Are there any special programmes planned?

To mark India@75, we have started a programme named memories of India@75. Memory study is an essential aspect of Diaspora study and research. Memories establish a connection between a collective and individual, between the past and the present, and between heritage and history. The memories of the India series are an attempt to capture this rich resource of knowledge. This digitization of memory will help current and future diaspora experts, historians, and migration study researchers. So far, memories of Dr Basdeo Panday and Mrs Leela Ramdeen have been recorded.

The Indian Mission in Port of Spain has played a crucial role in the initial distribution of vaccines in Trinidad and Tobago, and possibly the larger Caribbean region. Please throw some light on this…

As you are aware, the pandemic forced nations to be self-reliant. However, self-reliance for India did not mean looking inward, but being a responsible global player and contributing to global welfare. Amid the pandemic, India supplied medicines including hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol to 150 nations. Subsequently, under Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship), India supplied over 66 million vaccines to over 95 countries across geographies. In the Caribbean region, we donated about half a million AstraZeneca vaccines. In these difficult times, the largest democracy in the world became known as the biggest pharmacy in the world.