NRI ( Page 38 of 83 )

Two Indian-Americans to be honored with 'Great Immigrants' July 01, 2017 15:19

Adobe chief Shantanu Narayen and former US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy are among 38 immigrants, who will be honored this year for their contribution to the country's society, culture, and economy. Narayen and Murthy will be honored with the prestigious 'Great Immigrants' annual award on US's Independence Day on July 4. Born in the UK 39-year-old Murthy, is a Harvard and Yale alumnus. He was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2014, becoming the first Indian-American to occupy the post and also the youngest surgeon general of the United States. However, Murthy was dismissed this year in April by the Trump administration. 54-year-old Narayen is a native of Hyderabad. He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics engineering, a master's in computer science and an MBA from UC Berkeley. He is a board member of Pfizer and US-India Business Council. Among other honorees include Canadian-origin social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, PayPal co-founder of Ukrainian-origin Max Levchin, Iranian-origin philanthropist and entrepreneur Hushang Ansary. Each year since 2006, the corporation has recognized the contributions of naturalized citizens, and for 2017, the honorees represent more than 30 different countries of origin, a wide range of personal immigration stories, and a high-level of professional leadership in numerous fields. "Our annual tribute to 'Great Immigrants' demonstrates the richness of talent, skills, and achievements that immigrants from around the world bring to every sphere of American society," said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. "This campaign reminds us of the debt the United States owes to generations of immigrants who become citizens and contribute to the progress of this country. Today, we celebrate and thank them," he said. The honorees will be recognized with a full-page public service announcement in The New York Times and an online public awareness initiative. In keeping with this mandate, the corporation's agenda focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and a strong democracy. Amandeep

Indian-American appointed U.S. Ambassador to Peru June 29, 2017 13:04

United States President Donald Trump has appointed an Indian-American as the new U.S. Ambassador to Peru. Krishna R Urs, who is a career service American diplomat since 1986 is currently 'Charge d'Affarires of U.S. Embassy in Spain's capital Madrid, where he also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission. During the three decades of his service at State Department, Mr. Urs as specialized in economic issues and developed extensive policy experience in the Andean region of South American. A media release said that Mr. Urs has served at seven U.S. Embassies and also as a senior leadership positions in Washington D.C. Mr. Urs completed his MS from the University of Texas and did his graduation in BS from Georgetown University. He speaks fluent Spanish as well as some Hindi and Telugu. Before appointing as the U.S. Ambassador to Peru, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs and Chief of U.S. Government Aviation Negotiator at the Department of State from November 2010 until June 2014. He has also served as Director in the Office of Aviation Negotiations in the Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs in the Department of State, Charge d'Affaires, at the US Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia, Deputy Chief of Mission at the same embassy, Director of the Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State. Indian-American self made billionaire in Chicago AMandeep

US Senator slams Chinese media for threatening Indian-origin June 24, 2017 17:49

A top U.S. Senator has slammed Chinese media for “threatening” Indian-origin chancellor of the University of California, San Diego for hosting the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan spiritual leader delivered the commencement address at the University of June 7. California Senator, Dianne Feinstein said: “I find it unconscionable that a reporter for the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, would threaten UC San Diego and its chancellor and students for inviting the Dalai Lama to speak.” In a statement, Feinstein demanded the Chinese newspaper to apologize and retract the article that threatens to withhold visas from Chancellor Pradeep Khosla but also suggests that the university would be punished by withholding students. “The newspaper’s portrayal of the Dalai Lama as an anti-China separatist is also patently false,” she said. “I’ve known the Dalai Lama for more than 25 years and was directly involved in the latest discussions between him and the Chinese government. The Dalai Lama doesn’t wish to separate Tibet from China. Rather, he strives for greater autonomy so Tibetans may freely practice their faith,” Feinstein said. “The Dalai Lama’s desire to end religious persecution for his people doesn’t make him a separatist, it makes him a peaceful leader who should serve as an inspiration to all students. “The Chinese government and the media outlets it directly controls should recognize this and not threaten Americans or American institutions,” said the Senator from California. In its editorial on June 20, Global Times threatened the University Chancellor, saying: “Khosla must bear the consequences for this.” It went on to say: “His support for Tibet independence will affect his personal and the university’s exchanges with China. Chinese universities will take cooperative programs with it into prudent reconsideration. “It’s suggested that relevant Chinese authorities not issue visas to the chancellor and not recognize diplomas or degree certificates issued by the university in China.” The International Campaign for Tibet has also condemned the article and said that there is no evidence to suggest that Chancellor Khosla has been involved in any action supporting the independence of Tibet. TATA to Jointly make F-16s with Lockheed Martin under “Make In India” AMandeep

