Mangaluru: Civic Honor for Dr. Ronald Colaco on Feb 24
He will be felicitated for receiving Certificate of Excellence from World Book of Records London
Former Mangalore MLA JR Lobo on Tuesday lauded the services of NRI entrepreneur and social activist Ronald Colaco terming his achievements and feats as a matter of pride for Karnataka and Dakshina Kannada.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Civic Honor that will be conferred to Dr. Ronald Colaco for receiving Certificate of Excellence from World Book of Records, London, JR Lobo said Dr. Ronald's services to the society has earned him several awards and recognition at national and international level.
Dr. Ronald Colaco will be felicitated at the Father Muller Convention Center here near Pumpwell Junction in the city.
The felicitation committee for is led by President JR Lobo, and will be presided by Most Rev. Dr. Peter Machado, Arch Bishop of Bangalore Diocese.
Padma Vibhushana Dr. D Veerendra Heggade will be present as the Chief Guest of the event, JR Lobo informed during the press conference.
Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop, Mangalore Diocese, Swami Jitakamanandaji Maharaj, President Ramakrishna Math, Mangalore, Dr. Yenepoya Abdul Kunhi, Chancellor, Yenepoya University, Most Rev. Dr. Geralad Isaac Lobo, Bishop Udupi Diocese, Rt Rev. Hemachandra Kumar, Bishop, CSI Karnataka Southern Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Lawrence Mukkuzhy, Bishop Belthangady Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Francis Serrao, Bishop Shimoga Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Henry D’Souza, Bishop Bellary Diocese, UT Khader, Mangalore MLA, Dr. N Binaya Hegde, President, NITTE Education Trust, Chancellor, NITTE Deemed University, Dr. M Mohan Alva, Chairman, Alvas Education Foundation, Dr. Shantaram Shetty, Chairman, Tejaswini Hospital, Rajayogini BK Vishweshwari, In-Charge Brahma Kumari Centre, Mangalore, Maladi Ajith Kumar Rai, President Buntara Yane Nadavara Mathr Sangha, and Rajshkar Kotian, President Rastriya Billawara Maha Mandala will be present as the guests of honor during the event, Lobo further added.
Contribution of Dr. Ronald Colaco across various fields:
Government sector:
Dr. Ronald Colaco has been contributing to the welfare of police department and has provided funds for the construction of two police stations. He also provides aide to several police stations in the state.
He has also donated towards construction of top-class "Vakil Bhavan" (Lawyers' Chamber) in Bengaluru.
Similarly he has also contributed in providing basic amenities to the various offices of Revenue Department, apart from contributing to the Panchayat Raj building , PWD, Zilla Panchayat, Corporations, road constructions among others.
Education sector:
Dr. Ronald Colaco has also contributed in construction and renovation of various government schools. He has also provided basic amenities to over 30 government schools in the state.
Healthcare sector:
Dr. Ronald Colaco also actively takes part in various healthcare programmes as donor.
Religious sector:
Despite being a spiritual Christian himself, Dr. Ronald Colaco's social services were never inspired or shadowed by religious lines.
He has generously donated to the places of worship of all religions including donations to Bengaluru-Bhovipalya's Muneeshwar Temple.
He had also donated to the reconstruction of 700-year-old Singarihalli-Bengaluru Maddoramma Temple. He also generously donated to the Suryanarayana Temple in Mangaluru.
His donations also include contribution in construction of over 35 Temples, Mosques and Churches across Karnataka.
Dr. Ronald Colaco has on various occasions helped people in construction of houses, and aides to farmers.
He also actively participated in establishing and construction of Konkani Arts Centre, Maand Sobhan Konkani, World Konkani Centre.
Individual assistance:
During the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Ronald Colaco provide 20-item ration kit to over 18 thousand families apart from donating towards the Karnataka Government's COVID relief fund.
He also encourage individual in the field of arts and sports and also organises mass marriage programs for the needy and poor.
He has time and again provided aide to programs for safety of women, construction of toilets, bus stops, crematoriums and providing drinking water to people above religious lines.
Dr. Ronald Colaco completed his initial studies from Bengaluru before moving abroad for employment. He worked at varios top-level companies before beginning his entrepreneurship and business.
He has always maintained that he had made a commitment at a very young age to dedicate a part of his earnings for social services and to this day sticks by it.
He played a key role in establishing of first Kannada Bhavan that was established outside India in Bahrain.
He was awarded Professional Doctorate from European International University, and was also nominated for Canara World Missionary and was honored by Canada Government.
He recently received Certificate of Excellence from World Book of Records, London for his social services, and is involved in several charitable works along with his wife Jeen Colaco, hence we should all come together in honouring him with Civic Honor, JR Lobo said in the press conference.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress not just removed clothes at AI Summit but exposed its intellectual bankruptcy: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday came down heavily on the Congress for the shirtless protest by its youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit recently, saying the opposition party can tear as many clothes as it wants, but his government will continue to work for the country's progress.
