Sops for diaspora in Kerala budget
Thiruvananthapuram, July 8: The first budget presented by the Congress-led United Democratic Front has sops for the Kerala diaspora by way of a rehabilitation scheme, a legal aid cell and a 24-hour helpline. A new centre will also be set up to improve the skill sets of those who want to go abroad for a job.
According to a study done by the Centre for Development Studies on the diaspora, there are more than two million Keralites working abroad, of whom around 90 percent are in the Middle-East.
The budget, presented by Finance Minister K.M. Mani Friday, was his ninth.
"The Norka department will come out with an elaborate programme for the rehabilitation of those people who have returned from abroad on account of internal issues in some countries," said Mani. According to the CDS study, the number of returnees from the Middle East has crossed one million in the last one decade.
"For the first time, we will set up a legal aid cell for the benefit of the diaspora. There will be a round-the-clock helpline where a business centre will function to clear the doubts of those interested in investing in the state. Through this centre complaints also can be registered," said Mani.
Another new initiative is the setting up of an Overseas Employment Skill Testing Centre.
"This would be to improve the skill sets of those who are already employed in the Middle East and also those intending to go abroad. A certificate that would have due recognition would be given to those who undergo the training," added Mani....IANS/NRIpress.com
Emerson upbeat about India
Chennai, July 8: US-based $21 billion diversified manufacturing group Emerson is bullish on India and plans to triple its headcount in this country in two or three years.
"The group's head count in India is around 2,500 and we plan grow that by two times. Our business in India is growing at 12 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) and we expect to maintain that level in future as well," Amit Paithankar, Vice President-Sales (India) at Emerson Process Management, told reporters here.
According to him, the group has integrated sales operations under a 'One India Strategy' so that the customers deal with one point for their multiple product requirements.
The Emerson group manufactures process/climate control, industrial automation, power conditioning, tools and storage products.
Customers benefit from the breadth and depth of Emerson's process automation technology offerings that support a wide range of industrial applications, ranging from electricity-generating power plants to food and beverage makers, to pharmaceutical manufacturers and oil, gas and petrochemical facilities, Paithankar pointed out.
"There will not be any reduction in our sales force because of unification. On the other hand, the number of feet on the street selling the group's products will increase. The sales force can cross-sell products," Paithankar said.
The reference was to the group completing the integration of the former Fisher
Sanmar Ltd joint venture to further strengthn its India growth plans. The former JV has been renamed Emerson Process Management Chennai Pvt Ltd.
The acquisition includes the transfer of more than 275 employees and the ownership of manufacturing facilities at Karapakkam, Chennai.
The acquisition enhances Emerson Process Management's ability to support large projects in India, which have doubled in demand and opportunity over the last two years, Paithankar said.
It also enables the Indian operation of Emerson Process Management to export products, systems and services to high-growth markets such as the Middle East and Africa.
In the last couple of years, the Emerson group has invested around $700 million in acquisition of companies/stakes of joint venture partners.
"Such a strategy is expected to continue in the future as well," Paithankar said....IANS/NRIpress.com
Goa University to have chair on Indian diaspora studies
Panaji, July 5, 2011: The union Human Resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to set up a chair on Indian diaspora studies at the Goa University, Goa's commissioner for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) affairs Eduardo Faleiro said Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters here, Faleiro said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has agreed to establish a chair on the diaspora community at the state university in Goa, a state which has a history of emigration.
"I have requested the Goa governor, Dr S.S. Sidhu, who is the chancellor of the Goa University (GU), to advise the university in this regard so that we have a quality institution for study and research on the Indian diaspora in general and on the Goan diaspora in particular," said Faleiro, a former union minister of state for external affairs.
The chair on diaspora studies will deal with the questions and issues regarding the Indian diaspora (Goan diaspora included) in academic depth and in a comparative context, he said.
It will also study migration in other countries, he added.
He said a part payment has already been made by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to the GU towards the creation of the chair.
"The study on migration in all its diverse aspects is one of the most fascinating areas of research. A very large number of universities abroad have this facility," Faleiro said, adding that the GU is the first in India to establish a chair on the diaspora studies.
Incidentally, Goa is the second state in India after Kerala to conduct a survey on out-migration of its working population to other countries for employment, primarily in the Gulf region.........IANS/NRIpress.com
Battle begins for Nepal's casino kingdom
Kathmandu, July 4, 2011: A pushy businessman from New Delhi who became the owner of Nepal's controversial casino industry shrouded in allegations of money laundering, tax evasion and promoting crime in the capital, Monday began a new battle to retain his grip on his crumbling kingdom.
Rakesh Wadhwa, who has the uneasy reputation of wresting most of Nepal's 10 casinos from the control of his former mentor and partner, maverick American entrepreneur Richard Tuttle, is challenging the government's decision to take away the four casinos left with him.
