Rice Shortage: NRIs in queue July 22, 2023 19:56
The Indian government has banned the export of rice fearing of shortage. India is the world’s largest supplier of food, covering up to 40 per cent of global exports and leaving three billion people rely on this. With the ban, NRI living in the USA were in queues outside super markets to buy the leftover stock of rice bags. Supermarkets have restricted the purchase to one bag, where NRI’s are roaming around the city to buy sufficient amount of rice bags. Because of the Ukraine and Russia wars, the import of wheat flour has been stopped, which resulted in the consumption of more rice in the country. The crops with the effect of El Nino have less harvest. All these reasons resulted in the shortage of rice. Union government as a precautionary measure of scarcity in the country has stopped the export of non-basmati white rice. This is the largest shortage of rice in 20 years. Rice inflation has already accelerated from an average of 6 per cent to nearly 12 per cent.Bad weather in China and Pakistan is also one of the reasons for the shortage. Prices of rice are expected to see a hike soon and the government is already thinking over the subsidy prices in the markets.
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Australian Universities Ban Central Indian States Student Applications May 26, 2023 16:30
This was a shocking decision by the Australian universities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Australia a few days back and signed a migration deal about the exchange of students, graduates, researchers and business people. Narendra Modi and the Australian prime minister has a bilateral meeting and three days before this meeting was held, universities took this decision following the visa fraud. According to the Australian media, students from Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttara Pradesh will no longer get seats at Federation University in Victoria and Western Sydney University. Both universities have separately announced that there will be no intake of students from mentioned states (Centarl Indian States) of India. The ban will be for two months for now. According to the Department of Home Affairs, one of four applications is being labelled as fraud or non-genuine. There was a huge dropout of students, who started their course in 2022. Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, as well as agents affiliated with Southern Cross University, have also tightened their recruitment process for Indian students. Students are obtaining their student visas by joining the less expensive educational universities and later working for low-skill Australian work. However, the work hours will be restricted from July 1st to 24 hours per week by the Albanese administration.
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Indian Women Shot Dead in USA May 11, 2023 20:43
A Bengali woman Nabaruna Karmakar, 33, was found dead by police, when her husband Michael Mathews, 40, called 911 to report a double suicide after shooting his wife on April 14th. Nabaruna was brutally killed and Mathews has been charged with first-degree murder charges. Nabaruna Karmakar graduated from Manipal University and earned a PhD from North Carolina State University in industrial engineering. She was married to Mathews in 2019 and she was a senior operations research specialist at SAS. Her death shocked all her colleagues. Karmakar was very social, she organized a Holi Party and was also planning for Bengali new year's Eve. After Karmakar’s death, her family and colleagues started a GoFundMe page and raised $11,000 and said that is a very small initiative from their side to stop the gun culture in the USA. Tapan and Sipra Karmakar live in Michigan and stay with their elder daughter after the death of Nabaruna in April. They said that the gun used for their daughter's death was a recent gift and was used as a decorative item at their house.
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Four Indian Family Members Found Dead In USA's California October 06, 2022 16:39
Four Sikh family members from India residing in USA have been kidnapped by unknown people earlier this week that included an eight-month-old baby girl. All the four Indian family members are found dead in an orchard as per the authorities. The family hails from Hoshiarpur's Harsi Pind in Punjab. They were kidnapped from their trucking business in Merced County in California on Monday. Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke announced the news of their demise today. The deceased were identified as Jasdeep Singh (36 years), Jasleen Kaur (27 years), Aroohi Dheri (8 months) and the baby's uncle Amandeep Singh (39 years). Their bodies were found in an orchard near Indiana Road and Hutchinson Road. A farm worker near the orchard found the bodies and informed the cops. All the bodies were found at a place. Jesus Manuel Salgado is the suspect. Nothing was stolen from the trucking company and the family members' jewelry was stolen. An ATM card from the family was used in Atwater which is located 14 km north from Merced. The kidnapper Jesus Manuel Salgado had no ransom demands and the cops believe that it was a motivated crime. A video of the kidnap was released by the cops and the hunt for the family was on from some time. Jesus Manuel Salgado has been traced from the video and he is 48 years old. He was taken into custody on the afternoon of Tuesday. He was rushed to a hospital and his health condition remains critical after he attempted to kill himself.
