Guide for NRIs Seeking Home Loan in India June 25, 2019 12:51
If you are a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) looking to avail a home loan in India, below given are few things for you to keep in mind while applying. Documents Required for NRI Home Loan 1.…
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Fresh Bill to Allow Proxy Voting to NRIs June 24, 2019 11:00
The Indian union cabinet will take a call Monday to introduce a fresh bill in parliament to extend the facility of proxy voting to Indians abroad after the similar bill has lapsed following the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month. According to sources, the union cabinet will consider introducing the bill in parliament, which proposes that Indians abroad, who are entitled to casting vote in India, can appoint a proxy voter on their behalf. At present, overseas Indians are permitted to cast their votes in constituencies they are enrolled. The Bill seeks to give them the option of proxy voting, which is currently available to service personnel only. There are about 3.10 crore Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living in different countries across the world, according to estimates of the Ministry of External Affairs. Back in 2015, an expert committee of the Election Commission, working on the issue, forwarded the legal framework to the Ministry of Law and Justice to amend the electoral laws to allow the overseas Indians to use proxy voting. An unofficial data with the Election Commission shows that only 10,000 to 12,000 overseas voters have exercised their franchise owing to the reason that they do not want to spend foreign currency to come to India and vote. The bill said the necessary provision of coming to India to cast ballot caused hardship for overseas electors. Amendment bill’s another provision, according to the provisions in the electoral law, relates to the spouses of service voters. Currently, an army man’s wife is eligible to be enrolled as a service voter, but a woman army officer’s husband is not. The bill proposes to replace the word ‘wife’ with ‘spouse’, hence making the provision gender-neutral. Members of the central armed police forces, armed forces, employees of the center posted outside India, and personnel of state police forces posted outside their state are eligible to be enrolled as service voters. By Sowmya Sangam
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Meet Pranav, Who Has Set up Tea Stalls in London to Give Unemployed Refugees Means of Livelihood June 24, 2019 10:38
The lack of employment has been quite hard-hitting for both the refugees and immigrants who migrated to different parts of Europe. From a deficiency of jobs for the migrants to a proper way of living, everything was compromised upon while they were not given any opportunity to make it on their own. Pranav, an Indian origin resident in London, came across a hard-hitting news story about three years ago, when the crisis had reached its hilt. The story was about a 12-year-old Iraqi boy who was asked by the interviewer what he thought about going back to his homeland, Iraq, to which the boy said, “I'm not happy as I know I'll die, but I have to go back with my family.” This interview certainly changed Pranav's life and how. (Image source from: MensXP.com) Pranav is a Delhi-born businessman and an owner of London-based tea company Chaigram (now NEMI). His social enterprise employs refugees, who work for Chaigram and help run the tea-stalls across London food markets, festivals and various events. Chaigram helps refugees who find it difficult to find jobs, earn a steady income by employing them full-time. "Ours is a platform where the refugees can improve their English skills, regain confidence and work on skills required to enter the United Kingdom job market. We also employ them within our business to perform commercial roles including sales and marketing, events, packaging, and distribution. We are solely impact driven and re-invest more than 50 percent of our profits back into our enterprise to help us achieve our social-impact goals," Pranav said in an interview with Better India. Pranav, a resident of London for seven years now, felt that people who had migrated to the UK needed to be recognized with a lot more civility and respect needed an incoming source of income and equal opportunities. (Image source from: MensXP.com) After reading up about the Iraqi family who was forced to move back to their country from Europe, he was deeply disturbed and thought about doing something to make a difference. He understood that for the refugees, getting an asylum claim acceptance wasn't the end of their difficult journey. It was mostly acceptance in the society that they struggled with and Pranav took no time in creating a viable space for them. After deeply researching about the refugee crisis in Europe, Pranav with his savings opened up an organization that would help refugees keep their identity and his only totem to run the initiative was 'chai'. He banked on his love and knowledge of chai and opened 'Chaigram'. He partnered with 'Groundwork London', an organization that works towards providing sustainable employment, and began an initiative to give refugees jobs and other skills. Currently, the organization has provided work to about 18 refugees, who work in packaging and distribution along with more commercial roles like sales, marketing and handling events. Apart from that, the people working with Pranav also learn English language skills, so they can converse better. The refugees employed currently are from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, and Eritrea. Chaigram possess stalls in two London markets and supplies tea to about 20 cafes. Chaigram sells Masala Chai, Chai Lattes, Iced Tea, along with selling loose tea blends, that are packed and blended by refugees. By Sowmya Sangam
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Indo American Social Association Hosts Interfaith Event Emphasizing Peace, Harmony June 24, 2019 09:58
On June 9, an Indo American Social Association organized an interfaith event focusing on peace and harmony at the Diamond Palace Restaurant in Diamond Bar, California. The president and founder of IASA, Rajbir Singh Husson,…
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Here's Why NRIs Need to Have a Pan Card June 22, 2019 15:09
Permanent Account Number or PAN is compulsory for many transactions now and the process to obtain a PAN is fairly simple and similar across all categories of individuals. As an NRI, you need to possess…
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5 Tax Rules NRIs Should Know to Plan Investments Efficiently June 22, 2019 13:11
Indians make up for one of the largest numbers of migrants in affluent countries. A recent report from the World Bank also showed that India was the highest receiver of foreign remittances in the world.…
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Indian Couple Tortures, Starves Aged Mother to Death in Dubai June 20, 2019 11:53
In a heart-wrenching incident, a 29-year-old Indian man and his wife in Dubai physically assaulted his mother, causing her bone and rib fractures, internal bleeding as well as severe burns and unintentionally causing her death.…
