indica News Bureau US President Donald Trump’s administration is all set to revoke an Obama-era rule that enables H-4 visa holders, or spouses of professionals working in the United States on H-1B visa, to work in the country – a move set to impact tens of thousands of Indians in the US. An H-4 […]
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Parliamentary democracy holds back India
Justice Markandey Katju theprint.in has published Kumar Ketkar’s article ‘In Modi era intellectuals confess they are confused. My response is, one, almost all Indian ‘intellectuals,’ including professors in universities, mediapersons, writers, etc are pseudo-intellectuals who are puffed up with arrogance and bookish, sterile knowledge, which is no knowledge at all. No wonder they are confused. Two, there is no confusion […]
Anil Kumble on Sehwag’s big second chance
Anecdotes, tech pitches and fan fervor mark Hotstar CricFest Ritu Jha The first CricFest hosted by Hotstar failed to draw a large number of San Francisco Bay Area cricket fans, but two former Indian players, Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag, delighted the attendees when they shared anecdotes, including the highs and lows that […]
Epitaph of Facebook is being written on Blockchain
Partha Chakraborty Bespoke but fragmented, trustworthy but permissioned, profitable but paid; all built on Blockchain protocols. Future of Social Media is nothing like you have seen so far. Facebook was not the first social network I joined. Long long time ago in a galaxy far far away there was “Orkut” and I […]
Trump warns illegal immigrants, vouches for merit-based US entry
indica Washington Bureau Taking a tough line on illegal immigration, US President Donald Trump has reiterated there will be serious consequences for entering the country illegally. Stressing that the current immigration laws have become a “laughing stock” globally, he said people with merit like technology professionals from countries such as India must only enter […]
Wellness seminar addresses stress
Stress is almost an epidemic but is still a casual word to bandy, according to a healthcare expert at a seminar organized in the Bay Area. Ritu Jha Robert Browning, a master trainer at HeartMath Institute, said stress was little discussed a decade ago because of the stigma associated with it and the […]
Top US Senators warn India on data localization policy
indica Washington Bureau Two top American Senators John Cornyn and have warned that India’s data localization policy, which took off on October 15, will adversely affect American businesses in the country. “Data localization requirements, such as those contained in the draft data protection bill and draft national e-commerce policy framework, will have negative impacts […]
South Asians slam Trump’s proposed public charge rule
indica News Bureau The Trump administration’s proposal to change the definition of public charge has not gone down well with the South Asian communities in the US, who say that the new rule will affect new legal immigrants in the country, especially South Asians. The term “public charge,” indicates a person who is likely […]
India needs a world-class higher educational system
Frank Islam India has the third-largest higher educational system in the world. In 2016, there were 799 universities and 39,071 colleges spread across the country. These numbers are staggering. The growth of higher education in India over a little more than half a century has been even more staggering. Between 1950 and 2014, the […]
USCIS sued by ITServe for tweaking H-1B duration
Lawsuit claims the agency took steps that only the Department of Labor could when it began approving visas for less than the standard three-year duration Ritu Jha The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS) an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been sued for abusing its power when offering […]
HAF honors two for promoting Hinduism
Businessman Yogi Chugh was picked for championing the community, lawyer Garth Pickett for his interfaith work Ritu Jha The Hindu American Foundation’s Silicon Valley chapter honored businessman Yogi Chugh with the 2018 HAF Pride of the Community Award for consistently addressing the concerns of Hindu Americans and other minorities. Garth Pickett, who practices […]
Deciphering Open Data Initiative
Nidhi Modh In late September 2018, Microsoft, Adobe and SAP announced a partnership to remove data silos and give a unified customer experience. This alliance, which is a clear attack against Salesforce, aims to create a single data model for consumer data that is then portable between platforms. This Open Data Initiative(ODI) is very […]
Nikki Haley tenders her resignation, says wants to take a break
