NGI Stories

20 years after visiting the mineral capital of India, the state of Jharkhand for the last time, I met the current Chief Minister Shri Raghubar Das here in San Francisco. In his two years of tenure much changed in the State. He came to the Silicon Valley primarily to solidify business partnerships with major tech giants such as Oracle and HP. He also hosted private meetings with investors and patrons interested to invest and collaborate in the region with the help of TIE Silicon Valley. Later he visited New York. He is the 6th Chief Minister of Jharkhand after the state ...

Indians emigrate every year in great numbers. It may be for higher education, plush jobs, better lifestyle – but fact is, that permanent settlement is what many settle for. Goals are achieved, dreams become a reality that push them to reach out to success. There are huge monetary gains. Indians working abroad earn in foreign currency, but at the same time, they may have some investments, deposits and properties that earn income back in India. Hence, the question of filing taxes in India comes up. Residential status of a tax player is important It is essential to determine the residential ...

By Shree Lahiri Google. Microsoft. Pepsi. Adobe. Cognizant. SanDisk Corporation. NetApp. All big international corporates. But, what is the common thread that links them? They all have Indian-born CEOs at the helm. As the image of India has been seeing a sea-change in the global arena, with the PM on a singularly focused mission, Indian-born CEOs have been trending in global companies, and have been leaving a blazing trail from Day 1. Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google We can start this trail with Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, he worked at McKinsey & Company before he joined Google. ...

By Vijay Rajvaidya I distinctly remember my response to the first question the interviewer asked in my first   job interview in the United States. It was back in 1985, and the interviewer was an elderly gentleman of British origin. He asked me why I chose the United States for graduate studies and not the United Kingdom. I was taken aback, and there- fore the answer that rushed out of my mouth represented my true feelings. I told him that the United States is far more advanced in technology than the Great Britain. I regretted the  answer  the moment I said ...

By Mayank Shekhar In the general elections of 2014, India renewed its promise of development in the new government. India has made some headway in the last two decades from its positioning as a ‘third world’ country to a developing nation, even though it got its independence 68 years ago after a millennium under invasions and colonial rules. The people of India expect development to be on a fast track in the current Govt.’s tenure. As is typical, the expectations are high and patience very short. At the same time, the opposition and the media together are creating diversions one ...

By Bikram Vohra The relationship between the mother country and the great Indian Diaspora has been ambivalent at best. Hardnosed business acumen and softhearted nationalistic zeal are not necessarily compatible. Foreign based Indians far outnumber mainland Chinese equivalents but only dispatch 20 percent of the foreign earnings sent home by the Chinese. The reasons for these are multiple. Indians invest largely in themselves and larger family units through land, housing and other property deals. Business ventures still suffer from time lag and the traditional choke offered by bureaucratic red tape. The pillar to post scramble, the exhausting chase for NOCs ...

Part 4 (final): The practical implications of patriotism and free speech Now let us come back to our basic duties towards our land and her people by the standard of a modern democratic system. It is summed up nicely by Mark Twain: “My kind of loyalty was to one’s country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become ragged, cease to ...

Part 3: What is Nationalism and Patriotism?     In this current debate people are using patriotism and nationalism interchangeably, without reaching an agreement upon the definition of each. Nationalism: According to Merriam-Webster dictionary: 1: a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other countries 2: a desire by a large group of people (such as people who share the same culture, history, language, etc.) to form a separate and independent nation of their own Full Definition of Nationalism – 1:  loyalty ...

Part 2: Role of freedom, spirituality and dharma [Photo: A statue in Milton, MA, USA to commemorate those people from the town fought and died in World War 1 ] To Dwight D. Eisenhower this power of freedom is natural: “Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” Current debate on the idea of nationalism in India has many limitations – the key one is the understating of these terminologies: Patriotism, ...

Part 1: Meaning and scope of freedom [ In this 4 part series I’m addressing Meaning and scope of freedom, Role of freedom, spirituality and dharma, What is nationalism and patriotism and The practical implications of patriotism and free speech. ] “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” -Nelson Mandela Debate on some fundamental ideas of life which is always refreshing – these include the preferability of various forms of government, roles of citizens and the government, constitution, race, caste, gender etc. A ...