist, musician, painter and educationist, Rabindranath Tagore was all this and more for generations of Indians. As the country celebrates his 146th birth anniversary this May, it is another occasion to remember the many contributions of Asia's first Nobel Laureate and perhaps the only one in the world to have penned the national anthems of two countries.

NRI marriages through Bollywood lens
'As a realistic depiction of Asian life in Britain, 'Namastey London' made us feel proud as NRIs,' said Chaman Lal Chaman, a well-known radio presenter and an Asian cultural leader in London. The Bollywood film deals effectively with the generation gap and the problems of Asian parents and has been popular in Britain because it uses laughter and satire to drive home its points, added Chaman.

Budget: NRI investors to get lower returns
India's latest budget has little to offer to NRI investors. If anything, the tax burden on them has only gone up.

Party is over, NRIs flying back
It's time to head back home for NRIs who came to India to enjoy the festive season. Now that Pongal, Uttarayan (for Gujaratis), Lohri and Makar Sankranti are all over, NRIs are reconfirming their seats to get back. With Navratri in mid-October, NRIs start planning their India trips for Diwali and the New Year and return at the latest by mid- or end-January.

Smoking out rats from fields to Mizo dining tables
There's smoked salmon, smoked ham, smoked bacon and other kinds of smoked meats that are an epicurean delight, but smoked rats? It's true, the rodent is much in demand in kitchens in India's northeastern Mizoram with some vendors in this capital selling as many as 200 smoked rats a day.

Flying high on lavish Punjabi weddings
Brides and grooms in Punjab are no longer prepared to ride in the usual flower-bedecked cars but prefer private helicopters to make their wedding a truly 'high-flying' one.

Abused child fights back with books
The school is over for the day but little Bharti, 12, is in no hurry to leave. She has no home to go back to - not after she left an abusive mother two years ago.

Kolkata's vibrant theatre protests Singur through Orwell
On the first floor of a cacophonous south Kolkata market, a spartan room is abuzz with histrionic people discussing animatedly what they can do to protest a controversial land acquisition for a Tata car project.

Northeast drowned in yuletide passion ahead of Christmas
India's sprawling northeast is in a celebration mode, with people preparing for Christmas and welcoming the New Year as shops bank on the Santa Claus to boost their sales amid some improvement in the security situation.

From guns to business for Tripura rebels
India's sprawling northeast is in a celebration mode, with people preparing for Christmas and From guns to craftsmanship. Life is looking up for scores of tribes people in Tripura who have renounced militancy to take up bamboo handicrafts in a major way.

The soothsayer children of Boom Boom village
Murali wears a bright yellow head dress, a red shirt over a white veshti (loin cloth) and a dozen chains of rudrakhsa beads of various sizes - as also amulets and occult aids like animal tooth and a rattle.

Cobbler's son rewrites destiny
Life was never easy for Kanwal Bharti, who was born dirt poor in a cobbler's home in this city of nawabs in Uttar Pradesh. But with sheer hard work he changed it all.

Mobile dating grips Mizo youths
After speed dating, a formalised matchmaking process, silent mobile short message service (SMS) engagement has become quite a rage now-a-days among youth in Mizoram.

The story of the 'Big River' dam
It is India's southernmost river, flowing through the loveliest of land where the clouds come down to kiss the violet hills. Periyar, meaning the Big River in Tamil, begins 1,800 meters up in the Sivagiri hills of Tirunelveli district, just about 200 km south of the temple town of Madurai.

Taking a bath the Tibetan way
A bath in divine dew, sunshine, herbal soup, joss-stick smoke or incense is a Tibetan tradition for health and longevity.

Changing colours of chinar heralds winter in Kashmir
In Kashmir, the changing colours of the chinar leaves announce the arrival of winter and the bitter cold just around the corner.

Kaziranga's rhino fights back with villagers' support
India's endangered one-horned rhinoceros is charging back from the brink of extinction with forest wardens roping in villagers to combat poachers.

Unique Indian festival celebrates brother-sister bond
There's Valentine's Day for the love of your life, Father's Day and Mother's Day, but it is perhaps only in India that there is a festival dedicated exclusively to sibling bonds. Raksha Bandhan, or Rakhi for short, celebrated this month is the day when sisters all over northern India tie a silken thread on their brothers' wrist as a symbol of lasting love and loyalty.

India's enduring romance with the mango
Here's a snap poll - what do US President George W. Bush and his counterpart in China Hu Jintao have in common, apart from the fact, of course, that they lead two of the most powerful countries in the world? The answer is the humble, magnificent, very Indian fruit - the mango.

India conquers avian flu with controls and vaccine
No chicken, no eggs and at least 133 people dead of avian flu that can spread from chickens to humans... the disaster scenario of disease striking the very heart of kitchens came true in 10 Asian countries, but India is finally free of it with stringent controls and a home grown vaccine that can kill the virus.

-    India Factfile
-----------------------
-    Ministry
-----------------------
-    Books
-----------------------
-    India Features
-----------------------
-    Opinion
-----------------------
-    In the Media
-----------------------
-    Festivals
-----------------------

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2012

PBD-2012 In Pictures
-----------------------
Key Speeches
-----------------------
Jaipur Diary
-----------------------
Watch PBD-2012 on YouTube
-----------------------

:: PBD 2012

:: PBD 2011
:: PBD 2010

:: PBD 2009

:: PBD 2008
-----------------------

:: Minister for
Overseas Indian
Affairs

Vayalar Ravi, who assumed office as Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs on January 30, 2006, was born in 1937 in Vayalar village...

---------------------------

Special
Chaurasia's magic flute charms Poles

The profile of Poland has gone up by many notches as a cultural destination for Indian art...