Over 25,000 Indians to Attend Rahul's Public Meeting in Dubai January 09, 2019 15:42
Over 25,000 Indian origins across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are expected to attend the public meeting of Indian National Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi's at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. Gandhi will be…
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UK Visas to Be Expensive for Indian, Non-EU Migrants from Today January 08, 2019 10:58
As part of plans to raise the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), the overall cost of the United Kingdom visa and non-European Union citizens will rise from Tuesday, which is payable when professionals, students, and family…
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MEA Address 4,189 Complaints of Abandoned Wives in Last Three Years January 04, 2019 13:26
In the past three years, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has addressed 4,189 complaints of distressed Indian women abandoned by their non-resident Indian husbands, the Rajya Sabha was told Thursday. In 2016, a total of 1,510 such complaints were addressed, while in 2017 as many as 1,498 complaints were addressed and earlier this year, till November 30, 1,181 complaints were addressed, Minister of State for the External Affairs Ministry V K Singh said in reply to a question. Singh said the government has adopted a "multi-pronged approach to give respite to the wives deserted by their NRI husbands". "The Ministry of External Affairs provides counseling, guidance, and information about legal procedures, mechanisms for serving a judicial summons on the overseas Indian husband; filing a judicial case in India, issuing Look out circulars; impounding and revocation of Indian passport of the husband to such aggrieved women," he said. The Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) Guidelines were revised in September 2017 with an intent to provide financial and legal assistance to distressed women married to NRI spouses by all Indian Missions and Posts abroad, he added. The amount of legal and financial assistance to distressed Indian women has also been increased to USD 4,000 per case, he said in a written response. "The assistance is released to the impanelled legal counsel of the applicant or Indian Community Association or Women's Organization or an NGO concerned to enable them to take necessary and appropriate steps to assist the woman in documentation and preparatory work for filing the case," he said. -Sowmya Sangam
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SEBI Brings in Single Regime for NRI, FPI, PIO Investors January 04, 2019 10:25
Indian regulatory body Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come out with rules for the merger of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and non-resident Indians/overseas citizens routes to bring in a single regime for…
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Indian Govt. to Bring Stringent Law on NRIs Abandoning Wives January 02, 2019 11:24
The Indian government is geared up to bring omnibus legislation that will prescribe stiff measures like the cancellation of a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) holder's Indian passport if he found to have deserted his wife. About 4,300 lawsuits of NRI men deserting their wives in India have been registered in the last three years. Under the proposed law, if an NRI husband deserts his wife and flee, a court summon published in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs website will be deemed to have been searched. And, as soon as the summon is entered as 'served' if the person fails to appear in court on the given date, his passport can be canceled and his property in India seized. The law will also make the registration of marriage mandatory within 15 working days. The Indian government has up to now canceled the passport of 33 non-resident Indians for deserting their wives. The Passport Act comprises provisions for cancellation of passport of a holder who has received a summons for a court appearance or has a warrant for his/her arrest under any law that prohibits departure from India. Thus, the new law will just formalize this for desertion of spouses by NRIs. The larger point, however, is that, while there needs to be stringent action against such abandonment, canceling passports encourages further law-breaking. To be certain, before 2011, passports were not impounded and there was little that the deserted wives could do. Nonetheless, revoking passports means the person is liable to remain underground/illegally in a foreign nation in a bid to escape the law. -Sowmya Sangam
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Quick Guide to Open Resident Foreign Currency Account for Returning NRI December 31, 2018 10:17
A returning Non-Resident Indian (NRI) would have assets and bank accounts abroad, as well as income generated from these assets would be in a foreign currency. According to the report, a returning NRI has the…
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Protests in Kerala Against Body Weighing by Airlines December 28, 2018 18:07
The members of the Malabar Development Forum (MDF) staged a protest in Kerala on Thursday against what they called the "inhuman and cruel practice" of charging transportation fee by airline companies on the bodies of…
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Bill Granting Voting Rights to NRIs Blocked in Rajya Sabha December 28, 2018 11:29
