OCI Card Holders Can Now Write Entrance Exams for Professional Courses in Karnataka April 17, 2019 09:54
In a piece of good news for OCI card holders longing to study in Karnataka, the state High Court has ruled that Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holders can now write entrance exams to professional courses in the state under the general quota. The OCI holders who were once considered to be non-resident Indians and fell under NRI quota for college admissions will now be considered the same as with citizens of India for state entrance exams, judgment ruled. Several students holding OCI cards approached the court challenging the notion that they were not eligible for general quota seats under Karnataka’s Common Entrance Test (CET). A petition had been filed by Pranav V Deshpande along with other OCI card-holding students. In addition to medical and dental courses, individuals with an OCI can now write entrance exams to professional courses, as well as engineering.The judgment was delivered by Justice Krishna S Dixit who also annulled the inclusion of OCI cardholders in the same category as NRIs.Citing that an amendment to the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions act made in 2017 which does not include ‘Overseas Citizens of India or Overseas Citizens of India Cardholders within the definition of Non-resident Indians,’ the court made a judgment that OCI holders be considered on par with citizens of India."A Writ of Declaration issues to the effect that, the impugned Rule 5 of the Karnataka Selection of Candidates for Admission to Government Seats in Professional Educational Institution Rules, 2006, to the extent it prescribes Indian Citizenship, is not enforceable against the Overseas Citizens of India Cardholders," the court order further reads.The CET or Common Entrance Test was started in 1994 as a criterion to permit students to set foot in a number of professional courses under the government quota. These courses include seats in Dental, Medical, Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, Engineering and Architecture courses, among others.By Sowmya Sangam
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Now NRIs Can Open Account in IDBI Bank Without Submitting Paper Documents April 17, 2019 09:39
The Non-resident Indians, living in nearly 40 countries, can now be able to open an account in IDBI Bank without submitting paper documents, the lender said on Tuesday.IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) has launched…
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Indian Man Jailed for Three Months Followed by Deportation for Hacking 15 Websites April 16, 2019 18:44
The 33-year-old Indian IT (Information Technology) programmer in Dubai has been sentenced to three months in prison followed by deportation for hacking 15 client websites after his employer deducted $1,080 from his salary, according to…
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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: No Online Voting for Indian Expats in UAE, Clarifies Consul-General of India April 15, 2019 18:08
The Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates will not be able to do online voting, the Consul-General of India in Dubai has said dismissing rumors that it was possible for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to…
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NRI Voter Flaunts His Flight Ticket on Social Media, Someone Goes and Secretly Cancels It April 15, 2019 11:38
Non-Resident Indians invariably be excited to visit their home country, while some unveil it by sharing with their closed ones some go to an extent of sharing particulars on social media, which sometimes be a…
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Indian Origin Man Quits Job in Australia to Vote for PM Modi in Indian General Elections April 15, 2019 11:26
Despite staying in India many people by purpose failed to cast their valuable vote in still afoot Lok Sabha elections but a man hailing from Mangalore and settled in Australia stood out from all to make a decision in his life that would help him vote tranquilly for his ideal leader. The 41-year-old Sudhindraa Hebbaar (41), has resigned from his job as a screening officer at Sydney Airport since he could not get leave to come to India to cast his vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on April 18.The man got leave from April 5 to April 12 but he was let down as could not get an extension due to Easter and Ramadan rush. So he made up his mind to resign and come back to India, he told National Daily. Hebbaar added, “In Sydney, I’ve been working with people from across the globe, including Europeans and Pakistanis. I’m proud every time they say India has a great future. I attribute this success and changing image of India to the Prime Minister. Obviously, I cannot go to the border to protect my motherland.”He said that now that he has resigned, he plans to stay till the results (May 23) and see who wins the election after that he will go back and search for a new job.He said in a statement “I am a Permanent Residency card-holder in Australia (his wife is a Fiji-Australian) and I have worked at Sydney Trains before working at the airport. Finding another job shouldn’t be an issue.”Similar in 2014 Indian general elections, Hebbaar flew to India for a day to cast his vote for BJP. He was at the polling booth in Mangalore at 7 a.m., cast his vote and returned to Bengaluru to catch his flight to Sydney.By Sowmya Sangam
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Planning to Study in U.S.? Here Are Seven Steps to Get a Student Visa April 14, 2019 03:30
As the United States Consulate General Chennai begins its student visa season officially, Kent May, U.S. Consul for Consular Affairs and his colleagues at the Consulate and the Education USA programme held an interactive session…
