Voice of asia july 26 2013 (4)

VOICE OF ASIA 1

10,000 copies every week

VOICE OF ASIA

FRIDAY, July 26, 2013

What is the Health Insurance Marketplace?

Read on Page 18 OR Call 832-415-3180

Commemorating 25 years of dedicated service to the community

Vol. 26 No. 30 Friday, July 26, 2013 Published Weekly from Houston 713-774-5140 24 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com

Biden urges India to A Promising Start for IACF’s Jubilee Celebrations and Gala open up to US companies

US Vice President Joe Biden addresses a gathering of Indian businessmen at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai on Wednesday, July 24, 2013.

Mr Biden urged India on Wednesday to improve investment conditions and remove obstacles faced by American companies which restrict trade between the world’s biggest democracies. -- PHOTO: AFP

by Rachel O’BRIEN

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UMBAI, (AFP) - US Vice President Joe Biden urged India on Wednesday to improve investment conditions and remove obstacles faced by American companies which restrict trade between the world’s biggest democracies.

IACF’s Past Presidents and Directors were recognized at the event. Seen 4th from rt. is the current President, Murthy Divakaruni. Photos by Shobana Muratee

by Shobana Muratee

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t a private reception held on Friday, July 19 at The Houstonian Estates, key members of the Indo-American Charity Foundation (IACF) and its supporters kicked off the IACF’s Silver Jubilee Year celebrations with high expectations, setting the fund-raising target to $500K for 2013.

Welcoming the honorary Chairs for the pre-event, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, an award winner author and Paula Sutton, Sr. VP-Investments, Wells Fargo, and the distinguished guests, Murthy Divakaruni, president IACF said, “ What distinguishes us [IACF] is that we live here and we give here.” He went on to explain how IACF typically funded 15-30 non-profit organizations in four main areas: Education, Families, General Need and Healthcare.

Continued on Page 5

Biden, the first US vice president to visit India in three decades, listed intellectual property concerns, requirements to buy local content and inconsistent tax treatment as worries for foreign investors.

“These are tough problems, but they have to be negotiated and worked through to meet the potential of this relationship,” he said in a speech at the Bombay Stock Exchange focused on boosting annual trade from its current level of nearly $100 billion.

He also noted that India’s “instinct to protect your industries is understandable. But we need to be candid with each other about the obstacles which exist when economies do business”.

Biden is the most senior US official to visit India since President Barack Obama in 2010, and the four-day visit is designed to revive flagging momentum in relations.

Vanitha Pothuri introduces honorary Co-Chairs Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (far lt) and Paula Sutton. (middle) on the occasion.

Problems on both sides have soured ties, leading many analysts to conclude that a relationship described by Obama as one of the “defining partnerships of the 21st century” is far from fulfilling

its potential.

Biden also alluded to looming friction at a meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Bali in December over India’s highly protected farming industry.

“We need to find a way forward to address India’s... legitimate concern about food security without distorting global trade. It is a difficult problem but it must be addressed,” he said.

Despite a nuclear energy deal in 2008 championed by the United States, Washington has been left embittered after its companies lost out to French and Russian competitors in the race to sell new reactors.

In the retail sector, US supermarket chain Walmart has been unable to open new stores because of local sourcing rules that require it to buy 30 percent of its products from small-scale Indian industries.

Walmart, which said last year it wanted to launch its first supermarket within two years, has told the government it is unable to meet the demand, according to press reports on Tuesday.

Officials have pointed to Biden’s visit as a chance to improve the investment climate between the US and India, where the government has been trying to introduce pro-business reforms to boost the sluggish economy.

Continued on Page 9

Prominent businessman Lutfi Hassan attends Business Leaders Round Table Meeting in Washington with President Obama

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ASHINGTON, DC: Prominent businessman Mr. Lutfi Hassan was invited to a round table discussion with the US President, Barack H. Obama on July 11th, 2013.

President first briefed the group of twenty six business leaders from different business disciplines on the domestic policies related to Health Care, Jobs and the progress on the Economy as well as addressed the foreign policy and foreign trade issues in the Middle East and Africa.

