Category Archives: NRI’s / PIO’s

GLOBAL: LEADERS: Leo Varadkar begins second inning as Irish Prime Minister

Varadkar has Indian roots as his father Ashok is from Maharashtra and his mother Miriam is Irish. He is also amongst the few openly gay leaders of the world.

Smooth handover of power midway in coalition deals is a risky proposition in this part of the world, but not in Ireland as Leo Eric Varadkar was sworn in as Ireland’s prime minister on Saturday. This is his second stint as PM; he first occupied the hot seat in 2017.

The 43-year-old Varadkar is an Irish Fine Gael leader who served as deputy PM and minister for enterprise in the outgoing government since 2020. He succeeded Michael Martin, who will function as deputy PM under Varadkar. Eighty-seven members of Irish Parliament voted to elect Varadkar as PM, while 62 were against it.

On June 26, 2020, a first-ever coalition government was formed that comprised Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party. As part of the arrangement, Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin was to hold office of PM until December 16 and then hand over the baton to Varadkar.

Varadkar has Indian roots as his father Ashok is from Maharashtra and mother Miriam is Irish. He is also amongst the few openly gay leaders of the world and lives with his partner Matthew Barrett, who is a qualified medical practitioner like Varadkar.

It was during a radio interview on January 18, 2015 (his 36th birthday) that Varadkar came out as being gay. “It’s not something that defines me. I’m not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It’s just part of who I am, it doesn’t define me, it is part of my character I suppose,” he had said. He has also been an advocate of same-sex marriage.

He has studied medicine and completed his internship at KEM Hospital in Mumbai. Varadkar has been regularly visiting India, specially Maharashtra. His last trip to India was in 2019 with his partner.Sources said Varadkar would like to visit India as soon as possible depending on scheduling issues since India is already caught up with various events around the G20.

There are many issues that Varadkar will have to deal with in his present term. These includes issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol—the part of Brexit treaty which Varadkar negotiated in 2019 to keep the region within the European Union’s customs block—which remains unresolved.

Ireland is also grappling with a cost of living crisis, high energy bills and an influx of refugees from Ukraine.Housing will be one of the new government’s major policy priorities as it looks to deliver progress ahead of an election due by March 2025. The shortage of homes has been building up for a decade and with forecasts showing a decline in new construction next year. One of Varadkar’s first pieces of legislation will be a planning bill.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / MACHINE LEARNING : Rishi Rajpopat, Indian PhD student at Cambridge University solves 2,500-year-old Sanskrit puzzle making it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.

Rishi Rajpopat solved the 2,500-year-old Sanskrit puzzle by decoding a rule taught by Panini, known as the father of linguistics.

A grammatical problem that has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by an Indian PhD student at the University of Cambridge, it emerged as his thesis was published on Thursday.

Rishi Rajpopat made the breakthrough by decoding a rule taught by Panini, known as the father of linguistics, and is now encapsulated in his thesis entitled ‘In Panini, We Trust: Discovering the Algorithm for Rule Conflict Resolution in the Astadhyayi’.

According to the university, leading Sanskrit experts have described Rajpopat’s discovery as “revolutionary” and it could now mean that Panini’s grammar can also be taught to computers for the first time.

“I had a eureka moment in Cambridge,” recalls Rajpopat.

“After nine months of trying to crack this problem, I was almost ready to quit, I was getting nowhere. So, I closed the books for a month and just enjoyed the summer, swimming, cycling, cooking, praying and meditating. Then, begrudgingly I went back to work, and, within minutes, as I turned the pages, these patterns started emerging, and it all started to make sense. There was a lot more work to do but I’d found the biggest part of the puzzle,” said the 27-year-old scholar.

Over the next few weeks, he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep and would spend hours in the library, including in the middle of the night, to check what he’d found and solve related problems. It would take another two and half years before he would get to the finish line.

“Panini had an extraordinary mind and he built a machine unrivalled in human history. He didn’t expect us to add new ideas to his rules. The more we fiddle with Panini’s grammar, the more it eludes us,” says Rajpopat.

