President's Desk

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Mr. Harikrishnan Muthusamy

President

GOPIO Singapore

According to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, India has the second largest diaspora in the world after Overseas Chinese. The overseas Indian community estimated at over 25 million is spread across every major region in the world. The Indian government considers anyone of Indian origin up to four generations removed to be a PIO, with the exception of those who were ever nationals of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka.

Almost all of them maintain their Indian cultural, traditions and values. They seem to have meaningfully integrated in to their countries without losing their ethnic identity. To have a better understanding of our communities in different parts of the world, it is essential to know and share the history of the migration as well as their experiences in various countries.

With over 25 million people of Indian origin living outside India, a new global community of Indian origin has been developed. Most people of Indian origin have become highly successful in business and the profession. If their professional expertise and financial resources are to be pooled together, it will benefit not only people of Indian origin but also their countries and India. In addition, people of Indian origin could assume a new role in providing help in case of crisis to their communities around the world. India Associations worldwide have been doing a great job in providing community service to our communities and projecting a good image of India and the countries they live in.