Mohammed Saifuddin Sami re-elected President of KNRI Forum-Jeddah

Media Release
July 8, 2018

Jeddah: The 11th annual general body meeting of the Karnataka Non Resident Indian (KNRI) Forum, Jeddah was held at The Village Restaurant, Jeddah on the 29th of June 2018.

Dr Firoz Mullah officially announced the start of AGBM and introduced himself to the audience as host of the event and briefed about the KNRI forum, introduced the guests and entertained the audience with his fluent Kannada language.

Program started with the welcome speech by Mohammed Kaleem Cultural Secretary of the forum, he officially welcomed all the executive committee members, life & regular members, sponsors and guests to the meeting & explained basic objectives of the forum while welcoming.

General Secretary Yashwanth Amin highlighted Annual Report of the forum through 3D animated power point presentation which was featured with Aims, Objectives, Mission, Vision and the Achievements for the year 2017-2018. 

He presented detailed information in each category, like education, medical, Swachh Bharat (toilets projects) back home. He was excited to inform about the opening of new Bank Account and getting the Forums Pan Card of forum from the government of India, he also said that KNRI has initiated and registered the KNRIs to get the NRK cards with the help of NRI Forum Karnataka who have issued the NRK cards soft copies.  During the presentation video clips of last year’s events were shown specially the memorable Kannada Rajyotsava day 2018 celebrated last year in the month of November and it was applauded by the whole members in the hall.

Mr. Aijaz Ahmed Treasurer presented the financial report through power point presentation and highlighted the receipts & payments, Income & Expenditures details for the year 2017-18 as of March 2018.  He also informed about the renewal of the Forum’s certificate as per the State Government of Karnataka Society Act.

Outgoing President Mohammed Saifuddin Sami in his speech, thanked all the executive members for tremendous support, he briefed the activities of the KNRI Forum and explained about the great achievements in his tenure, he requested members to introduce more Kannadigas to the forum and strengthen it. He thanked Life members, Sponsors and regular members for their generous support for the forum and he also thanked the KNRI team in India including Vasu Manchegowda, Syed Shakeel and Harsha for their continuous support extended in Forum’s official works back home, President extended his special thanks with standing ovation to the outgoing General Secretary Yashwanth Amin for his dedicated services to the forum all the time.

Ex-President Krish Jangal was felicitated during the event for his services towards the forum and was presented with memento as a token of appreciation, Krish Jangal said in his farewell speech as he is transferred to Riyadh and leaving Jeddah shortly, it was a pleasant journey being connected with KNRI Forum since its inception.  He wished new committee to take the forum in higher level under the new president ship.

Dignitaries and sponsors were presented with flower bouquets as a token of appreciation.

Jalal Baig officially delivered the vote of thanks, he thanked outgoing President, distinguished Guests, valued Sponsors, Life members, and he expressed deep sense of appreciation towards the outgoing executive committee for their hard work, he also thanked the presentation team headed by Mohamed Arifulla Shariff for his professional & deck perfect presentation.

New office bearers for 2018-2019

As a second part of the event Shaikh Saoud and Dr. Ashfaque Maniyar conducted the election to elect the new executive committee, explained the bye laws & election procedure. They inducted four new members to the executive committee and two as standby members  from different parts of Karnataka namely Movin Rego, Mohammed Faizal, Shadab Desai, Asif Roshan,  Lukhman Ali Khan &  Shaikh javed.

Mohammed Saifuddin Sami elected unanimously for the second term as President. The new team under him is, vice Presidents Dadapeer Hayath & Mohammed Arifullah Shariff, Peter Mascarenhas General Secretary, Jalal Baig as Joint Secretary, Aijaz Ahmed as Treasurer, Nazeer Ahmed as Joint  Treasurer, Altaf Almelker as Meeting Coordinator, Asif Momin as Sports Secretary, Asif Roshan as Joint Sport Secretary, Mohammed Kaleem as Cultural Secretary, Rajesh Suvarna as Joint Cultural Secretary, Mahboob Ali Khan as Press Secretary, Dr. Firoz Mulla, Faizee Razak and Mohammed Faisal  as  Membership drive Coordinators, Suresh Babu – IT Coordinator.

