GOPIO is a community supported non-profit organization taking up issues of the Indian Diaspora and attempting to unifying the community in its common causes. Support GOPIO by becoming a Life Member or chapter member. Once can become Life Member online by visiting http://www.gopio.net/online_membership.html.

BARONESS SANDIP VERMA LAUNCHES WOMEN EMPOWERED (WE) IN LONDON

Baroness Sandip Verma, Minister for Women and Equality launched Women Empowered (WE) in London. A social initiative, it aims to empower women to make the best of their individual skills and talents and help them achieve their personal and professional goals.

Under the Atrium at the Bright Courtyard Club in Baker Street, 120 attendees came together to share inspirational stories of their lives and successes. The launch was attended by high profile guests like Mayor of Amersham Cllr Mimi Harker OBE, Seema Malhotra MP, MOBO Awards Founder Kanya King MBE, Dr Kamel Hothi; Business & Community Director at Lloyds Bank Group among several others.

Baroness Verma said, "The launch of WE shows that work still needs to be done to get a fair deal for women in society. No society can move forward whilst treating more than half of its population as unequal." She pledged her support to inspire those women who do not have easy access to professional networks.

Co-Founder Mona Remtulla said, "WE aims to provide women with a forum, a platform and a network where they can find support, mentoring and inspiration. WE will support them through the journey by putting them in touch with organizations that can nurture their ideas and mentors who can assist in achieving those goals."

ROSHNI, THE LIGHT OF SOUTH ASIA PUBLISHES SECOND EDITION

The valuable contributions of people of Indian origin (PIOs) throughout North America are showcased in a second book in the series, Roshni, the Light of South Asia: North American Edition. The book details profiles and interviews with 56 people of Indian origin in the United States and Canada who have found creative and effective ways to give back to the community. It features leaders in their fields as medical journalist and author Dr. Sanjay Gupta; political commentator and author Fareed Zakaria; technology entrepreneur Naveen Jain; Cirque du Soleil performer Raj Bhavsar; yoga celebrity Bikram Choudhury and many more.

Roshni Media is in the process of accepting nominations for a third book, Roshni, the Light of South Asia: the Global Indian which will highlight the achievements of people of Indian origin in all far-flung corners of the world.

The Roshni books are the brainchild of award-winning writer and educator Dr. Rashmee Sharma. "A distinct lack of South Asian documentation irked me for years...It's my hope via Roshni to reach the first and future generations by building a bridge to communicate pride, strength and sacrifice of the first generation immigrants. My intent is also to focus on enlightening and making younger generation proud of our heritage and culture," Dr. Sharma said.

Roshni honorees are nominated by peers and the public who admire them. Anyone can nominate a potential Roshni honoree using the convenient form at www.roshnimedia.com.

US IRS TO REFUND CERTAIN 2009 OVDP PENALTIES

The IRS first introduced its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) in 2009. The program aimed to help people hiding offshore accounts to get current with their taxes. While the penalty if discovered by an IRS audit was as high as 50% of highest aggregate balance in foreign accounts along with imprisonment, the 2009 OVDP was offered with a penalty of 20% and waiver of imprisonment. In 2009 alone, the IRS announced collections of USD 3.4 billion vide its OVDP.

Subsequently in 2011, the IRS announced the second OVDP. This time, the highest penalty was 25%. But there were also two lower slabs - 5% penalty and 12.5% penalty, if the taxpayer fulfilled certain conditions. Since these slabs were not offered in the 2009 OVDP, the IRS decided to refund penalties to those individuals who, in 2009, would have been eligible for the lower penalty structures. The penalty refunds are based on certain conditions which set the tone for IRS' policy on this matter.

Conditions for 5% penalty slab:

A taxpayer may fulfill any of these 3 conditions to be eligible for the 5% penalty (that is, if you paid a 20% penalty, you may be eligible to get a 15% refund):

 Condition 1: The taxpayer had minimal use of the offshore account 
In order to determine this, the taxpayer must meet all four of the following conditions: (I) did not open or cause the account to be opened; for instance the taxpayer inherited offshore accounts (ii) have exercised minimal, infrequent contact with the account, for example, to request the account balance, or update accountholder information such as a change in address, contact person, or email address; (iii) have, except for a withdrawal closing the account and transferring the funds to an account in the United States, not withdrawn more than $1,000 from the account in any year for which the taxpayer was non-compliant; and (iv) can establish that all applicable US taxes have been paid on funds deposited to the account.

Condition 2: Taxpayers who are foreign residents and who were unaware they were US citizens

Condition 3: Taxpayer paid all taxes in foreign country

To be eligible under this condition, taxpayers must be foreign residents and must meet all three of the following conditions for all of the years of their voluntary disclosure:
(i) taxpayer resides in a foreign country; (ii) taxpayer has made a good faith showing that he or she has timely complied with all tax reporting and payment requirements in the country of residency; and (iii) taxpayer has $10,000 or less of US source income each year.

For these taxpayers only, the offshore penalty will not apply to non-financial assets, such as real property, business interests, or artworks, purchased with funds for which the taxpayer can establish that all applicable taxes have been paid, either in the U.S. or in the country of residence. This exception only applies if the income tax returns filed with the foreign tax authority included the offshore-related taxable income that was not reported on the US tax return.

Conditions for 12.5% penalty slab

Taxpayers whose highest aggregate account balance (including the fair market value of assets in undisclosed offshore entities and the fair market value of any foreign assets that were either acquired with improperly untaxed funds or produced improperly untaxed income) in each of the years covered by the 2011 OVDI is less than $75,000 will qualify for a 12.5% offshore penalty. So if you paid a 20% penalty, you may be eligible for a 7.5% refund.