The 2,500-year-old algorithm decoded by him makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.

Rajpopat’s discovery makes it possible to “derive” any Sanskrit word, to construct millions of grammatically correct words, using Panini’s revered language machine, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements in history.

Panini’s system – 4,000 rules detailed in his renowned work, the Astadhyayi, which is thought to have been written around 500 BC – is meant to work like a machine. Feed in the base and suffix of a word and it should turn them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.

Until now, however, there has been a big problem. Often, two or more of Panini’s rules are simultaneously applicable at the same step leaving scholars to agonise over which one to choose. Solving so-called “rule conflicts”, which affect millions of Sanskrit words including certain forms of “mantra” and “guru”, requires an algorithm. Rajpopat’s research shows that Panini’s so-called language machine is also self-sufficient.

“My student Rishi has cracked it – he has found an extraordinarily elegant solution to a problem that has perplexed scholars for centuries. This discovery will revolutionise the study of Sanskrit at a time when interest in the language is on the rise,” said Professor Vincenzo Vergiani, Sanskrit professor and Rajpopat’s PhD supervisor.

Six months before Rajpopat made his discovery, Professor Vergiani gave him some prescient advice: “If the solution is complicated, you are probably wrong”. A major implication of Rajpopat’s discovery is that now there is the algorithm that runs Panini’s grammar, it could potentially teach this grammar to computers.

“Computer scientists working on Natural Language Processing gave up on rule-based approaches over 50 years ago. So teaching computers how to combine the speaker’s intention with Panini’s rule-based grammar to produce human speech would be a major milestone in the history of human interaction with machines, as well as in India’s intellectual history,” said Rajpopat.

Sanskrit is an ancient and classical Indo-European language from South Asia. While only spoken in India by an estimated 25,000 people today, it has influenced many other languages and cultures around the world.

“Some of the most ancient wisdom of India has been produced in Sanskrit and we still don’t fully understand what our ancestors achieved. We’ve often been led to believe that we’re not important, that we haven’t brought enough to the table. I hope this discovery will infuse students in India with confidence, pride, and hope that they too can achieve great things,” added Rajpopat.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: BUSINESS LEADER : Sundar Pichai, CEO Google & Alphabet, Awarded with Padma Bhushan, says, ‘India is a part of me…’

India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the award to Pichai.

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was awarded the Padma Bhushan – India’s third-highest civilian award – for 2022 in the Trade and Industry category on Friday in the presence of his close family members in San Francisco. India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the award to Pichai and said that his “inspirational journey reaffirms Indian talent’s contribution to global innovation”.

“Delighted to hand over Padma Bhushan to Google CEO Sundar Pichai in San Francisco. His inspirational journey from Madurai to Mountain View, strengthening India-America economic and tech ties, reaffirms Indian talent’s contribution to global innovation,” Sandhu wrote on Twitter.

Upon receiving the prestigious award, Pichai in his blog said India is a part of him.

“India is a part of me and I carry it with me wherever I go. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that cherished learning and knowledge, with parents who sacrificed a lot to make sure I had opportunities to explore my interests,” he said.

Pichai added, “I am deeply grateful to the Indian government and the people of India for this immense honour. It is incredibly meaningful to be honoured in this way by the country that shaped me.”

Pichai also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of technology to combine the 3s -speed, simplicity, and service.

“We recently announced that we’ll be investing USD 10 billion in India’s digital future, working to enable more affordable internet access, building products for India’s unique needs, helping businesses of all sizes in their digital transformation, and using AI to tackle big societal challenges,” the Google CEO said.

“I look forward to continuing the great partnership between Google and India, as we work together to bring the benefits of technology to more people,” Pichai added.

(With inputs from agencies)

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: PARTICIPATION IN WW1: October 29th, 1918 – On ‘Sharqat Day’, Homage paid to the ‘114th Marathas’ Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre (MLIRC), for their Supreme Sacrifice in World War I

The Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre (MLIRC) in Belagavi district of Karnataka observed the 114th ‘Sharqat Day’ to pay homage to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on this day in 1918 during the First World War in erstwhile Mesopotamia, now in present day Iraq.