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USA Issues 82,000 Student Visas For Indians September 08, 2022 16:32
The USA Mission in India issued a record number of 82.000 students visas for Indian students in 2022 till date. Indian students are on the top of the list in the number of student visas issued to any country. The US Embassy in New Delhi along with the other consulates (Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai) processed the student visas on a priority basis from May to August. The Embassy made sure that all the qualified students will reach the country as per their scheduled date. Patricia Lacina of USA hailed the US Mission and their achievement. "We are happy that so many students were able to recieve their visas on time and reach the universities without any delay. There was huge delay in the admissions in the past two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have issued 82,000 student visas in summer alone and this is quite higher than the visas issued last year. This shows that USA remains as the first priority for the most of the Indian families and students. The Indian students are in plans to build life long connections with the USA to grow in their life" told Patricia Lacina. Indian students comprise of nearly 20 percent of the international students in the United States of America.
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15 Percent of Indian Students Submit Fake Documents with Visa Applications September 05, 2022 13:11
In a sensational revelation, the German ambassador to India said that 15 percent of the Indian students applying for student visa are submitting fake documents. Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador for India said that 15 percent of the applications are involved in fraud and it is the duty of the authorities to scrutinize the documents. There are some agents who are misleading the students and we have to ensure to pick up only the deserved students, told Philipp Ackermann. The situation is completely heartbreaking and the efforts are underway for the education in Germany. The authorities of Germany are in touch with selected universities to ensure that the students coming from India will not lose out their studies. Philipp Ackermann said that this has turned out to be a huge concern as we want Indian students to get visas quickly and smoothly. The solution for the same will be found soon to make the procedure smooth and transparent. Philipp Ackermann also clarified that some of the Indian students who already applied for visa will not be able to get it on time for the upcoming semester for some of the universities. With the travel restrictions lifted up after pandemic, most of the countries are struggling to meet the demands as there is a mad rush for student visas. Some of the nations have been issuing student visas on a priority basis for international students.
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USA to Process 8 Lakhs Visas in the Next One Year April 20, 2022 19:51
The Embassy of the United States of America in India is expected to process over 8 lakh visas in the next 12 months told a senior diplomat from the country. Donald L Heflin, Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs at the US Embassy told that 8 lakh visas are projected to be issued in the next one year and the slots for the processing of the visas are opened. He said that 1.2 million visas were issued before the outbreak of coronavirus. The sales would be back on the track in 2023 as per the update. The staff across India will be increased and the visa processing was done by 50 percent of the staff. More and more number of employees will be added and a new building is getting opened in Hyderabad. A dedicated helpline is set up to address the queries that are related to the visa applicants. All the consulates are having a dedicated phone number along with an email address through the visa applicants can contact the Embassy for assistance and other appointment-related queries. A higher number of visas are kept on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and more announcements would be made in the coming weeks. By Siva Kumar
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Tunisian Man Charged With Indian Student's Murder March 23, 2022 14:33
A 22-year-old man from Tunisia has been arrested in relation with the death of Sabita Thanwani, an Indian-origin student. He appeared before the Highbury Corner Magistrate Court in London yesterday. The Tunisian man was identified as Maher Maaroufe and he was in a relationship with the Indian student. Her body was recovered from her accommodation in the Clerkenwell region of London last weekend. Maher Maaroufe was taken into custody on suspicion and Sabita was a psychology student aged 19 years. The autopsy was conducted in Whittington Hospital on Monday and it said that the death happened due to force trauma to the neck. A team of detectives are investigating the matter and Maher Maaroufe was charged and he had no fixed address. He was earlier charged with assault of an emergency worker as per the records of the cops. Sabita was a British national and she had serious injuries to her neck at the Arbour HHose student flats in the region of Clerkenwell. Her family paid tributes for her calling that incident a tragedy. Her family said that Sabita was caring and a loving person. She was on a mission to help everyone. She is pursuing psychology at the City University. A manhunt was staged to trace Maher Maaroufe and he was spotted in Thanwani on Friday. By Siva Kumar
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India to Resume International Flights From March 27th March 09, 2022 15:05
