New Delhi: President Pratibha Patil yesterday conferred the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award to 14 distinguished members of the Indian diaspora for their achievements in life and contribution to the welfare of the Indian community and enhancing India's image overseas.
The awards were presented at the valedictory function of the second and concluding day of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2010, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, here.
UAE-based Dr Azad Moopen, a physician turned entrepreneur who manages one of the largest health care networks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is one of the winners of this prestigious award. His group conducts free health camps for Indian labourers in remote locations in the GCC countries.
He has also worked for the welfare of the Indian community in the UAE. Other winners include Mohinder Singh Bhullar, a successful businessman in Brunei Darussalam and Yanktesh Piramal Reddy, an Indian origin businessman in Fiji.
Entrepreneurs
Also honoured are: Ryuko Hira, a successful Indian entrepreneur in Japan, Dr Ruby Umesh Pawankar a doctor who worked to enhance India-Japan medical collaboration for a number of years, Suresh Kumar Virmani, a successful engineer, entrepreneur and businessman, and founder member of the Indian Cultural Association in Oman, Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, finance minister of South Africa, Tholisah Perumal Naidoo a publisher, journalist and founder of the Indian Academy of South Africa in Durban. Rajni Kanabar, a philanthropist, who initiated the Tanzania Heart Babies project wherein Tanzanian children suffering from congenital heart defects are sent to India for open heart surgeries.
Deepak Mittal, an industrialist and financial expert, has successfully set up and operated many large state-of-the-art Indian joint ventures in Thailand, Lenny Krishendath Saith, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office in Trinidad & Tobago, Mani Lal Bhaumik a scientist, author, educator and philanthropist whose books and lectures at prestigious institutions has significantly contributed towards a better understanding of the cultural and spiritual heritage of India and Ashok Kumar Mago who has worked actively for the promotion of Indo-US political and economic ties through his association with a variety of boards and commissions in the past.
