NEW DELHI: Overseas Indian missions have undergone a cultural shift, they are getting more service-oriented to the Indian community, says Venktesh Shukla, General Partner, MontaVista Capital. Sharing his diaspora experience on COVID-19 from the United States, Shukla told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale that people of Indian origin are playing an oversize role during the pandemic—as scientists, medical professionals, journalists, besides raising funds and distributing food to those hit hard. Joining in the conversation from London, Manoj Ladwa, Founder & Chief Executive, India Inc., said the Indian community in the UK, across faiths, has stood out. Indians may make up just 2 per cent of UK’s population but account for 10 per cent of the National Health Service (NHS) that’s at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Indian-origin hoteliers have thrown open their establishments to accommodate stranded students and various Indian organizations have volunteered to collect and distribute food. Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, in-charge of BJP’s foreign affairs dept, feels it was the Indian sanskar (culture) to serve people that helped. We tried to bring various organizations on one platform but many people volunteered as well—to fill registration forms, to help Indian missions abroad scrutinise the forms, even help people at the airports, he added.