The 54-year-old, who exited Nepal unceremoniously last year to avoid being arrested after his casinos owed the government millions of rupees in royalty payments, is now claiming that the tourism and civil aviation ministry, which announced it was cancelling his licence to run casinos, has no authority to do so.
Nepal Recreation Center, once the only organisation licensed by Nepal's government to run casinos in Nepal and in which Wadhwa owns majority shares, Monday issued a public statement, saying it was licensed by the ministry of industry. Therefore, the tourism ministry had no right to cancel its licence, the statement said.
It also claimed that it was the sole organisation authorised by the government of Nepal to run casinos and the new companies that had taken over some of the casinos once under its stable had no official standing.
The statement alleged that these newly-mushrooming companies were spreading false reports about it.
The Center also pointed out that it merely ran the casinos that were actually leased out to the five-star hotels from whose premises they operated. The unpaid royalty therefore should be collected from the hotels.
It also reminded the government that two of the hotels have already filed a case in Supreme Court, challenging the government's decision to scrap the licences of the casinos. As the case was still being heard, the issue was sub judice.
The new twist comes after a change in Nepal's political scenario and Wadhwa's fight with his former mentor cost him four of the eight casinos he ran.
The Maoist government, that had been sympathetic to him, was replaced by a communist-led alliance in 2009, triggering a state crackdown on the casinos. Subsequently, some of Wadhwa's casinos were wrested away by people with friends in high places, like former king Gyanendra's son-in-law Raj Bahadur Singh.
This month, the government also began the process to auction two properties belonging to the Center in a bid to recover the unpaid royalties.
Gambling is banned for Nepalis but the casinos have been consistently flouting the rule, leading to frequent police raids and arrest of Nepali gamblers.
Many crimes, like murder and kidnappings, were found to have been caused by people who had run up huge gambling debts.
A parliamentary committee has asked the government to remove the casinos from the capital. However, the beleaguered government is yet to implement the directive........IANS/NRIpress.com
Indian firm in Britain asked Asians to use fake names
London, July 2, 2011: A firm in Britain owned by Indian-origin people has asked all Asians working there to use anglicised names as they said customers struggle with Indian names.
The Teachers 2 Parents Ltd - a telesales firm - claimed before a tribunal that English names were easier for customers to spell in emails, the Daily Mail reported.
The firm asked 28-year-old Rahul Jain to change his name to Rob Matthews.
Other Indian employees also alleged their names were changed. A woman named Sarbjit became known as Sally and a man named Prakash was called Terry.
Jain, a resident of Leicester, said: "They had a policy for all Asians to change their names. There were at least 30 other people of Indian origin who did this and are still working there. What the company did is outrageous and totally racist."
The firm was founded in 2007 by 37-year-old Suresh Patel and 36-year-old Uresh Naik in Leicester.
Naik and Patel told the tribunal that emails from customers had gone missing. When this was investigated, it was found that staff email addresses had been misspelt by customers.
The tribunal heard the firm had a number of staff of Indian origin who adopted anglicised names at work. They included Aarti (Anna), Mehul (Max), Sarbjit (Sally), Meera (Marie), Neeraj (Neil), Prakash (Terry), Jaspal (Jay), Jayna (Jane) and Faizal (Fred).
These names were not only adopted as email addresses, but staff used them in making calls and talking to each other, the tribunal heard.
However, the name-change policy was not "proportionate" and was enforced on Indian employees only. White colleagues were allowed to keep their names.
Jain told the tribunal he picked the name Rob but would have preferred to maintain his birth name at work because he was proud of it, and was unhappy at having to change names.
Jain's employment was terminated in September last year due to a disagreement.
Patel, however, said: "We have never forced or suggested to staff to change their names. If the claim is true why would we employ such a wide variety of people from different origins?"...IANS/NRIpress.com
Indian student leader gets Australian award
Melbourne, July 2, 2011: The leader of the association of Indian-origin students in Australia who protested attacks against Indians in Melbourne has been given the 2011 Young Victorian of the Year award.
Amit Menghani, a 24-year-old aerospace engineering graduate, is president of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA), The Age reported Saturday.
The Victorian of the Year Award is awarded for outstanding public and community services.
Menghani had led a rally of 2,000 Indian students in 2009 protesting a spate of violent attacks against people from the community in Melbourne.
The rally was called after a student was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver.
"There lacked a channel between the media and the students, so I decided to make people aware that these things were happening," Menghani said.
Born in Jaipur in Rajasthan, and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Menghani came to Australia when he was 18.
His middle-class family had taken a loan of $100,000 to educate him. In his acceptance speech Friday, Meghani said he had learnt much from his family's sacrifice.
He said he owed a lot to Victoria, and hoped it would one day become "a world leader in multi-ethnic co-habitation"....IANS/NRIpress.com
53 Indians released from Bangladeshi jail
Dhaka, July 2, 2011: At least 53 Indian nationals held on various charges, including smuggling and trespassing, have been released from a jail in Bangladesh, a media report said.