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Number of H-1B Visa Applications Rise After Two Years of Decline April 13, 2019 11:41
The number of applications for the H-1B visa that allows the United States companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations has risen slightly in last year after two years of decline. The United States…
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Meet the 32-Year-Old Indian American Who Traveled for over 30 Hours Just to Vote in General Elections April 12, 2019 11:45
Despite being in India scores of voters didn’t turn up to exercise their franchise but a 32-year-old job holder in the United States traveled from New York to Nagpur spending a bomb just to cast his vote. Ashish Sharma, who is working as a sales manager in the United States-based e-commerce company, has lately been a frequent visitor to the city owing to his mother’s ill health. As per the arrangement made with his company, his next visit was scheduled around April 25. However, after polling dates were announced, the big follower of Indian politics could not resist and convinced his bosses to let him fulfill his national duties. Sharma reached Nagpur flying for over 30 hours in the early hours of Thursday. “Right after the polling date was announced, I had made up my mind to come here. While during other visits my company would bear the travel expenses, this time I would be paying for my return tickets,” said Sharma. “It’s not about just one vote. I know it won’t make a difference. My main intention is to motivate all the Indians staying abroad to come and vote. Imagine what a big difference can be made if thousands of Indians living just in the United States vote,” said Sharma, who has been posting his inked pictures on social media appealing people living overseas to vote. Voting, for them, is a medium to express their belongingness, Said Sharma. “We are not appreciated much outside as some racism does exist. And we are not appreciated in India as we don’t stay here. What can be a better way than voting to show that we care?” he added. NRI voters were not been extended right to cast their votes online in this Lok Sabha elections. A bill to extend proxy voting rights to NRIs was passed in Lok Sabha but is pending in Rajya Sabha. -Sangam Sowmya
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Indian Expatriates Stranded in Mecca After Misplacing Passports April 12, 2019 10:41
A group of 43 Indian expatriates, including women and children, who were employed in Kuwait misplaced their passports in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and are desperately making efforts to return to…
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Indian Diaspora ‘Frustrated’ at Restricted Voting Rights in Indian Elections: Survey April 10, 2019 15:46
Non-Resident Indians were recently turned down from voting online or proxy voting at Lok Sabha elections starting April 11. A survey found for that reason, NRIs across the United Kingdom and Europe are feeling “frustrated” at only being allowed to vote in the Indian elections by traveling back their constituency to cast their vote. The survey, conducted by UK-based Indian diaspora think tank Bridge India, found that the large number of NRIs are overwhelmingly in favor of being able to vote through their local consulates or embassies. “Less than 6 percent were happy with the status quo, while 61 percent said they should be allowed to instead vote at their local consulate or embassy and 17 percent said they should be allowed to appoint a proxy to cast their vote for them,” Bridge India said in a statement on Monday. "More than 60 percent also strongly agreed with the statement that Indians should be allowed dual citizenship, which is currently not allowed,” it noted. The survey received over 350 responses over the last month, with one-third of the respondents identifying as NRIs and two-thirds as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). From among the respondents, 20 percent identified themselves as left of center on the political spectrum, 22 percent as centrist and 29 percent as for the right of center. Bridge India will release the complete results of its wider Indian diaspora survey later in the year. The survey's interim results coincided with the non-profit think tank's “Countdown to the Indian General Elections: What should we expect?” event at the Henry Jackson Society in London on Monday. The panelists at the event, which included strategists and authors, analyzed the importance of the 2019 Indian General Election and their likely impact on India-UK relations. “If it is a BJP-led government, India-UK relations would move forward along the lines of the November 2015 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when a joint statement on closer political and security cooperation was struck… in the case of a Congress-led government, it would be a case of starting from ground zero,” said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). “Some of the big successes of the bilateral relationship, such as Masala Bonds, as the UK seeks out global partners in a post-Brexit context will benefit from continuity in government [in India],” added Pratik Dattani, Managing Director, EPG Economic and Strategy Consulting. -Sangam Sowmya
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Indian Government Extends Deadline to Accept PIO Cards April 10, 2019 10:44
The Bureau of Immigration (BoI), Government of India will continue to accept Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards as valid travel documents till September 30, 2019, along with valid foreign passport, according to a press…
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