President Obama then opened up the meeting for an open and candid discussion on various topics allowing each one of the participants to speak freely whatever was playing on their minds and responded eloquently to their questions while welcoming suggestions.

economies and robust growth.

Citing his own international business experience as well as the involvement in coordinating foreign trade missions as the chairman of Mayor Brown’s Advisory Board for International business development, Hassan offered to pitch his own first hand experience in helping to tweak the policy for the Trade Missions. The President graciously accepted his in put and has since connected him to meet with the policy makers at Commerce Department & OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corp).

Lutfi Hassan with ith the US President, Barack Obama on July 11th, 2013 in Washington.

The Business Leaders Round table Meeting in session. Hassan seen far left at the head of the table.

Complimenting the President on the recent Africa tour and the announcement thereafter on

dollars, Lutfi Hassan suggested more aggressive involvement of Commerce Department in pro-

the various initiatives including the Power Africa initiative with the allocation of Seven Billion

moting SME (small & medium enterprise) firms particularly in the countries with emerging

“ It’s always a delight to see the President. Particularly when you are able to sit across the table for a couple of hours to discuss the issues that are important to our nation. I am honored to be included in discussions at the highest level”. Said Hassan.

VOICE OF ASIA 3

COMMUNITY VOICE OF ASIA

FRIDAY, July 26, 2013

Second Front Page

Friday, July 26, 2013

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

Poojyashree Allamaprabhu Swamiji Singer Brahmabutt to perform visits VSNA Houston Chapter live at ISCA National Convention

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embers of Veerashaiva Samaja of North America (VSNA)- Houston Chapter which recently celebrated the first ever Basaveshwara Jayanti were blessed by the visit of Poojyashree Allamaprabhu Swamiji from Basava Yoga Trust, Bangalore, India and Basava Divine Center, Austin, Texas, USA. Swam amiji visited the chapter during the July Mahamane. The Mahamane was hosted by Amruthesh, Jayanthi and Pragna Shivachar.

The program started with Pooja and Prarthana of Guru Basavanna and was followed by Pravachan by Swamiji.

In what was a very interactive and enlightening Pravachan, Swamiji gave discourse on variety of points related to personal development. He talked about the need to spend time for self for spiritual development. He mentioned about purifying ourselves in our daily activities by positive actions and thoughts by adopting the principles of Vachanas. The real benefit of Vachanas will be realized when they are adopted in our daily life activities instead of understanding only the literary meaning. He stressed the importance of everyone practicing meditation on a daily basis and having children also practice it as it would clear the mind of the happenings of the day and al-

low focusing on the daily activities. The Pravachan had a lot examples on daily activities which the members could relate to easily and also had humor which kept the environment light and helped them in understanding important points related to personality development thru following and adopting Vachanas and following Guru Basavanna’ s path. He was felicitated by chapter president Jyoti Biradar.

Poojya Swamiji invited interested members to attend a workshop conducted under his guidance in Austin from 8/31 to 9/1. The workshop will cover Pooja and its significance, Guidance of Vachanas, Meditation and Pranayama and other important topics. More information can be obtained from info@basavadivinecenter.org or 5126978700.

Poojyashree Allamaprabhu Swamiji is a scholar in Basava Philosophy, is an accomplished practitioner and researcher of Basava Yoga, the tradition taught by Guru Basavanna and his contemporary Sharanas. He is well versed in various systems of Indian philosophy and mystic traditions. Known for his simple lifestyle and calm personality, he has embodied the percept of samate (mental equanimity), a key concept of Sharanas

that ensues serenity into life.

He is dedicated to the cause of researching and propagating the percepts and practices depicted in Sharanas’ Vachanas.

He has undertaken extensive research on Vachanas and intense Sadhana in the tradition of Basavanna. In Sharana tradition, he performs his kayaka of delivering pravachanas and guiding spiritual aspirants. He has authored several books on Vachanas and Sharanas of which Enriching Life is very popular in the USA. He is also the editor of Basava Kirana, a monthly magazine. He is a great orator and has extensively lectured in India and USA spreading the eternal message of Vachanas. His elucidating lectures target all classes of the society and have won the acclaim of people from a diverse background.

VSNA Houston Chapter which was formed in Jan 2012 conducts monthly meetings for the members known as Mahamane meetings which are hosted by one of the members.

