Americans seek employment in India

Though, India might still not be a hot destination for foreigners like the US is for Indians for jobs, applications for work visa has been gradually increasing. From what used to be a rare category of visas a couple of years ago, hardly a day passes when the Consulate in New York does not receive at least one such application in this regard.

In the past two years, the New York Consulate has issued work visa to more than 900 people. In 2006 the New York Consulate issued 335 employment visas while in 2007, more than 430 employment visas were issued. If the trend of the first three months is of any indication, 2008 could well break all previous records.

This is widely being attributed to the recent economic recession here which has resulted in job loss in thousands, wherein US multinationals have shifted their work oversees mainly to countries like India and China.

India’s economy is certainly growing by leaps and bounds. NDTV 24x7 has been continually covering India’s economic growth. This channel provides great coverage to all India related stories from all over the world. NDTV 24x7 is indeed a very good channel for NRIs and is available in the US through DirecTV.

World's youngest director

He might just be 12, but he has more cinematic success than many older professionals. Meet Kishan Shrikant, who's in the Guinness Book for being the world's youngest director. And the icing on the cake? He's just bagged 3 awards at the Cairo International Film Festival for his film on street children.

While most children his age spend time watching movies, 12-year-old Kishan Shrikanth of Bangalore prefers to call the shots from behind the camera.

The Guinness book of records calls him the youngest movie director. Kishan's feature film Care of Footpath has now bagged 3 awards at the Cairo International Film Festival.

The film won the Children's Jury Award, the Special International Jury's Award and a third special achievement award.

In the past such awards have been given to superstars such as Amitabh Bachchan.

It’s a proud moment for me as an Indian that Kishan Shrikant was recognized by Guinness Book as the youngest director. I saw this news on NDTV 24x7. This news channel provides the best coverage of India related news stories for NRIs. DirecTV brings this news channel to the US.

Stamp released in Madhubala's name

NDTV 24x7 brought to me the news of the most beautiful heroine in the history Bollywood. Madhubala, one of the most charismatic actresses of all time, is still considered by many as the benchmark of beauty and talent.

The postal department has revived memories of Madhubala once again in the hearts of millions by issuing a stamp in her name. The stamp was launched by none other than son of the soil, veteran star, Manoj Kumar.
"You can just have one queen of beauty and emotion and Madhubala was one," said Manoj Kumar.

For family and friends it was an emotional moment. "We are actually quite surprised that my sister has been given such an honour. We are very happy," said Shashikala, sister.Madhubala now joins the league of legends like Kishore Kumar and Guru Dutt, people who already feature on postage stamps and with whom she gave two of her hits Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi and Mr and Mrs 55.

NDTV 24x7 covers all sort of India-centric news. Be it politics, sports, films or international events. The channel is available in the US only through DirecTV.

Overwhelming response to NDTV’s tiger campaign

My favorite news channel had initiated a campaign to protect my favorite animal, tiger. After receiving nearly five lakh signatures on Save Tiger campaign from all over the country, the petitions will be handed over to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief ministers of states.

The response to NDTV’s Save the Tiger Campaign, supported by Sanctuary Asia and Kids for Tiger, has been overwhelming. Even a week after the rallies held across the country, people continued to sign the petition.

A remarkable 4,97,944 people came forward to sign the petition. The signatures will be submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

It has been little over a month since the government came out with the latest tiger census. According to the government’s latest census, there are only 1411 tiger left in the wild, 50 per cent down from 3642 in 2001-02.

The figure was an acknowledgment of the fact that tigers in India are in serious danger. Following this, NDTV carried out a campaign to raise awareness and make people put pressure on the government to be more vigilant. The aim of NDTV’s public campaign is that leaders and politicians should see the urgency of the problem and declare an emergency for the tiger and save the national animal from extinction.

The news channel that cares for the society and is the first to cover India-centric & International news is available in the US only through DirecTV.

Gates presses lawmakers for relaxing H-1B visa cap

The ''counterproductive'' US immigration policies should be revamped to allow more people to get into the country on H-1B visas aimed at highly-skilled professionals, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has said, arguing that hiring an 'A'-grade student from India creates spin-off employment for 'B' and 'C' American students. The current base cap of 65,000 H-1B visas is ''arbitrarily set'' and bears no relation to the US economy's demand for skilled professionals, Gates told a House of Representatives Panel on Science and Technology.

