GOPIO News, Aug 15 2008

GOPIO VICE PRESIDENT RAJ LOOMBA AMONG QUEEN'S HONORS LIST

GOPIO's European Region Vice president and entrepreneur Raj Loomba whi has been campaigner of widows' rights is among 17 other Asians chosen for the Queen's Birthday Honors this year. Loomba, founder of the Loomba Trust has been made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for "charitable services to poor widows and their children overseas."

A tireless campaigner for improving the plight of widows and their children all over the world, Loomba and his wife Veena Loomba set up the Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba Trust in 1997, of which Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the President. The Trust educates over 3,600 children throughout India, including 500 in Tamil Nadu who lost their father or both parents in the tsunami.

As chairman of the British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet Fund, Loomba runs a program of visiting fellowships at Cambridge, Oxford and other leading universities including Edinburgh, Hull and Wales, whereby prominent Indian academics raise awareness of India's diverse heritage and current achievements as an emerging force in the world economy.

Others in the honors list this year are - Surina Narula, Jashvant Chauhan, Prof Romesh Chand Gupta, Samatiben Desai, Balraj Singh Dhesi, Satbir Singh Giany, Baldev Krishan Goyal, Tanika Gupta, Prakash Chandra Kakoty, Kulwant Kaur, Kumar Jayant Shamrao Kotegaonkar, Balwantbhai Dayabhai Unka Patel, Hitesh Kaji Patel, Sheliagh Ann Ram, Shahien Taj, Mahesh Paul Thapar, Vandana Saxena Poria, and Shalini Mahtani.

GOPIO CHAPTER PRESIDENT BECOMES JUSTICE OF PEACE

GOPIO Auckland South Chapter President Davinder Singh Rahal has been appointed as Justice of the Peace (JP) in New Zealand.

Justices of the peace are appointed to carry out important functions in the administration of documentation and justice. All JPs perform such duties as witnessing documents, certifying copies and taking declarations, affidavits or affirmations. Some with legal qualification can be authorized to perform judicial duties.

GOLFER VIJAY SINGH WINS BRIDGESTONE INTERNATIONAL

Vijay Singh, the former world's #1, was victorious on the PGA Tour after not having won a tournament in almost a year and a half. His 32nd PGA Tour victory means he has won more tournaments on the tour than any foreign-born player - more than such big names as Gary Player, Ernie Els and others.

Despite having his belly putter abandon him at several critical spots down the stretch, Singh gutted out the victory Sunday, winning the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational by one stroke over Stuart Appleby and Lee Westwood at Firestone Country Club and pocketing $1.35 million.

Singh, who has alternated between the belly putter and a conventional model all season, shot a final- round 2-under 68 to finish the 72 holes at 10-under 270. Appleby also shot 68, and Westwood, who began the day as one of the tournament's tri-leaders, shot 69 and failed to catch the 45-year-old Fijian, who became the oldest player and the first in his 40s to win a WGC event.

BRITISH INDIAN RAMI RANGER RECEIVES DIVERSITY AWARD

Dr. Rami Ranger, MBE, FRSA was appointed as one of the diversity champions by the Next Steps Foundation and the Award was presented to him by the Rt. Hon. Andy Burnham MP the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sports in a prestigious ceremony which was attended by over 500 dignitaries and guests. Among those present was the Foreign Secretary The Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP.

As a Diversity Champion, Dr. Ranger will travel throughout Europe Championing Diversity in Europe. It should be noted that Dr. Ranger has been Championing the cause of Ethnic Minorities in Britain for decades. He worked hard to make the Conservative Party an Ethnic Friendly and it has now become an inclusive Party.

He was also the first to bring British people of Indian and Pakistani origin to celebrate for the first time ever, anywhere in the world, their joint Independence Day Celebrations last year. It marked a watershed in their relationships in this country where they live side by side and where their destines are now linked.

INDIAN AMERICAN SARITA JAMES SELECTED AS WHITE HOUSE FELLOW

Sarita James from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been selected as one of the fourteen White House Fellows for the Class of 2008-2009. Currently, Sarita is a Senior Vice President of the 50-person Strategy and Policy Division at New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Prior to NYCEDC, Sarita worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, where she advised clients in the technology and telecommunications industries. She began her career as a Program Manager at Microsoft Corporation, where she was awarded two patents and served on the board of its 2,000-plus-member women's organization.