The meetings consist of Pooja and Prarthana of Guru Basavanna followed by recital of Vachanas by children, discussion on Vachana Sahitya by the group and Prasada. Contact information for VSNA Houston Chapter is vsnahouston@ gmail.com/8325451185(Jyoti Biradar).

Other individuals like Akku Patel of Karat 22 and Mahesh Shah of Madras Pavilion have also extended their support to the Convention. Food will be catered by Madras Pavilion and is expected to have a wide variety of vegetarian dishes, some even without onion and garlic, as well as Jain vegetarian style to suit some preferences.

The ISCA committee is very thankful to the Specialty Printers and Binder for taking care of the printing needs of the Convention and for media Sponsors Voice of Asia for promoting the event.

Ghazal singer Atul Brahmbhatt

by Shobana Muratee

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n the more recent developments on the Indian Senior Citizens Association (ISCA) National Convention, the cultural program is shaping to be very exciting as famous Ghazal singer Atul Brahmbhatt from India will be performing live at the Convention. Brahmbhatt who is also known as the ‘Voice of Gazal Samrat Jagjit Singh’ , the legendary singer who passed away recently, Brahmbhatt will relive the legend with his popular songs. Singer Salil Bhadekar, twice winner of India’s popu-

lar Saregama competition and expert tabalchi Dexter will also perform along with other local singers popular personalities of Houston.

The ISCA Houston is also going to celebrate Swami Vivekananda’s150th birth anniversary and will present a skit commemorating the occasion.

Local support and sponsorship is very promising. Mr. Umang Mehta of Deep Foods, Inc. is among the major sponsors of the Convention. Additionally, he has committed to provide pure coconut water and juices of his company for the two days.

Other highlights of the event include: Garba by the attending ladies, Yoga lecture by Shekar Agrawal, Health tips from Dr. K.T. Shah and lecture on how to deal with the present Health Care system by Dr. Alok Kalia. Seminars on ‘Optimizing Retirement Income’ by experts from New York Life are a part of the program.

Among the main attraction is the Talent Hunt “Sing for Seniors” that is expected to draw the best singing talents from within and outside Texas. Aspiring individuals are expected to register by August 31, 2013.

Details of the talent hunt are available on the website www. iscahouston.org or in the advertisement on Page 8 of this issue.

India Culture Center to commeorate its 40th Anniversary and celebrate India’s Independence Day

Legendary singer and music director, Jatin Pandit

by Shobana Muratee

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rganizers of the India Culture Center,

(ICC),Houston will be commemorating its 40th Anniversary this year and has planned

to celebrate the occasion on August 23, at the Stafford Civic Center grandly with the music legend of India Jatin Pandit.

The musician, who is scored music for over 100 Indian films, is famous for his hits like Kuch, kuch hota hai, Dilwale dulhani le jaayenge, Kabhi kushi kabhi gham and many more. It will be a ticketed event with that is planned to include dinner with the star.

On Sunday, August 25, ICC will hold its signature event India’s 67th Independence Day at the Stafford Civic Center, Stafford, TX. Leading Indian American organizations of Houston will be joining ICC in the dual celebrations this year.

This event is free to public and has a series of cultural programs throughout the day including a Grand Parade. Local business including restaurants will showcase their goods and

food stuff in the booths at the center. Traditionally, this celebration is a fulfilled day for family and friends especially because young children bring in their best talents in the music extravaganza lined up for the day.

As part of India’s Independence Day Celebrations, ICC will be honoring individuals with ‘Distinguished Community Service Award. Nomina-

tions are invited for the Award and individuals are requested to send it in with a bio either by emailing ICC President PV Patel at dukeofnuke@mail.com or mailing it to 12523 Deep Spring Lane, Houston, TX 77077 on or before August 10, 2013.

For further information contact PV Patel at 832-754-7596. For other information on booths, sponsorships and participation log on to www.icchouston.org

VOICE OF ASIA 4

COMMUNITY The People’s Lawyer www.peopleslawyer.net

FRIDAY, July 26, 2013

Attorneys Reddy and Neumann meet Congressman Ted Poe on Immigration Reform Bill

Richard M. Alderman Interim Dean of the Law Center

Double jeopardy does not bar a subsequent lawsuit against George Zimmerman Q. I read that there may be another lawsuit filed against George Zimmerman. How is this possible? Whatever happened to double jeopardy?