Aadhaar not mandatory for NRIs June 20, 2017 18:24

Non-Residential-Indians (NRIs) across the world get a sign of relief after the Indian government officials clarified that NRIs were exempted from the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar card to file tax returns in India effective July 1. Since only Indian residents are entitled to get the unique identification number as per the Aadhaar Act, it is not a compulsion for NRIs to apply for Aadhaar card, said officials. "So the July 31 deadline to comply with the rule of obtaining an Aadhaar card for filing Income Tax returns does not apply in the case of non-resident Indians," said Bharatbhai Shah, Convener of NRI Cell, Indian Business and Professional Council, Sharjah, said. Despite the exemption previously announced many NRIs expressed their concerns about disruption of transactions in Non-Resident External bank accounts in India and filing of income tax returns. As Permanent Account Number (PAN) was already made mandatory for holding a bank account, NRIs are concerned about a June 30 deadline to link Aadhaar with PAN. Failure to link Aadhaar with PAN makes PAN redundant and hence some NRIs feared that this could affect their banking transactions. However, Aadhaar will be made compulsory for those NRIs who had resided in India for more than 182 days in aggregate in the past 12 months, Shah said. He further clarified that a resident is an individual who stayed in India for a period of 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrollment. As per Section 139AA of the Income-tax Act shall not apply to an NRI who had stayed in India less than 182 days in the preceding 12- month period. Abhishek Gautum, under secretary of Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance has clarified that "Foreign citizens and individuals above the age of 80 years at any time during the previous year are also exempt from this requirement." TATA to Jointly make F-16s with Lockheed Martin under “Make In India” AMandeep

Indian-American Self-Made Billionaire In Chicago - Rishi Shah June 16, 2017 14:14

Rishi Shah, an Indian-American, who stepped out of college 10 years back to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, has become the self-made billionaire in Chicago. And also Shah’s business partner, Shradha Agarwal, is just close behind. A break came to them with $600 million infusion of the venture capital into Outcome Health, the Chicago health care tech company, which they founded in the year 2006. The company is now valued at $5.6 billion. Shah grew up in Chicago suburb of the Oak Brook, and is the son of a doctor who emigrated from India, Shah’s mother managed his father's medical practice. The first idea inspired for the Outcome Health in providing content to the doctor's offices, Shah said in an interview to the local media. Shah studied in the Northwestern University as a transfer student, where he met Shradha Agarwal, who is presently the president of Outcome Health. While working on the campus magazine, both of them have eventually found a company called ContextMedia, out of Northwestern in the year 2008, funding the company from loans which have over the years reached the aggregate of $325 million instead of giving up the equity. Knocking on the doctor's office doors around the Chicago area, they have found a little hope in their idea.Some doctors have not seen the value in digital education in their offices, and others who did wanted to see the revenue to feel comfortable committing to such a fledgling product. However, without signing to them, the entrepreneurs had no revenue with which to placate them. They earned the revenue of $1 million in that first year. CEO Rishi Shah, aged 31, president of Shradha Agarwal have founded ContextMedia in the year 2006, while two were at the Northwestern University. The company has began to sell its video monitor services to the physicians and hospitals without any kind of outside investment. Over a decade, the company grew up and the big-time investors have noticed the company, but Shah and Agarwal passed up the offers in order to scale organically and also to retain the ownership. In the month of January, the company has changed its name to Outcome Health as it slowly stepped towards the first major round of funding. As per Crain's, the company took more than $130 million in revenue in the last year and also posted an operating profit margin of roughly 40%. Outcome Health has doubled its revenue during each of the last two years, and it has also grew with its acquisition of AccentHealth in the last November. Indian-American Appointed As Judge Of US Court of Appeals Mrudula Duddempudi.