Appearing before the panel at a time when US lawmakers cutting across party lines are hammering away at the ''abuses'' in the H-1B visas and outsourcing in general, Gates took on Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California who said there is ''no excuse'' for keeping out '''B' and 'C' American students'' just because there was an ''A student from India''. Gates said when companies like Microsoft hire top foreign engineers; they create jobs for 'B and C American students' around them. ''It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidized by US taxpayers, and then insist they return home,'' Gates said.

In his formal statement to the Committee, Gates made the point that Microsoft was unable to hire one-third of the foreign-born candidates it wished to hire because of too few H-1B visas.

Because an H-1B petition generally can be filed only for a person who holds a degree, when May-June 2007 graduates received their degrees, the visa cap for fiscal year 2008 had already been reached, he pointed out. Accordingly, US firms will be unable to hire those graduates on an H-1B visa until the beginning of fiscal year 2009, or October 2008.

''Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities. Our experience is not unique. A recent study of technology companies in the S&P 500 found that, for every H-1B visa requested, these leading US technology companies increased their overall employment by five workers,'' Gates maintained.

As Gates is pushing lawmakers to relax the numbers on the H-1B visas, top Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has asked Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff what progress has been made toward the Department's reform of the H-1B visa programme.

''The programme may be beneficial to some businesses, but it's even better for companies based outside. The fact is most H-1B visas are going to foreign-based companies,'' Grassley said in a letter. ''Businesses that need highly skilled workers are getting the short end of the stick. Americans are seeing ruthless tactics by some companies to bring in foreign workers, pay them less, and increase their bottom line,'' he said.

This is a very encouraging move by someone as distinguished as Bill Gates. I hope that this will benefit the people it is aimed at. This news was from NDTV 24x7 through my DirecTV connection.

Indian link traced in UK credit card fraud

International credit card scamsters, including those based in India, siphoned off a significant portion of 535 million pounds from British account holders during last year, according to figures released on Wednesday. The Association of Payment Clearing Services (APCS) said that the 25 per cent initial rise in fraudulent use of British credit and debit cards in three years was mainly due to stolen and counterfeit cards used abroad.

In February, hundreds of car owners in Lincolnshire in the east Midlands became victims of the scam after they filled fuel from a petrol station in the county. It was the latest in a series of credit card scams across Britain in which card details are recorded by hidden cameras while making payment for fuel at petrol stations and then sent across to foreign locations where they are used to withdraw money.

As a safety measure, British banks have introduced a ''chip and pin'' system for transactions in shops using credit and debit cards. This means that for every purchase, apart from the card, the customer also needs to punch in an exclusive pin number. Signing for purchases using cards has been virtually phased out to prevent frauds. The absence of the chip-and-pin technology in some foreign countries has made the use of skimmed or cloned cards abroad relatively more attractive to criminals, APCS said.

''Although card fraud levels have now begun to go up again due to fraud abroad and card-not-present fraud losses, chip-and-pin has proven to be an undoubted success in reducing card fraud on the UK high street,'' said Sandra Quinn of APACS. ''And, as more countries follow our lead and upgrade to chip-and-pin, the opportunities for criminals to use our stolen magnetic stripe details overseas will decrease,'' she added.

This was an interesting piece of news picked up by NDTV 24x7. I am always worried about the safety of my credit cards especially of it falling in the wrong hands. I received this news from NDTV 24x7 through my DirecTV connection.

Hindu forum wants to vet The Love Guru

The Universal Society of Hinduism has expressed fear that the upcoming Hollywood movie The Love Guru may lampoon the religion and has demanded that it be shown to the society members for vetting before release. President of the society Rajan Zed, who is based in Reno, Nevada, said in a statement issued in Chandigarh that from the information available about the movie, it appears to be lampooning Hinduism and Hindus and uses Hindu terms frivolously.

Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion followers and should not be taken lightly, said the statement. The Love Guru is a comedy starring Mike Myers of Austin Powers fame, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley and Jessica Simpson. Myers has co-written and co-produced it and Marco Schnabel has directed the film that will be released on June 20.

I am curious to know what the movie is like and if there really is any objectable matter. I will watch this movie once it is released. This news is from NDTV 24x7 through my DirecTV connection.

