NRI News ( Page 20 of 23 )

Indian student jailed in Visa scam in Australia March 27, 2012 12:41

A Perth-based Indian student was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his involvement in a bribery scam under which the English test scores to get Australian Visas. A Perth District Court on Monday sentenced Rajesh Kumar, 31, who had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of bribery between November 2009 and June 2010. The court heard that Kumar became an intermediary in the scam and personally received between 32,000 dollars and 44,000 dollars. Kumar also paid for his own International English Testing System (IELTS) results falsified by Kok Keith Low, an employee of Perth-based Curtin University. Nine others had been convicted and sentenced in relation to the bribery case, after the state's Corruption and Crime Commission charged 12 people with a total of 73 offences, according to the Australian Associated Press. Kumar arranged the payments through another Indian national, Pritesh Shah, who worked at a local service station. Shah, in turn, paid off another man, former Indian national Abdul Kader, who was living with Low, and arranged with him to have Kumar's IELTS results falsified to help him with a work visa application. The former Indian national Abdul Kader, who was living with Low, and arranged with him to have Kumar's IELTS results falsified to help him with a work visa application. Kumar then started "spruiking" the scheme to other Indian students and taking a cut of up to 6000 dollars per bribe. Low has already been jailed for two years on 15 counts of bribery, Kader to 18 months on 14 counts, and Shah one year on 14 counts. Others who were variously involved in the scam were jailed for between seven and nine months, suspended in each case, or received a fine of 20,000 dollars. Describing Kumar's role in the scam as that of a "spruiker", Judge Jeremy Curthoys said his actions compromised the integrity of Australia's migration scheme and made it more difficult for genuine visa applicants to be accepted where there were quotas in place. "It was greed - pure and simple," Curthoys said in handing down the sentence. Kumar's sentence was backdated to November 2 and he will be eligible for parole. Under Australian immigration laws, applicants for permanent residency, work or student visas are required to get a minimum 7.0 pass in four English subjects under the IELTS.

Russian court dismisses case seeking Gita ban March 22, 2012 06:52

A court in Russia has dismissed a case that sought a ban on the Bhagwad Gita. Hindus in Russia Wednesday won the case when Tomsk city court in Siberia dismissed the plea from state prosecutors. The court rejected the appeal against a Dec 27 verdict given by a lower court in Tomsk. “We have won the case. The court has dismissed the state prosecutors’ appeal,” an elated Sadhu Priya Das, a devotee of the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in Russia told IANS over phone from Tomsk. The case relates to Tomsk state prosecutor’s filing a petition in June 2011 seeking a ban on a Russian translation of “Bhagwat Gita As It Is” written by A.C. Bhaktived Swami Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON, claiming that it was “extremist” in nature and spread “social discord”.

Delhi high court bars Indian maid from pursuing case in US March 19, 2012 10:39

The Delhi High Court has restrained an Indian domestic help, awarded nearly $1.5 million relief for alleged “ill-treatment” by an Indian consulate employee in the US, from pursuing her case in a New York court till further orders. The court’s interim order came in response to a petition filed by the central government seeking to restrain domestic help Shanti Gurung from pursuing her case in the US. Justice Kailash Gambhir said the whole concept of anti-suit injunction would be defeated if the foreign court was allowed to decide the issue at this stage. “An Indian diplomat enjoys sovereign immunity and any order passed by the court of the US would tantamount to interfering in the rights of the government of India to determine the terms and conditions of the employment of its diplomatic officers posted abroad,” the court said. A New York judge last month had recommended that Gurung deserved nearly $1.5 million for her “barbaric treatment” by Neena Malhotra, who in 2006 served as press counsellor at the Indian consulate in the US, and her husband Jogesh. Gurung in her complaint in the US alleged that Malhotra made her work without pay, seized her passport and visa, restricted her ability to leave her apartment and constantly warned her that if she travelled on her own, without their permission, she would be arrested, beaten and raped. Justice Gambhir asked the government to establish personal contact with Gurung through its diplomatic channels to ascertain the veracity of the allegations made by her before the next date of hearing. If Shanti Gurung has been a victim of any barbaric conduct, as held by the US court, at the hands of the Neena Malhotra, then the central Government has the prime responsibility of taking care of her rights as well, she also being an Indian citizen, the court said. The government March 12 approached the court seeking directions to restrain Gurung from pursuing the case in the New York court. It also sought the court to direct Gurung to withdraw the complaint. The court would next hear the matter May 3.

India to spend Rs. 50 crore on overseas Indians March 17, 2012 05:41

India will spend close to Rs.50 crore on welfare schemes targeted at overseas Indians in 2012-13, according to budgetary estimates proposed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) has been allocated a total of Rs.114.77 crore for the next fiscal, a 41 percent increase from the 2011-12 budget outlay of Rs.81 crore. The ministry will also spend Rs.6 crore on celebrating the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas. The rest of the Rs.114.77 crore will go towards establishment and infrastructure expenses. India has the world's second largest overseas community, next only to China. It is estimated that there are about 25 million Indian diaspora spread over more than 110 countries around the world. The MOIA was established as a separate ministry in 2004 to look after the welfare of the Indian diaspora and to provide them assistance across economic, social and cultural spheres.

