Britain to let in 20,000 Indians every year

Britain to let in 20,000 Indians every year

Press Trust Of India
London, February 20: Britain is preparing to let in some 20,000 skilled Indian workers every year, a media report said, citing secret documents. The Indian migrants, most of them skilled information technology professionals, are to be allowed into the UK every year under the multi-billion-pound European Union-India Free Trade Agreement which is being negotiated in the corridors of Belgian capital Brussels, the Sunday Express reported. In fact, the workers will enter via controversial "intracompany transfer visas" which allow foreign companies to send cheap home grown labour to Britain for a maximum of five years, the report said.The deal was initiated by former EU Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson in 2007 and is expected to be signed by the end of June, it said.The deal will not only allow Indian workers to bypass the British government's new immigration caps, but would also exempt them from the National Insurance in their first year, though they may use the National Health Service for free.According to the report, the figure of 20,000 Indian workers is nearly 40 per cent of the proposed quota for all 27 countries in the EU; it is more than double the next highest figure for Germany, which will take just 7,115 a year.It is also in addition to the 20,700 annual cap on skilled non-EU workers, which was announced to great fanfare by British Prime Minister David Cameron last year. And, UK's Business Secretary Vince Cable won a cabinet battle November to ensure the visas for Indian workers were exempt from the Government’s new points-based immigration cap

Give equal tax treatment to overseas, resident Indians: Hinduja

Press Trust Of India
New Delhi, February 20: Seeking equal treatment in investment and taxation between overseas and resident Indians, diversified conglomerate Hinduja Group today said amnesty must be given to bring back black money from foreign soil to India. In a pre-budget memorandum to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Hinduja Group Chairman S P Hinduja said, "Overseas Indian investment and taxation (must) be at par with resident Indians in all respects." Hinduja, who is also Chairman of IndusInd International Federation, said NRIs having their wealth in Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCB) should be allowed to invest in India."By lifting the ban on OCBs and simplifying the procedures for individual NRI investment, the market will be widened with more players," he said. On the issue of black money, Hinduja said India should regularise foreign accounts on an ongoing basis to bring back the money allegedly stashed away in tax-heavens such as Switzerland, Mauritius and Liechtenstein."Any time the account holder wants to bring back the money to India, it can be given as free gift to his relatives...Amnesty is not a one time solution and we will have to introduce systems and procedures to regularise the accounts at the foreign centres on an ongoing basis," he said.The Indian government is facing intense pressure from the opposition, as also the courts, to act tough against those who have amassed illicit wealth in foreign countries that have strict secrecy rules."The government may agree to convert the foreign holdings into Indian rupees and hold them in an unaccounted money account with the foreign government after recovering tax at the rate of 15-20 per cent," Hinduja said.He put forward the example of nations like the US, which have reportedly brought back huge money into their native soil after the account holders had agreed to pay 15-20 per cent tax on outstanding amount."...there will be continuous regularisation of the accounts and flow of funds into India. No penalty may be levied or criminal action resorted to against the account holders except when the money had been acquired through fraudulent means," Hinduja added.Earlier this month, the Indian government had told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that it is trying to bring back the money by taking various steps such as levying tax under the Direct Taxes Code Bill.The government also said that it had completed negotiations for signing Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with 10 countries, where the money is believed to have been stashed. On the issue of corruption that has plagued India in the recent past, Hinduja said the government needs to address the issue as "recent corruption allegations have led to policy paralysis and impacted business confidence and FDI flows"."This is a cancer, which must be addressed. Unstructured, non-institutional political funding is the root of corruption in India," he added.Hinduja also said the government should allow overseas Indians to purchase land or take it on long-term lease for at least 10 years for agriculture, horticulture and plantation activities.Economic reforms such as further opening up of retail and insurance businesses, land acquisition for infrastructure are pending and hence the FDI flows are losing momentum, he said. "Opening of multi-brand retail sector will lead to establishment of backward and forward linkages to enhance the income of the farmers and rural artisans," he added.

FIIs likely to play it safe till Budget announced: Experts

New Delhi:,Having infused a net amount of Rs 277 crore in stocks and bonds so far this month, overseas investors are likely to remain largely on the sidelines till the Union Budget is presented on February 28. "Foreign investors are waiting for Budget clarity, like how the government is going to react to fiscal. l deficit, borrowing and infrastructure," CNI Research CMD Kishor P Ostwal said. Over the 13 trading sessions in February so far, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) invested Rs 277 crore on Indian stocks and bonds. In dollar terms, FIIs invested $ 60.98 million during the period, data released by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reveals.There will be no major FII buying activity in the market till the Union Budget on February 28, Ostwal said. Overseas investors have been gross sellers of equities worth Rs 2,091.40 crore so far this month, but were bullish about the debt market, making a net investment of Rs 2,368.80 crore.While Ostwal said FIIs do not appear to have been worried about various scams that have been unearthed in recent times, some other analysts said that governance issues could have impacted their confidence in the Indian market."Foreign investors' confidence have definitely taken a hit because of governance issue, interest rates. Share prices have fallen in recent times and the market will remain under pressure," SMC Global Equity Head Jagannadham Thunuguntla said.The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex has fallen by around 10 per cent to the 18,000 points level during the course of the trading sessions held in 2011 so far. In 2010, the index rose by 13 per cent on the back of foreign inflows amounting to over Rs 1.75 lakh crore, a record.In January, overseas investors were gross buyers of equities worth Rs 79,420 crore, but sold shares worth Rs 72,910 crore, translating into a net investment of Rs 6,509.60 crore, as per SEBI data.In 2010, foreign investors bought stocks and bonds valued at nearly Rs 10 lakh crore, a record for a single year. At the same time, FIIs sold shares and bonds worth Rs 7,80,000 crore during the year —- which implied a record net investment of over Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the year.

