Strengthening Indo-US ties

Western International University (WIU) organised a talk by the former ambassador of US, Richard Celeste in the Capital recently. The agenda for the late afternoon discourse was ''Migration, education and Y2K - the makings of Indo-US economic partnership''.
Celeste opened the subject by talking about the growth in the Indian migration to the US, mutual interest in higher education and the challenge that widely came to be known as the Y2K.
Beginning with the "Indo-American people''s bridge" he traced the migration of Indians as per census records. In 1828-98 the number of Indians in the US was 523 and in 2000 census the figure crossed a million. "The Asian-Indians form the fastest growing ethnic sub-group in the US and almost certainly the best educated as well," he added.
Moving on to the subject of Y2K, Celeste noted that when fear psychosis gripped nations at the turn of the millennium, a large number of software professionals were required to deal with the crisis. For many in the US, India provided that coveted manpower. About six months before the end of 1999, a teleconference was arranged between three senior US policymakers in Washington and three senior officials worked on the problem at NIC here. This was the only time that the US government had enlisted outside support to sort out a problem.
Although the Y2K problems didn''t materialise, three years of crash reprogramming provided a unique opportunity for Indian information technology (IT) firms to display their capabilities and to build relationships with American customers. Companies like Wipro, Infosys, TCS won respect and built their businesses dynamically over the years. "The challenge for those of us who believe that this partnership serves the best interests of both nations is to make it easier, not more difficult, for our citizens to move freely between countries, to ensure that our institutions of higher education meet the changing needs of a global workplace and to enrich the economic exchange for both of us," Celeste said.
Among those who attended the talk included Gurcharan Das, Romi Chopra and students of WIU. The event was hosted by the CEO of Modi Apollo International Initiative, Charu Modi Bharatiya.