Birthday of Sri Guru Ramdas Ji

PUNJABIS OVERSEAS
The Sikh Samaritan
A
n Indianorigin
Sikh
happy. My religion says
more energy so they're
migrant driver in Australia
has been named
‘Australian of the Day’
for feeding the homeless
in Darwin for the
10 per cent of income
goes towards the needy
and the poor — no matter
(whether) they belong
to your religion or any religion,"
past three years.
Singh was
Tejinder Pal Singh
has dedicated the last
Sunday of the month to
feed the poor and
quoted as saying by local
media. “I do something
for homeless people, so
they get more energy so
homeless locals of Tejinder Pal Singh distributes food to the poor and needy they're happy,” he added.
northern Darwin after
he finishes his shift as a cabbie. He cooks 30 kg of Indian
cuisine to feed the homeless after his night shift. The free
lunch that Singh offers comprises chickpeas, rice and
vegetarian curry.
“I do something for homeless people, so they get
His van carries a signature
written 'Free Indian food for hungry and needy
people: Provider Sikh family.' Commonwealth Bank has
sponsored the Australian of the Year Awards for over 35
years, recognising extraordinary Australians who have
made a big difference to the country.
Financial whizkid
T
oronto-based Bhim D Asdhir,
whose family hails
from Ludhiana, is among those first
generation Indo-Canadians who
have scripted super success stories in
the country's financial sector.
Asdhir, who was in Class 11
when his family migrated to Toronto
from India in 1981, is the founder of
Excel Funds which was Canada's
best performing mutual fund last
year.
"We are also doing well in India
as we are the biggest India-dedicated
Canadian mutual fund investing in the Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE)," Asdhir said.
"After the turbulence, India has taken off again. I
met Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was here
in Toronto and I am very positive on India."
Bhim D. Asdhir
He expects the Indian economy
to hit the 10-trillion mark in the next
10 years.
"Remember, China was a twotrillion-dollar
economy a decade ago
and today it is $10 trillion. I am very
sure that in the next 10 years, India
too will be a $10-trillion economy,'"
says Bhim from his swanky office in
the Toronto suburb of Mississauga.
This bold corporate man was one
of the first NRIs to take plunge in
India in the late 1990s as he foresaw
its potential.
"I went to India in 1996 and I saw what was
coming. When I came back to Toronto, I said to myself
that now is the time to invest in India. But since there
was no vehicle to invest there, I started Excel Funds,''
says Bhim.
24 Punjab Advance
October 2015