Indian Consulate in New York hailed as model of 'Swachh Consulate'

The clean-up exercise was conducted under the aegis of Consul General Dnyaneshwar Mulay with the aim of serving the community better and keeping visa and passport records in a proper and easy to access manner.

The cleanliness drive is about "overall and holistic cleansing," Mulay said.

"I think we should be clean in every respect," he said, adding that a clean environment has a psychological impact on the morale of the staff. "Only when you keep the premises clean can one serve the people better."

The initiative has garnered appreciation from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who said in a communication to the Consul General that the extensive cleanliness drive "has come in for much praise as a stellar example."

Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh also applauded the efforts in view of the Swachh Bharat mission and said the Consulate's initiative will be shared with other Indian missions "in order to inspire them to similar efforts."

The cleaning drive, which the Consulate began a year and half ago when Mulay took charge, was undertaken in the basement and staff offices at the Consulate premises which were cluttered with visa documents, files and other Consular paperwork accumulated over a period of many years.

Mulay said since the Consulate handles innumerable visa applications, passports, OCI and PIO cards, a lot of documents had accumulated that needed to be kept properly.

However, the basement, sub-basement and passageways in the Consulate had become stacked with tonnes of documents, artifacts and files that posed a safety and fire hazard in the 111-year old historic building in the heart of Manhattan.

Mulay inspired his staff and personnel to whole-heartedly undertake the cleanliness drive, the end result of which is improved storage, creation of more space, better preservation of records and proper disposal of unwanted documents.

In the second phase of the cleanliness drive, the Consulate would undertake renovation, modernisation and conservation and is consulting experts from the renowned Metropolitan Museum of New York.

During the exercise, several valuable artifacts, musical instruments and portraits of Indian leaders were also unearthed that are now being displayed at the Consulate.

The Consulate is in talks to hand over a collection of informative videos and documentaries to the New York University where they can be archived.

Mulay emphasised that the Swachh Bharat campaign of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi can be taken to a global platform so that a deserving image of India is sent across the world.

Source:News and India News

Chinese Foreign Minister to visit India to reach out to Modi government

Wang, 61, a seasoned diplomat will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Modi himself during his two-day visit.

He is also expected to call on President Pranab Mukherjee and meet the new National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.    This is the first contact between the two governments after the Indian general election while Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has already spoken to Modi over phone soon after he was sworn in.

During his visit, Wang will meet leading Indian officials and will have in-depth exchanges on how to push forward bilateral relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told media briefing here earlier.

"India has formed a new government and China and India now face a new opportunities of development," he said.

While the Chinese official media and state-run think tanks projected a new momentum in trade and economic ties between the two countries considering that Modi visited China four times as Chief Minister of Gujarat, Beijing also closely watched the new government's policy towards US and Japan, whom it regards as arch rivals.

China is watching the countries Modi will be visiting on his first trip abroad considering that Li had made India his first destination abroad after taking power last year.

Chinese media has highlighted Modi's plans to visit Bhutan first this month followed by Japan in July.

Modi is expected to meet Xi at the BRICS summit in Brazil next month.

Earlier China has expressed keen interest about the presence of President Mukherjee for celebrations marking 60 years of Panchsheel, the five principles of peace proposed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Chinese counterpart Zhou Enlai in 1954.

The function is proposed to be held here on June 28.

Also Xi has already expressed his interest in visiting India after the new government took over and the details may be discussed during Wang's visit while Modi also extended the invitation for the Chinese President during his telephone talks with Li.

The new Chinese leadership is keen to improve relations with India in the face of serious challenges it faces over its maritime disputes with Japan in the East China Sea and with Vietnam, the Philippines and other maritime neighbours in the South China Sea amid a major US military push into the Asia-Pacific.

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