In 336 BC, a 20-year prince named Alexander inherited the small kingdom of Macedon in northern Greece. In a little over twelve years, he led an army of 40,000 men to conquer the known world. When he died in Babylon at the age of 32, his empire covered some two million square miles, from eastern Europe to western India. The surviving Greco-Roman accounts of India not only provide the earliest cross-referenced dates of Indian Iron Age history, they also offer a unique insight into Indian society up to the time of the Guptas. The speaker is well-known history researcher Mr. A. J. Paterson. He was brought up in France and studied Ancien History and Classical Archaeology at University in Edinburgh and Paris.

Talk by HE Mr R Mathai 19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing 19.45 hrs Welcome by Anil Bidani , President, IPA 19.55 hrs Speech by HE Ambassador 20.30 hrs Question and answer session 20.50 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner

Sriram is pursuing a PhD, to determine the if’s and how’s of the Indian Diaspora’s use of social media, discussion lists, blogs, and social networking tools, impact on integration, assimilation, and multiculturalism in France.

Following MC decision in the 29th Nov meeting the IPA AGM dinner has been brought forward to Friday 18th December at 19h00 Please send your confirmation as soon as possible

Ms Savita Mathur with a PhD in Astrophysics and a specialization in helio- and astero-seismology will take you today on a journey that will start in the core of the Sun and will further unveil to some extent the mystery of the stars.

Chandrasekhera Venketaraman was the outstanding scientist India gave to the world. Born in 1888 near Trichy Tamil Nadu. His thirst for physics on light scattering, he announced the Raman effect in 1928 and in 1930 got the Nobel Prize in physics

IPA Day: NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA

Isabelle TORDJMAN Responsable du programme Environnements et Cancers Institut National du Cancer Département Prévention 52 Avenue André Morizet 92513 Boulogne Billancourt Cedex

Greetings on this Easter weekend!
Have you ever pondered the share of the hidden economy for any country? Financial (and Economical) Crisis we are feeling now asks us to think each angle of the economy.
We are delighted to announce an interesting topic Italian Mafia and Current Financial Crisis. The topic could not have been better timed given the current economical situation the world is in. Speaker is well known journalist Ms Naravane Vaiju, Europe Correspondent at Paris for The Hindu. She was also Director of Information at WHO in Geneva. She is associated with publisher Albin Michel in Paris.

Mr Kathawalla Imtiaz from IPA, General Manager, Carbon Black Europe, Is going to enlighten us with an interactive session in Marketing and lessons to be learned from a case study, so sharpen your wits before coming it is going to be ‘fun evening’ Ouch !!

Mrs H. Rana Executive Director of AIR INDIA for Europe along with Mr Jean-Charles Hermet District Sales Manager and Mr Michel Magri will make a presentation AIR INDIA in FRANCE. Followed by the chance to win a round trip ticket to India on AIR INDIA

Greetings for the New Year 2009. The topic for presentation and discussion will be Cardio Vasculaire Prevention for all Secret Code 0530. The speaker is well-known cardiologue Dr. Kamel Abdenbi, Docteur en Cardiologie spécialiste de la lutte Anti-tabacs. He runs a private clinic in Paris, he was president for the anti-tabac movement and with Médecins Sans Frontières he has visited India couple of times. We are pleased to have such a good speaker for this highly wanted subject of today.

The very last event of this year is the Annual General body Meeting of the IPA which is scheduled to take place at 19.00 hrs at Rani Mahal on 14 December 2008.
As in the past years, a report on the IPA activities the IPA account fro the year 2008 will be presented. This will be followed by a brief introduction by the president effect on the IPA activities for the year 2009.
Needless to add, IPA’s financial position is good (unlike the world financial crisis) and the MC and WC meeting has decided to offer Champaign in addition to the regular menu that the restaurant Rani Mahal offers.
See you on 14 December 2008.

The topic for presentation and discussion will be : Demography, Diaspora and Development: 3-Ds in India ’s Transition to a “Superpower” in the 21st Century? Of all the resources, human resources are the most equally distributed resource in the world. Many countries have succeeded in converting their peoples’ talents into skills while majority of the countries have not succeeded in this. Consequently, the distribution of human capital and capabilities is, very often, uneven. Globalizing countries to-day compete for the highly skilled and their success in the ‘battle for brains’ determines national competitiveness and future growth potential. Countries such as India experience a return of the natives ( Diaspora). How does this phenomenon of to-and-fro skill migration affect India’s growth potential? This question will be answered by our specialist on the topic. The speaker is : Professor Binod Khadaria, Professor of economics at the Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, School of Social Sciences , Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi.
19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing
19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA
19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Professor Binod Khadaria
20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session
20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner

Kindly check the detailed program available in PDF format. (click here)
The IPA Diwali programme will be held at Restaurant Namaste (5 rue Montespan, 91000 Evry, Essonne, Tél : 0164978645) on 18 October 2008. The Diwali celebrations will start at 19.30 hrs. The programme consists of Welcome Cocktail, Cultural Programmes and Diwali Dinner. The cost of Diwali dinner will be € 40/ for adult; € 30 for those in the age group 10 -18 years and € 20 for children in the age group of 6 -10. Confirm your participation in the Diwali dinner and meal preference (vegetarian or non-vegetarian) to Shashi Dharmadhikariat Csdharma@aol.com . Please send your cheque to Shashi Dharmadhikari.

