BY KALYANI VASAN
LOS ANGELES, CA: The Consul General of India, Sanjay Panda who took charge of the Indian Consulate office in San Francisco recently, on his first visit to the Southland interacted with the Indian-American community at two events on Jan 5. The first was a lunch reception organized by community leaders including Inder Singh, Kewal Kanda, Dilip Butani, Ashok (Pat) Patnaik,
LOS ANGELES, CA: The Consul General of India, Sanjay Panda who took charge of the Indian Consulate office in San Francisco recently, on his first visit to the Southland interacted with the Indian-American community at two events on Jan 5. The first was a lunch reception organized by community leaders including Inder Singh, Kewal Kanda, Dilip Butani, Ashok (Pat) Patnaik,
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Anju Garg, Vasu Pawar, Navin Gupta, Amrit Bhandari, and Ashok Madan and Rani Kuusto at Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine in Artesia.
Following this , the CGI attended a more intimate gathering hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs(TiE) and the IIT(Indian Institute of Technology) Alumni in Malibu.
At both events he laid out his agenda forthrightly and minced no words in answering queries put forth by community members.
Addressing the community at both events he said, “My first priority is to set my house in order. I get irritated when phone calls go unanswered in the Consulate. I experienced this first-hand when I called the consulate 10-15 times as a test. We get an average of 400 calls per day and we are struggling to meet the demand; the staff’s reasoning is that- answering such a big volume of calls slows down their productivity. While I agree with that I also realize that we are a service industry and we need to provide efficient service with a smile.”
Panda went on to say, “A call center cannot solve the problem due to the confidential nature of our business and no consulate in the world has one. In fact many consulates do not even have numbers to call. Loud thinking: we should remove all telephone numbers from the website and offer 2 numbers: one that handles emergencies and 1 that provides voice mail for people to leave the details of their issues and call backs within 24 hours. One resource will be assigned to researching the requests and assigning the issue to the appropriate resource and calling back with solutions. Again, these are just my initial thoughts.”
The ambassador also stated that the SF Consulate covers the largest territory of any Indian Consulate in the world, overseeing 11 states, including Hawaii, Alaska and Guam and hence the large volume of calls. Being in California is a big boon to the consulate as well as Indian Americans as the Indian mind has a distinct connection with technology, innovation and education. “California is the capital of all three and this makes endless possibilities between our nations. My focus will be on business, technology and innovation. It is the people who make a place and the 30 million people of Indian origin outside of India are the true ambassadors of our country; Diplomats and political heads come and go but, your presence is the connecting link.”
Continuing further on business possibilities, Panda expressed that he has a passion for cinema and animation and was successful in bringing collaboration between Japan and India during his posting in Japan. On a more granular level, the ambassador expressed that consular and visa camps will be held in Los Angeles every quarter. Cosul Panda and CA State Senator Henry Stern were guests of honor at a tea hosted by Smita and Gunjan Bagla at their Malibu residence.
Addressing the audience Stern said, “I met Ambassador Panda in India in November of 2018 even before his assignment here. I had organized a trip for the Senate to go on a technology, business and environment exchange mission. I only had 26 hours in India as fires broke out that day affecting Malibu seriously and the shooting at the Borderline Grill happened while I was in the air and I had to get on a plane and return home. I grew up in Malibu and we lost a lot. I am excited to continue our conversations and happy to welcome the ambassador to Malibu.”
Dr.Amarjit Marwah expounded on the pattern of immigration of Indian- Americans and the bias and rejections they have faced.
At the community event in Artesia, Panda was asked about a Consulate Office or at least a Consulate satellite office in the SoCal area to help the community here. Panda explained that the opening of a new Consulate was not as easy as it sounds: consulates are opened on reciprocity basis in every country.
At the community event those who spoke included Inder Singh who briefly described the accomplishments of the Indian-American community and explained the presence of Indian businesses in the area called `Little India.’ He also recognized and introduced all the community leaders representing various organizations who were present at the reception.
Singh brought up the question of upgrading the Gaddar Memorial Hall in San Francisco and asked why the Consulate was dragging its feet on the project. Panda assured that the project would be complete in two years.
Dilip Butani, Chairman, Federation of Indian-American Community of Southern California focused on Southern California being the place for many Indian religious-awakening movements.
Sunil Agrawal, President, India Association of Los Angeles, explained, the growing number of celebrations to mark India’s Independence Day and Republic Day.
Anju Garg, President, GOPIO Los Angeles chapter, shed light on the work of Federation of Indo-American Associations and National Federation of Indo-American Associations.
Amrit Bhandari, President GOPIO Orange County chapter, focused on the growing number of senior groups and the services provided.
Navin Gupta, Chairman GOPIO Los Angeles Chapter, talked about the major philanthropists.
Pat Patnaik, Commissioner Parks & Recreation, City of Cerritos, talked about philanthropy in health and medical projects.
