FIA held its 7th and 8th Parade Council Meetings on Wednesday, August 2 and 9, 2023, at Akbar Restaurant in Edison, New Jersey. Present at the occasion were the President, Kenny Desai, Chairman, Ankur Vaidya, Vice President, Bipin Patel, and the FIA Executive Team. Also present were TV Asia Chairman H. R. Shah, Gurjit Singh of Times Group, Ilayas Quereshi of ITV Gold, and Ujjwal Kasthala of TV 9, amongst others.
The FIA General Secretary, Nishi Dhami, opened the meeting, introduced the agenda for the meeting, and handed over the floor to Kenny Desai. Addressing the gathering, Kenny Desai welcomed the gathering and thanked the Executive team for working day and night towards making the India Day Parade a huge success. He further announced that the famous Indian Film Industry actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu will be the chief guest at the India Day parade, along with Jacqueline Fernandez as the guest of Honor. It was also announced that the replica of the Ashok Chakra would be unveiled by the Hon. Consul General of India, Randhir Jaiswal, during the Indian Flag hoisting ceremony at Times Square on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
Updates were given in detail by the various subcommittees tasked with the planning and execution of each event, including the Patriotic Costume Competition and Paani Puri Contest, by Executive Vice President Dr. Avinash Gupta, Vice President Saurin Parikh, Jt. Treasurer Haresh Shah, Treasurer Priti Patel, and Jt. Vice President Smita Miki Patel. Dr. H.R. Shah lauded the efforts of the GIA in putting together the India Day Parade, which is an expression of pride for the Indian Diaspora. Gurjit Singh from the Times Group said that not only will they be promoting the India Day Parade on all their channels across 90 countries as they have been doing for the past ten years, but this time around, they will also have a float in the Parade that will have eminent personalities and be based on a novel concept.
Ankur Vaidya thanked and lauded the executive and the working committee, who continue to work tirelessly, and requested the volunteers for their wholehearted participation. He appealed that no stone should be left unturned in promoting the events, as they represent our motherland, India, in our homeland. The presence in huge numbers will go on to show the cumulative strength of the Indian Diaspora. He also mentioned that it was a matter of pride that for the first time ever since the India Parade started, the community from Jammu and Kashmir will be participating and will have a float of their state in the Parade. Also present were members of MOCAAPI, BJANA, FISANA, and other community organizations.