UAE-Based Indian Girl Rescued who Planned to Livestream Suicide December 24, 2018 18:02
A 20-year-old Indian-origin girl distressed over comments mocking her picture on social media planned to commit suicide and livestream it but was saved eventually by the police. According to a Khaleej Times report on Saturday,…
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NITI Aayog Calls for Creating Conditions to Import Indian-Origin Doctors December 24, 2018 11:25
A policy think tank of the Government of India NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) has pitched for enactment of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017, observing that regulatory bodies of the Medical…
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NRI to Launch Project in Bid to Fight Anaemia in Gujarat December 22, 2018 12:02
An Indian-origin Thakor Patel is set to launch a project in Gujarat for villagers suffering from iron-deficiency anemia. The villagers through the project will get iron 'Mirchis' or 'balls' that can be dipped while cooking 'kadhi' or 'dals.' Earlier, Kenya-born Patel initiated a Sevak project. Now, about to launch project will distribute the mirchis' or round-shaped balls in villages where anemia is an acute problem. Gujarat being to a great extent vegetarian state, iron-deficiency anemia has been identified as a major health problem by Sevak project which was started in 2010 as an initiative of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPIO). "Worldwide, iron fish which is a fish-shaped cast iron ingot is used to as dietary supplement for those having iron-deficiency anemia. These ingots are placed in a pot of boiling water to leach elemental iron into the water and food," said Patel. "Being a vegetarian state, iron fish may not get easily accepted in Gujarat. So, we are developing iron 'Mirchi' or iron 'balls' that can be distributed amongst villagers," he said, adding that the project will be rolled out from Nardipur in Gandhinagar where Sevak is already running its health project. "We will start distributing the iron ingots in partnership with the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Gandhinagar, U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University and Swedish conglomerate Hoganas," he said. The mirchis will act as a continuous supplement as they can be used again while cooking the curries. Through $1 million grant given by U.S.-based Non-Resident Indians Chirag Patel and Chintu Patel to IIPH, Gandhinagar, Sevaks working under the project are already screening girls in the age group of 11 to women up to 40 years of age for anemia in over 80 villages of 33 districts of Gujarat. "As part of the maternal child health projects, the Sevaks are screening the girls and women by using TouchHb machines that have been developed by Biosense of Pune. The plan is to treat all the females with anemia and to fortify the family food with iron to prevent anemia in future," said Patel. After taking in one village each in each district, Sevak is currently spreading out its wings to Tamil Nadu and Orissa. "At first, we had only 26 villages, 26 sevaks in 26 districts of Gujarat. But, now we have 33 sevaks who are covering 80 villages of 33 districts of the state and all of them are trained in healthcare, sanitation, water purification, prevention of diseases and lifestyle modification education," he said. -Sowmya Sangam
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Indian Govt. to Provide Return Tickets to Stranded Indians in Saudi December 21, 2018 13:14
About 3,000 Indian workers stranded in Saudi Arabia will be provided return tickets from the government to those willing to come back and is making efforts to renew permits of those wanting to work at…
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H-1B Visas Should Attract Best Talent: U.S. Homeland Secretary December 21, 2018 12:47
The Trump administration has said the United States should select the "very best" among the applicants under the H-1B visas, vowing to intensify efforts to ensure that these work visas, the most sought by Indian…
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NRI Students Can Soon Study Medicine in Karnataka's Govt. Colleges December 19, 2018 12:45
The state government of Karnataka is thinking about providing admission to Non-Resident Indians (NRI) students at state government medical colleges from the academic year 2019-20, according to information provided by the state Medical Education Minister…
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Waiting Period for EB-5 Visas May Extend to 7 Years in 2019 December 19, 2018 12:33
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the EB-5 visa programme for immigrant investors until December 21. However, the waiting time period for a green card for applicants to this visa category…
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NRI Couple's kind Gesture for Homeless Family in Telangana December 18, 2018 17:51
