council of Indian australians elects a new executive committee at its second annual general meeting

The Council of Indian Australians Inc., the umbrella body of Indian Australians in NSW, held its second annual general meeting at Blacktown on 8th February 2015.

The meeting was attended by the Founding / Life Members of the Association.

Among other items on the agenda, the meeting elected a new team headed by Praful Desai – President, Mohit Kumar – Vice President, Nitin Shukla – Secretory and Dr Balu Vijay Treasurer for the year 2015-16. The other members of the elected team were: Keyur Desai – Joint Secretory, Amit Tripati – Joint Treasurer, Ashish Desai, Jaspreet Chopra and Sanjay Deshwal as the three Executive Members.

Mr. Subba Rao Varigonda will be the Public officer and Tony Colaco as Public Relations person for the CIA Inc.

Speaking immediately after the Annual General Meeting, the incoming President, Mr Desai said, “The Council of Indian Australians Inc. (CIA) will continue with the excellent work undertaken by the previous committee”. Mr Desai thanked Mr Subba Rao Varigonda, the first elected President of the CIA for his efforts, contribution and hard work in taking the CIA brand to new heights and making an impact on the community.

Mr Desai continued that “our first step is to focus on getting the CIA ‘culture’ right, it’s about how we do things and it is the single most important thing we’ll focus on. It’s what keeps us together, what drives us and what motivates us to excel. CIA will also be welcoming like- minded passionate individuals of Indian heritage and Indian Associations to become a member of the CIA and share their time and talent for the community”.

CIA will continue to build on unity and connecting Indian Australian communities on social, cultural, education, health and all major issues affecting our communities.

CIA is open and willing to listen to members of our community in order to meet emerging needs of the community which has grown rapidly. Further, CIA recognises the importance of unity within the wider community, having a collective one voice and sharing our rich cultural heritage with the multicultural society in Australia.

In addition to celebrating our national events (Australia Day / Indian Republic Day and Indian Independence Day), CIA will influence local political leaders and connect with local communities on the cultural, social, youth, domestic violence and crime/policing issues.

For further information about the Council of Indian Australians Inc., please visit www.cia.org.au.