You CAN save the tiger

Do we really want to save the tiger, other than as a zoological curio or a museum exhibit? Even in the face of dwindling tiger numbers, it's not too late to save the striped splendour from extinction.

Here's a list of things you can do:

• Support environmental educational centers, wildlife sanctuaries and zoos in their mission to preserve and protect our treasured wildlife.
• llegal trade in tiger parts needs to be stopped. Avoid tiger bone handicrafts, medicines and other tiger products to save the tiger.
• The more aware you are of the status of tiger, the more effective you will be in helping to save it. You can stay informed through magazines, internet, current journals and the media.
• Take action and create awareness. Organize an event that educates the public about tigers.
• Start petitions by telling people about the tiger and how they are an endangered species. Ask them if they are willing to sign a piece of paper giving their name and country as well. Remember the more people sign, the more impact a petition makes.
• Join a letter-writing campaign in order create awareness about the tiger's plight.
• Collect or send your own donations to Tiger conservation organizations.
• Start your own Tiger Club. Read books, share facts, hold an art competition, watch documentaries or organize a chat with wildlife experts.

I liked these guidelines given out by NDTV 24x7. I received this news through my DirecTV connection. These guidelines will benefit young and old people alike. Even my children watch NDTV 24x7 and their friends at High School are always amazed at their knowledge base.

Senior citizens feel the capital pinch

Every morning Vishwanth Prasad wakes up to an email from his daughter. Vishwanath's daughter lives abroad, where she constantly worries about whether her parents are doing fine. There have been 20 robberies in the last two years in their neighbourhood in south Delhi. Earlier this month a 51-year-old woman was murdered just a few buildings away.

At 8 am (IST) their domestic help Jogomaya arrives to clear the apartment. Like many other senior citizens in Delhi, the Prasads have not hired full time help. ''We do not want anyone live us live us. Getting domestic help verified by the police is not always possible. People quit often. There is no time to get records checked for each new person,'' said Kanta Rani.

Kanta Rani insists on doing her own cooking, she says she has read about many cases where domestic help poisoned senior citizens. After an afternoon nap, the Prasads go out for their daily evening walk. They make it a point to always leave the house together. ''Alaknanda is very unsafe. Eighteen years back it was not the same. Motorcyclists came and snatched a chain from a lady in the afternoon. After that I go out only with my husband,'' said Kanta Rani.

''Look at the wall; it is of such low height. There is also a space between the barbed wires; there have been cases where thieves have escaped through this opening. There are hardly any security guards here,'' said Vishwanath Prasad. It's easy to see why the Prasads don't like to venture very far from their building. Outside their small world heavy traffic greets them, making crossing the road nearly impossible.

''Cars jump the light all the time. It's dangerous for senior citizens, as we can't move that fast. There are accidents here all the time and a lady was run over just a few days ago,'' said Vishwanath Prasad. The Prasads are back by 7 pm (IST), as they don't like staying out late. It's easier to stay at home and relax. And the day ends with the same concern that it began with. Is Delhi a high-risk home for senior citizens? 'We do not have any freedom as senior citizens. We cannot keep drivers because they are so unsafe. We feel handicapped,'' said Kanta Rani.

I too worry about the safety of my parents in Delhi. Ever since I have settled in the US I have become more concerned about their wellbeing. This news was from NDTV 24x7 through my DirecTV connection.

Mahatma is a true Jihadi: Turkish spiritual leader

Mahatma Gandhi's fight with his ego and subsequent victory represents the qualities of what can be termed as true Jihad, according to an eminent Islamic spiritual leader from Turkey.

''Gandhi is the martyr who has performed the real Jihad. As he taught us to first fight with one's ego and win, but never with guns,'' said Sheika Cemalnur Sargut, who heads the Istanbul branch of TURKKAD, the Turkish Women's Cultural Association. Drawing comparisons between a Haji and the Mahatma, Sargut said,'' Mahatma Gandhi is dressed exactly like one performing Haj. Muslims wear single unstitched clothing ihram while performing Haj. This is a proof that he is always before Allah. He teaches real Islam'', she adds.

Sargut is one of the main speakers of 'The World Council of Women Spiritual Leaders' summit which is going on in Jaipur from March 6-10. Women leaders cutting across faiths from over 50 countries have gathered in Jaipur to deliberate on various global issues and encourage women leadership. The delegates from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Sudan, Palestine, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, United States and Afghanistan among others will be present at the event.