How to claim a refund

If you participated in the 2009 OVDP and your case was closed with a Form 906 closing agreement, but you believe that you would be eligible for a lower penalty as per conditions above, you can make an application including all pertinent contact information (name, address, SSN, home/cell phone numbers), the name of the Revenue Agent assigned to your case, and a copy of your agreement. You can send this information to the office of the IRS.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR DIASPORA KIDS

Authorities from 40 countries across the world have invited applications from eligible candidates for the "Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children (SPDC) 2012-13". The last date for submitting applications for the programme is June 10, 2012.

The admission is open only to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from the specified 40 countries below. The SPDC programme was launched by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs in 2006 for Diaspora children to study at higher and technical institutions in India.

The scholarship covers a wide range of subjects, including engineering, humanities, commerce, management, journalism, hotel management and agriculture, agriculture/animal husbandry, science, law etc.

List of eligible countries: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Guyana, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion Island, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, U.A.E., U.K., U.S.A and Yemen.

INDO-ARAB FORUM TO HELP EXPATS START BUSINESS

The Indo-Arab Confederation Council, a socio-cultural organization working to strengthen Indo-Arab relationship and welfare of expatriate Indians employed in Gulf countries, will start an Expatriate Guidance Centre to provide direction and guidance for the expatriates in taking up various entrepreneurial ventures.

The centre will also provide assistance for the rehabilitation of Gulf returnees and to set up various investment and industrial projects.

NOVEMBER TO BE SIKH-AMERICAN AWARENESS MONTH IN CALIFORNIA

The California Assembly has passed a resolution declaring November 2012 as Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The passage of the resolution in this regard by the California Assembly has been welcomed by the influential Sikh community of the State.

"Californians of Sikh heritage deserve to be recognized for their significant contributions to our state. They came here around 100 years ago and have made their mark in agriculture, trucking, medicine, and technology," said Assemblyman Dan Logue.

Some 20 eminent Sikhs community members were present in the Assembly when the resolution was passed without any opposition.

Prominent among them were Pashaura Singh Dhillon, who had initiated the move, Gurjatinder S Randhawa (chairman NRI Front USA), Charanjit Singh Bath, M S Sandhawalia, Gurdip S Nijjar, Nirmal Singh, Dr Onkar Singh Bindra.

'EXPAT RIDE' ADDRESSES CONCERNS OF NRIs IN GULF COUNTRIES

Expat Ride, a book by Mohammed Saifuddin, addresses many concerns of NRIs residing and working in Gulf countries.

The Indian government is trying to bring NRIs under the tax net, through introduction of the New Direct Tax Code, in place of old Income Tax Act. Concerns of the Indians in Gulf about this issue are dealt by the author. 

The book reveals that the resident Indians not only outnumber the NRIs in wealth, but they are almost double in numbers and their net worth is much higher than NRIs. 

In 2011, the ministry of overseas Indian affairs established the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the 43 Indian missions across the world, in the countries that have a significant number of Indians. The "Expat Ride" author explains how the Indian Consulate General in Dubai has used this fund to get release of Indian prisoners from various jails. Lauding the consulate, the author suggests similar steps by the Indian missions in other Gulf countries.

Those Indians who are seeking jobs in Gulf countries are much prone to exploitation by the agents at the recruitment stage itself. To curb the ill deeds of these agents, the Indian government has made some amendments in the Emigration Act 1983 by a Gazette notification in July 2009. The author describes these changes and how it will affect the intending immigrants.

After facing almost two decades of brain drain, the much developed India is now attracting its brilliant minds to return back and settle down. The author discusses this trend in an article "reverse brain drain". 

"Expat Ride" is a useful source of information for the people interested in exploring the real life of expatriates in Gulf countries. This is a first attempt to write a book on the subject of Indians in Gulf countries.

MINISTER VAYALAR RAVI ASKS INDIAN WORKERS IN GULF TP AVAIL PENSION PLAN

Overseas blue collar Indian workers in the Gulf region have been asked to avail benefits of the recently launched pension and life insurance fund ( PLIF) scheme by India to ensure their financial and social security. The scheme was launched as a pilot project in Kerala.

Minister for Overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi said the scheme is meant to enhance the social security net and rehabilitation plans of poor Indians working abroad and has several important features.

"Besides providing life insurance cover, the scheme, jointly managed by LIC, UTI and Bank of Baroda, is aimed for workers holding ECR (emigration check required) passports. It will help them save for old age and provide financial security," said Minister Ravi. 

PILF is meant for Indian workers aged between 18 and 50 years who have a work permit or employment contract and whose passports carry the 'Emigration Clearance Required' stamp. The pension will commence after they cross the age of 60.

Initially, a worker has to pay Rs 5,000 to become a beneficiary of this plan. The government will contribute Rs 2,000 from its kitty. If the person is a domestic help, the amount would be Rs 3,000.

INDO BRITONS PLEDGE TO ADOPT HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Several Britons with origins in the Indian sub-continent pledged to adopt a healthier lifestyle to prevent heart disease during a campaign event in west London.

The campaign organized by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and a community group is targeted at Asians who have a high incidence of heart disease and diabetes in Britain.

The event held at Southall - which has a large population of Indian origin - was organized in association with the community group Ajivan, led by senior Indian journalist Vijay Rana.

Addressing the gathering, Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston said, "If we don't change our attitude and be more aware of such health issues then our next generation is going to see the same happening to them."

Dr. Onkar Sahota, the newly elected Member of the London Assembly for Ealing and Hillingdon, emphasized that Asians urgently needed to think about their unhealthy lifestyle and address the tendency called 'central obesity', one of the main indicators of heart disease.

"Asians have thin arms and thing legs and large tummies. They need to reduce their abdominal girth by reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods and by taking up more exercise," he said.