Two years after the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian government announced that it would resume the regular international flights from March 27th on a full-fledged note. "After being recognized the increase of vaccination coverage across the globe and in consultation with the stakeholders, the government of India has decided to resume scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India from March 27, 2022, i.e start of the summer schedule 2022" told the official statement from the Indian government. The Civil Aviation Ministry said that the international operations shall be subjected to the adherence to the Ministry of Health for the international travelers. The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) extended the ban on regular commercial international passenger flights on February 28th, 2020. The operating flights under air bubble are arranged since 2021. India is holding air bubbles with the countries of Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, US and Uzbekistan. Though the Aviation Ministry had plans to resume the regular international flights from December last year but was delayed due to the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. By Siva Kumar
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Indian-Origin Man Gets Life Sentence in the United Kingdom October 19, 2021 13:22
A 28-year-old man who is from India stabbed his wife multiple times and left her body on the pavement. He has been sentenced life imprisonment by a UK Court on Monday after he pleaded guilty to the murder. The man is named Kashish Aggarwal and he attacked his wife Geetika Goyal in their Leicester home located in Windtersdale Road in the Central England on March 3rd this year. He stabbed her multiple times and kept her body in the boot of his car and drove to Uppingham Close. He left her mortal remains on the street and returned back home. The Leicestershire Crown Court announced the verdict yesterday. Kashish Aggarwal got life imprisonment of minimum 20 years and six months. He may be eligible for parole after completing the sentence. Jenni Heggs, the Senior Investigating Officer said that the hearing will bot bring Geetika but it is like a justice for her family. Geetika was 29 years old. The investigation told that Kashish Aggarwal was only interested to cover the crime. He initially told that he had no idea about his wife and he changed the versions frequently a number of times. Kashish Aggarwal called his wife and her friends saying that she never returned home from work. It was the victim's brother who filed a complaint about her missing. On March 4th, the cops received calls about a woman's body lying on the pavement in the Uppingham Close. There were stabs located on her shoulder, chest, neck and arms. The cops launched a murder investigation and Kashish Aggarwal was taken into the custody after the initial investigation. The CCTV footage showed Kashish Aggarwal driving Goyal's car to leave the body. He was taken into custody on March 6th. Geetika's family traveled to India to scatter her ashes. All her friends said that Geetika was kind, humble and hard-working. By Siva Kumar
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Record Number of Indian Students to Apply for USA this Fall August 24, 2021 13:23
The number of Indian students studying in the USA have been gradually increasing over the years. There has been a sudden decline in the numbers because of the restrictions imposed by Donald Trump and his government. The United States Mission announced the approval of more students in the year 2021 by the Embassy and the Consulate. With these new efforts, more than 55,000 foreign students are expected to fly to the USA soon. The US Mission planned for a packed spring semester and they are expecting a great student season. Ambassador Atul Keshap, Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy said that it is a life changing experience for Indian students. Atul Keshap also reminded about the leading career opportunities and this also deepens the friendship bond between the USA and India. The coronavirus pandemic also turned a huge challenge for the US Mission and it forced them to postpone it. The Embassies and Consulates will interview the fall semester students soon. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates are now working for additional hours and visa appointments are opened. They are making all the efforts to ensure timely arrival for the academic programs for as many students as possible. The American Higher Education has 45000 nationally and regionally accredited universities and colleges. The students can get all the information about the US education, visa rules and policies through educationusaindia.usief.org.in. Special USA University Virtual Fairs are planned and they will be held on August 27th and September 3rd. The Indian students can get engaged with the representatives of the US universities and advisers. By Siva Kumar
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H-1B Visas: Joe Biden to reconsider Donald Trump's decisions March 13, 2021 16:13
The administration of the new USA President Joe Biden said that they are in plans to reconsider the objections or decisions for the foreign workers on H-1B visas of the three policy memos by the administration of Donald Trump. This will rescue thousands of Indian IT professionals who are having a tough time for the past few years. Donald Trump introduced various policies in the past for non-immigrant work visas and particularly for H-1B visas. On Friday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the decisions will be reconsidered. USCIS generally uses the discretion to reopen a motion that is filed more than 30 days after the decision is taken. USCIS issued Policy Memorandum 602-0114 on June 17th, 2020 and USCIS issued Policy Memorandum 602-0142.1 on February 3rd, 2021. A petitioner can request the reopening of any request based on three rescinded policy memos and this can be done by filling the Form 1-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, accompanied by the appropriate fee. USCIS also has the authority to accept and consider the motions under specific circumstances as explained. They generally process motions that are based on filing orders with the policy guidance. By Siva Kumar
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