Dear Visitor ji,

Namaste!!
Thank you all for your support over the last 12 months in delivering our work program, which is captured in the latest annual report presented to the FINACT Annual General Meeting on 24 July 2022.
I take this opportunity to thank all of you for giving me another term to continue as FINACT president. The new committee is looking forward to hosting another year of productive community work programs over the next 12 months.
We kicked off the new term with a consultation session discussing issues currently faced by international students / temporary visa holders. We will continue to work on critical issues of interest to the community, in collaboration with our member organisations over the coming months.
Please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] your feedback. Thank you.
Dr Shanti Reddy
FINACT President

FINACT Annual General Meeting 2022
Sun 24 July from 2-5 PM
FINACT held its 2021-22 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24th July from 2.30pm to 4.30 pm at the Theo Notaras Multicultural function hall. The meeting kicked-off with members observing one minute silence in memory of Late Dr. Pal Muthiah. Members fondly remembered his contributions to the community as well as the pleasant experiences they shared with Dr Pal Muthiah. The Chair then conducted the AGM, presented FINACT financial report and annual report, which can be viewed here.
The 2021-22 EC was then dissolved, and the Returning Officer, Mr. Dean Sahu Khan, conducted Executive Committee (EC) elections for the 2022-23 term. Following members were declared elected:
Shanti Reddy - President
Divya Ravikumar - Vice President
Praneeth Galla - Secretary
Vaibhav Mathur - Treasurer
Ravi Krishnamurthy - Public Officer
We will be co-opting additional EC members, in accordance with the FINACT constitution, such as Women’s Rep, Community Coordinator, Cultural Coordinator and Youth Reps in the next few weeks. New committee looks forward to working with you all.


Upcoming Events

India's 75th Independence Day Celebrations
This being the 75th year of India’s Independence, FINACT is organising a fun activity to encourage community members to participate in this year's celebrations. Please see the details below.

The Flag Hoisting ceremony to mark India’s 75th Anniversary of Independence will be held at the High Commission of India, 3 Moonah Place, Canberra at 10.00 am on 15th August 2022. You are cordially invited to attend the ceremony and reach the venue by 09.50 am. Please confirm your participation by 11.00 am, 10th August 2022 at [email protected]

FINACT is also participating and supporting the Independence day community event hosted by IAAC on 20 August at Weston Community Hub.

Wear A Face Mask Masks Provide Extra Protection
ACT Health are strongly encouraging all Canberrans to wear a face mask when in public indoor settings. Face masks provide another layer of protection along with other COVID Smart behaviours – like maintaining good hygiene, staying at home if unwell, getting tested and staying up to date with COVID-19 and flu vaccinations.
Wearing a face mask is a simple action most of us can take to protect ourselves, the people we love and our community.
Remember that wearing a face mask is still required in the following situations:
- on public transport, including buses, light rail, taxi, ride share vehicle and hire cars
- for household contacts in any indoor setting that is not their own home
- in high risk settings, like hospitals, residential aged care facilities and correctional centres
- for workers providing in-home services or support to someone who is elderly or has a disability.
If you are a household contact (someone who lives with a person who has been diagnosed with COVID-19), you must wear a mask in any indoor setting that is not your home.
Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.
More information is available on our website www.covid19.act.gov.au/masks


Know India Program
OIA Division of Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India has launched the first three editions of Know India Program (KIP) for the FY 2022-23, inviting applications from the Indian diaspora youth.
The objective of KIP is to connect diaspora youth to their indigenous roots and acquaint them with India’s latest transformational achievements. The three-week orientation programme would promote awareness among different facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in various fields e.g. economic, industrial, education, science & technology, communication & information Technology, culture.
For more info on registration, last date and other details, please visit : https://kip.gov.in/

FINACT Member Events Calendar

Past Events

Consultation with Temporary Visa Holders
In the last few weeks, FINACT EC members received several requests from International students of Indian and South Asian origin seeking help from FINACT to convey their concerns to the Federal Government. In response to this, we organised a consultation session on 30th June 2022 in Canberra and several students from other parts of Australia also joined the session virtually.
Apparently, there are thousands of students currently on temporary resident and/or student visas facing an uncertain future due to the complexity and frequent changes to immigration rules. Although some of these rules are state/ territory specific, the students in general largely believe that they are being overlooked in favour of overseas candidates in obtaining permanent migration visas and selection in job vacancies. We identified four issues in this session, which will be communicated to the Federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. If you are interested to contribute please email us on [email protected]



Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
FINACT attended a community event hosted by the Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin to remember the events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945. In a message, read by the Tibetan community member, the Dalai Lama quotes “I take the opportunity to urge governments, organisations and individuals to rededicate themselves to making the achievement of peace the centrepiece of our lives”, which optly summarises the significance of this event for all of us. Let us hope this never happens again.