indica News Bureau Indian American Nikki Haley announced her resignation Tuesday, a move that took Washington by surprise. Appearing in the Oval Office, where she was given rare warm send off by President Donald Trump, Haley said she believes that this is time for her to go after eight years of hectic public like, […]
FFE raises $800,000 to fund students of engineering, medicine
Emotional tales of hard-won success convince benefactors to loose the purse strings Ritu Jha It is rare to see a keynote make people cry, but Vinod Bhardwaj did, when he spoke at the Foundation for Excellence(FFE) annual gala about why he supports the organization. The gala built around the theme ‘Elevate’ raised […]
Indians for Collective Action turns 50
The incubator for social philanthropy plans to focus on US-based non-profits now Ritu Jha The San Francisco Bay Area based-Indians for Collective Action(ICA), a non-profit, advocacy and an incubator for social entrepreneurship is celebrating its 50th anniversary on October 20 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The organization was put together idea though […]
Finally, Justice Kavanaugh
Justice Markandey Katju Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination has been confirmed by the US Senate, October 6, and within hours he was sworn in by Chief Justice John Robert, making him ‘Justice Kavanaugh’. Why was there such a hue and cry over his nomination? There were two reasons: 1) He had allegedly committed sexual molestations when […]
Indra K. Nooyi era ends as PepsiCo CEO
She helped raise company revenues but, more importantly, left an enduring legacy indica News Bureau When India-born Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi was appointed CEO of PepsiCo, America’s second largest food and beverage company; she became not just the first woman to be elected but also a legendary figure who boosted company revenues by 80 […]
On two Supreme Courts, and what hangs in the balance…
Shalini Nataraj The past week I have felt the same sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and the alternating feelings of extreme outrage and hopelessness brought on by the Judge Brett Kavanaugh hearings that I, and so many millions in the country felt on November 8, 2016, when Trump won the electoral […]
Pak Foreign Minister fails to convince Trump Administration on terrorism and India
The new Foreign Minister of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi appears to have returned empty handed indica Washington Bureau During his nearly 10-days of shuffling between New York and Washington, the foreign minister apparently failed to convince the Trump Administration of the need to pressurize India to resume talks with India. The administration […]
USCIS head weighs in on visa issues, propose to rescind H4 EAD
Among other things, Francis Cissna said that a presidential order permitting those on H4 visas to work went against law because Congress had not explicitly allowed that group to do so Ritu Jha Lee Francis Cissna, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), made a strong argument against letting spouses on H4 […]
Creating the right safeguards for data in India
India’s internet market has huge potential for growth, especially with new government-mandated protections in place Subhasish Chakraborty Data is the oil of the 21st century. A few years ago, Exxon Mobil (XOM) used to be the most valued publicly listed company in the world in terms of market cap. Microsoft, Apple and Google used to be its closest competitors but lagged significantly behind. […]
Supreme Court leaves verdict against tech mogul Khosla intact
The court declined to review the matter of whether the tech mogul could upturn decisions that allowed the people to access a public beach he had blocked off Ritu Jha “It’s an enormous victory not just for Martins Beach but for the entire California coastline and also coastlines throughout the United States.” That […]
In defense of Judge Kavanaugh
Justice Markandey Katju I was a lawyer for 20 years in India, and a judge for another 20 (as judge and acting chief justice of Allahabad High Court, chief justice of Madras High Court, chief justice of Delhi High Court, and, finally, a judge in the Indian Supreme Court). So I have a fairly good understanding […]
Patriotism Without Borders
Vinita Gupta The late Senator John McCain’s plane, as a naval aviator, was shot down in the Vietnam war. He was widely admired for his bravery as he was captured and tortured as a prisoner of war, for over five years. He was a true patriot. He was also celebrated for his egalitarian ideals because he […]
Vibrant Gujarat team visits Silicon Valley
Ritu Jha- The first deal signed was for a facility that taught flying and provided maintenance and other services The US-based Pacific State Aviation (PSA) has signed an MoU with India-based Blue Ray Aviation to develop a state-of-the-art flight training organization in Gujarat. Arvind Agarwal, additional chief secretary, finance department, Government of Gujarat, […]