New Jersey governor may visit India in April

New York, Dec 19 (UNI) The first ever first-generation Indian-American elected to a US state legislature Upendra Chivukula has welcomed the proposed visit of Governor Jon S Corzine of New Jersey to India early next year.

Mr Chivukula, first elected to New Jersey legislature in the late 1990s on the Democratic Party ticket, still continues to hold his seat described the visit as a ''right step''.

The lawmaker addressed a meeting to mark the 11th anniversary of Kaizen Technologies, a midsized software consultancy based in Edison in neighboring New Jersey, according to a company statement. Mr Chivukula hoped the visit, likely to take place in April, would bring closer the economies of his adopted state and his motherland.

''The Indian-American community, one of the largest ethnic groups in New Jersey, could act as a bridge between the two economies,'' Mr Chivukula said, adding the governor, who is also a Democrat, has been a keen proponent of ties with India.

Mr Chivukula, the only Indian-American elected to the New Jersey legislature, is on the state's commerce and economic development committee. ''I'm powerful only because of you,'' he told the predominantly Indian-American group of about 100 families gathered to listen to him.

He welcomed economic proposals from companies like Kaizen to bolster New Jersey's economy. Kaizen has a technology center in Mysore and a software development unit in Hyderabad. It employs 200 and has about ten million in revenue.

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