The Indian Sub-continent Times

Migration Agent barred for 5 years

ashok — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:13:45 +0000

Former Sydney and Adelaide-based migration agent Mark Mercurius has been barred for five years, the Chief Executive Officer for the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (Office of the MARA), Christine Sykes said on Monday.

Based on a number of complaints received, it was found that Mr Mercurius was acting in unscrupulous behaviour towards a vulnerable ethnic client group, Egyptian-Coptic Christians.

“Protection visa applicants are among the most vulnerable client group, and must be protected, not exploited,” Ms Sykes said.

“Mr Mercurius did not provide services for which he was paid and caused a loss of visa opportunities for his clients.”

Migration agents must keep up-to-date with migration law, abide by a code of conduct, maintain proper records and pass police checks.

“For your protection, make sure your agent is registered with the Office of the MARA – this authority ensures only fit and proper people are registered migration agents,” Ms Sykes said.

“Consumers should be especially wary of people claiming to be migration agents who do not provide services from an office, request payment in cash, or fail to provide a contract and receipts.”

Currently there are 4662 registered migration agents in Australia and overseas who can provide immigration assistance.

“If you are unhappy with the services of your registered migration agent, you can complain to the Office of the MARA,” Ms Sykes said.

“Making a complaint will not affect any visa application you have with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.”

Paa child actor Taruni Sachdev dies in Nepal plane crash

ashok — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:17:15 +0000

Fate’s cruel hands crushed Taruni Sachdev’s dreams on Monday when a 20-seater plane slammed into a cliff in Jomsom, western Nepal killing thirteen Indians and two crew members. The 14-year-old child actress was last seen in the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Paa’. Her mother Geetha Sachdev also died in the crash.Besides the Hindi blockbuster, Tarunai also featured in two Malayalam films, ‘ Vellinakshatram’ and ‘ Sathyam’. Her last TV outing was as a participant on Shah Rukh Khan’s quiz show ‘ Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?’. She had done many commercials including the popular Rasna ad.
Amitabh Bachchan has expressed shock over the death of child artist Taruni Sachdev, who played his school friend in Paa. “Just reading that Taruni Sachdev the girl child artist in Paa, has perished in Nepal plane crash. Please God may this not be true.”

Even Abhishek Bachchan also expressed his grief over the sudden demise of the child actor. “Shocked and very saddened to hear about the Nepal plane crash. Lost 1 of my cutest co-stars. Little Taruni Sachdev from Paa. Speechless…”

Big shake in Rail Corp; End of the line for 750 jobs

ashok — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:04:52 +0000

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced the biggest shakeup to the State’s railways in a generation to fix the trains and provide customers with the service standard they deserve, says a Ministry media release.
The Fixing the Trains initiative includes:
 The breakup of RailCorp and the creation of two new specialist organisations to service the different needs of Sydney and intercity/regional train customers
 Slashing the top heavy, back office bureaucracy
 Creating a specialist cleaning unit to attack graffiti and rubbish on dirty trains and stations
“I am determined to give the people of NSW the world-class rail system they deserve,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“This is all about making customers the focus of the railways, not the bureaucracy.
“These changes will align rail services to customers’ needs and make it easier for rail employees to do their job.
“Unless we take drastic action, things will continue to get worse – as Transport Minister I am not prepared to stand by and allow that to occur.
“RailCorp is currently financially unsustainable. It costs $10 million a day to run, with costs rising three times as fast as the number of passenger journeys.
“The NSW Government will continue to invest in improving the rail system – but we need to ensure taxpayers and customers get better value for money.”
Breaking up RailCorp and creating two new specialist organisations
 Sydney Trains will serve customers who need quick, frequent and reliable trains in the greater Sydney suburban area
 NSW Trains will serve intercity, regional and country customers who travel longer distances and need comfortable and reliable services, with on-board facilities
“The best train systems in the world are focused on the unique needs of their customers. We are adopting that model in NSW,” Ms Berejiklian said.
These new organisations will be established progressively over the next 12-18 months. Once they are fully established RailCorp will cease to operate train services.
From 1 July immediate changes will be made to improve the focus on customer service.
 A new Customer Service Division will be created to ensure the customer facing elements of RailCorp are focused on delivering outstanding customer service
 Several existing functions, including construction and major projects, will be transferred to Transport for NSW, bringing rail into line with roads, buses and ferries and ensuring RailCorp and subsequently Sydney Trains and NSW Trains can focus solely on providing customer services
Slashing the top heavy rail bureaucracy
 Up to 750 voluntary redundancies will be offered to RailCorp middle management, mostly in Head Office, to simplify processes and reduce bureaucracy
 No frontline staff will be affected
RailCorp has 4 times as many senior bureaucrats for the size of its workforce than the former RTA and 20 times that of the NSW Department of Education & Training.
This multi-layered bureaucracy stifles innovation, slows decision making and makes it more difficult for employees to do their jobs.
Creating a specialist cleaning unit to attack graffiti and rubbish on dirty trains and stations
 RailCorp’s 870 cleaning staff will be transferred to a specialist subsidiary unit to attack graffiti and rubbish on trains and stations
 New commercial cleaning benchmarks will be introduced
 Specialist management and support systems will be brought in
“Customer satisfaction surveys show only 46 per cent are happy with the cleanliness of trains,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Under current archaic industrial demarcation arrangements, cleaning staff can clean over graffiti on carriage walls but graffiti on ceilings, doors and floors has to be left to specialist maintenance staff.
“This means the ceilings, doors and floors of trains currently have ugly graffiti on them for an average of 58 days at a time, while the walls can be cleaned within days.
“Customers want clean trains, seats and stations and these changes will deliver it.”
Ms Berejiklian said customers can expect more changes as part of the NSW Government’s Fixing the Trains program.
“We are developing a broad range of initiatives that are designed to fix our trains and make them world-class – there will be more to come.”
Staff and unions will be consulted on how the changes will be implemented