381 wives NRIs seek government help March 15, 2012 08:04

The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) has received 381 complaints of women being deserted or harassed by their non-resident Indian (NRI)husbands, a majority of them from Punjab, the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday. Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vyalar Ravi said in a written reply that the NRI Cell opened at the National Commission for Women (NCW) too had received 532 complaints since September 2009. Of all the Indian states, Punjab had the most complaints filed at the ministry by Indian women victims. "There were 94 complaint from that state," Ravi said. After Punjab, most number of victims were from Delhi, There were 68 complaints by women from Delhi. Andhra Pradesh related complaints stood at 36 complaints. Other 18 states had less than 25 complaints each. At the NRI Cell in the NCW, Delhi had the most complaints with 121 women approaching the national body for a resolution of their problems with their NRI husbands. Uttar Pradesh had 62 complaints, Haryana 45 and Punjab 43, the minister said.

Trinidad and Tobago's Indian-origin PM survives no-trust vote March 06, 2012 04:25

For the first time in its 50-year history, the Trinidad and Tobago parliament sat for a marathon 27 and a half hours non-stop in which a vote of no confidence was moved against Indian-origin Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, but the motion was defeated. The session began Friday, March 2 at 1.30 pm and closed at 5 pm on Saturday. All 41 members -- 29 from the government and 11 from the opposition-- spoke in the house. One opposition member, Patrick Manning, is ill and is in Washington for treatment. When the vote was taken, the full government bench voted against the motion. Opposition Leader Keith Rowley had moved the motion on Persad-Bissessar and her 22-month old government -- comprising five coalition partners -- for not properly managing the economic, political and social issues in the country. Persad-Bissessar said the objective of the motion was to get her fired and bring down the government, but the opposition failed. She said that for 12 years, Manning, Rowley's former leader, had even described him as a "raging bull" and "completey out of control". The prime minister, who visited India in January, quoted extensively from Central Bank reports that showed the economy was improving from the decline the government had met it with, when it took office in May 2010. Finance Minister Winston Dookeran spoke of the numerous initiatives he has undertaken to bring the economy on a strong footing despite the critical financial situation all over the globe, especially in Europe. He said several international financial monitoring agencies have given Trinidad and Tobago positive ratings despite meeting a weak and depleted economy in May 2010. Dookeran is an international economist and author of several publications and who has lectured several times at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. There was loud support for Persad-Bissessar when she met thousands of placard-bearing supporters. Persad-Bissessar is the first woman to lead this country since its independence in 1962. Her forefathers were among 148,000 people who came here between 1845 and 1917 from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to work on sugar, cocoa and coconut plantations.

South Carolina to be partner with India: Nikki Haley March 03, 2012 10:00

Proud of her Indian heritage, South Carolina’s Indian American governor Nikki Haley says she wanted an opportunity to partner with India, since becoming chief executive, and now those talks are underway. “As I became governor, what I saw was an opportunity – it’s an opportunity to partner with a country that continues to be strong when it comes to jobs and…in innovation,” Haley told reporters in the state capital Columbia Wednesday after a meeting with visiting Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao. “And so what I’ve asked is, ‘how do we get Indian companies to come and do business in South Carolina?’ I talked to the ambassador, and we are going to continue to talk.” Rao, who has been visiting South Carolina, said “I am exceptionally happy to be here.” “In the last two days, I’ve been to Charleston, and I’ve been here in Columbia, and I’ve had discussions with Governor Haley and her team. We’ve looked at the ways to cement better relations between India and South Carolina. “There are immense possibilities because this is really in many senses a time of awakening when it comes to India-US relations. “We have a number of Indian companies that do business in the United States, that have invested here, and what I’m going to try to do is to see that we have Indian companies come to South Carolina. “ “South Carolina provides a very conducive environment for foreign investment and which is what Indian companies would look to,” Rao said. Praising Haley as epitomizing the achievements of Indian Americans in the US, she said: “”She (Haley) is a star back home. We love her for achievements. In many ways, she epitomizes the achievements of the Indian American community in this country; all that they have done to make America proud and to make India proud.” Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to Sikh immigrant parents, Haley is the first Indian American woman and the second Indian American governor of a US State after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Both are from the Republican Party.

Nikki Haley skips White House dinner to meet friends February 29, 2012 13:23

South Carolina’s Indian-American Republican Governor Nikki Haley criticised President Barack Obama’s “failure to handle America”, but said “personal plans” kept her and husband Michael from attending Sunday’s White House dinner. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host the dinner annually for the governors to coincide with the National Governors Association conference in Washington. “We were meeting with friends,” Haley told reporters Monday, following a press conference organised by the Republican Governors Association (RGA). Haley said she and her husband “were honoured” to attend the White House dinner last year — her first as governor — but wanted to see friends Sunday night. Haley attended Monday morning’s meeting with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, where the president stressed the importance of education policy. Haley later joined fellow Republican governors, Indian-American Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Bob McDonnell of Virginia, at the RGA press conference to blast Obama’s policies and urge the election of a Republican president. In addition to stressing the Republican message on business and education issues, Haley, who has endorsed Republican Mitt Romney, said Obama was coming in the way of development in her state. “In South Carolina, we can’t even pass our own bills without him getting in the way,” she said. “We pass illegal immigration reform, he stops it. We pass voter ID, he stops it. We get Boeing, he stops it.” “I mean, I’d just like to be a governor and be able to take care of my state. The president’s trying to handle the entire country, and he’s failing,” Haley said.

