Som Mittal: US visa bill giving us ‘sleepless nights’

Chairman of Google Inc. Eric Schmidt with NASSCOM President Som Mittal during the launch of an initiative on Tech Start-ups in India, in New Delhi.

New Delhi: The US Immigration bill, which proposes higher visa fees and enhanced audit by US agencies, is still giving “sleepless nights” and the Indian IT industry needs to keep a watch, Nasscom chief Som Mittal said.

The Bill—Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act 2013—was passed by the Senate and is yet to be passed by the US House of Representatives.

“We are well-positioned on the Immigration bill ... I think it has some very good provisions like increasing visas ... But this is something I will not sleep with. We still need to work and keep a watch on it,” outgoing Nasscom President Som Mittal told PTI.

He added that Indian government and businesses have been engaging with their US counterparts at all possible forums to convey their concerns.

“Our prime minister (Manmohan Singh) took up this issue with Barack Obama. This issue has also been taken up with the US Secretary of State and Vice President Joe Biden and has been discussed at various Congressional levels. The businesses in the US are separating us ... But I would still lose sleep,” Mittal said.

Last year, Nasscom hired influential lobbyist, public relation and law firms to plead the case of Indian firms with Congressmen.

Indian software-export giants like TCS, Infosys and Wipro rely on visas to send employees overseas to service clients in the US, its biggest market. US contributes 65% of the revenue of these firms.

The proposed legislation also requires firms to dilute their visa dependent workforce over the next few years, a move that will force Indian companies to hire local talent, thus affecting their revenues. If passed in its current form, the Bill could hurt the margins of the Indian IT sector.

View the original article here

Som Mittal: US visa bill giving us ‘sleepless nights’

Chairman of Google Inc. Eric Schmidt with NASSCOM President Som Mittal during the launch of an initiative on Tech Start-ups in India, in New Delhi.

New Delhi: The US Immigration bill, which proposes higher visa fees and enhanced audit by US agencies, is still giving “sleepless nights” and the Indian IT industry needs to keep a watch, Nasscom chief Som Mittal said.

The Bill—Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act 2013—was passed by the Senate and is yet to be passed by the US House of Representatives.

“We are well-positioned on the Immigration bill ... I think it has some very good provisions like increasing visas ... But this is something I will not sleep with. We still need to work and keep a watch on it,” outgoing Nasscom President Som Mittal told PTI.

He added that Indian government and businesses have been engaging with their US counterparts at all possible forums to convey their concerns.

“Our prime minister (Manmohan Singh) took up this issue with Barack Obama. This issue has also been taken up with the US Secretary of State and Vice President Joe Biden and has been discussed at various Congressional levels. The businesses in the US are separating us ... But I would still lose sleep,” Mittal said.

Last year, Nasscom hired influential lobbyist, public relation and law firms to plead the case of Indian firms with Congressmen.

Indian software-export giants like TCS, Infosys and Wipro rely on visas to send employees overseas to service clients in the US, its biggest market. US contributes 65% of the revenue of these firms.

The proposed legislation also requires firms to dilute their visa dependent workforce over the next few years, a move that will force Indian companies to hire local talent, thus affecting their revenues. If passed in its current form, the Bill could hurt the margins of the Indian IT sector.

View the original article here

Crime file: Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse; Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze and more

Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse

Raipur: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an ambulance driver in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on December 23, police said on Monday. 

However, apparently filled with contrition, the accused, identified as Kiran Kumar, allegedly tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after the incident, they said.

"A case of rape was registered against Kiran, a driver with Sanjeevani 108 ambulance service, last evening on the complaint of the minor girl in Amabeda police station," said Kanker SP RN Dash. 

According to the officer, the incident occurred on the night of December 23 after the victim's mother, a native of Amabeda village, was shifted to Kanker district hospital in the ambulance driven by Kiran. 

"Kiran Kumar reportedly took the ill woman to hospital in the ambulance and returned to the patient's house. Kiran, who was in an inebriated condition, asked the 10-year-old girl to accompany him saying her mother is serious and needs her at the hospital," Dash said.

However, Kiran allegedly took the minor girl to an isolated place in a forest area and raped her, the SP said.

He said relatives of the victim failed to inform police about the incident even after she confided in them on December 24. 

The incident was reported to police on Friday, following which medical examination of the girl was conducted, which confirmed rape, the officer said. 

When a police team was sent to arrest Kiran it came to know that he had allegedly attempted suicide at his residence on Thursday and suffered minor burns. 

A case under section 376 (rape) of IPC and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offence Act has been registered against the accused, Dash said, adding that Kiran would be arrested after he gets discharge from hospital. 

Next: Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze

View the original article here

Crime file: Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse; Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze and more

Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse

Raipur: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an ambulance driver in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on December 23, police said on Monday. 

However, apparently filled with contrition, the accused, identified as Kiran Kumar, allegedly tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after the incident, they said.

"A case of rape was registered against Kiran, a driver with Sanjeevani 108 ambulance service, last evening on the complaint of the minor girl in Amabeda police station," said Kanker SP RN Dash. 

According to the officer, the incident occurred on the night of December 23 after the victim's mother, a native of Amabeda village, was shifted to Kanker district hospital in the ambulance driven by Kiran. 

"Kiran Kumar reportedly took the ill woman to hospital in the ambulance and returned to the patient's house. Kiran, who was in an inebriated condition, asked the 10-year-old girl to accompany him saying her mother is serious and needs her at the hospital," Dash said.

However, Kiran allegedly took the minor girl to an isolated place in a forest area and raped her, the SP said.

He said relatives of the victim failed to inform police about the incident even after she confided in them on December 24. 

The incident was reported to police on Friday, following which medical examination of the girl was conducted, which confirmed rape, the officer said. 

When a police team was sent to arrest Kiran it came to know that he had allegedly attempted suicide at his residence on Thursday and suffered minor burns. 

A case under section 376 (rape) of IPC and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offence Act has been registered against the accused, Dash said, adding that Kiran would be arrested after he gets discharge from hospital. 

Next: Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze

View the original article here

Crime file: Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse; Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze and more

Ambulance driver rapes minor girl, attempts suicide on remorse

Raipur: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an ambulance driver in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on December 23, police said on Monday. 

However, apparently filled with contrition, the accused, identified as Kiran Kumar, allegedly tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after the incident, they said.

"A case of rape was registered against Kiran, a driver with Sanjeevani 108 ambulance service, last evening on the complaint of the minor girl in Amabeda police station," said Kanker SP RN Dash. 

According to the officer, the incident occurred on the night of December 23 after the victim's mother, a native of Amabeda village, was shifted to Kanker district hospital in the ambulance driven by Kiran. 

"Kiran Kumar reportedly took the ill woman to hospital in the ambulance and returned to the patient's house. Kiran, who was in an inebriated condition, asked the 10-year-old girl to accompany him saying her mother is serious and needs her at the hospital," Dash said.

However, Kiran allegedly took the minor girl to an isolated place in a forest area and raped her, the SP said.

He said relatives of the victim failed to inform police about the incident even after she confided in them on December 24. 

The incident was reported to police on Friday, following which medical examination of the girl was conducted, which confirmed rape, the officer said. 

When a police team was sent to arrest Kiran it came to know that he had allegedly attempted suicide at his residence on Thursday and suffered minor burns. 

A case under section 376 (rape) of IPC and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offence Act has been registered against the accused, Dash said, adding that Kiran would be arrested after he gets discharge from hospital. 

Next: Mother beaten to death by son for not giving money for booze

View the original article here