NRIs Corner

A 44-year-old Indian-origin physician here has pleaded guilty to a USD 83,000 health care fraud and faces up to 10 years in prison and about USD 350,000 fine.

Mahesh Kuthuru pleaded guilty to defrauding federal insurance programme Medicare from 2010 till 2011 during his practice at a city clinic.

He admitted that he submitted bills to Medicare which falsely reflected that he had personally provided or directly supervised other licensed medical personnel providing treatment or services to patients.

On the spot counseling, registration, admission process, discounts, scholarship offers and advise on visa application marked the seventh Higher Education Fair & Career Guidance Program organized by Indian Youth Welfare Association (IYWA) at Consulate General of India premises here in Jeddah. Confusion, queries and doubts were cleared while illustration of options available in their subject of choice by renowned University representatives in Higher Education brought respite to Parents and Student community.

Australian authorities have cancelled an Indian restaurant’s right to recruit foreign workers after several breaches of migration law, media reported Monday.

The well-known eatery in Melbourne, which immigration authorities have refused to name, was fined A$15,300 (about $12,000) last year for various offences, including underpaying foreign staff and failing to keep records, the Herald Sun reported.

The eatery was barred from bringing workers on skilled 457 visas after further breaches were discovered this month.

While Republic Day is an annual delight for Indians, for some of the Americans who attended the parade today, the occasion turned out to be an American delight, and they expressed hope that US President Barack Obama’s visit would strengthen ties between the two countries.

John Mathew from New York who attended the ceremonial parade for the firs time was happy to be part of the audience.

Despite freezing cold, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne joined Indo-Canadians to celebrate India’s 66th Republic Day and commended the country’s economic and technological advances.

“On January 26, 1950, the constitution of India came into effect, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. With each Republic day, we are minded of the impressive strides India has made since this pivotal date,” the Ontario Premier said.

A woman in the US after going through the take-away at a Burger King joint discovered that instead of her order of sweet tea and junior spicy chicken sandwich, she had got a bag full of cash.

But instead of keeping the money —- totalling USD 2,631 -— Janelle Jones, of Rochester, came back to the restaurant
with her husband and returned it.

Jones had ordered the drink and sandwich at the drive- through and while she was driving home, she discovered that
the sandwich bag was actually full of cash, and there was no food inside.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Indian sociologist Saraswathi Menon to a panel that will review peacebuilding activities.

Menon, a former lecturer at Madras University, has extensive experience in women’s and development issue. She has been the director of the Policy Division of UN-Women, the UN body for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and the director of the UN Development Program’s Evaluation Office. Her other UNDP assignments included postings in Mongolia and Nepal.

She has a doctorate in sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.

With an estimated wealth of nearly 14 billion dollars, India-born Hinduja brothers have now emerged as the only British names on the list of world’s top 80 billionaires dominated by Americans.

Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja emerged as the 66th richest in the world, as part of an Oxfam study released here at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The figures, based on the definitive rich list compiled by ‘Forbes’ in March 2014 and the data from investment bank Credit Suisse indicates that the London-based entrepreneurs are now the richest Britons in the world.

A study by three Indian-origin researchers has revealed that successful small firms study competitors, network with other firms and allow their employees to learn from the developed markets to go from “zero to hero” in a short time.

“There are big benefits in encouraging citizens to study and work in developed markets, gaining education and experience to become future leaders whose knowledge can drive growth,” added the study that compared business data from India and Britain across a 10-year period.

Nearly one-third of the 40 high school seniors named finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search 2015, America’s oldest and most prestigious pre-college science and math competition, are of Indian origin.

The finalists receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC from March 5 to 11 to compete for more than $1 million in awards from the Intel Foundation.

Run by the Society for Science & the Public, the contest recognises the most promising young US innovators creating the technologies and solutions that will that will make people’s lives better.

A 26-year-old Indian waiter set his ex-girlfriend’s shoe and bed on fire after she broke up with him in October last year.

The waiter, identified with his initial as AR, admitted that he got drunk before he trespassed into his Filipina ex-girlfriend’s residence and set her shoe and bed on fire because she ditched him, Gulf News reported.

“I did it but I was too drunk and not aware of what I did. I was not even aware that I had started a fire,” argued A.R. when he entered his plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance Tuesday.

An Indian-origin maid allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of a high rise building after attacking her employer with a hammer over an employment-related dispute.

The incident came to light on Monday after police found the body of Palwinder Kaur lying on the floor of the high rise building where she worked. She was later pronounced dead at the scene by para-medics.

Palwinder worked at a house on the 14th floor of the Bedok Reservoir View apartments in Eastern suburbs of the city, police said.

