Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states to carve a niche for their governments in some or other sector of governance and called for giving topmost priority to 'ease of living' of people.
"It is a matter of disappointment that while understanding has been reached on most of the elements for facilitating the visit of pilgrims from India, Pakistan continues to insist on levying a service fee of $ 20 per pilgrim per visit," the MEA said.
The honorary consulate of India in Brisbane was forced to close down on Wednesday due to safety concerns after Khalistan supporters organised an unauthorised gathering and blocked the entry of the office, days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assured India that his government will not tolerate "extreme actions."
Modi, upon arrival, was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
In a significant move, the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, to be held in Gujarat from January 7 to 9, might see the overseas citizen of India and person of Indian origin cards getting clubbed, External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.
Days after extending more benefits to Persons of Indian Origin, the government is set to accept the recommendations of a committee which has favoured voting for Non-Resident Indians through electronic means.
The ones who came more recently were clutching the green cards that gave them an escape hatch through which to return to green pastures: Arvind Panagariya, Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanian and other perfectly honourable gentlemen like them, points out T N Ninan.
Cox & Kings Global Services (formerly known as Quoprro Global Services) was incorporated in 2008.
All we want from the government is to give us visa and they can't even deliver that, says Inder Singh, chairman of Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin International
According to the "do's and don'ts" issued by the ministry of home affairs, children below 13 years and elderly persons of about 75 years and above will have to travel in groups. Eco-friendly material, preferably cloth bags, should be used during the pilgrimage and the surroundings should be kept clean.
The threshold for identification of BOs of FPIs on controlling ownership interest is 25 per cent in case of companies and 15 per cent in case of partnership firms
In the World Bank's rankings on the "Ease of Doing Business" India stands at 139 out of 189 economies surveyed in 2014; its position has in fact dropped from 131 last year.
As India gears up to honour its pravasis on January 9 to mark their contribution in the nation's development, rediff.com presents perspectives from eminent writers on the Diaspora. Kicking off the series is Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, who points out that the change of the Diaspora policy put in place by Rajiv Gandhi following the military coup in Fiji and his decision to stand by them, was the one defining moment in India's dealings with its overseas family.
The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB), which generated widespread protests in the north-eastern states, is expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday for consideration and passage.
While no exact dates have been announced yet, the flights could take off from San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington DC, the officials said.
A bill to amend the Citizenship Act, one of the six items on which government had issued ordinances, was on Monday passed by the Lok Sabha.
If Mr Rajan's citizenship is considered relevant for heading an organisation that issues sovereign currency, should the provenance of a participant in a critical function of a sovereign democracy not count as well?
As per the information available, 205 first information reports have been lodged against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members by 11 states and 2,765 such foreigners have been blacklisted so far, while visas of 2,679 foreigners (including 9 Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders) have been cancelled, it said.
A punitive majoritarian State can make an example of individuals who raise their voice in criticism of the prime minister and divisive politics, warns Sunil Sethi.
In the afternoon, the home minister will introduce the Bill to amend the six-decade-old Citizenship Act and later in the day, it will be taken up for discussion and passage, according to the Lok Sabha's List of Business for Monday.
Indian and global airlines such as SpiceJet, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic among others too are marketing Covid-19 insurance products to attract passengers.
Issuing a travel advisory, the health ministry also called for passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany to undergo self-imposed quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival, and their employers to facilitate work-from-home for such employees during this period.
Desis at Madison Square Garden welcomed Narendra Modi with the kind of gusto and reverence unprecedented for any Indian leader visiting the United States.
'To expect that he has a magic wand to resolve all differences and announce breakthroughs in all issues during his first visit to the US is to be unrealistic,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
While many are getting stranded because of lack of clarity regarding the visa rules following the novel coronavirus outbreak, others are stranded in transit as even OCI cardholders are being turned away
With real estate -- NRIs's favourite investment vehicle in the past -- unlikely to do well in the near future, there is a strong case for NRIs to shift to equity and debt mutual funds, says Prateek Mehta.
The Chief Election Commissioner pointed out that the exercise involved nearly 7.3 crore voters and over 1.06 lakh polling stations.
Dubai, Singapore, London are the top overseas markets for Indians
The reported controversial remarks of President Pranab Mukherjee on Bofors issue to a Swedish daily have no bearing on his upcoming tour of Sweden, the first State visit, beginning on May 31, External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Getting US citizenship will in no way affect your right of being able to own or hold the agricultural land in India.
To prevent exploitation of women, especially those in rural and tribal areas, the government has prohibited foreigners from commissioning surrogacy in the country and has drafted this comprehensive legislation.
The time is nigh for India to ensure that investment by its former citizens is encouraged by protecting their rights, says C B Patel.
More than 60 individuals and entities, an overwhelming number of them Indians, were on Thursday charged by the Justice Department for allegedly participating in a multi-million dollar scam involving call centres based in India which conned thousands of American citizens.
The e-visa authority project, allowing entry without a physical visa, has overshot the October 2 deadline
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told a rapturous crowd of NRIs that Persons of Indian Origin cardholders will get a lifetime Indian visa and that American tourists will be given visa on arrival.
65,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees still live in Tamil Nadu. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar discovers the challenges for the refugees to return home.
The Election Commission must ensure that soldiers, paramilitary forces and railway employees who work outside their home states are given proper avenues to cast their votes, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
At the prison, both Ranjan and Manglik's cell phones were pressed into service by the CBI. Why the CBI didn't bring its own equipment seems a mystery... Ranjan's cell handset was given to Indrani and Manglik dialed it. Indrani then spoke and her speech, that emanated from the phone, via speaker mode, was recorded.
The limit under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (that was earlier $200,000 and now brought down to $75,000) is applicable per person per financial year.