Officers paid their homage by laying wreaths at the Sharqat War Memorial to the brave hearts of the infantry regiment who made the supreme sacrifice.

“The 114 Marathas wrote an immortal saga with their blood, courage and endurance. In recognition of their gallant act and valour, the Battalion was awarded the Battle Honour ‘Sharqat’,” a defence public relation officer said in a statement.

In this particular action, the unit won two Distinguished Service Orders, four Military Cross, six Indian Order of Merit, 16 Indian Distinguished Service Medals and eight Mention in Dispatches, with a combined total of 36 gallantry awards which till today have not been surpassed by any unit of the Indian Army in a single operation, the statement said. PTI GMS

source/content: theprint.in (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS/CRICKET: 19-yr-old Vikramjit Singh to Don Netherlands Jersey at T20 World Cup, playing for Netherlands

Family fled Punjab in the 80’s, 19-yr-old at T20 World Cup for Netherlands

Vikramjit Singh, tipped to be one of the brightest cricketing talents in the Netherlands, will take guard against India, the country of his forefathers, on Thursday, which he calls “the biggest match of my international career”.

On a cold December night in 1984, Khushi Cheema returned home and asked his wife to pack their belongings. The following day, the Sikh family from village Cheema Khurd near Jalandhar boarded a train for Delhi. During the 52-km ride, 5-year-old Harpreet kept asking his father where they were going. He only got a smile as an answer.

“I can never forget that night and the next morning. It still feels like it happened yesterday. My father took that decision to keep his family safe after the rise of insurgency in Punjab during the mid-1980s,” Harpreet tells The Indian Express over phone from Amstelveen in the Netherlands.

Cut to the present, Khushi Cheema is back on his farm in Jalandhar, and Harpreet is running a transportation company in Amstelveen.

His 19-year-old grandson, Vikramjit Singh, tipped to be one of the brightest cricketing talents in the Netherlands, will take guard against India, the country of his forefathers, on Thursday, which he calls “the biggest match of my international career”

After the win against Pakistan in the opening game, India will start as favourites against a nation where cricket isn’t a mass sport.

“I was five when I came to the Netherlands. It was very hard; you didn’t know the language, it was a completely different culture. It took me a few years to settle down,” says Harpreet.

He goes down memory lane, recollecting his family’s hardships and the discrimination he faced growing up.

“Back then, there was racism. I faced a lot because of my skin colour, turban and beard,” says Harpreet.

But with time, things eased. Khushi Cheema, who started driving a taxi in his new country, handed over his transportation company to his son before moving back to India in 2000.

“My father handed over the business to me and moved back to India. He said his duty as a father was done, we are well settled here now, and he wanted to go back to his pind (village), to his people,” Harpreet says.

The family’s bond with India was too strong to cut off. Vikramjit was born in Cheema Khurd and he moved to the Netherlands only after he turned seven. He never had to face problems like his father.

At 11, he was spotted at an U-12 tournament by then Dutch skipper Peter Borren, who spent hours and hours in the nets to groom the youngster. He also got a sponsorship from Beat All Sports (BAS), a sports goods manufacturers company that made bats for Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh.

At 15, he was already in the Netherlands ‘A’ side and two years later, made his senior team debut.

“For me, cricket started in Cheema Khurd. When I moved to the Netherlands, I used to go with my father as he used to play in the local leagues. At 12, I played alongside him when he was captain,” Vikramjit says from Sydney.

Borren got Vikramjit enrolled at his club VRA, Amsterdam, where he was captain.

“Not sure what he saw in me but I feel lucky that someone like Peter, with so much international experience, is my mentor. He has guided me throughout my cricketing career so far,” says Vikramjit.

It is not easy to be a professional cricketer in a country obsessed with football with a cricket season ending in September before resuming in March.