New Portal to help women abandoned by NRI husbands June 15, 2017 18:30

The government of India is planning to set up a single window portal for those Indian women, who are facing abandonment or divorce or other such problems from their Non-Resident Indian (NRI) husbands. Currently, ministries such as Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and women and child development handle different aspects of such cases. A spokesperson for MEA said that the “plan is to coordinate efforts in a centralized manner.” The decision was taken by an inter-ministerial panel at a meeting last week. The new web portal will have advice on how to proceed with a case, including approaching the Indian mission, seeking the help of empanelled lawyers and NGOs. The website will also have instruction and precautions to follow before marrying an NRI. At present, measures include legal and financial aid of $3,000 in developed countries and $2,000 in developing ones to assist women who face abandonment or divorce proceedings within 15 years of marriage. But what has been lacking is a single point for redressal. The Indian government had set up an inter-ministerial committee in July 2016, following mounting complaints to look at measures to help such women. The panel is now revising the standard operating procedures for dealing with all such cases. According to the annual report, in 2014, the National Commission for Women, which is an autonomous section under the WCD ministry and runs an NRI Cells, registered 346 complaints from women married to NRI men. However, these current figures do not reflect the true image as most of the women does not come forward to lodge a complaint. The complaints are mostly regarding husbands keeping custody of their wives’ passports and not allowing them to travel, disappearing after leaving their wives behind in India, abandoning wives in foreign countries, forcibly keeping the child abroad and not letting the wife contact the child, etc. In 2007, the then Overseas Indian Affairs ministry came up with a handbook on NRI marriages. One of the reasons that had triggered this was the rising number of abandoned spouses of NRI women — over 13,000 in Gujarat and more than 25,000 in Punjab. Back in 2009, Girija Vyas, the then NCW chairperson had commented that “out of 10 NRI marriages, two resulted in the wife being abandoned after honeymoon”. NRI quota goes Vacant in private colleges AMandeep

Indian-American Appointed As Judge Of US Court of Appeals June 02, 2017 13:06

President Donald Trump has appointed an Indian-American, Amul Thapar as a judge of US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, said the sources from White House. Before Thapar’s appointment as judge on the US Court of Appeals, he has served on the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. 48-year-old Thapar has been confirmed as judge in the by the Senate votes of 52-44, on the party lines. Thapar, son of the Indian-American immigrants, is the Nation’s first Article III judge of the South Asian descent. Thapar, in addition to his career on the Federal bench, he also served as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and as the Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia. On the aggregate, Trump has nominated 10 judges to the lower courts, Thapar was one among them, who is the Trump’s first judicial confirmed by the Senate, apart from Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed as the Supreme Court judge. Thapar has begin his legal career in a private practice, after interning with Judge S Arthur Spiegel of the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and also with Judge Nathaniel R Jones of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Thapar has received his BS from the Boston College in the year 1991 and also his JD from the University of California, in Berkeley. In the South Asian Bar Association of North America's (SABA) National Advisory Council, Thapar is a member, and he has served as the keynote for Annual Convention. SABA awarded Thapar with its Pioneer Award in the year 2010. He has also studied at the University of Virginia School of Law, Vanderbilt Law School, also at the Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law. Decline In US Visas For Pak; Rise For India Mrudula Duddempudi.