Perspective on Islam

Speaking about the growing intolerance and suspicion against Muslims and rise of Islamic militancy, Sargut said that ''It is unfortunate that the West is trying to project Muslims as using violence, there are lots of so called Jihadi groups in Christianity ready to kill Muslims.''

Sheika Cemalnur Sargut adds, ''Islam is a beautiful religion and people who really understand Islam are like diamonds. Sufism is the spectacle through which one can see the world, the real and the divine.'' Talking about the various misconceptions about Islam she said, ''It is not easy to understand Islam, one has to live and feel it at close quarters to understand the religion.''

Explaining that the concept of Jihad was much vitiated in present times, Sargut, who has published many books and articles on Islam said, ''The Jihad, true war of Islam is Love. And where there is love there can be no question of violence and hate.'' Emphasizing on the need for all religions to work together for global peace and prosperity she said,'' Different religions are like five figures which are very unlike each other but when they come together they create something very beautiful.'' This is a different take on the Jihad issue and it is good to see that Muslims are taking action to rid them of the impression that the western world have about them. This news is courtesy of NDTV 24x7.

UPA-Left jostle over fate of N-deal

India is just a step away from sealing a draft agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the government is trying really hard to get some support from the Left and the BJP, both of them have dug in their heels so far. A meeting with the Left is expected in mid-March, but on Wednesday Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached out to his predecessor Atal Behari Vajpayee in terms that he has never used before.

''Bhishma Pitamah of Indian politics Atal Bihari Vajpayee should listen to his conscience and let national interest prevail upon narrow politics,'' said Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The prime minister asked the opposition's tallest leader to support the Indo-US nuclear deal, but before the government can take any step, it needs to have the Left on board. Sources told NDTV that External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is expected to meet Left leaders before his visit to the US in the third week of March.

The government will not only discuss the outcome of the IAEA discussions but also express its desire to start discussions with the Nuclear Suppliers Group or the NSG. Sources said that the government wants to tell the Left that talks with NSG countries is essential. Not only to get clarity on issues such as uninterrupted fuel supply but also negotiate with other nuclear powers like Russia and France. However, the Left is clear: the consensus is against the deal and the government should not proceed; if it does it has to face early elections.

''If they go ahead, we have already said they will have to face the consequences,'' said Basudev Acharya, leader, CPI(M). There are two views within the government; one section believes that after a populist budget the government can easily face an election. However, the other section says what happens if there is hung Parliament in the next general elections as well. Won't the congress need Left support once again? Now the government has to make a political call. The Indo- US nuclear deal has come with its own set of problems and I wonder how things will unfold in the future. This news is from NDTV 24x7, India’s most respected news channel through my DirecTV connection.

Go Click!: Photo extravaganza in Delhi

Delhi is being treated to a photo extravaganza called 'Click.' It has just opened in the city and is showcasing some of the best of contemporary photography in India. Sunil Gupta, co-curator, Click said, ''It was a massive challenge to put the show together because there was no secondary research material. So we literally went round the country and looked up for more than 600 people's work one by one.''

Currently on display at the Vadhera Gallery are over a hundred images, some from the country's best photographers and some relatively newcomers. Ram Rahman, another photographer said, ''There are many people whose work I haven't seen before and also from some of the established names, work I haven't seen before. So all of it is a kind of surprise for us, which is good.''

Click is one of the most comprehensive photo shows the city has ever hosted and its timing is no co-incidence. Delhi is increasingly viewing photography as a serious investment option. Radhika Singh, co-curator of Click said, ''The last 10 years all over the world photography has been selling as an investment art.'' And in an interesting first, the exhibition is simultaneously on show at the Vadhera galleries in Delhi and in London.

Roshini Vadhera, the Director, Vadhera Art Gallery said, ''Its opened with a bang. Its doing extremely well and because its such a large show that being shown in London for the first time, people are coming in hoards, just to see what's happening in contemporary photography in India.''

Retd Justice Leila Seth said, ''That special click is that catches the imagination of people. Sometimes you catch the light, sometimes you catch the eyes and sometimes you catch the mood.'' Click! brings together 86 photographers from across the country, an interesting mix of first time amateurs and seasoned professionals. This is a good opportunity for photographers to showcase their work and gain recognition. I received this news from watching NDTV 24x7 through my DirecTV connection.