Here, Harpreet came to his son’s rescue. During his playing days, he had become friends with Amit Uniyal, a former Punjab and Rajasthan Royals bowler, who used to play league cricket with him in the Netherlands. From 2015-16 to 2019-20, the youngster spent six months at Uniyal’s Gurusagar Cricket Academy in Chandigarh.

“I had my doubts first. NRI kid, will he be able to train twice a day? Will he be able to get along with the local lads? But he surprised me with his temperament, his immense self-belief and hard work. He never complained and I am not surprised to see his rise in International cricket,” says Uniyal.

In 2021, Vikramjit shifted his base to Jalandhar and started training with former India U-19 player Taruwar Kohli, who also used to play for a club in Amsterdam.

“One of the reason was that Taruwar Kohli’s Powerplay Cricket Academy was near my village (Khurd Cheema), and now my mother doesn’t have to worry about me anymore. It was kind of exhausting for her too. Above all, I got to spend more time with my Dadu (grandfather),” says Vikramjit, who has gifted his Netherlands jersey to his grandfather, a die-hard cricket fan.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: LEADER/U.K PRIME MINISTER: “Greatest Privilege”: Rishi Sunak, First Indian-Origin UK Prime Minister.

UK is facing an economically toxic combination of recession and rising interest rates. Critics blame the economic downturn on the Conservative Party and what they call its “series of miscalculations”.

Rishi Sunak is the next Prime Minister of UK, tasked to steer the economically floundering nation days after his predecessor Liz Truss stepped down, conceding defeat.

At age 42, he is the youngest and the first person of colour to hold the post.

source/content: ndtv.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: MUSEUM /LEADERS/ MAHATMA GANDHI: Gandhi Museum – First Museum in the US Dedicated to the ‘Father of the Nation’ Opens up in New Jersey

Inaugurated this past weekend, the museum has artefacts and digital display screens that are interactive and visitors will be able to interactively see the life events of the apostle of peace.

A museum dedicated to the life and message of Mahatma Gandhi has opened in the Atlantic City of the United States.

The event was attended by eminent Indian American community members and India’s Consul General in New York Randhir Jaiswal.

Developed in partnership with the Aditya Birla Group by the New Jersey-based Gandhian Society, it is the first museum dedicated to the “father of the nation” in the USA.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: Indian-Australian Kay Godkhindi Creates History in All-Female Chair Umpire Team at ATP’s ‘Sofia Open’, Bulgaria

In a first, supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires are all women who have been assigned to an ATP tour event.

There’s a strong Dubai connection to the ongoing Sofia Open in Bulgaria run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits.

This is for the first time, an all-female chair umpire team, including the ATP supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires, was assigned to an ATP Tour event.

Tournament Director Kay Godkhindi, who is of Indian origin and holds an Australian passport, grew up in Dubai and went to college in the USA.

She told Khaleej Times from Sofia about the exciting aspect of the event.

“Truth be told, we had no clue about history being made in front of our eyes. At the end of the day, it’s a sport where gender is of little consequence. Besides, gender doesn’t define an individual’s capabilities. However, it’s a wonderful concept to have equal opportunity in both the ATP and the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) and empowering women as and when possible is a step towards the right direction,” she said while lavishing praise on ATP for championing the gender cause.

Tennis has had several prominent female officials, including those officiating in men’s matches, for several decades.

Anne Lasserre, who is the ATP Supervisor for the ATP 250 in Sofia, is the gender-bender pioneer.

“I think it’s an honour as well to be the first female. I worked as a chair umpire for the ATP a long time ago,” Lasserre said.

“I think things and the situation are evolving, which I think is a good thing. It’s an honour, I’m proud of it…

“It’s good to think about the future and being able to break this glass ceiling and give this opportunity to other females to do the same job as we do in every sport,” she told atptour.com.