The United States-based Non-Resident Indian (NRI) couple showed their humane nature by building a four-room house with cement sheets roof for a poverty-stricken family behind the market area in Jagtial town in Telangana. Jagtial based couple, Papatti Aadi alias Harish and his wife Sri Laxmi migrated to the United States in hunt of employment and settled there. Recently, Aadi decided to construct a house for a homeless family in the remembrance of his mother Ramalaxmi and contacted local social worker Renikunta Ramesh, who identified Badri Sujatha's family to construct a house. A beedi roller, a thin cigarette or mini-cigar filled with tobacco flake, Sujatha is striving hard to stay in a dilapidated hut along with her three daughters and in-laws. Besides providing education to her three daughters, Sujatha is taking care of her in-laws after the death of her husband Venkatesh three years ago. With an intent to provide permanent shelter to family, Ramesh had decided to construct a house with the amount donated by NRI couple. Besides the NRI couple, local philanthropists came forward to donate cement bags and doors. Aadi's mother-in-law Damarapati Bharathi along with local corporator Pippari Anitha inaugurated the house on Monday. The construction of the house was completed by spending Rs 1.80 lakh. While NRI couple provided Rs 1.30 lakh, remaining amount was pooled locally, social worker Ramesh told Telangana Today. When Aadi explained regarding his idea to construct a house to hapless family, he began searching for an impoverished family and found Sujatha, who was going through terrible hardships to staying in a dilapidated hut along with her daughters and in-laws. Earlier, he managed to construct houses to 17 poor families besides providing Rs 62.50 lakh financial assistance to 43 needy families during the last three years. -Sowmya
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Indian-origin Businessman Brings Christmas Cheer to UK Homeless December 18, 2018 12:10
An Indian-origin businessman Prakash Bhojani, based in the East Midlands city of Leicester, has brought Christmas merrymaking to scores of homeless people by donating to a local project and arranging to provide renovated housing to them. The homeless people, to be chosen by campaign group Action Homeless, will be able to move into their new homes prior to Christmas. Bhojani, 70, has been involved in local charity organizations. He also runs a factory and real estate company. The renovated houses owned by Bhojani's company are being leased to the campaign group for a nominal fee. Bhojani donated £100,000 to the project that will benefit those who have recent experience of sleeping rough on the streets. Bhojani told 'Leicester Mercury', a leading local daily: "We've worked hard to make sure the properties have all been renovated to a high standard. We want this to be the first step to people getting back on track, it's important that the homes help them to do that". "I'm in a position where I can give something back. There are lots of reasons someone might find themselves homeless, these people deserve a second chance and they should have somewhere to live that makes them feel that way." Mark Grant of Action Homeless added: "We are really pleased to be able to offer this additional accommodation to people who are affected by homelessness in Leicester. The city as a whole is suffering from a lack of good-quality affordable housing and this has a huge impact on people, leaving many vulnerable. "I am particularly delighted that people without a home will have somewhere safe and comfortable to call their own in time for Christmas. My sincere thanks go to our generous donors who have made this possible." Leicester, the city held up as a symbol of Britain's policies of multilateralism, has a sizable number of people of Indian-origin, many moved there after being expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda in the early 1970s and went on to come through in various professions and business. -Sowmya
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NRIs Urge Sushma Swaraj to Alleviate Norms for Aadhaar Enrollment December 17, 2018 15:53
The Non-Resident Indian (NRI) groups expressed concern over difficulties in Aadhaar enrolment and demanded a change of law to enable every NRI, regardless of residential status, get enrolled for Aadhaar. Many NRI activists alleged that though a circular was issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), several departments still demanded Aadhaar card from NRIs to issue Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards, register property and for other essential services. The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, states that only a person who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months before the date of application is eligible for enrolment. KV Shamsudheen, chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, said, "We have written to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj about issues related to Aadhaar enrolment. Two years ago, it was announced that the government would issue Aadhaar card to all NRIs. But that was not done. "The CEO of the UIDAI published a circular in which he advised all the Indian authorities not to demand Aadhaar cards from Non-Resident Indians because they were not eligible to take Aadhaar cards as per the current law." He said that despite the circular, authorities still demanded Aadhaar card from NRIs to issue PAN cards, for property registration etc. "As a result, many NRIs facing difficulties to obtain an Aadhaar card, at times, take the illegal route by bribing officials. "Other countries that have biometric identity cards, issue it to its citizens. India is the only country in the world that is issuing the identification card only to its resident citizens," added Shamsudheen. -Sowmya
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80% Rise in Indian Students Aspiring to Study Medicine Abroad December 17, 2018 13:57
There is an immense rise in the number of students wishing to study medicine abroad, according to the official data in response to a Right To Information (RTI) filed to Medical Council of India in…
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13-Yr-Old Indian Boy Owns Software Development Company in Dubai December 17, 2018 12:24
The 13-year-old Indian-origin boy, who had developed his first application at the age of nine, now is the owner of a software company in Dubai. Aadithyan Rajesh, a student from Kerala, was just nine years…
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