In 1994, she received the Grand Prize at the International Science and Engineering Fair for her research on software speech recognition. James's humor writing has appeared in the New York Times, and she has received a first offer on her upcoming memoir, "Indian in Indiana: Adventures of a Misfit from America's Heartland." She has run the 2003 ING New York City Marathon and cycled in the 2000 Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, a 200-mile, one-day event.

Sarita spent a summer volunteering with Mother Teresa's orphanage in Kolkata and serves on the board of Ankur Kala, a Kolkata-based women's non-profit. She received a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard College and her M.B.A. from Oxford University's Said Business School.

The White House Fellows Program, founded in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, offers exceptional men and women first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the Federal government. Fellows participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with leaders from the private and public sectors and study trips to examine U.S. policy in action. Following the Fellowship year, the Fellows repay the privilege by contributing to the country as better national leaders and public servants.

Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable professional achievement, evidence of leadership skills, a strong commitment to public service, and the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the Federal government. The program has fostered leaders in many fields, including Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, former CNN President Tom Johnson, United Nations Foundation President and Former U.S. Senator Timothy Wirth, former Supreme Allied Commander for Europe Wesley K. Clark, U.S. Senator Samuel Brownback, and U.S. Representative Joe L. Barton.

PRESIDENT BUSH TO NOMINATE SANDY BARUAH AS US SBA ADMINISTRATOR

President George W. Bush has recently announced his intention to nominate three individuals to serve in his Administration. The President intends to nominate Santanu "Sandy" K. Baruah, of Oregon, to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Mr. Baruah currently serves as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce. Prior to this, he served as Chief of Staff of the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce. Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the Department of Commerce. Mr. Baruah received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and his master's degree from Williamette University.

In the meanwhile, the U.S. Senate has voted to confirm the nomination of Neel Kashkari as the U.S. Treasury's second assistant secretary for international affairs. Kashkari, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs & Co who serves as an adviser to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, will join Assistant Secretary Clay Lowery in the international affairs role, expanding the Treasury's capacity to work with foreign governments and multilateral institutions. Kashkari, who headed Goldman's information technology security investment banking practice in San Francisco before joining the Treasury, has been advising Paulson on a variety of issues, including the U.S. housing market, since his nomination in November 2007. Paulson was chief executive of Goldman Sachs before taking over as Treasury Secretary in July 2006.

INDIAN AMERICAN TO HEAD MONTEREY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Indian American Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy has been appointed as the president of the California based Monterey Institute of International Studies. Dr. Ramaswamy is currently the Dean of the Faculty Development and Research, Frederick C. Dirks Professor of International Economics, and Project Director for Middlebury Monterey Institute of International Studies.

He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University in 1991, an M.A. in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, and B.A. (Honors) in Economics from St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, India. His principal fields of specialization are Development Economics, International Economics, Issues in Applied Microeconomics and Quantitative Methods.

Over the years he had held visiting positions at the Madras School of Economics (Chennai, India, Vanderbilt University, Institute of Financial Management and Research, (Chennai, India), Purdue University, and the World Bank. He has been involved with World Bank projects on various aspects of economic reforms in India. In the past he has also been associated with USAID and INTSORMIL projects on agricultural development in Sub-Saharan Africa. His teaching interests include Development Economics, International Economics, and Microeconomic Theory. His research interests are in the areas of development economics, international economics and applied microeconomics. His co-edited several books including Development and Democracy: New Perspectives on an Old Debat and Social Capital and Economic Development: Well-Being in Developing Countries.

PIO ECONOMIST GOBIND NANKANI RECEIVES GHANANIAN NATIONAL AWARD

Gobind Nankani, prominent Indian-origin development economist and head of the Global Development Network (GDN), has been honored with a top Ghanaian national award for his contributions to the development of Ghana and Africa. Ghanaian President John A Kufour presented Nankani with the 'Order of the Volta' on July 3 in Accra.

Nankani was cited particularly for his role as vice president for Africa at the World Bank from 2004 to 2006, and also for his contribution over the years to the promotion of social development policy and financing. Kufuor presented awards to distinguished personalities, including foreign nationals. The awards were instituted by the nation's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, when Ghana attained republic status on July 1, 1960.

Speaking at the National Honors Awards, on the theme 'Branding Ghana for a Prosperous Future', Kufuor said: "We have sought to honor a cross section of society who in the course of their work has made exceptional contributions to the development of the nation. Today's function is to urge them on to greater service to the nation and encourage others to follow their example."

As head of GDN, Nankani oversees a worldwide association of researchers and policy institutes with the goal of generating and sharing knowledge, building research capacity and bridging the gap between ideas and policy for development.