A. Double jeopardy is alive and well. It just doesn’t prevent all subsequent lawsuits. Double jeopardy prevents a person from being charged and tried more than once for the same or a similar crime. There is a distinction, however, between criminal proceedings on the one hand, and civil proceedings on the other, based on the different purposes served by each. Criminal proceedings are punitive in nature, and are filed by the government. They serve two primary purposes, deterrence and retribution, and result in a loss of liberty or life. For these reasons the rules governing criminal proceedings tend to favor the accused over the prosecution. Civil proceedings are filed by an individual against another indivudual, and are designed to compensate injured persons for any losses incurred. Civil courts employ rules that are fairer to both parties. For example, the standard of proof to obtain a conviction in a criminal trial is “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a very high standard. A plaintiff may prevail in a civil trial, however, on a showing of “preponderance of the evidence,” a standard that basically requires the jury to find their decision was more likely than not.

My opinion is that in the Zimmerman case, there may well be a civil lawsuit for wrongful death filed by the family of Trayvon Martin, notwithstanding the fact that a criminal jury found him not guilty. As was seen with the O.J. Simpson case, a civil jury may find liability where a criminal jury found not guilty.

Q. I rent an apartment. I recently discovered the floor in my closet was wet. Later, I saw what looks like mold growing out of the carpet. It turns out the air conditioner had to be repaired.

Although my landlord promptly made the repairs, he has refused to pay for getting my clothes in the closet cleaned? What are my rights as a tenant?

A. Under the law, the landlord has an obligation to do what he promised to do under the lease and make any necessary repairs. Unless the lease states otherwise, the landlord has an obligation to repair a leaky air conditioner. In most cases, however, the landlord is not liable for any damage that occurred before the problem was reported to him. For a landlord to be liable for damage to your personal property, the landlord must be negligent, and that negligence must have caused the damage. If the landlord did not know about the leak and promptly had it repaired as soon it was reported, he would not be responsible for any damage to your clothing. On the other hand, if he knew about the leak, and did not take reasonable steps to repair it, he could be considered “negligent” and responsible for damage to your clothing that could have been prevented with prompt repairs. The bottom line is that a landlord is generally not responsible for damage to a tenant’s property. That is why it is so important that all tenants have renter’s insurance.

Q. I co-signed for someone who bought a car. He stopped paying and I had to pay almost $3,000 to settle the account. Can I recover this money from the person I co-signed for?

A. As you seem to understand, when you co-sign you must pay in the event the person you cosigned for does not. If you do not pay, it will be treated as your debt. This means you might face a lawsuit, and the debt will be reported as your debt to the credit bureau. If you pay, however, the law gives you the right to be reimbursed by the other party. I suggest you send the person for whom you co-signed a certified letter asking for payment. If he does not reimburse you, file a claim in small claims court.

Do you want to know more about your legal rights? Visit my website, www.peopleslawyer.net

Attorneys Emily Neumann (left) and Rahul Reddy with Congressman Ted Poe

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ouston immigration attorneys Rahul Reddy and Emily Neumann met with Congressman Ted Poe (R-TX.) Vice Chairmen of the House Judiciary Committee (Immigration) to voice concerns regarding the issues their clients face in navigating the current business immigration system as well as some of the problematic provisions of the bipartisan reform bill passed by the Senate. As attorneys dealing with the immigration red-tape on a daily basis, they welcomed the opportunity to comment on various reform proposals as well as highlight several ways in which the broken immigration system affects businesses today.

Currently, a U.S. employer needing to hire a foreign professional through the H-1B visa program must wait until October 1, 2014 to bring the person on board due to the unreasonably low number of visas available. Congress has limited the number of new H-1B visas each year to only 65,000, a number that was reached within only 5 days this past April. Even the addi-

tional 20,000 that are exempt from the cap for U.S. master’s degree holders were used up immediately. If this year is any indication of what is to come, even after waiting until 2014 to file an application, an employer must hope that the worker gets selected in the lottery because there are not enough slots for all of the applications filed.