Addressing the News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Modi also said that the Congress did not just remove its clothes in front of foreign guests but also exposed its intellectual bankruptcy, asserting that the millennials have already taught the country's oldest party a lesson, and now Gen-Z is ready to do the same.
In an apparent jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said the opposition was unhappy seeing the statue of "Babbar Shers" (lions) installed atop the new Parliament building, but their own “Babbar Shers" were running away after facing the "shoes" of the general public.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had said on February 24 that he was proud of the "Babbar Shers" of the Indian Youth Congress, who "fearlessly" raised their voice at the AI Summit.
"Congress ke Babbar Sher logon ki jute kha ke bhaag gaye (The 'lions' of Congress ran away after being hit by shoes by the public)," Modi said.
The prime minister was apparently referring to the protesting Youth Congress workers being heckled by some people at the AI Summit.
On February 20, a group of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers staged a dramatic protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue in Delhi by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with anti-government slogans, triggering a political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.
“Congress can tear as many clothes as it wants, but we will continue to work for India's development. Congress not just shed clothes at the AI Summit, it also exposed its incapabilities in front of foreign guests,” Modi said in his nearly 45-minute speech.
He said the AI Summit was a moment of pride for the entire nation, but unfortunately, Congress attempted to tarnish this national celebration.
"When the frustration and despair of failure weigh on the mind, and arrogance makes one's head spin, such a mindset emerges to defame the country," he said.
The prime minister also alleged that the Congress always takes refuge in Mahatma Gandhi to hide its failures, but tries to give credit to one family for anything good.
"People of our country welcomed every good step taken by our government, but the Congress only knows how to oppose everything. The votes of Congress are not stolen; rather, people do not consider Congress worthy of their votes. Millennials first taught a lesson to Congress, now Gen-Z is ready to do the same," he said.
Modi also said that in a democracy, the role of the opposition is not just about blindly opposing every move of the government, but presenting an alternative vision, and that is why the "enlightened public" of the country is "teaching a lesson" to Congress now.
In 1984, the Congress got 39 per cent of the votes and more than 400 seats. But its votes declined consistently in the subsequent elections, Modi said.
"Today, the condition of the Congress is such that it has more than 50 MLAs in just four states. Over the past 40 years, the number of young voters in the country has increased, but the Congress has clearly diminished," Modi said.
On the recent trade deals that India signed with foreign countries, Modi said the country has discovered its inherent strength and strengthened its institutions, which prompted developed nations to come forward and sign deals with India.
He also said that even after Independence, some people ensured that the colonial mindset remained for their own benefits.
"No country would have done trade deals with us had we not discovered our inherent strength and strengthened our institutions. Because of this, developed nations have come forward to sign trade deals (with India)," he said.
Modi also said that even after Independence, India was unable to break free from the mentality of slavery, for which the country is still paying the price.
"The latest example of this can be seen in the ongoing discussions on trade deals. Some people are shocked – ‘what has happened, how did this happen? Why are developed countries so eager to do trade deals with India?’ The answer is – a confident India is emerging from despair and frustration," he said.
Over the long span of history, centuries of slavery had instilled a feeling of inferiority, while the ideology imported from other countries deeply ingrained in society the notion that Indians were uneducated and subservient, the prime minister said.
"If the country was still mired in the despair of the pre-2014 era, counted among the 'Fragile Five', and gripped by policy paralysis, who would strike a trade deal with us?
"Over the past 11 years, a new surge of energy has flowed into the nation's consciousness. India is now striving to reclaim its lost potential," Modi said.
The prime minister also said that due to the recent series of reforms initiated by his government, the world's most powerful nations are now coming forward to sign trade deals with India.
"There was a time when India was only a consumer of new technology. But now we are not just developing them, but also setting standards," he said.
The prime minister also said that India's digital public infrastructure has become a subject of global discussion today, and every move India makes is closely watched and analysed across the world.
"The AI Summit was a clear example of this," he said.
The government's 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' is not a political slogan but an effort to correct the mistakes of the previous Congress governments by making India self-reliant, he said.
“So far, in every industrial revolution, India and the Global South largely remained followers, but in this age of artificial intelligence (AI), India is not only participating but is also shaping it. India now has its own AI startup ecosystem,” Modi said.
He also said the world is astonished that India, where around 30 million families lived in darkness until 2014, has now risen to become one of the top countries in solar power capacity.
India, where many cities had no hope of improving their public transport system, has now become the country with the world's third-largest Metro network, Modi said.
“The Indian Railways was known only for chronic delays and sluggish speeds, yet semi-high-speed connectivity like Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat has now become possible,” he said.
Nation-building never happens through short-term thinking; it is shaped by a long-term vision, patience and timely decisions, the prime minister added.