Nankani firmly believes that "world-class research capabilities exist in developing countries. The challenge is to ensure that they influence policy debate at the country and regional levels". Informed policy-making instead of opinion-based policy-making is the key to effective and inclusive development and poverty reduction.

The online research database GDNet has over 7,000 registered researchers and provides access to over 14,000 journal articles for researchers in developing and transition countries. GDN became an International Organization in February 2008. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It signed the Headquarters Agreement with the Government of India in May 2008. GDN's regional offices are located in Cairo, Egypt and Washington. Its site is www.gdnet.org

PIO SOUTH AFRICAN JUDGE IS NEW UN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER

Navanethem Pillay, a judge in South Africa, has been appointed the new UN High Commissioner of Human Rights. Pillay (67), is to succeed Louise Arbour of Canada who completed her five-year term on June 30.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told the General Assembly his intention to appoint Pillay, who has served since 2003 as a judge on the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Pillay was nominated after "an extensive selection process" which included consultations with member states and with the NGO community, Ban's spokesperson said,

"The secretary-general is committed to ensuring that human rights remain high on the agenda of the organisation. He expects that the new high commissioner will preserve the independence of her office and will maintain effective working relations with the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council," the spokesperson said.

INDIAN AMERICAN SANJAY JHA NAMED CO-CEO OF MOTOROLA

Motorola has named Dr. Sanjay Jha as CEO of its handset business and co-chief executive of the parent company (2007 sales: $36.6 billion). Motorola said it had snagged Sanjay Jha, the chief operating officer of Qualcomm Inc. and a star of the wireless industry, to head its handset division as it prepares to become an independent company.

Jha will also be co-chief executive of the parent company, sharing the responsibility with incumbent Greg Brown. Brown will take responsibility for Motorola's other two divisions.

INDO-GUYANESE GEORGE SUBRAJ HONORED

On Sunday, July 20, 2008 in Queens, New York, members of the Indo-Caribbean Counicl (IIC-NY) and Shri Devi Mandir welcomed Shri George Subraj, a PIO born in Guyana, to bestow upon him The Council's highest honor. Giving meaning and expression to its mission to "recognize Indo-Caribbean's and to serve others," The Council invited Shri George Subraj to receive this accolade for his financial, moral and humanitarian support of the first kidney transplant in Guyana, which was performed at the Georgetown Hospital. In fact, this is the first kidney transplant in the English-speaking Caribbean. Reflecting its plural composition, Council members Shri R.D. Kalicharran, Dr. Tara Singh, Hajee Zakir, Rev. Seopaul Singh, Shri Lalbachan Haricharran and Shri Roopnarain Persaud were in attendance at the temple to receive and welcome the honoree, Shri George Subraj.

Not only did Shri George Subraj contributed financially to the successful operation, he personally involved himself in all the logistics, permits and clearances from Government Ministries and hospital personnel. One could have expected complete cooperation from Guyanese officials; this however was not the reality. It was an uphill struggle to secure the necessary "paper works", and, if Shri George Subraj did not personally involve himself in securing the permits, the operation would not have even occurred, much less become the success it has been recorded to be. George Subraj's philanthropy deserves, and is here given, its rightful place in the history and maturity of the Indo-Caribbean group of People of Indian Origin.

The eight-hour operation was conducted by a U.S.-based medical team headed by Indian-born Dr Rahul M Jindal of Brookdale University Hospital. Other members included: Dr Edward Falta, Transplant Surgeon of the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre (WRAMC), Washington; Dr Melenie Guerero, Pulmonary Care Physician; Laura Owens, Transplant Coordinator; and Dr Arthur L. Womble, attached to the Athens-Limestone Hospital, Athens, Alabama. The local team comprised: Dr Ravi Purohit, Surgeon; Dr Ramsundar Doobay, Consultant, Internal Medicine; Dr Anita Florendo, Registrar, Internal Medicine; Dr Vivienne Amata, Anaesthesiologist; Dr Pheona Mohamed-Rambaran, Laboratory Director; Delon France, Medical Technologist; and Dr Wilson, Radiologist.

Munesh Mangal is recovering well, and so is his mother, who donated one of her kidneys to him. They were discharged from hospital on Monday, July 21, 2008. Munesh is responding well to treatment and George and Lake returned to Guyana on Tuesday, July 22, 2008, to monitor and help provide post-operative care to the Munesh Mangal's family. The Guyana government has promised to supply at least three years' medication to Munesh. "If this is done right, then we will be on the right track to carry out similar transplant cases in the future." observed Shri George Subraj in his acceptance remarks. He continued in his remarks to give thanks to each and everyone who assisted in fulfilling the need of the sick. He made special mention of Lake Persaud, also a recipient of an ICC-NY award, for his exceptional public relations work to make the kidney transplant project the success that it is.

