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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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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