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Indian American Population Grew by 38 Percent Between 2010-2017: Report June 19, 2019 12:02
The population of Indian origin people in the United States is growing gradually year by year. Between 2010 and 2017, the population of Indians in America grew by 38 percent, a South Asian advocacy group has said in its latest demographic report. Distinctly the stringent rules by Trump administration are not affecting the Indian’s dream to settle in the U.S. The South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) in its snapshot, which is based primarily on Census 2010 and the 2017 American Community Survey, said that the population of Indian Americans in 2017 with multiple ethnicities was recorded as 44,03,363, an increase of 38.3 percent from 31,83,063 in 2010. Immigrant Population The report said that there are at least 630,000 Indians who are undocumented, a 72 percent increase since 2010, which is attributed to Indian immigrants overstaying a visa. In 2016, about 250,000 Indians overstayed their visa thus becoming undocumented, it said. In general, the population of American residents tracing their roots to South Asia grew by 40 percent. In real terms, it increased to 5.4 million in 2017 from 3.5 million in 2010, SAALT said. Since 2010, followed by Indian (38 percent), the Nepali community grew by 206.6 percent, Bhutanese (38 percent), Pakistani (33 percent), Bangladeshi (26 percent) and Sri Lankan populations (15 percent). Currently, there are at least 4,300 active recipients of South Asian Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). As of August 2018, there are close to 2,550 active Indian DACA recipients. Of the overall 20,000 DACA eligible Indians, only 13 percent have applied and received DACA. There are 1,300 DACA recipients from Pakistan, 470 from Bangladesh, 120 from Sri Lanka, and 60 from Nepal, SAALT said. According to a report by the immigrant population density of the country, the undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants live in New York (19,000); Michigan (4,000); Virginia (3,000); and California (2,000). South Asians Living in Poverty According to the report, income inequality has been reported to be the greatest among Asian Americans. Among approximately five million South Asians in the United States, nearly one percent live in poverty. Besides, the South Asians seeking asylum in the United States over the last 10 years has been in a rise, SAALT said. Since 2017, 3,010 South Asians have been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Between October 2014 and April 2018, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 17,119 South Asians through border and interior enforcement, it said. According to SAALT, since 1997, more than 1.7 million dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders have received H-4 visas. In 2017, 136,000 individuals received H-4 status. Nearly 86 percent of H-4 visa holders are from South Asian countries. In 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted work authorization to certain H-4 visa holders. As of December 2017, approximately 127,000 visa holders were approved for H-4 EAD, the report said. Of the approximately five million South Asians in the U.S., nearly 472,000 or 10 percent of them are living in poverty, the report said. Among South Asian Americans, Pakistanis (15.8 percent), Nepalis (23.9 percent), Bangladeshis (24.2 percent), and Bhutanese (33.3 percent) had the highest poverty rates, it said. Out of all Asian American groups, Bangladeshi and Nepali communities have the lowest median household incomes, earning USD 49,800 and USD 43,500 respectively, it said. Nearly 61 percent of non-citizen Bangladeshi American families receive public benefits for at least one of the four federal programs including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programand Medicaid/CHIP, 48 percent of non-citizen Pakistani families and 11 percent of non-citizen Indian families also receive public benefits, the report said. In the lead up to the 2020 elections, South Asians are turning out to be an increasingly powerful segment of the American electorate, SAALT said. According to the Current Population Survey (CPS), 49.9 percent of voting-age, Asian American citizens cast a ballot in 2016. In the last decade, the number of Asian American voters has virtually doubled from about two million voters in 2001 to 5 million voters in 2016. Of these, followed by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, Indians account for more than 1.5 million, SAALT added. By Sowmya Sangam
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Six-Year-Old Kerala Boy Dies in Dubai After Being Left in Bus for Hours June 17, 2019 12:17
A six-year-old Indian boy hailing from Kerala was found dead in the United Arab Emirates after he dozed off in his school bus and left behind alone for several hours on Saturday, according to a…
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India's MoS External Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan Pledges to Resolve Major Expat Issues in UAE June 15, 2019 11:23
India’s newly appointed minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan has promised to expedite solutions relating to various issues of expatriates. From high air ticket prices to Indian destinations from the GCC and to…
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Frequently Asked Questions About the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Card Scheme June 13, 2019 15:13
1. What Is the Eligibility for Getting the PIO Card Each and every person of Indian origin who is a citizen of another country, not being a citizen of any country that may be specified…
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Renowned Indian Origin Writer Ahmed Essop Dies at 88 in South Africa June 13, 2019 11:54
Former educationist of Indian origin and renowned author, Ahmed Essop, has died in South Africa, a close family friend said. He was 88. "The literary giant left us after being admitted to hospital a few days earlier," said Aslam Khota. Essop was buried on Tuesday in his hometown of Lenasia, predominantly an Indian township south of Johannesburg. Born in India in 1931, Essop emigrated to South Africa as a child. (Image Source: Facebook/mariza.breytenbach) He acquired several degrees and taught at a number of high schools as a lecturer, and at a teacher training institution, where he was loved for his approach to popularizing English literature, especially Shakespeare. Most of his 13 published works focused on the role of the Indian community in South African society, often highlighting the challenges the community faced under the draconian apartheid-era minority white government. This led to him being barred from teaching. One of Essop's early books, 'The Hajji and Other Stories' won the coveted Olive Schreiner Prize from the English Academy of Southern Africa in 1979. It was later turned into a film. In 2018, Essop received the Lifetime Achievement Literary Award at the annual South Africa Literary Awards. "In his hands, words behaved as if he were a magical craftsman," fellow Indianorigin wordsmith Yusuf Garda said in a tribute to Essop. "We honor you, Ahmed Essop, as a man of letters and literature, and as a Master of the English language in South Africa," Garda added. By Sowmya Sangam
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