In addition, inconsistency between adjudications with both USCIS and DOL creates doubt as to whether a petition or application will actually be approved. An employer may file two almost identical petitions and one will be approved while the other is denied. When a legitimate petition is denied, the business loses thousands of dollars in filing fees and attorney fees. This does not include the cost of lost business due to the company’s inability to hire a key worker for a new project. Furthermore, smallto medium-sized businesses are often requested to submit voluminous documentation to establish eligibility, which is overly burdensome and creates additional cost.

Current immigration policies have also created the years-long backlog for those awaiting a green card through employment. From 1992 to the present over 400,000 green cards went unused due to processing delays. The percountry cap has further resulted in backlogs for individuals coming from high-demand countries like India, even when the overall cap has not been reached. Also, approximately 80,000 of the 140,000 employment-based green cards available each year are issued to spouses and children of the sponsored worker. This creates even more backlog for the actual workers being sponsored. Combined, these points have resulted in a wait of almost 9 years for a professional from India holding a master’s degree to obtain a green card. The wait is even longer for bachelor’s degree holders or skilled workers.

While some reform proposals seek to alleviate the green card backlog and increase the number of H-1B visas available, other provisions being debated would create Continued on Page 8

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VOICE OF ASIA 8

FIS Interviews Petroleum Geoscientist, Dr. Venkataratnam Kolla

Dr. Venkataratnam Kolla was interviewed at HCC studio on June 28, 2013 by Ms. Sita Mutyala, MBA, an author, artist, a social worker and a community activist.

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OUSTON.Who said Houston’s Indian community consists of only Doctors and Engineers? Little known fact in that there are outstanding Geoscientists (Geologists and Geophysicists) of Indian origin living in Houston quietly doing their research and publishing scientific papers, not seeking any publicity of any sort. Their employers, usually multi-national Oil and Gas companies derive enormous profits from their predictions of potential oil and gas wells buried beneath the earth. Among them is one Dr.Venkataratnam Kolla, 76, a Petroleum Geologist who has been doing consultancy after retiring from a French multinational oil company.

Dr. Kolla whose mother tongue is Telugu, earned his Ph.D. in Marine Geology under Prof. Mahadevan from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. He came to America in 1967 at the age of 31 on deputation from Govt. of India under a UNESCO plan to carry out post-doctoral research. His wife, Ramani and two kids joined him in Seattle after one year of his arrival in the US. In 1970 he moved with his family to New York to work at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory labs located 18 miles away across the Hudson River in Palisades, N.Y. Here he carried out extensive and pioneering marine geological research investigations of the Indian Ocean.

Being the oil and Gas capital of the world, Dr. Kolla had visited Houston and attended many conferences here. He liked its hot and humid weather which is akin to the coastal Andhra Pradesh, particularly Visakhapatnam located on the Bay of Bengal. He decided to make Houston as his family’s permanent home. He recalls, in 1982, when he relocated to Houston, the West side of Houston where he still lives, did not develop much. He feels quite at home in Houston. He became a naturalized US Citizen in 1981 and has no desire to go back to India on a permanent basis, other than for consulting and advising in petroleum exploration (oil companies)and marine geological research investigations( National Institute of Oceanography and Universities), visiting relatives and seeing places.

Dr. Kolla lived for six years in Sothern France working for a French Multinational Oil Company and toured U.K., Africa (Nigeria, Angola , Cameron) and Netherlands frequently, and for two years in Angola, West Africa.

He was instrumental for significant hydrocarbon discoveries in the deep off shores of West Africa and North Sea. He organized several Technical Conferences in his field of Petroleum Geology and also published scientific papers for which he received several awards and citations.

However, Dr. Kolla derives immense satisfaction from the fact that as a Consultant to the Reliance Industries Ltd., India, the front-end research studies that he had done had helped significant discoveries of oil and gas in the KrishnaGodavari basin. He feels that it is a sort of giving back to his mother country besides supporting some charities in India.

Dr. Kolla has one son, Srinivas and one daughter, Vijaya Laksmi, both of whom were married and well settled with children of their own.