Indian-origin British hotelier sued by parents February 23, 2012 05:15

Parents of a 60-year-old Indian-origin hotelier, reportedly one of Britain's wealthiest men, are sueing him for 100 million pounds (around $157 million), claiming their son took the family business for himself. Jasminder Singh, chairman of the Radisson Edwardian Hotels, is accused of renouncing the Sikh tradition of sharing family wealth and barring his parents from their multi-million pound business, the Daily Express reported. His 84-year-old father, Bal Mohinder Singh, stands to take a third of the family fortune if he wins the high court battle against his son. The family fortune is reportedly worth an estimated 415 million pounds. In a statement to the court in London Tuesday, Bal Mohinder Singh said he and his wife Satwant were "deeply ashamed that Jasminder should publicly renounce his cultural heritage". The system of joint family ownership of all assets is based on religious teaching and widely practiced by Sikh and Hindu communities around the world, he said. "For Jasminder to deny that and claim all the credit and ownership for himself will be shocking to wide sections of those communities. That is why his mother and I are so ashamed." The hotelier's name was on the family's assets purely because he was a chartered accountant and the Singhs' representative, the court heard. Singh also accused his son of trying to force his parents out of the 10-million-pound house they share near Ascot racecourse in Berkshire. Jasminder Singh denies ever having been told by his parents they were a "joint Hindu family" and that property acquired by any of them was "joint family property". He also denied having a particularly religious upbringing.

Telugu student killed in road accident in US February 17, 2012 04:19

A Telugu student doing his MS in the USA was killed in a road accident in the Texas state on Wednesday. According to information received by phone by Mr Puli Venkateswar of Kagajnagar in Warangal district this morning, his son Puli Rajesh was killed in the accident. “My son came here two years back for the marriage of his sister but now we are getting back his dead body,” a saddened Venkateswar told journalists at Kagajnagar. Rajesh mother was sick and the death news was not passed on to her as she may develop further health troubles after hearing about the incident. “He always stood first in the class from the very beginning and he insisted he must go to the US for studying,” said Venkateswar, a railway employee, with tears rolling down his eyes. (JUBS)

Attackers on Indians in UK to be punished: Britain February 15, 2012 06:38

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mr Jeremy Browne has assured that perpetrators of attack on Indians in UK will be punished. The minister was in Bangalore for a day on Monday, as part of India tour to celebrate sport and the London 2012 Olympics. Speaking to the media persons, he said, Britain is a safe country and generally harmonius. He underlined the point that Britain has high rate of prosecution and the culprits of attack will not be spared. Speaking about Britain losing the MMRCA fighter aircraft deal, the minister said Indo-UK relations are built on solid foundation and contracts or commercial considerations play no role in them. He highlighted the need to extend India assistance in the field of skill development for self-reliance and eradication of malnutrition among children. He noted that Olympic Games are not just about sports but a festival celebrating human values. The minister played badminton with Indian badminton icon Prakash Padukone on this occasion. Mr Ian Felton, British Deputy High Commissioner in Bangalore was present.

NRIs returning to India for female foeticide February 10, 2012 12:43

It was observed that some of the Indian families settled in different parts of US, UK, Canada and Australia come back to their nation for determine the sex of their child. After the determination process, if the fetus is found to be a girl, they go for an abortion. NRIs are making their way to India for pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide to make use of the clinical facilities in the country reveals a study conducted by a UK based charity organization. The report will be released next month but the finding of the study was revealed by UK MP Virendra Sharma. The study named ‘Jeena’ (allow me to live) was conducted in Punjab and it was observed that some of the Indian families settled in different parts of US, UK, Canada and Australia come back to their nation for determine the sex of their child. After the determination process, if the fetus is found to be a girl, they go for an abortion. Sharma added that the situation is a serious one affecting both India and abroad which needs to be looked into carefully. The charity has sufficient proof to prove the increasing number of such cases. “The study report will be released in UK next month even as the same will also be simultaneously made available in India for identifying the grey areas and to work out solutions at society and government levels,” said Sharma. He also added that NRI’s are abusing the legal system in India by involving in such activities. “It’s an open secret that a section of clinical facilities in India are open to such practices for obvious reasons. This leads to skewing sex ratio,” he added. “The British High Commission in New Delhi should be engaged with Indian High Commission in London to understand and solve such issues. There is need for a social engineering through engagement of community leaders with government functionaries whether in India or abroad,” said Sharma.