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In an unprecedented gesture, the American state of California honoured actor Anupam Kher, venture capitalist Kanwal Rekhi, publisher Ramesh Murarka, and 37 other prominent Indians to mark India's 56th Independence Day.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commissioner Ashok Kumar Bhatt, Gaylord restaurants president Kishore Kripalani, and Jim Naik, consultant investor for The IndUS Entrepreneurs, were among those felicitated by the legislative assembly of California in Sacramento on Thursday.
A resolution to commemorate Independence Day was passed in both houses of the assembly, which stated that California had been greatly influenced by the achievements of Indian Americans in diverse areas such as agriculture, computer software and the technology industry, medicine, and social leadership.
Out of the 400,000 H1-B visa holders in the state, half are from India, and nearly 300,000 Indian Americans work in technology firms in California's Silicon Valley and account for more than 15 per cent of hi-tech startups in that region, it said.
The event was a tribute to the strength and courage of people of India who are a part of the unique diversity of the state, California Governor Gray Davis said in a message to the community.
PTI
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