Media Release
Doha, Mar 13: Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) under the aegis of Embassy of India in Qatar, held a handing over ceremony on Sunday, March 9, at the ICC Ashoka Hall. The event marked the transition of leadership between the outgoing and incoming management teams. Dr Vaibhav A Tandale, counsellor at the Embassy of India and ICC chief coordinator, was the chief guest for the occasion. In his address, Dr Tandale expressed his gratitude to the outgoing team for their exceptional contributions and support to the Embassy's initiatives. He also extended his warm congratulations to the newly appointed ICC management team, led by A P Manikantan, for their upcoming term (2025-2026).
The floor was opened by ICC incoming vice president Shantanu Deshpande. During the welcome address, outgoing general secretary Mohan Kumar, thanked everyone for their support during his team's tenure. He also officially handed over the reins of the general secretary role to Abraham K Joseph, the incoming general secretary, in a symbolic gesture of leadership transition.
A P Manikantan, who will continue to serve as president for the 2025-2026 term, thanked the community and the Embassy for the support during his previous term and requested their continued backing for his new term. In addition to the new management committee, the ICC’s advisory council for 2025-2026 also assumed its responsibilities. The council will be led by PN Babu Rajan.
The ceremony was attended by prominent community leaders, including ICBF president Shanavas Bava, ISC president E P Abdurahman, IBPC president Thaha Mohammed and ICC AO presidents. The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks by the incoming general secretary Abraham K Joseph.
The new ICC management committee for the 2025-2026 term comprises, A P Manikantan as president, Shantanu Deshpande as vice president, Abraham K Joseph as general secretary, Pradeep Pillai and Afsal Abdul Majeed as secretaries, Biswajit Banerji will serve as head of finance, Nandini Abbagouni as head of cultural activities, Rakesh Wagh as head of HR, admin & consular, Ravindra Prasad as head of affiliation, Sandeep Sriramareddy as head of IT & social media, Anu Sharma as head of educational activities, and Venkappa Bhagavatula as head of in-house activities.