On Line business revolutionises market

ashok — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:07:56 +0000

Taking business online has revolutionised the market, but using platforms well is still a major challenge for small-to-medium business owners and budding entrepreneurs, a City of Sydney media release says.

Terry Deane’s fashion label Oobi Baby & Kids, the City’s 2011 Business of the Year, has taken an innovative approach online.

“Wholesale is the primary focus of the business and we intentionally haven’t gone out there to undercut our loyal retailers as many labels did when they launched online,” Mr Deane said.

“But we wanted to be represented as a brand in the market, offer our whole range online and provide exclusive offers for our VIP Club.”

“We did it differently – we built our market first and online has only come into play at the end. However, we were an early Facebook user, which allowed us to create a community, which we chose to talk to rather than sell to.”

Mr Deane will share Oobi’s success story next month, at the City’s next Let’s Talk Business event, Get More Business: Go Online, talking about setting up a Facebook community among mums before selling products online.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said that while economic conditions had been tough for many Sydney businesses, the web offered some real opportunities.

“Let’s Talk Business gives people a chance to hear from business leaders who’ve put these tools into practice in their to the online own businesses,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Whether it’s cloud computing, building an online community or managing data, this is a great opportunity to link up with your peers and experts in the field, and get practical advice on growing your business.”

“Small-to-medium businesses strengthen Sydney’s economy, provide jobs and are part and parcel of everyday life in our city.”

Since Terry Deane’s business partner Alex Riggs established Oobi Baby & Kids in 2002, their quirky childrenswear label has developed into a hot global brand, exporting as far afield as New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, Japan, Europe and the United States.

Running the business from the Oobi offices in Zetland, they design, produce, sell and manage all operations. Oobi was a relative latecomer market, only starting to sell to the public from their website this year.

“Oobi has a timeless, retro charm and people like to feel part of our creative community. Through our Facebook page we’ve held photography competitions and helped build that community. Mums have got together through Oobi, and even held their own tea parties in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Singapore and Tasmania.

“One of the challenges of going online, surprisingly, has been the cost. People think online retailing is a cheap way to the market – and I think it is if you just want to get out there quickly.”

“But we were building a culture and using the website as a branding tool – a representation of our business and philosophy – so it’s taken more time.”

Mr Deane has attended previous Let’s Talk Business events and believes everyone can benefit from sharing expertise.

“You walk away with at least one piece of information that will make a difference to your business if you decide to implement it,” he said.

“In a small business you’re essentially a jack-of-all-trades so it makes sense to learn from the experts.”

Let’s Talk Business is a program of four educational and networking events for small business operators. The program is sponsored by Google Apps, Regus and Smart Company. Speakers include co-founder of Oobi Baby, 2011 City of Sydney Business of the Year, Terry Deane, and chief executive of Kogan, Ruslan Kogan.

Dalai Lama will give away prize money to charity

ashok — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:20:25 +0000

The Dalai Lama has said he will give away to charity £1.1m prize money awarded to him, reports BBC.

