Category Diaspora

Indians celebrate festivals, Australia benefits

0 Comments read Business and Trade, Diaspora

By Neena Bhandari,

Sydney, 21.01.2016 (Business Standard, India): Come October and with the ripening of mangoes, the Indian community in Australia gears up for festivities that not only provide business opportunities for the Diaspora, but also make a substantial contribution to the local economy.

Diwali has been added to Australia’s multicultural calendar as one of the largest festivals. Organised by the Hindu Council of Australia (HCA) in Sydney and Celebrate India Inc. in Melbourne, the festival provides a platform for corporations and small businesses to showcase their wares. From banks and telecom companies, apparel and cuisine, henna and jewellery to media and entertainment, the festival has also found sponsors in the local and state government organisations.

Continue reading →

The novelty of being an Australian diplomat of Indian heritage

0 Comments read Diaspora, Features

Devanand `Dave’ Sharma was the Australian Ambassador of Indian heritage to Israel. Sharma, 39, spoke to Neena Bhandari from his home in Tel Aviv about growing up in Australia, of the Indian Diaspora in Australia and of being a diplomat in a country that almost always stirs extreme reactions.

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Dave, as he is popularly called, moved with his parents and twin elder sisters to Sydney just before his fourth birthday. His paternal grandfather had moved to Trinidad (West Indies) in 1908 from Pali village in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. His father, youngest of nine siblings, was born in Trinidad while his mother is a fourth generation Australian. His parents met as students at Kings College in London. From the UK, they moved to Canada and then to Australia.

Continue reading →

India, Australia must build thorium based N-reactors: Dr Kalam

0 Comments read Diaspora, Nuclear Disarmament

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 20.05.2011 (IANS): India and Australia should work together in building Thorium-based nuclear reactors to meet the growing energy needs, said former Indian President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, during his recently concluded four-day (May 17-20) visit to Sydney.

He said, “Thorium-fuelled reactors are supposed to be much safer than uranium-powered ones, use far less material (1 metric ton of thorium gets as much energy as 200 metric tons of uranium, or 3.5 million metric tons of coal), produce waste that is toxic for a shorter period of time (300 years as against uranium’s tens of thousands of years), and is hard to weaponize. In fact, thorium can even feed off of toxic plutonium waste to produce energy. And because the biggest cost in nuclear power is safety, and thorium reactors can’t melt down, they will eventually be much cheaper, too”.

Continue reading →