NRI Quota goes vacant in Private Colleges May 31, 2017 18:32

A person is eligible for an NRI quota in a deemed University, even if your great grandfather’s great grand uncle was an NRI.This rule for NRI seats in deemed universities is flexible enough for the seats to get snapped up fast. But in private colleges the scenario is little different, as most of the seats under the NRI quota go abegging. Private colleges have tighter norms to abide by, as per the state-appointed admissions regulatory body. The candidate’s parent must be an NRI. Out of 200 seats in private medical colleges for Post Graduate degree, 150 are available in the last mop-up. That is the final closure round from seats available after students drop out in the second round. Another 50 seats in the institutional quota remain vacant too. The head of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Dr. Pravin Shingare said: "These seats will be available in the mop-up round," Deemed universities are governed by the admission regulatory body appointed by them, as per the rights awarded by the University Grants Commission. "Things have still not settled down. When parents come to our campus, they start negotiating to pay a component of the fees in cash," said a college principal. The colleges felt that the seats may fill up after the latest circular to reduce NEET eligibility. A note from the health ministry said: It has been decided in consultation with the Medical Council of India (MCI) to reduce the percentile cut-offs for NEET-PG 2017 by 7.5, taking them to 42.5 for general candidates, 32.5 for reserved category candidates and 37.5 for PWD category." Many seats were left vacant, with insufficient candidates having met the qualifying cut-off score. "As per clause 9, sub-clause III, of the Medical Council of India's Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations (PGMER) 2000, when sufficient candidates fail to secure minimum marks, the central government in consultation with MCI, may lower minimum marks, which will be applicable for that academic year only. Representations were received from some state governments that seats in some categories may remain vacant as there are insufficient candidates," added the ministry's note. India to open 40 consulate officers for NRIs AMandeep

Ireland’s Indian-origin gay minister frontrunner in Prime Ministerial race May 22, 2017 17:44

Ireland’s first openly gay minister, who is of Indian decedent has emerged as the front runner in the prime ministerial elections in Ireland. 38-year-old Dr. Leo Varakdar, who is the son of a Mumbai-born father and Irish mother is expected to become Ireland’s first ever minister from LGBT group. Currently, Dr. Varadkar is the welfare minister of the Ireland and has won an early support for his leadership bid from several senior Cabinet members and a majority of his parliamentary colleagues have supported him publicly. Dr. Varadkar announced his candidacy following the resignation of current Prime Minister Enda Kenny, a title, which is referred to as ‘Taoiseach’ in Ireland. Housing minister Simon Coveney have also been nominated for the leadership of the governing ‘Fine Gael’ party this week. "I am not counting my chickens. I am really humbled at the level of support I have received from my colleagues and I am really looking forward to the hustings and the debates," he said. Enda Kenny’s successor is due to be elected by June 2nd and the Ireland’s Parliament will vote in the new leader as Prime Minister a few days later. In 2015, Dr. Varadkar publicly came out as a gay, when Ireland became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage thorough popular voice. In a coming out speech, which he have through radio: "It is not something that defines me. I am not a half-Indian politician, or a doctor politician or a gay politician for that matter. It is just part of who I am, it does not define me, it is the part of my character I suppose". He has campaigned on same-sex marriage and liberalizing abortion laws. Dr. Varadkar has worked as a general practitioner before wining a sear in the Parliament in 2007 and steadily raised through party ranks. He held several ministerial portfolios including minister for social protection and minister for transport, tourism and sports. "Leo has got off to a good start but there are two weeks to go so we will see how that plays out," said his opponent Coveney. Fine Gael is a center-right political party and the party is taking liberal positions on several social and economic issues. India to open 40 consulate sub-offices for NRIs AMandeep

India to open 40 consulate sub-offices for NRIs May 16, 2017 11:21

India will be opening 40 new consulate sub-offices soon in countries that have a strong presence of non-resident Indians, Akali Dal’s MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said on Sunday as he was referring to a "communication received from the External Affairs Ministry". "India is going to open 40 new consulate sub-offices in countries where NRIs have settled in large numbers," the Anandpur Sahib MP said in a statement here. Chandumajra had been taking up the issues concerning NRIs in general, especially Punjabi NRIs. He said that he had recently received a word from the Ministry of External Affairs in this regard. Referring to countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia, where NRIs had to travel long to get visas from consulate offices, the Akali Dal general secretary and spokesperson said, "They had been demanding more sub-offices in their respective countries. This step would go a long way in mitigating their problems." The Indian government has also agreed for people from Punjab who have settled abroad on political asylum to visit India along with their families for up to two years in a stretch. Informing that he had been pressuring the government for these people to be treated as “economic asylum-seekers:, he said: “A large number of people had sought political asylum in countries including the United States, Canada and Germany, despite never being active in the militancy (earlier in Punjab). However, once they were granted asylum on political grounds, it became impossible for them to visit. NRIs can exchange old currency notes till 30th June AMandeep