The jail in Satkhira district, on the border with India's West Bengal state, released the prisoners Thursday, the Daily Star reported.
Jail superintendent Nurannabi Bhuiyan said the Indians were freed following a district court order after a case was filed recently challenging their detention.
The Indian nationals were held 11-12 years ago from Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, Khagrachhari, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Satkhira and Jessore districts on charges of smuggling, intrusion and involvement in various criminal activities, the daily said.
Though they had been sentenced to different terms of imprisonment, most of them spent 7-8 more years in prison after expiry of their terms as they could not be released due to legal complexities, the prison official said.
All the former prisoners have left for India, he added.....IANS/NRIpress.com
Operate more flights between India, Ras Al Khaimah
Thiruvananthapuram, July 1, 2011: The Indian community in Ras Al Khaimah has asked the Indian government to increase the number of flights between the emirate and India to cut down on travel time.
"There is only one flight operating from the Ras Al Khaimah airport to India. Around 450,000 Indians reside in the catchment area of Ras Al Khaimah, who have no choice but to travel to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah airports," S.A Saleem, president of the Indian Association in Ras Al Khaimah said in an e-mail to IANS Friday.
Eight major Indian associations representing the Indian community have appealed to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the union Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi to commence direct Air India services between Ras Al Khaimah and Indian cities such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai.
Alternately, the Indian government should allow the Ras Al Khaimah national carrier, RAK Airways, to operate flights to these cities, the associations said.
"The Ras Al Khaimah Airport and the Ras Al Khaimah civil aviation authorities are both on record welcoming Indian carriers to operate from this airport. However it appears that the return gesture from the carriers in India is not forthcoming," said Saleem.
"If no favourable actions are taken in this regard with immediate effect, the various associations will encourage the community to even go to the extent of boycotting Air India during the upcoming holiday season," he added......IANS/NRIpress.com
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Indian-origin nurse barred in Britain
London, July 1, 2011: An Indian-origin care home manager in Britain has been barred from the profession after being found guilty of housing elderly residents in inhospitable conditions "no better than a kennel".
During Ramdai Singh's watch, a 70-year-old dementia sufferer lost 70 kg after being fed a diet of tea, chocolate and a drink supplement in a urine-soaked room, the Daily Mail reported.
The resident, who was made to wear a nappy pad, had to drink out of a plastic beaker that was stained, dirty and furry, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel, a disciplinary group heard.
On Thursday, NMC found Ramdai Singh, 48, guilty of misconduct for displaying a "flagrant disregard for basic nursing principles" at the Elmer Sands Nursing Home in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.
The accusations that Ramdai Singh left carpets smelling of urine and bed covers soiled with faeces were found proved. It was also found true that she kept inadequate records regarding residents' food intake and did not provide a varied diet.
Ramdai Singh was also found guilty of failing to ensure the nursing home was a safe environment. She allowed staff to work before required checks were carried out, by leaving food in the fridge unlabelled and uncovered and leaving a toilet to leak.
Her actions and failures were found to be incompatible to allow her to continue practising as a nurse, the profession's watchdog ruled.
Ramdai Singh broke nursing rules during her time at the home - which caters for elderly people with dementia and other age-related ailments - between May 2004 and November 2006, the conduct and competence committee of the NMC ruled.
Panel chairman Paul Hindley said: "We consider her actions and omissions represent gross neglect.
"The failures were extensive and undoubtedly had an effect on elderly and vulnerable patients and have shown a flagrant disregard for basic nursing principles."....IANS/NRIpress.com
Indian businesses against street protests in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, July 1, 2011: The Indian business community in Malaysia has said it is strongly against the holding of street demonstrations.
The 12 Indian chambers of commerce and 13 trade associations under the umbrella of the Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) resolved that the political parties Bersih, Umno Youth and Perkasa should not take to the streets for a rally scheduled for July 9, the Star Online reported.
MAICCI president K.K. Eswaran said the chambers' decision on the rally was unanimous.
"Bersih wants fair elections, but it was already proven in the 2008 general election that Malaysia is a truly democratic society," he said.
He said Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan - as a practising lawyer and former bar council chairman - should know it is important to adhere to the law.
"Ambiga must practise what she preaches by abiding to lawful conduct," he said.
Eswaran urged police to take action against those who break the law.
The Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation (MIYDF) - with a membership of 18,000 people - said it would take to the streets opposing the July 9 rally.
MIYDF chairman S.A. Vigneswaran said everyone should be treated equally.
"If one group is allowed to rally, others should be allowed to do the same. I will advise people not to join Bersih or any other gathering. But if Bersih goes on, we will have no choice," he said after launching the MIYDF anti-Bersih campaign.
Vigneswaran, a former Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) youth wing chief, said the foundation would go on a nationwide drive against Bersih.
There were about 1.9 million people of Indian origin in Malaysia in 2010, according to the Department of Statistics.....IANS/NRIpress.com
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