Portal to get Indian diaspora closer launched

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: The sixth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas saw the launch of New Global Indian and Employment and NRI times. While the Indian print media industry is worth Rs 43,700 crore, accounting for around 30% revenues of the industry, according to a report by Networth Stock Broking Ltd, a Mumbai-based brokerage firm, the foreign media is slumping.

When Florida based Chacko P Verghese, president of Global Marketing Resources Inc, planned to replicate the low-cost housing operation scheme started in Kerala last year, he did not have anybody to turn to for queries on real estate or mobilizing human resource for setting up operations in Maharashtra.

Likewise, Dr Ganesan Visvabharathy, president of Hawthorne Homes in Canada wishes to start an educational venture for under-privileged children providing voluntary education.

Tapping this niche segment of entrepreneurs and philanthropists is a portal and a monthly publication New Global Indian started by Kanchan Banerjee, CEO of iPremm, a Boston-based PR and Media company helping various organizations and individuals promoting Indian interests globally. Avers Banerjee, 47, in Delhi at the sixth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas at Vigyan Bhavan, “The idea occurred a couple of years back when we were approached by not only the techies in California but average people also from Netherlands, South Africa who wanted to contribute”.

Started with an investment of Rs 4 crore in collaboration with Professor Ujjwal K Chowdhury, 43, Dean of Symbiosis International University, Pune, the publication and the portal targets the 25-45 English speaking professionals and entrepreneurs across India and People of Indian origin (PIO).

But how does it carve a niche in the market dominated by India Abroad, Silicon India, Siliconeer, India Post in California which scripts the Indian success stories? Says Chowdhury, “Most publications are driven by religion, language and specialized profession. Hence they do not appeal to the mass base. NGI is a multi-media channel and creates a platform for networking for business and philanthropy through the portal”.

The portal designed on web 2.2 faciliates podcasting, blogging and interactive forums to the second-generation netizens.

Besides, since we would be starting a NGI educational initiative this year in Pune and later in Kolkata, the portal would serve as a platform for bringing the diaspora together, adds Banerjee. “The idea was proposed to 18 NGOs and would be started with 100 students who would be given vocational educational on the Symbiosis campus”.