Media Release

Doha, Feb 2: For the first time in the history of Qatar, elections were conducted for the Indian Expatriate Community Apex Body through a mobile application DIGIPOLL developed by the Embassy of India. This was done to avoid mass gathering for the manual voting process in the current COVID-19 situation. The election process was flawless and a huge success with more than 95% overwhelming response and participation. There were all-around acknowledgment and appreciation for the job well done by the Embassy of India in conducting elections fairly and the results were declared in less than 30 min after closing time.

Amongst the Apex bodies, the Indian Cultural Center (ICC) elected new president P N Babu Rajan and the managing committee members for 2021-22. After consultations and approval by the Embassy of India, on January 27, the first ICC management committee meeting was held and assigned positions were announced.

Subramanya Hebbagelu was elected as vice-president, Krishna Kumar Bandhakavi as general secretary, Sudhir Gupta as secretary, Arshad Ali as head of Finance, Anish George Mathew as head of HR, Premises, Shweta Koshti as head of cultural activities, Kamla Dhansingh Thakur as activity coordinator and education, Mohan Kumar as head of inhouse activities, Afsal Abdul Majeed as head of Consular Services and External Events and Sajeev Sathyseelan as head of Affiliation and membership. The managing committee allocations were done based on the background and experience in various organizational positions held.