In dollar terms, net FII inflows stood at about $ 39 billion in 2010. In 2009, they had infused Rs 83,423 crore into the stock market.

Indian Students have higest transition rate to Work in New Zealand

Wellington, February 19:Students from India have the highest rate of transition to work in New Zealand after completing their studies, followed by their Chinese counterparts, a minister has said. While 72 per cent of Indian students who come to New Zealand get job, the corresponding figure for China is 43 per cent, Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said on Friday. Similarly, students from India also have the highest rate of transition to permanent residence (47 per cent), again followed by pupils from China (23 per cent).According to a research conducted by the department of labour, around one-third of international students who come to New Zealand stay on following their studies to contribute to the country's economy and workforce. "Not only does New Zealand gain from the fee-paying students, many of them stay on providing long-term benefits by contributing their skills to our workforce and economy," Coleman said."The research shows that New Zealand is an attractive place to study because of the quality and cost of education in an English-speaking country.""Another plus for fee-paying foreign students is the recent introduction of interim visas which allows them to continue studying while applying for visas to further their studies. This will smooth the enrolment process for education providers."The research also found 68 percent of former international students were in fulltime employment 18 months after gaining permanent residence. "This research report confirms what we are actually seeing in the marketplace," said Richard Howard, a licensed immigration advsior.

Indians among 111 charged in major US healthcare fraud

Boston:At least six Indian-origin persons are among over 100 doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals arrested on charges of alleged involvement in a massive Medicare fraud estimated at $225 million, in one of the biggest crackdowns on healthcare fraud-related crimes in the US. The 111 people charged a  cross nine cities are accused of crimes, including conspiracy to defraud Medicare, criminal false claims, money laundering and aggravated identify theft. "With this takedown, we have identified and shut down large-scale fraud schemes operating throughout the country. This is the largest federal healthcare fraud takedown in our nation's history," said Attorney General Eric Holder who announced the charges with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.Medicare is a government insurance programme that covers Americans who are 65 and older. About 45 million elderly and disabled Americans are enrolled in taxpayer-funded Medicare plans.Collectively, the doctors, nurses, health care company owners charged in the fraud are accused of falsely billing Medicare of more than $225 million.Over 60,000 Indian-origin doctors are estimated to be operating in the US which has a total of about 954,000 doctors.More than 700 agents from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services arrested the alleged swindlers in Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Miami and Tampa.The agents also executed 16 search warrants across the country in connection with the ongoing investigation.According to court documents, defendants participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and often never provided.In Chicago, Indian-origin doctor Jaswinder Rai Chhibber, president and owner of a medical clinic, was arrested and presented in court. He is charged with one count of healthcare fraud.According to the charges, Chhibber, 48, submitted reimbursement claims for medical procedures he never rendered.He allegedly performed complicated diagnostic tests on patients without a medical need for those tests besides billing insurance providers for tests never actually performed on patients.In Detroit, among those charged were Vishnu Pradeep Meda, 30, Ram Naresh Rajulapati, 31 and Surya Nallani, 43.Nallani was charged with fraud in connection with an approximately $8.5 million physicians visiting group operation.She billed Medicare for home visits which required her to be physically present, when in fact she was abroad.In Tampa in Florida, physician Jayam Krishna Iyer was charged with submitting approximately $457,000 in claims to Medicare for services she did not render.Clearwater physician Iyer, 59, was accused of submitting Medicare claims for services allegedly rendered by another doctor who was excluded from Medicare because of a fraud conviction.Iyer's attorney, George Tragos, said his client believes she carried out her responsibilities. The accusation "doesn't say that the services weren't performed or the services weren't performed properly."Another Indian-origin person, Harsh Mehta, 32, owner of a pharmacy, billed the medical insurers for pharmaceutical products he did not dispense.Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said healthcare professionals from "Los Angeles to New York and cities in between have cheated taxpayers and patients alike by defrauding the Medicare programme".Thirty-two people were charged in Miami for falsely billing Medicare $55 million for home healthcare, durable medical equipment and prescription drugs.Twenty-one defendants were charged in Detroit for a $23 million fraud, while in Brooklyn, New York, 10 people were involved in $90 million of false billings.In Houston, 9 individuals were charged for schemes involving eight million dollars while in Dallas, seven were indicted for conspiring to submit $2.8 million in false billing to Medicare.In Chicago, charges were filed against 11 individuals for falsely billing Medicare more than $six million.Last year, federal agencies recovered a record $four billion from fraudsters, Sebelius said.Four top officials of a leading chain of community mental health centres were also among those charged with the crime.Among the arrested were Lawrence Duran, owner of American Therapeutic Corp, Marianella Valera, chief executive officer of the company. American Therapeutic is among the nation's largest chain of community mental health centres licensed by Medicare.The company allegedly altered files of patients with dementia and paid owners of assisted living centres and halfway houses to force the patients to attend programmes at their health centres.Duran and Valera are being detained in Miami and their case is expected to go to trial in August."Our office will be vigilant in ferreting out and bringing to justice those individuals who perpetrate fraud on Medicare, Medicaid and other government health care benefit programs," US Attorney Robert O'Neill said in a statement.