ATP Senior Director of Officiating Administration Ali Nili told atptour.com: “The ATP Officiating Department prioritises high performance and a diverse officiating team. The tournament in Sofia is an example of our successful efforts in that direction. While the road to progress is long, we are proud of the direction we are heading, and the future seems bright.

source/content: khaleejtimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL / BRITAIN: Arun Kar, Odia Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of NesT Group Felicitated in British Parliament 

UK-based Odia entrepreneur and co-founder of NesT Group Arun Kar has been honoured with ‘Mahatma Gandhi Samman’ at the House of Commons in British Parliament, London. He was felicitated ahead of the 153rd birth anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Kar, an NRI,  has made a place for himself in innovations in various diversified fields like Information Technology and Environmental Sustainability. 

He has been featured on Forbes, Fortune’s cover page and also been  a winner of National Business awards in UK.

He is also a Guinness World Record holder and has been felicitated as Global Indian of the Year – 2021 by AsiaOne Magazine.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT, FOOTBALL: 15- Year-Old Goan lad Justin Fernades to Don Qatar’s Maroon Colours in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers, Oman

15-year-old set to spearhead Gulf Nation’s challenge in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualifiers in Oman.

This Goan lad will take the pitch in the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers in Muscat, Oman, that commenced on Saturday.

But not in the blue strip of India. Instead, he will wear the maroon of Qatar in which he is expected to sparkle at the centre of the attack.

Meet Justin Fernandes, all of 15, a strapping 5-foot- 11-inches tall and endowed with the qualities of an aggressive centre-forward.

His consistent appearances in the top bracket of the goal scorers’ list through age group tournaments evidence his prowess and the ensuing rare honour of an expatriate being bestowed the coveted Qatari colours.

Son of Camilo who hails from Murida village in Cuncolim and Abigail, from Assolna, Justin was born and raised in Qatar.

A bright student, now studying in Class XI, science stream, Justin has what it takes to be a thinking player – vital for success in any sport.

His inspiration? “Lionel Messi,” says the lad, who he follows keenly – even to the extent of locking on to Paris-St Germain, the French giants for whom the Argentinean superstar turns out these days.

 That might seem to be a paradox of sorts. Justin, you see, is an English Premier League ‘freak’, soaking up the action on television seemingly incessantly.

So much so that his great big ambition is “to play in the EPL!”

 Justin’s precocious talent earned him the privilege of representing the Gulf nation which he has done with aplomb for more than a year.

First taking to the sport as a seven-year-old, his natural talent and abilities caught the eye of scouts and he was duly invited to the Absolute Sports  academy to hone his fast-growing skills.

He moved to the Aspire academy in 2019 and sustained the promise he revealed by excelling in the QFA U-13 and U-15 leagues with Al Ahli.

His influence in the club’s fortunes is unmistakable. In 2020 he was among the leading scorers in the U-13 league while assisting Al Ahli to third place.

In 2021, Al Ahli took the top podium, with Justin inevitably finding the net prolifically.

Even before his exploits propelled Al Ahli to the top, he was accorded the 2018 Qatar Foundation’s best U-13 player accolade.

 And, as an U-11 and turning out for Absolute Sports in Armenia at a summer camp in Yeravan, Justin was adjudged best forward.

 Justin also inspired his academy to a tournament win in Georgia as an U-12.

 It was only a matter of time that the lad would earn the rare privilege of turning out in Qatari colours.

 The summon duly arrived and off went Justin in the revered maroon shirt to do national duty in Slovenia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as an U-16, proving to be a menace to rival defenders.

 With his control, scoring prowess and speed, Justin’s presence in the team was a foregone conclusion as Qatar gear up for U-17 continental honours.

 Camilo played a bit of football himself but attributes his son’s sporting genes to his grandmother, Abigail’s mother, Jovina, who played hockey for Mumbai in the 1970s.

 Given the Indian, and particularly Goan, diaspora in the Gulf region, one wagers that Justin will be among the players closely watched in Muscat.

And, on the pitch one suspects, even more closely by defenders in the ranks of Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain and hosts Oman who make up the field.

source/content: heraldgoa.in (headline edited)