Invitation to register on the Global Pravasi Rishta Portyal of Ministry of External Affairs
As you would be aware, the Ministry of External Affairs has been maintaining the 'Global Pravasi Rishta Portal' for data on the Diaspora with which it regularly interacts for updating them on various endeavours of Government of India at large. The diversity and colours of India are its strength, which astonish to attract the world and connect the Indian diaspora to avail the new opportunities being generated in India.
The 4 C's— Care for their safety and security Connect with India, Celebrate their cultural heritage and Contribute to the development of the homeland. Over 30 million pravasis, now scattered across the globe are endeavoured to be connected through this Portal. The response for registration on the portal, hitherto, had not been encouraging and hence, your personal involvement to make it a success is solicited.
The portal can be accessed at https://pravasirishta.gov.in/ and the members of your esteemed organisation/association as well as the Diaspora at large may be requested to take some time out to register. The procedure for the registration may be seen in the attached manual. The portal may also be shared widely on your whatsapp groups and social media as well, details of which may please be shared with us at [email protected].
Looking forward to your kind cooperation in making this a success.
Warm Regards,
Narendra Kumar Rana
नरेंद्र कुमार राणा Counsellor

Our Sincere thanks to High Commission of India, Canberra, ACT Government and businesses for sponsoring the Arvensys AusIndia Fair 2022.

Your input/event for FINACT newsletter is appreciated and welcome
Newsletter for communities
You will appreciate that newsletters are critical instrument and platform to meet our functional, operational and strategic communication needs. We have been using this infrastructure for long to effectively interact with you.
Funding under the digital grants from the ACT Government has further boosted our capabilities and confidence in meeting our objectives. We thank the ACT Government for their generosity that enables us to extend our tools to our member associations. Please see below for more information on how you can use this feature.
As you know FINACT newsletter is generally published once a month. If our member associations like to publish their organisation's event in the FINACT newsletter, please provide the following information:
- Event name, date, time and venue followed by text
- Text in word format (not PDF)
- Text within 150 words
- One image/picture if needed.
If you have a flyer ready for the event then FINACT can also publish the flyer in the newsletter.
You can submit this information at [email protected] by the last week of month - marked as For FINACT Newsletter.
What else FINACT can do for you?
We acknowlege that not all associations can afford to have mailing lists or tools to regularly interact/communicate with their members. FINACT has tools and capacity to be of your assistance. You may subscribe your members on our subscription page.
Sponsorship Appreciated for FINACT Events
We understand that one of the main reasons to sponsor a tournament and any event could be to promote one’s business and generate goodwill in the community. Sponsoring the FINACT events will give you brand recognition among the fastest-growing community group of Indians in the ACT and increase sales or traffic to sponsor’s website through their banner on our website (www.finact.net.au ).
Indians are the fastest growing population in Australia. This has resulted in increased air traffic between India and Australia; increased telecommunication; and enhanced trade and cultural ties. For sporting events - players and their supporters make playing cricket a fiercely competitive and memorable event. They will promote the game and use your services to show their appreciation.
In addition to providing an excellent opportunity to connect with the Indian sub-continent communities, the FINACT events' sponsorship will:
- enable sponsors to reach out to wider community groups in ACT and surrounds
- fulfil sponsors business objectives and attract sizeable potential customers
- provide a lasting impression of their business
- promote sports and physical activities in the community
- motivate and assist young players participating in the tournament and community activities
- attract favourable feedback from organisers and media partners
- generate great feel-good stories in Indian community and back to India and neighbouring countries and
- fulfil sponsor’s corporate and social responsibilities
If you are willing to or interested in sponsoring our events, please contact us soon.
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