The united opposition in Rajya Sabha on Thursday blocked the much sought after a bill by the Central Government that proposes to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to allow the overseas voters to appoint proxies to cast their votes in the state assemblies and Lok Sabha elections. To their amazement, most of the opposition parties found that a bill Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was listed in the business list. In the Business Advisory committee meeting took place in the chamber of Rajya Sabha chairman, most of the leaders, including Venkaiah Naidu, opposed the ways saying treasury benches listed the proposed legislation without their consultation. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha asked the Government to discuss with the opposition on the bill and find a consensus. The opposition parties as well decided to oppose the Triple Talaq Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha if it comes to Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his most of the visit to foreign countries assured the non-Resident Indian community that they will be given voting rights for the Lok Sabha and assembly polls of the country. The Government was very keen to bring the bill before the coming Lok Sabha poll. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha in the last monsoon session of the Parliament. Central Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad gave an argument that it would be a "momentous event" and a big opportunity was being given to NRIs. He said the constitution makers had given the right to vote to all Indians and as such the NRIs also had the right. "Let us not deride the contribution of NRIs. They have made a place for themselves by their hard work. Their commitment to India is truly remarkable," he said. Responding to the apprehension of some members that the proxy provision can be used fraudulently, he said rules will be made in such a way that if the law is flouted, it will lead to cancellation of the mandate. -Sowmya sangam
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'American Dream' for Indian Techies Began to Fade in 2018 December 28, 2018 11:22
The year 2018 have been staggering for scores of Indian techies with "American dream," as Trump administration carried on with its suppression on the high-in-demand long-term United States work visa, especially among Indians, the H-1B.…
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NRI Taxpayers Can File Returns Manually for Nil/Lower TDS Certificate December 27, 2018 12:15
The resident and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) taxpayers waiting to apply for deduction of taxes at a lower or nil rate on total income are now allowed for the manual filing of a form, according to…
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NRI Teen in Bid to Empower Girls in India December 27, 2018 11:56
An Indian-American teenage girl, who is on a visit to India, is making efforts to make India a safe country for girls. The girls need not feel weak and worry when they were confronted by anti-social elements, said Spoorthi, a Class 11 student from the United States, while she visited the Asha Sadan, a rehabilitation home run by the HELP NGO, along with her mother, at Machavaram on Wednesday. Spoorthi, also a volunteer of Empower and Excel, an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) in the U.S. explained the girls in the home on techniques to grow strong, deal with the threats from the anti-social elements. The girls were enthusiastically involved in the training program on self-defense skills. Sunitha, Spoorthi's mother said: Ayesha Charugulla, a non-resident Indian from Chirala founded the non-profit organization, Empower and Excel in the USA. She said that as the volunteers of the organization, they were creating awareness on sex education in girls in different schools and organizations across Andhra Pradesh, starting from the one at Asha Sadan. She said that they were going to take up a similar programme at Kanigiri, Kondepi and other places in the district in the coming days. Subsequently, the HELP secretary Nimmaraju Ram Mohan unveiled a book on sex education, 'Jagruti' written by Spoorthi. He said that the girls should take inspiration from her and utilize the skills when required in the future. The India chapter head of the Empower and Excel KK Krishna Kumar, Asha Sadan in-charge Jayasri and manager M Nageswara Rao were also present in the programme. -Sowmya sangam
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Indian-American Medics 'Surprised' by Jharkand Doctors' Practices December 26, 2018 16:10
A group of 19 Indian-American students, pursuing pre-medical courses at different universities are on a 10-day education tour of Jharkhand and to other parts of the country to acquire the first-hand experience of medical practices in the state. The educational program is organized every year by the Health Foundation for Rural India (HFRI) in collaboration with the Arogya Foundation in India which is running 35 resource centers across the country with five of them in Jharkhand alone. "This is the fourth time I am visiting Jharkhand with a new set of students and the objective is to provide the aspiring medical students a first-hand account of Indian medicine and the practice, which will be great exposure for all of them. We have a 10-day schedule where these students will visit various hospitals, medical camps in rural areas and attend lectures among other events," said Dr. Veena S Gandhi, a gynecologist from New Jersey and the chief architect of the HFRI. On Tuesday, the students visited an Ayurveda clinic in Lalpur and Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) campus interacting with patients and doctors. The students also have lectures scheduled at Rims for the next four days by senior professors. "Some of the practices here surprised us completely. For example, I saw paramedics weren't using masks all times during their stay in the operation theatre. Also, no one uses shoe covering inside hospitals," said Nupur Dapatardar, a student of allied health science at the University of Connecticut. Radhika Patel, a physical therapy student of St. Louis University, Chicago, said: "The most important thing is that treatment in India is way cheaper than the U.S." Dr. Yogendra Patel, a surgeon from New York and a member of the advisory committee of HFRI, said that such visits help students get wider experience. The group will also travel to Gola in Ramgarh district for a medical camp and will visit a resource center by Arogya foundation of India at Shikharji in Giridih district later this week. -Sowmya Sangam
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