INDIAN AMERICAN BAGS BRONZE AT OLYMPICS 2008

The past four years have been a rough road for Houston-based Raj Bhavsar. A junior standout turned NCAA star and World team stalwart, Bhavsar felt he deserved a spot on the 2004 Olympic team and was devastated when he was named alternate instead.

That disappointment led Bhavsar to a dark place, where he questioned just about everything in his life. Houston gymnast Raj Bhavsar was named to replace 2004 Olympic gold medalist injured Paul Hamm on the USA Gymnastics men's Olympic team.

Fueled by an underdog's mentality, a burglar's guts and the grace under pressure that is a minimum requirement for performing on the Olympic stage, the men of USA Gymnastics won a bronze medal in the men's team competition.

China won the gold medal with 286.125 points, and Japan slipped past the U.S. on the final apparatus to take the silver with 278.875. The U.S. scored 275.85 to edge Germany at 274.6 for the bronze. The Americans were fueled early on by the bold, rock-solid performances of a squad that included Houston gymnasts Jonathan Horton and Raj Bhavsar, and at the end by Sasha Artemev's redemptive series of twirls around the pommel horse as anchor man on the team's weakest apparatus.

"It's been an amazing and enlightening experience. After '04, there was a lot of hurt that went on in the sport for me. I had to succumb to that and surrender to it," said Bhavsar.

TWO INDIAN AMERICANS AMONG FORBES TOP-PAID YOUNG CEOs LIST

Two Indian-origin businessmen, publishing software giant Adobe's Shantanu Narayen and global outsourcing major Cognizant's Francisco D'Souza, have made to the league of young CEOs with fattest pay package in the US, as per a list compiled by Forbes.

Narayen has been ranked at the 5th and D'Souza at the 15th position in a list of 15 young CEOs, aged 45 or less. The list, published in the online edition of the US business magazine, has been topped by a person of Pakistani origin Nabeel Gareeb, who is the CEO of chipmaker MEMC Electronic Materials since April 2002.

In terms of age, D'Souza is the youngest of the 15 CEOs at 39. Gareeb is aged 43 and Narayen is 44, the report said.

However, Gareeb tops the list with an annual pay package of 79.6 million dollars, as against 12 million dollars of Narayen, who is the CEO of Adobe Systems since December 2007.

The annual total compensation for D'Souza, the CEO of Cognizant Technology since January 2007, has been put at 3.7 million dollars.

FIRST NRI UNIVERSITY TO BE SET UP IN BANGALORE

The first university for overseas Indians providing higher and professional education will be set up in Bangalore as per recent announcement by the Indian government. The privately-run university will have 50 per cent seats reserved for People of Indian Origin and Non-Resident Indians and 50 per cent for students from within India.

The university would be governed by guidelines of the University Grants Commission. However, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education will set up the university and would have complete autonomy to decide the courses, fees structure and administrative set-up. It is likely to start admissions from next year. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will supervise to ensure that the regulations are followed.

INDIANS ARE SECOND LARGEST GROUPS OF SKILLED MIGRANTS TO AUSTRALIA

IANS has reported that Indians have become the second largest group of skilled migrants arriving on Australian shores under the temporary skilled migration program during 2007-2008, according to new data released by Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Evans.

While almost a quarter of the temporary workers came from the UK, India came second with 14 percent followed by the Philippines at nine per cent and South Africa at six per cent. to meet the severe national skills shortages, especially in professional occupations and highly skilled jobs, as many as 110,570 visas were granted under the temporary skilled migration program last year, a 27 per cent increase on the previous year's 87,310.

As many as 81 per cent of 457 (work) visa holders were employed in professional occupations and highly skilled jobs with computing professionals, registered nurses, and business and information professionals being the top three listed occupations for temporary overseas workers.

The minimum salary Levels for 457 visa holders will increase by 3.8 per cent beginning Aug 1 next, after remaining frozen for over two years. The average nominated base salary for the temporary workers is about A$73,100.

Evans emphasized that the program is not a cheap labor scheme and the government would not tolerate the exploitation of workers.

"Although incidents of migrant worker exploitation are the exception rather than the rule, the government is moving to improve the protections in place to prevent exploitation of temporary skilled workers from overseas," Evans said in a statement.