At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reaching out to the Indian diaspora, some NRIs are claiming they even dread the idea of visiting the country of their origin because of what many of them call “demonic matrimonial laws”.

From their passports being impounded to losing their jobs after being stuck in India, at the receiving end of the matrimonial laws, a host of Indian men from across Australia, Britain and the US, as also Europe have now started support groups to counsel each other on how to tackle the issue.

An eminent Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist has been presented with the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr Award in recognition of his contribution to the legacy of the great leader through his efforts in international service and civil engagement.

Azamgarh-born Frank Islam was given the annual award yesterday by Harry Johnson president of the Memorial Foundation for working to keep the “dream alive.”

Noting that there is an “indelible connection” between Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, Islam said he was proud and humbled to have received the award.

Four new envoys Friday presented their credentials to President Pranab Mukherjee and of them, two were persons of Indian-origin – the US ambassador and the Canadian high commissioner.

Richard Rahul Verma is the first American of Indian-origin to occupy the post, while Nadir Patel is the first Canadian of Indian-origin to do so.

Both have impressive credentials and come with considerable diplomatic and administrative experience, an indication of the importance the India posting has become in world capitals.

A festival to educate youngsters on the rich culture of Kerala was organised for almost 10,000 Indian expatriate families near Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The festival was marked by exceptionally attractive events like presentations of Kerala’s traditional dances and
other art forms by budding kids.

The festival was held to mark the conclusion of a series of programs organised by Malarvadi Baalasangam in 2014
to create awareness among expatriate kids on Kerala’s unique culture, language, literature, political landscape and social

Asserting that he didn’t believe in hyphenated identities, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said that his parents came to the US from India four decades ago to become Americans and not Indian-Americans.

He invoked his ethnic heritage to make a call for immigrant assimilation and called people who talked about skin pigmentation as the “most dim-witted lot” around.

“My parents came in search of the American Dream, and they caught it.

Indian-American Sam Singh, a two-term legislature, has been appointed as the Democratic Floor Leader in the Michigan State Assembly in the US. This is his first term as the Democratic Floor Leader.

Republicans form the majority in the State. “My position works very closely with the Republican floor leader to make sure, as we discuss policy, that ideas from both sides of the aisle are being heard, and work closely with my Democratic colleagues to make sure our ideas and voices are heard here at the Capitol,” 43-year-old Singh was quoted as saying by the local The State News.

In a first for the community in the state, an Indian-American entrepreneur has been appointed as the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources in Maryland State Cabinet.

Maryland Governor-elect Larry Hogan has announced to appoint Sam Malohtra as his pick to head the Department of Human Resources.

Malhotra, founder and CEO of Subsystem Technologies, a defense and safety company, had previously served in Governor Robert L Ehrlich’s Administration in a volunteer capacity on Maryland Commission for Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.

In a conversation with Siasat after winning School Board Elections

The field of education is so widened that anybody who has some natural potential to prove his/her mettle, be it an Indian or a foreigner or a foreign national of Indian origin, can go places

The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has named Mukesh Aghi, currently the chief executive and member of the Board of Directors at L&T InfoTech, as its new president.

Aghi brings to the council extensive executive experience in global business, and deep understanding of the business and policy dynamics in both India and the US, said the trade body comprised of 325 of the top-tier US and Indian companies.

Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz has asked the Prime Ministers and Presidents across European Union member states lift a ban on import of Mangoes from India.

Vaz asked them to vote in favour of lifting the ban at the crucial meeting of the EU Standing Committee scheduled in Brussels on January 19-20.

“This is a significant opportunity to lift a ban which has caused chaos for businesses in India and the United Kingdom,” Vaz said in a statement.

California’s Indian-American Attorney General Kamala Harris, a “good friend” of President Barack Obama, has thrown her hat into the ring for the 2016 race to replace fellow Democrat veteran Barbara Boxer in the US Senate.

“I will be a fighter for the next generation on the critical issues facing our country,” pledged Oakland, California-born Harris, 50, the state’s first Indian-American and first African American top law officer announcing her run on her website Tuesday.

Leaders of the Indian expatriate community in the UAE have welcomed Indian Supreme Court’s directive to the government to enable NRIs to cast postal and e-ballots in polls in India.

The voting rights for the 2.6 million-strong Indian-expat community, one of the largest expat communities in the UAE, received positive reaction from officials and community workers.

India’s apex court has yesterday asked the government to “do at the earliest” the necessary amendments in the law to enable NRIs to cast postal and e-ballots in polls in India.

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 NRIs through electronic means.

The government has already firmed up its stand on the issue of NRI voting and will tell the Supreme Court this week that it accepts the recommendations of the committee, including e-ballot for NRIs.