Indo-Canadians welcome deadline extension to convert PIO cards

The Indo-Canadian community has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to extend deadline to convert PIO cards to OCI cards.

Describing OCI card as a symbol of "Indian identity", representatives of various Indo-Canadian Organisations including Canada-India Business Council, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Canada-India Foundation and Panorama India welcomed the decisions of the Prime Minister to extend deadline to convert PIO cards to OCI cards by June 30, 2017.

"The Indian Consulate in Toronto has accelerated the process to deal with applications to convert PIO cards to OCI cards," said Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India.

Bhatia was speaking at a function organized by the Indian Consulate in Toronto, to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), Toronto Edition, to commemorate return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India in 1915.

Describing Indo-Canadians as "frontline envoys of ancient Indian culture and civilization", Bhatia said, "We gather here today to recalibrate and reaffirm our roots and celebrate achievements of Indo-Canadians".

Indo-Canadians have made outstanding contributions in their chosen fields. Among them, they are politicians of status, scientists of repute, outstanding doctors, brilliant educationists, IT professionals, economists, musicians, famous philanthropists, journalists, bankers, engineers and lawyers,” he added.

Many Indo-Canadians, politicians and dignitaries attended the function.