11 Indian-Americans in Forbes list of best venture capitalists May 15, 2017 18:38

The Forbes magazine's annual list of the 100 best venture capitalists has featured 11 Indian-origin investors, who are behind some of the highest-returning investments in the technology sphere. 'Midas 2017', which is a part of Forbes, compromises the top 100 venture capitalists in the world, while taking into account a a five-year look-back at a partner's portfolio, with exits by IPO or acquisition of at least $200 million and private holdings that raised money at valuations of at least $400 million over that time period. Jim Goetz, who is partner in Sequoia Capital topped the list. He retained the top stop three years after messaging giant WhatsApp was sold to Facebook for nearly $22 billion. Goetz is the only investor in the company and transformed $60 million over three rounds into more than $3 billion in Facebook stock Goetz, the only investor in the company, transformed $60 million over three rounds into more than $3 billion in Facebook stock The list includes 11 venture capitalists who are of Indian-origin. Neeraj Agrawal, General Partner in Battery Ventures is on the 17th spot and leads the pack of Indian-origin venture capitalists on the list, followed by Sameer Gandhi, Partner in Accel Partners (23); Asheem Chandna, Partner in Greylock Partners (28); Salil Deshpande, Managing Director, in Bain Capital Ventures (33); and Aneel Bhusri, CEO and Cofounder of Workday (37). Gaurav Garg, Founding Partner of Wing Venture Capital (48); Promod Haque, Senior Managing Partner of Norwest Venture Partners (67); Hemant Taneja, Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners (70); Navin Chaddha, Managing Director of Mayfield Fund (73); Ravi Mhatre, Partner in Lightspeed Venture Partners (76); and Deven Parekh, Managing Director of Insight Venture Partners (99) also figure on the list. Agrawal made into the list for the 7th consecutive time. His companies Coupa and Nutanix, went public last year and AppDynamics was about to go public this year but was scooped by Cisco for $3.7 billion. Taneja holds five degrees from from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He debuts the list due to an early investment in Snap that went public at market capitalization of $25 billion in February this year. Haque, who is a graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, has worked as a senior managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners since 2013. He has invested in more than 70 companies that have produced more than $40 billion in exit values in over 15 years of venture capital experience. Forbes said that still accounts for 12 Midas investors and Facebook another 10, they are now moving for Snap with eight investors in the 2017 Midas ranks. Indian-origin doctor warned about the cyber attack that hit the world AMandeep

Indian-origin restaurant owner under toilet-bill controversy May 11, 2017 14:11

An Indian-origin restaurant owner in Durban, South Africa is surrounded by controversy after his restaurant charged ‘20 Rand’ to use the toilets on the premises. Junaid Moola, who is the owner of Jolly Grubber, said that charging R20 (approximately Rs. 95) was the only way to keep away people from visiting the restaurant who abused the facilities that his staff maintained for the free use of his customers who bought food at his premises. Reza Khan, a customer posted on his Facebook page that they were given a receipt of R40 after they were initially stopped from using the toilet before they paid. "My cousin asked if we could not buy cool drinks instead, but we were told cool drinks don't qualify," Khan posted. "In my whole entire existence on this earth, this is the most expensive p*** I've ever taken," Khan said. There is a sign at the entrance of the restaurant that reads: "Toilets are for use of Jolly Grubber customers only. Buying just drinks will not qualify you to use these facilities. Therefore, it is unlawful, dishonest, theft, haraam to use this facility without permission." "Service charge of R20 per person, payable at the counter. This is not a public toilet." "This is not a question about humanity, compassion nor religion, there are free public facilities just a stone's throw away," said the restaurant, which also maintains a 'Namaaz room' for Muslim patrons to perform their prayers free of charge. A municipal working in the department licensing public restaurants said that R20 did appear to be "a bit exorbitant", but the restaurant was well within its rights to charge without contravening its licensing conditions, as restaurants require to ensure that it has toiler facilities available for its customers. Donald Trump appoints Indian-American to key Federal energy agency AMandeep