America
Visa and passport services have been streamlined, making them easier to get: Consul General Sandeep Chakravorty
Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, who became consul general of India in New York a year ago has initiated several changes, streamlining consular services. Thanks to his efforts, complaints against the consulate about visa and passport services have reduced in number.
Chakravorty said that while the process of applying for these documents were cumbersome earlier, they are easier to get now.
“We should not forget that we faced even more difficulty when we applied for a US visa,†he said during an interview with Indialife TV at his office recently.
He clarified, though, that the consulate would not issue or renew the passports of asylum-seekers and those are living illegally here. He said if it did, American officials could take note of it, and it could impact how they deal with other Indians, here legally or not.
He went on to speak of the recent India Day Parades, describing them as showcasing Indian culture. He called New York as a city of parades.
The ambassador also discussed plans to send back historic artifacts and ancient idols stolen from India. A case in point, he said, was when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York recently returned an idol dating back to the Pala kingdom of Eastern India from the 13-14th century.
CG: The climate change is real we have to protect Mother Nature. If we don’t protect it then it will not protect us. Today we have extreme summer and extreme winter and we should all focus on improving the environment around us before it’s too late. We are having an Indian summer in
Chakravorty is a member of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) since 1996. Prior to coming to New York in August, 2017, he was Indian ambassador to Peru and Bolivia.
The interview with Ambassador Chakarvorty by Fatema Chhatriwala will be broadcast tomorrow in indialife.tv
The full interview will be published in the September issue of India Life and Times magazine