Many of those coming under the temporary skilled migration program are choosing to become permanent residents. Almost 25,000 people on 457 visas became permanent residents during 2007-08, up 30 per cent on the previous year.

UK TIGHTENS VISAS FOR STUDENTS

Britain has unveiled stricter visa rules under which students from India and other non-European countries will be required to provide their fingerprints and prove that they have money to support themselves.

Official sources said the new system, known as Tier 4, will be more transparent and easily understood and will simplify the existing immigration rules. They said according to the new rules the students will have to be sponsored by education institutions that have been licensed by the UK Borders Agency.

Home Office minister Liam Byrne said "foreign students wanting to take advantage of our world-class universities and colleges must meet stringent criteria". "All those who come to Britain must play by the rules," he said.

"By locking people to one identity with ID cards, alongside a tough new sponsorship system, we will know exactly who is coming here to study and crack down on bogus colleges," he said.

According to new rules, the students will need to be sponsored by a licensed educational institution and obtain an identity card in advance, have a good academic track record and demonstrate that they can financially support themselves and any dependents.

The rules are intended to prevent people abusing the system by entering the country as students and then disappearing, the sources said.

The new student visa system under the Points Based System will require colleges and universities to report about the international students who fail to attend courses after gaining student visas, they said.

MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS TO HELP PIOs TO FIND THEIR ROOTS

In response to repeated requests - eight this year itself - from people of Indian origin settled in places such as the Caribbean Islands, the government is all set to put in place a mechanism to help these people trace their roots.

These people are descendants of indentured laborers of the 19th century, who settled in the then British colonies and lost all connections other than an emotional bond with India.

Officials from the Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs will meet officials from the states of UP and Bihar - the two states from which most indentured laborers were sent - later this month to set the ball rolling. Though UP claims to have already put in place a department, complaints from PIOs have shown it is far from effective. Apart from helping these people, the government also hopes that this will facilitate their investment in their villages.

MALAYSIAN INDIAN PARENTS PROTEST RACIAL ABUSE

About 500 angry parents and other members of the Malaysian Indian community gathered outside a school to stage a protest the alleged use of racial slurs the teacher against ethnic Indian students.

The incident took place at Banting, the principal town of Kuala Langat in Selangor state. The crowd began gathering outside SMK Telok Panglima Garang's main entrance from noon and dispersed about two hours later.

The headmaster was on leave so some teachers accepted on his behalf copies of the police reports made by two students. The reports also alleged that the teacher had beaten some students.

Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGOs secretary Gunaraj George, who was among those who handed over the reports, said such abuse would only result in breeding hatred and racial polarisation in schools.

The school teacher has been transferred but the local community refuses to treat the matter as closed and has demanded a public apology.

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong said the teacher might be sacked if the allegations were proved true. He added that the ministry was awaiting an official report.

Ethnic Indians constitute eight per cent of Malaysia's 28 million population.

ABOUT 300,000 OCI CARDS ISSUED BY GOVT. OF INDIA

The number of Overseas Indians granted Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards reached 285,611 as of July 31, 2008, large majority, over 120,000 are from the United States. Other countries where sizeable numbers have been given OCI cards are from UK, Canada and Australia and Sri Lanka.

The OCI scheme was started in December 2005 in response to persistent demand for "dual citizenship" from overseas Indians in North America and the western world. The OCI certification facilitates life-long visa-free travel to India in addition to certain economic, educational and cultural benefits.

INDIAN PHYSICIANS AGAIN CLASH WITH BRITISH GOVERNMENT

Indian doctors are once again suing the British government, this time accusing it of violating the spirit of a four-month-old court order by seeking to deny thousands the opportunity to live and work in Britain.

The doctors, who won a landmark judgment in their favor April 8, say the British home ministry subsequently refused to withdraw an earlier rule that they say unfairly disadvantages doctors from India and other countries currently working in Britain.

The rule concerns the number of years a person needs to have lived in Britain before qualifying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) - the first stage to full citizenship.

The home ministry raised the minimum requirement from four to five years in April 2006, but refused to withdraw this change while issuing policy guidance in July this year - a move that a spokesman for the doctors termed as "unfair and unlawful".

"Once again the Home Office has been requested to abide to the rule of law, and once again it seems inevitable that the law of the country needs to be enforced onto an obsessed Immigration Ministry which is going to waste the tax-payers' money to further defend such unfair and unlawful policies," said Amit Kapadia, executive director of the HSMP Forum.