The topic for presentation and discussion will be : Perspectives on Indian banking and the current global crisis. The global financial markets are showing strains on a scale not experienced for decades. Starting with losses on US subprime mortgages, the crisis has spread across borders drying up liquidity and inflicting heavy losses to financial institutions. India is an integral part of the global financial changes and its banking system is influenced by these external pressures. Let us learn more about it in the next meeting. The speaker is : Mr. Santanu Mukherjee,, Chief Executive Officer ( CEO), State Bank of India, Paris Schedule: 19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing 19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA 19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Mr. S. Mukherjee 20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session 20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

Please note that IPA election results will be announced during the meeting.

Kindly check the detailed program available in PDF format. (click here)

The topic for presentation and discussion will be : The Olympic Games and Urban Change. The Olympic Games are an enjoyable event to the millions who watch them. We realize rarely the plight of the millions in the city which is hosting the event. It is estimated that Olympic Games have displaced more than two million people in the last 20 years, disproportionately affecting the homeless, the poor, and minorities. This is the focus of our discussions in the next monthly meeting. The speaker is : Professor Kristopher Olds, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA and currently Visiting Professor at the Centre des Amériques de Sciences Po, Paris. He has several international publications ( Books, Research reports and Articles) to his credit. It is our pleasure to welcome Professor Olds and his wife to our monthly meeting. Schedule: 19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing 19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA 19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Professor Olds 20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session 20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

The next monthly meeting of IPA is scheduled to be held on 27 April 2008. The topic for presentation and discussion will be : Development : a long term perspective and its implications for developing countries. The speaker is : Dr. Abrar Hasan, formerly Head of Education and Training Policy Division at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris. He holds a doctoral degree in Economics from Queen’s University, Canada and has several international publications (Books, Research reports and Articles) to his credit.
It is our pleasure to welcome Dr.Abrar Hasani as a speaker to our meeting.
19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing
19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA
19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Dr. Abrar Hasan
20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session
20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

(18.April.08) Shri Dev Anand, the legendary actor, director and producer and lately a distinguished writer through his acclaimed autobiography “Romancing with life” published by the Penguin Books and released in 2007 by the Prime Minister ManMohan Singh on their common birth day (26 September), is visiting Paris. The IPA and the Maison de l’Inde are jointly organizing a meeting to welcome the Star on 23 April 2008 at the Maison de l’Inde at 19.00 hrs. This will provide an opportunity for all of us to meet and interact with him. Note: His autobiography “Romancing with life” will be available on sale at the venue of the meeting. Registration is Open to all (members and non-members)

The topic for presentation and discussion will be : Multi-national operations in oil and gas production. The speaker is : Mr. Satish Pai, President of Schlumberger Middle East, Africa & Europe. Mr. Pai holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and was Vice President of Schlumberger Oilfield Technologies with worldwide responsibilities for technology development and product marketing before assuming his current responsibilities . It is our pleasure to welcome Mr. Pai as a speaker to our meeting. Time: 19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing 19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA 19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Mr. Satish Pai 20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session 20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

India has become one of the most favored destinations for outsourcing. Out sourcing sectors are growing at very high rates contributing significantly to the growth of national income and employment opportunities for the educated in India. The discussions in the next monthly meeting of IPA will center around this issue. The topic for presentation and discussion will be : “Off-shoring and Outsourcing : Benefits to Europe and India” The speaker is : Mr. Kushal Dastenavar, Director of Sales of Infotech, France. This is a Company specialized in outsourcing Indian talents abroad. It is our pleasure to welcome Mr. Dastenewar as a speaker to our meeting. Agenda Time: 19.00 hrs Members’ arrival and social intermixing
19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA
19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Mr. Kushal Dastenawar
20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session
20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

The speaker is : Professor Tawfik Jelassi, Professor of e-Business and IT, Dean and Director of Academic Affairs at the ENPC School of International Management, Paris. He has published several books and is currently working on a book on “Strategies for e-Business: Creating Value through Electronic and Mobile Commerce”. Professor Jelassi has taught extensively on MBA and executive programmes in over a dozen countries around the world and has served as an advisor to several international and government organizations. It is our privilege to welcome him to our meeting. We eagerly wait to listen to such a renowned speaker. Agenda: 19.00 hrs (Members’ arrival and social intermixing). 19.30 hrs Welcome by N.V.Varghese, President, IPA 19.40 – 20.15 hrs Presentation by Professor Tawfik Jelassi 20.15 -20.30 hrs Question and answer session 20.30 hrs Discussion continues along with dinner.

We are informed by the Embassy of India that Honorable Minister Mr. E. Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs is visiting Paris this week-end. As you may be knowing, he holds one of the longest electoral records in India – elected to the State Legislative Assembly five terms consecutively (during 1967 -91) and to the Lok Sabha five terms consecutively (1991 -2009). We have informed the Embassy that it would be IPA’s proud privilege to invite him to our Meeting of 16 December 2007. The Embassy has confirmed presence of the Minister amongst the IPA Members during the AGM meeting. This e-mail is to inform all of you that the Honorable Minister will be addressing and interacting with the IPA Members during the AGM of 16 December 2007. Needless to add, the Honorable Minister will be accompanied by H.E. Mr. Ranjan Mathai, Ambassador of India in France and Mr. Mohan Kumar, the Deputy Chief of Missions, Embassy of Indian in France. The Address of the Minister will be in addition to the regular AGM proceedings. Therefore, we would like to request you to be at the restaurant at 19.00 hrs so that we could start the proceedings early.