FREMONT: Overseas Friends of BJP (CA) hosted Indian Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation G.M. Siddeshwar in San Francisco Bay Area on September 1. This was the first visit by a Union Minister to the San Francisco Bay Area after the recently concluded Indian general elections.
The welcome dinner-reception program started with the recital of Vande Mataram led by Alka Bhatnagar followed by an introductory note from Chandru Bhambhra, past President of Overseas Friends of BJP, USA. He introduced various organization leaders of the Indian community like Chander Malik (HSS), Anil Rai (HSS), Sukhanandan K. (HSS), Satej Chowdhary and Vikram S. (OVBI), Gautam & Ms. Rupali Desai (Sewa International), Yagnesh & Ms. Madhvi Pathak (Sewa International), Hitesh Joshi (VHP-USA), Anil & Ms. Ashwini Surpur (Yoga Bharati), Chandra S. (EKAL), Niraj Baxi (NFIA) along with Harish Dhruv, Dr R.
Gadasalli, Govind V.S., Rajan Sadagopan, Judhajit S, Kiran Maiya, Basu U, Shivu Vibhuti, Mahadev and Narasimhan, volunteers from (OFBJP -CA).
Minister Siddheshwar was honored with a plaque presentation ceremony by Chandru Bhambhra, Harish Dhruv, Neeraj Baxi, and Dr Gadasalli. While introducing the Minister, Dr Gadasalli mentioned that MP Siddheshwar’s father was a Jan Sangh stalwart in Karnataka. After him, Siddheshwar has taken up governance with huge success. Known for his integrity, he is said to be one of the best MPs in Karnataka.
In his remarks, Siddheshwar applauded the contributions made by NRIs in the US and thanked them for playing a key role in getting BJP a definite mandate in the 2014 general elections. He outlined some of the key points in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and invited NRIs to participate in making this a reality.
Expressing a very optimistic outlook for the Made in India and Make in India campaign, he said, it is expected to jump start the manufacturing segment in India, bring in more foreign investment and become a major engine of employment for India.
Further, he said that rural development is one of the major focus areas for the new government and that creating model villages in each assembly constituency is a priority. Siddheshwar said that he is personally ensuring the development of one such village in his constituency by 2016 that will have all necessary amenities related to irrigation, agriculture, education, electricity, hospitals and veterinary hospitals.
Referring to the civil aviation ministry’s vision, he said that the priority is to connect tier 2 and tier 3 cities by air. The Union Minister also solicited suggestions from NRIs in improving the civil aviation sector in India.
Many suggestions were provided including initiating strategic partnerships for increasing the revenue share of Indian private and public companies in the US-India travel segment, promoting tourism in cities of rich cultural heritage in India for boosting air travel industry revenues and changes to the bureaucratic processes related to the distribution of air tickets blocks to travel agencies to increase competitiveness.
The program ended with a Vote of Thanks by Niraj Baxi (Past President – NFIA).
India Post News Service