In April this year, the Forum won a high-profile case in favour of doctors who had been granted Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) visas but suddenly found themselves unable to work in Britain because of changes made to the visa criteria.
Although the judgment concerned changes made in November 2006, the Forum says the government is violating the spirit of the ruling.

According to Kapadia, the judgment delivered a complete package to bring relief to doctors. This action by the Home Office threatens the livelihood of a very large number of doctors.

"Migrants and their families who applied for indefinite leave to remain after four years - as it was initially promised by the UK government to entice them to come to Britain to contribute to UK economy - are now issued with refusal letters and are being asked to leave the country," the Forum said.

It said the difference of a year in qualifying for indefinite leave was causing migrants hardship and upsetting their plans.

Many migrants' children - faced with the prospect of having to pay high university fees that are charged international students - have abandoned studies, changed career plans or taken a year off studies.

Kapadia said the government has until mid-August to reply to a legal notice served by the Forum.

RULES FOR NRI INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE

Under the general permission, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) can freely purchase immovable property, such as residential and commercial property in India. There are no restrictions on the number of residential/commercial properties that an NRI/PIO can purchase. No document for the property is required to be filed with the Reserve Bank of India.

The general permission does not cover the purchase of agricultural land, plantation property or farm houses in India. A proposal to acquire agricultural land, plantation property or farm houses in India will require specific approval of the Reserve Bank and such proposal is considered in consultation with the Government of India.

SIKH GIRL IN SOUTH WALES WIN LEGAL BATTLE TO WEAR KARA IN SCHOOL

A teenage Sikh girl won a historic legal battle to wear kara, a religious bangle, in her school, which banned her from attending classes for breaking the "no jewelry" rule nine months ago. 14-year-old Sarika Watkins Singh was excluded from Aberdare Girls' School in South Wales in November 2007, for refusing to remove a wrist bangle which is central to her faith.

Justice Silber in the High Court said the bangle - known as the kara - was a symbol of her Sikh faith and not a piece of jewelry. "The school is guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations and equality laws."

As a sequel to the judgment, Sarika will be returning to the school in September wearing the Kara, a slim steel bracelet.

EDUCATIONAL SEATS FOR CHILDREN OF INDIAN DIASPORA

The Government recently decided to reserve at least 15% seats in various state educational institutions for children of Indians staying abroad. The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) has asked the states to create 15% additional seats in educational institutions to accommodate children of NRIs/PIOs.

With a large number of NRI/PIO children showing keen interest to study in India, overseas Indians have been lobbying for an NRI university for the last many years. The government has already announced the setting up of one or more NRI universities, yet details of such a university have not been finalized. In the meantime, the government has decided to create seats in the existing institutes for the children of the Diaspora.

INDIANS SEEKING ADMISSION IN OVERSEAS UNIVERSITIES ON THE INCREASE

USA has been destination of choice for Indian students seeking higher education. Last year, as many as 83,000 Indians were enrolled in American universities while over 76,000 had enrolled in the prior year. However due to higher cost of learning in the US, Indians have been seeking admission in institutions of learning in UK, Australia, France or elsewhere.

During the last few years, many foreign employers have been recruiting the best and brightest Indians. Some foreign universities have also been attracting talented Indian students. Last year, 21,000 Indian students in the UK were on student visa.

In June, Indian government approved renaming Fulbright scholarship as Fulbright-Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarships and Grants and doubled the number of available scholarships. The cabinet also approved financing of education exchange program between India and the US.

UK STRENGTHENS SAFEGUARDS AGAINST FORCED MARRIAGES

Many South Asian parents - Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis -- force, pressure or persuade their children, particularly daughters, to get spouses from India, many with disastrous results. Children, on the other hand, born and raised in the western countries, face duality between their parents' culture and the host culture and would much prefer to marry person of their choice. The UK government has announced tightening of rules to prevent forced marriages.

Most of the victims of forced marriages are from South Asian communities and they range in age from 18 to 21. In the new law, the age for marriage visa has been raised to 21. All sponsors will be required to register their intention to marry overseas. Thus a young person before leaving UK would know in advance that the marriage will take place overseas. The sponsor and the spouse, in case of forced marriage, will face deportation for violating the new law. These steps are expected to significantly strengthen the safeguards against forced marriages.

The UK government would also require that the new spouse should know English or learn within a reasonable period. The spouse will be required to sign up an agreement to learn English and in the event of failure to learn English, permission to stay in the UK can be revoked.