Asked whether he experienced any color bar or discrimination throughout his 46 years in this country, Dr. Kolla said even though he sensed sometimes subtle discrimination, by and large, he did not

ternet for the benefit of historians, researchers, students and future generations of Indo-Americans. Interviews of Indo-Americans already uploaded into HPL archives can be viewed by logging on to: http://www.houstonoralhistory.org/interviews-indoamerican.html.

For participation in the project, please contact Mr. Krishna Vavilala, Chairman of Foundation for India Studies by email: KAVAILALA1@ GMAIL.COM.

FRIDAY, July 26, 2013

Attorneys Reddy and Neumann meet Congressman Ted Poe.......

Continued from Page 4 additional restrictions on the H-1B visa program. These provisions would burden employers with restrictions on outplacement, additional documentation requirements, further recruitment efforts, and higher wage levels without regard to the size of the business. A provision requiring a thirty-day waiting period before filing an H-1B petition is included in the Senate’s immigration bill, which does not take into consideration

today’s fast-paced economy.

The Senate plan also increases filing fees for H-1B petitions to a point which will make the visa category cost prohibitive for small businesses.

House lawmakers are unwilling to consider the Senate bill and are instead working on a piecemeal approach. Congressman Poe indicated that several individual immigration bills are up to be debated in the Judiciary Committee.

Bills already passed deal with mandatory E-Verify, Border

Security, and high-skilled immigration. A temporary guest worker program, DREAM act, and agriculture programs are still to be discussed. Once all bills are passed out of committee, they are expected to be brought to the House floor for a vote on the same day, likely sometime in September. The separate approaches taken by the House and Senate will result in a conference committee to resolve differences and an entirely different bill could be the final result.

face any direct discrimination. He however, narrated a minor incident that happened, when he heard someone refer to him as “colored man”. This happened in the year 1967 in the state of Massachusetts, on the Campus of the Harvard University.

Himself, having evolved from the old culture of India, he accepts inter-racial marriages as inevitable. As a scientist, his message to the new immigrants is: “Experience and explore new frontiers of knowledge. Be prepared for changes.”

The Indo-American Oral History Project is an undertaking of the Foundation for India Studies done in collaboration with Houston Public Library (HPL) and Houston Community College (HCC).

The Indo-American Oral History Project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who have chosen to share their life experiences. All interviews will be recorded on video and permanently stored along with the transcriptions in HPL’S digital archives and will be made available over the In-

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WORLD/US

VOICE OF ASIA 9

FRIDAY, July 26, 2013

William and Kate show off royal baby boy Biden urges India to open

by Danny KEMP, Katy Lee

in 1948.

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William and Kate did not know the sex of their child until he was born, although the duchess reportedly told a soldier at a St Patrick’s Day parade in March: “I’d like to have a boy and William would like a girl.”

ONDON (AFP) - Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate proudly showed off their newborn baby son to the world for the first time on Tuesday, cradling the future king in their arms as they left hospital to go home.

It is the first time since 1894 that three direct heirs to the throne have been alive at the same time, and the 87-year-old queen said she was “delighted” at the birth of her third greatgrandchild.

A smiling Kate told the massed ranks of international media that motherhood was “very emotional”, while William said they were still choosing a name and joked that he already changed the baby’s nappy.

The new third-in-line to the throne raised a tiny hand above his white blankets but remained peaceful, despite deafening cheers from well-wishers and the shouts of photographers outside St Mary’s Hospital in London.

“It’s a special time,” said the 31-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, who was wearing a cornflower-blue dress with her brown hair flowing loose.

“I think any new parent would know what this feeling feels like.”

The duke, also 31, told reporters that “he’s got her looks, thankfully” as Kate playfully demurred, then added: “He’s got a good pair of lungs on him, that’s for sure.”

The royal baby’s birth at 4:24pm (1524 GMT) on Monday sparked a global media frenzy, fuelled by the fascination that has surrounded the couple ever since they married in April 2011.

Congratulations have poured in from around the globe for the baby, a great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, who will one day reign over Britain and 15 other Commonwealth realms around the world.

Kate initially held the baby as the royal couple emerged from the front door of the hospital’s exclusive private Lindo Wing, before passing him to her husband, who was dressed in a blue shirt and jeans.