Executive Committee Members elected were, Yashwanth Amin, Mohammed Mansour, Syed Kowsain Pasha, Syed Nasir Khursheed, Mohammed Saleem Khalifa, Mohammed Ilyas Momin, Ashfaque Maniyar, Shaikh Saoud, Mukarram Khan, Mohammed Saheb, Habeeb Rahaman,  Manzour Ahmed, Movin Rego,  Shadab Desai, Mohammed Faizal & Asif Roshan.

Mr. Mohammed Saifuddin Sami expressed his happiness and gratitude in his speech after elected as President, he thanked all the members for showing confidence in him once again and he will continue to put all his efforts with the dedicated support from the new team to take the KNRI Forum, Jeddah to further higher levels.

The newly elected General Secretary Peter Mascarenhas while speaking thanked all the executive committee for giving chance to work as Gen Secretary, he said he will do his best to support the team as a Gen secretary.

Syed Nasir Khursheed the outgoing Vice President congratulated the President & the new team.

Dadapeer Hayat & Mohammed Arifulla Shariff thanked all members for electing them as Vice Presidents, while speaking Dada Peer said our team has enough talent and they are passionate towards social works.

Newly inducted Executive members expressed their happiness to be part of KNRI family, they said for the past 1-2 years they were watching the community activities of the Forum which inspired them to join the forum to extend their support for the benefit of the community through KNRI and they said we feel overwhelmed due to warm welcome from the senior members of the Forum.

As a part of entertainment segment Mohammed Kaleem, Altaf Almelkar and Mohammed Saifuddin Sami sung all-time favorite Kannada patriotic songs, melodious Kannada and Hindi Songs. Program concluded with delicious dinner served by The Village Restaurant followed by photos session.

Mukkaram Khan delivered the vote of thanks in which he expressed deep sense of appreciation towards all the members for attending this event and making it successful and thanked everyone separately, also thanked those who helped the forum directly or indirectly.

Comments

Well Wisher, Riyadh
 - 
Monday, 9 Jul 2018

Dear Sir,

A serious attention is needed to fix the website. People are not able register online.

http://www.nriforumkarnataka.org/registration2/register_new_2.0.php

 

It shows name of states/regions while selecting the country. I had earlier sent an email to key contacts mentioned in the website, but unfortunately mail was returned.

Very funny part is Saudi Arabia's name is not listed & many spelling mistakes, very unprofessional website. I think it was created by those who does not know anything about the world.
 

A serious attention is required NRI officials from Saudi Arabia

shaikhsaoud
 - 
Sunday, 8 Jul 2018

Congratulations KNRI FORUM JEDDAH..

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News Network
February 1,2026

Golf.jpg

The coastal city of Mangaluru is gearing up for a major sporting milestone with the launch of a Golf Excellence Academy at the Pilikula Golf Club (PGC), scheduled to open on May 31. The initiative aims to position Mangaluru firmly on India’s national golfing map.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday during PGC’s first-ever floodlit Pro-Am tournament, club captain Manoj Kumar Shetty said the project is being funded by UAE-based philanthropist Michael D’Souza and is currently in the design phase. Experts from leading golf academies across the country are expected to visit Mangaluru to help shape the training programme and infrastructure.

The academy will train 20 young golfers at a time, with a long-term vision of producing national-level players from the region. Until now, PGC relied on an in-house coach, but the recent renovation of the course and the introduction of floodlights have opened new possibilities for expanding the sport.

Shetty said discussions are underway with two reputed coaching academies, whose heads are expected to visit PGC shortly. “A dormitory for trainers is already under construction. We are inviting academies to assess the facilities and suggest changes so we can build a truly world-class Golf Excellence Academy,” he said.

Professional golfer Aryan Roopa Anand noted that the floodlit course would be a game-changer for young players. “Students can now practise after school hours, even up to 8 or 9 pm, without compromising on academics,” he said.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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News Network
January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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