NEW YORK, September 24 2004
IANS

: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked Indian Americans to be a "developmental and intellectual bridge" between the US and India so that what was once seen as a brain drain can be a brain bank which the nation could draw on for mutual benefit.

Addressing a group of prominent Indian American CEOs on Thursday, Manmohan Singh commended them for the success and respect they have achieved in the US in the space of one generation.

"You play a role in US society and economy far beyond what may have been expected given the size of the community and its relatively recent arrival here," the prime minister said.

"Your skills help to make America competitive, your minds are at the cutting edge of research, you services in a wide variety of professions enhance the quality of life in this country."

He said the achievements of the community and their reputation for hard work had been instrumental in shaping favourable American perceptions about India and Indians.

Singh said it was not surprising that an innovation like Hotmail, the free e-mail facility, was first thought of by an Indian American, Sabeer Bhatia, to whom millions of families in India and across the world would be grateful "for having contributed to the creation of a global cyber-community bringing People of Indian Origin closer to India".

Bhatia was among the 17 Indian American achievers who had come to meet Singh.

"It is this spirit of enterprise and adventure that I want you to inject back into India and I am here to assure you that our government is fully committed to the pursuit of such policies that enable this two-way flow of ideas and opportunities," Singh told the entrepreneurs' delegation.

Singh is here on a five-day visit during which he met President George W. Bush, addressed the UN General Assembly and is meeting with many Indian American leaders and organisations.

He said he always shared the view of his friend, Columbia University professor Jagdish Bhagwati, that the migration of talent does not necessarily constitute a 'brain drain' but can in fact help create a 'brain bank' "from which we can draw provided we can place at home the required policies and infrastructure".

He said it would be the sincere endeavour of his government to pursue such policies and programmes that would enable Indian Americans to have a more productive and creative engagement between the two countries.

He said India wanted to emerge as a competitive manufacturing power as well as a knowledge-driven economy and, as prime minister, he was committed to a reform of the government and to increased investment in infrastructure, especially power, communications, airports and urban amenities.

He wanted Indian Americans to play an important role in bringing the knowledge economy in its wider scope in both countries closer. The recent agreements with the US, in what is called the Next Steps in the Strategic Partnership, would lead to closer interaction in the fields of research, higher education and development of India's infrastructure and financial sectors.

He urged the community to join the government in its attempt to build a stronger and more open economy that is also committed to the principles of democracy and pluralism.

"You can play a unique and important role by being the developmental and intellectual bridge between our two great democracies," Singh said.

Among those who met Singh were Vinod Dham, partner, New Path Ventures, Victor J. Menezes, senior vice chairman, Citigroup, Sabeer Bhatia, CEO, Bhatia Enterprises, Gururaj Deshpande, chairman, Sycamore Networks, Indra Nooyi, president and CFO, Pepsi, Purnendu Chatterjee, chairman, The Chatterjee Group, Kanwal Rekhhi, founder, TiE, Pradman Kaul, president and COO, Hughes Networks Systems, and Niranjan Shah, chairman, Globetrotters Engeering Corp.