Vasu Pawar, President GOPIO Inland Empire chapter and Regional NFIA Vice President spoke of awarding and recognizing excellence in education among youth. Kewal Kanda, GOPIO Int’l Treasurer, presented issues of the Indian American Community in SoCal. He explained that there are many issues that community is facing when it comes to applying for OCI Card, passport or visas. Panda said, he would do all he could to help ease the community concerns.
Following this , the CGI attended a more intimate gathering hosted by The Indus Entrepreneurs(TiE) and the IIT(Indian Institute of Technology) Alumni in Malibu.
At both events he laid out his agenda forthrightly and minced no words in answering queries put forth by community members.
Addressing the community at both events he said, “My first priority is to set my house in order. I get irritated when phone calls go unanswered in the Consulate. I experienced this first-hand when I called the consulate 10-15 times as a test. We get an average of 400 calls per day and we are struggling to meet the demand; the staff’s reasoning is that- answering such a big volume of calls slows down their productivity. While I agree with that I also realize that we are a service industry and we need to provide efficient service with a smile.”
Panda went on to say, “A call center cannot solve the problem due to the confidential nature of our business and no consulate in the world has one. In fact many consulates do not even have numbers to call. Loud thinking: we should remove all telephone numbers from the website and offer 2 numbers: one that handles emergencies and 1 that provides voice mail for people to leave the details of their issues and call backs within 24 hours. One resource will be assigned to researching the requests and assigning the issue to the appropriate resource and calling back with solutions. Again, these are just my initial thoughts.”
The ambassador also stated that the SF Consulate covers the largest territory of any Indian Consulate in the world, overseeing 11 states, including Hawaii, Alaska and Guam and hence the large volume of calls. Being in California is a big boon to the consulate as well as Indian Americans as the Indian mind has a distinct connection with technology, innovation and education. “California is the capital of all three and this makes endless possibilities between our nations. My focus will be on business, technology and innovation. It is the people who make a place and the 30 million people of Indian origin outside of India are the true ambassadors of our country; Diplomats and political heads come and go but, your presence is the connecting link.”
Continuing further on business possibilities, Panda expressed that he has a passion for cinema and animation and was successful in bringing collaboration between Japan and India during his posting in Japan. On a more granular level, the ambassador expressed that consular and visa camps will be held in Los Angeles every quarter. Cosul Panda and CA State Senator Henry Stern were guests of honor at a tea hosted by Smita and Gunjan Bagla at their Malibu residence.
Addressing the audience Stern said, “I met Ambassador Panda in India in November of 2018 even before his assignment here. I had organized a trip for the Senate to go on a technology, business and environment exchange mission. I only had 26 hours in India as fires broke out that day affecting Malibu seriously and the shooting at the Borderline Grill happened while I was in the air and I had to get on a plane and return home. I grew up in Malibu and we lost a lot. I am excited to continue our conversations and happy to welcome the ambassador to Malibu.”
Dr.Amarjit Marwah expounded on the pattern of immigration of Indian- Americans and the bias and rejections they have faced.
At the community event in Artesia, Panda was asked about a Consulate Office or at least a Consulate satellite office in the SoCal area to help the community here. Panda explained that the opening of a new Consulate was not as easy as it sounds: consulates are opened on reciprocity basis in every country.
At the community event those who spoke included Inder Singh who briefly described the accomplishments of the Indian-American community and explained the presence of Indian businesses in the area called `Little India.’ He also recognized and introduced all the community leaders representing various organizations who were present at the reception.
Singh brought up the question of upgrading the Gaddar Memorial Hall in San Francisco and asked why the Consulate was dragging its feet on the project. Panda assured that the project would be complete in two years.
Dilip Butani, Chairman, Federation of Indian-American Community of Southern California focused on Southern California being the place for many Indian religious-awakening movements.
Sunil Agrawal, President, India Association of Los Angeles, explained, the growing number of celebrations to mark India’s Independence Day and Republic Day.
Anju Garg, President, GOPIO Los Angeles chapter, shed light on the work of Federation of Indo-American Associations and National Federation of Indo-American Associations.
Amrit Bhandari, President GOPIO Orange County chapter, focused on the growing number of senior groups and the services provided.
Navin Gupta, Chairman GOPIO Los Angeles Chapter, talked about the major philanthropists.
Pat Patnaik, Commissioner Parks & Recreation, City of Cerritos, talked about philanthropy in health and medical projects.
Vasu Pawar, President GOPIO Inland Empire chapter and Regional NFIA Vice President spoke of awarding and recognizing excellence in education among youth. Kewal Kanda, GOPIO Int’l Treasurer, presented issues of the Indian American Community in SoCal. He explained that there are many issues that community is facing when it comes to applying for OCI Card, passport or visas. Panda said, he would do all he could to help ease the community concerns.
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