Overseas Indian professionals can work in India: PM

October 14th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Wednesday announced the establishment of the Australia-India Council Media Fellowships. hese new fellowship will give India's young media professionals grants of Australian dollars 10,000 (four lakh rupees) to enable them to spend up to six weeks in Australia researching stories of their choice.

October 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi Tuesday interacted with a delegation of people of Indian origin who have come to India to learn more about their ancestral homeland. Expressing their desire to know more about their roots, members of the delegation, mainly in the age group 18 to 26, said: We want to know more about the country, its freedom movement, life in urban and rural areas and its centuries-old civilizaton.

August 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Union Cabinet today approved setting up the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in the Indian Missions in 17 countries to meet contingency expenditure incurred by the them for carrying out various onsite welfare activities for overseas Indian citizens who are in distress. The proposed ICWF is aimed at providing several services.

July 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Promoting Australia as a safe place to study, visiting Immigration Minister Chris Evans Monday said his country was looking at India for skilled human resource, and his government was doing everything to give a safe environment for foreign students and professionals. India is a young country with young people and ours is an ageing country.

July 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a bid to facilitate safe and legal migration of skilled Indian workers in Denmark, India will sign a bilateral social security agreement with the European country next month. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said on Sunday that negotiations on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Denmark have already been completed, and it is likely to be signed next month after the budget session of Parliament.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Nearly 50,000 to 150,000 Indian workers, most of them from the Gulf countries, have probably returned to the country due to the global economic slowdown, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi informed parliament Wednesday. In his written reply to a question, Ravi told the Lok Sabha that the workers in the United Arab Emirates seemed to be most affected.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Wednesday notified that Indian Missions in the Gulf Countries in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have not reported any large scale adverse impact of the global economic slowdown and recession on Indian workers, though there has been reports of some job losses. The Indian Mission in United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reported that accurate figures of return of Indian workers are not available, however, it is estimated that 50,000 to 1,50,000 workers have returned to India due to delay in execution of projects as a result of economic slow down and recession.

June 19th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Despite the global economic slowdown, the service sector in India contributed 56 percent to the GDP during 2008-09, according to an expert. "With innumerable surveys revealing the immense growth prospects in India and the country being projected as one of the high-growth economies in the world, there is an increasing realisation for the need of more professionals and experts in financial planning," Ranjeet S.

May 5th, 2009 BANGALORE - Indian IT professionals Tuesday slammed President Barack Obama's move to end tax incentives for US companies that ship jobs to countries like India, saying it will neither benefit the US nor its corporate sector. 'Obama's latest move was expected, but unwelcome at a time when Bangalore's IT and BPO sectors are already reeling under the global economic meltdown,' said Padma Nair, 26, an IT-professional working for a Bangalore-based American company.

March 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - France is going all out to woo qualified Indian professionals with liberalised work permits. Jean Yves Lavoir, the head of professional immigration department in France's immigration ministry, is now in India to create awareness about the new liberalised categories and to increase the number of applicants.

January 7th, 2009 CHENNAI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday launched a new initiative, the Global Indian Network of Knowledge, or Global INK, to bring India closer to its 25 million diaspora in 130 countries in the area of knowledge. The network initiative is aimed at providing opportunities for overseas Indian professionals and organisations to engage as partners in the development projects in India, the prime minister told delegates at the inauguration of the seventh Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here.

January 7th, 2009 CHENNAI - The announcement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas here Thursday that overseas Indian professionals can practise in India was cautiously welcomed by Durban Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo. 'It opens up a window of opportunity for many South African Indians, but we must remember that we have been very reliant in recent years on Indian nationals assisting in the development of post-apartheid South Africa,' Naidoo, who is also a speaker at the annual gathering of the diaspora, told IANS.

January 7th, 2009 CHENNAI - Qualified overseas Indian professionals, with Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards as well as others, can soon practise in India, it was announced here Thursday. The government will extend its new scheme permitting qualified professionals holding Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards to practise in India to other members of diaspora possessing similar qualification.

January 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Thursday launch three major initiatives to bring India closer with its 25 million diaspora in 130 countries in areas covering knowledge, investment and philanthropy. The Global Indian Network of Knowledge, or Global INK, will provide opportunity for professionals - individuals and organisations - among overseas Indians to engage as partners in development projects.

January 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - An exhibition showcasing India to the overseas Indians was inaugurated here Wednesday evening as part of the seventh edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)- the three-day annual diaspora meet. 'The interests of non-resident Indians (NRI) and people of Indian origian (PIOs) will be protected through various steps which are being put in place by the Indian government,' V.