The scene was reminiscent of when William was introduced to the world by his parents Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana outside the same hospital wing in 1982.

Balding William joked that despite the baby boy’s own thin coating of hair “he’s got way more than me, thank God”.

Asked about changing the nappies of his son, who weighed in at a healthy eight pounds six ounces (3.8 kilograms) when he was born, the prince said: “We’ve done that already.”

“He’s done his first nappy already,” added Kate.

The traditional names George and James have been favoured by bookmakers as fit for a king, but the royal couple gave nothing away.

“We are still working on a name so we will have that as soon as we can,” William said.

After speaking briefly to the press, the royal couple returned to the hospital before re-emerging minutes later with their son in a car seat.

Like millions of other fathers, William briefly appeared to wrestle with the car seat, before securing it in the back of a black Range Rover parked outside the hospital and driving his family back to their home at Kensington Palace.

Kate’s sister Pippa was reportedly waiting for them at the palace.

Hordes of journalists had camped outside the hospital for three weeks waiting for the baby, testament to the enduring appeal of the British monarchy and particularly the glamorous William and Kate.

Cannon fire salutes rang out on Tuesday at the Tower of London and Green Park in celebration of the birth, while the bells at the 11th century Westminster Abbey pealed across the capital for three hours.

The couple had earlier received their first visitors when Kate’s parents Michael and Carole Middleton, self-made millionaires who run a party supplies business, arrived in a humble black London taxi.

“He’s absolutely beautiful.

They’re both doing very well and we’re so thrilled,” a beaming Carole Middleton said afterwards.

Charles arrived around two hours later with his second wife Camilla in a chauffeur-

Prince William (R) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge show their baby boy to the world’s media on July 23, 2013 (AFP, Ben Stansall) driven limousine.

“Marvellous, thank you very much, absolutely wonderful,” said Charles.

At Buckingham Palace, crowds straining for a glimpse of the official birth announcement on a gold easel in the forecourt were treated to a special edition of the Changing the Guard ceremony featuring the

Cliff Richard song “Congratulations.”

The baby will be titled His Royal Highness, Prince (name) of Cambridge -- the blank to be filled in when his name is announced.

William’s name was not announced for a week, while the world had to wait a whole month when Charles was born

William and Kate are hugely popular and have been widely credited with revitalising the British royals following decades of scandal and the death of William’s mother Diana in a car crash in 1997.

More than 25,300 tweets a minute were sent immediately after news of the birth broke on Monday night, Twitter said, while the hashtag #RoyalBaby was used 900,000 times in the first 24 hours after Kate went into labour.

US President Barack Obama led the international messages of congratulations, which also poured in from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Israel, Japan and Singapore.

up to US companies Continued from Page 1

After his speech, the vice president held talks with a small group of corporate leaders including Ratan Tata, former chairman of the sprawling Tata conglomerate, and Azim Premji, chairman of IT outsourcing giant Wipro.

“There was an honest discussion about how both governments... could be productive in reducing some of the barriers that impact on trade and commerce,” Biden told reporters.

“There’s no reason why trade, commerce and intercourse between our countries can’t increase exponentially over time.”

India’s left-leaning government has already opened up or proposed opening up the banking and insurance, airline, energy and media sectors to foreign investors, but has imposed conditions.

Experts have said some of the conditions, designed to protect local industries and counter criticism India is “selling out” to foreign multinationals, are too restrictive.

In the US, pharmaceutical companies have been lobbying against India’s backing of ge-

neric drugs, highlighted recently when Swiss giant Novartis lost a high-profile case to extend a patent on its leukaemia drug Glivec.

India in turn has been alarmed by proposals in the US Congress to curb visas for high-tech workers, which are feared to hit employees of the flagship Indian outsourcing industry who work for American firms in the US. While red tape, weak infrastructure and regulatory uncertainty have deterred many companies, India’s government is eager to attract foreign investors.

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma were in Washington this month to pitch for greater investment and express readiness to open talks on a bilateral investment treaty.

Biden arrived in Mumbai late Tuesday after holding talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other political leaders in the capital on economic issues and the security situation in Afghanistan.

On Thursday he will visit Mumbai’s Indian Institute of Technology before leaving for Singapore.