The Tibetan spiritual leader received the Templeton Prize in London for exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.

About £900,000 will go to Save the Children in India, with £125,000 set aside for The Minds and Life Institute.

Money will also go towards a fund to educate Tibetan monks about science.

The 76-year-old, who leads a Tibetan government in exile in India, has been awarded the prize for encouraging ‘serious scientific investigative reviews of the power of compassion’, and its potential to address world problems.

The John Templeton Foundation said he was chosen for exploring these issues – which are key themes of his teachings – with people beyond his own religious traditions.

Dr John Templeton, president of the foundation and son of the late prize founder, said: “With an increasing reliance on technological advances to solve the world’s problems, humanity also seeks the reassurance that only a spiritual quest can answer.

“The Dalai Lama offers a universal voice of compassion underpinned by a love and respect for spiritually relevant scientific research that centres on every single human being.”

The Dalai Lama, who was born Lhamo Dhondub, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

Other recipients of the Templeton Prize include fellow Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, the first recipient of the prize in 1973.

NSW Govt. hails Indian partnership at CeBIT

ashok — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:10:13 +0000

Acting Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Stoner has welcomed the relationship-building opportunities for NSW and India that will be provided by CeBIT Australia 2012, says a media release.

Mr Stoner said that having India as the partner country for CeBIT Australia would provide opportunities to build on the already strong relationship between India and NSW.

CeBIT Australia, to be held in Sydney from 22-24 May, is the Asia Pacific’s largest ICT business event

“The NSW Government is committed to growing the State’s economy through business, export, investment, and research and development opportunities, particularly with India which is one of the few strongly growing economies in the world,” Mr Stoner said.

“India’s commitment to CebIT Australia is demonstrated by the fact that an Indian delegation of more than 70 companies will be in Sydney for the event.

“The partner country program will open up business opportunities between Indian and NSW ICT companies, as well as business, trade and investment opportunities across other key sectors including professional services, education and research, manufacturing, tourism and healthcare.”

Mr Stoner said Sydney and NSW would be promoted as a key Asia Pacific investment location for Indian companies wanting to target the Australian market and partner with NSW organisations.

“India is NSW’s 14th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade between NSW and India valued at $1.93 billion in 2010-11 and exports to India growing at an average rate of 17 per cent a year over the past five years,” Mr Stoner said.

“Indian companies are increasingly active in NSW, including ICT companies Wipro, Infosys, Polaris Software, MphasiS, Cognizant, HCL Technologies and Rolta.

“Last month, we welcomed the announcement by multinational Indian IT companies Mahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra that they are expanding their Sydney operations, creating over 500 new jobs in the next three to five years and bringing its total NSW staff to over 1000.”

India’s forex reserves decline

ashok — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:21:46 +0000

MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $2.187 billion to $293.17 billion for the week ended May 4, official data showed. Forex reserves had risen by $758.3 million to $295.36 billion during the previous week, a report in The Times of India says.

Foreign currency assets, the biggest component of the forex reserves kitty, fell by $1.76 million to $259.18 billion during the week under review, according to the weekly statistical supplement of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s central bank.

The RBI did not provide any reasons for the fall, but heavy selling in Rupee has had an effect on the decline.

The foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as pound sterling, euro and yen held in reserve, the RBI said.

The value of special drawing rights (SDRs) was down by $10 million to $4.46 billion and reserves with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by $6.6 million to $2.90 billion.

However, gold reserves too slid by $405.2 million at $26.61 billion.

Portland apologises, will rename Kali-Ma beer after protests by Hindus

ashok — Sat, 12 May 2012 03:24:44 +0000

Portland (Oregon, USA) based Burnside Brewing Company, which earlier announced to release its “Kali-Ma” beer on May 15; has apologized, postponed the release and would rename it.

In an announcement published on their Facebook page today, the Company wrote: In response to pleas from the Hindu community we have decided to postpone the limited release of “Kali-ma” our imperial wheat ale flavored with Indian spices and Scotch-Bonnet peppers. It is NEVER our intention at Burnside to offend or alienate any race, creed, religion or sexual orientation. The inspiration for the beer label simply came from a favorite childhood movie in the “Indiana Jones” series and we were unaware that it could be offensive to anyone. We are currently scrambling to re-name the beer and intend to release it soon afterwards…to anyone we have offended we sincerely apologize.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who spearheaded the protest, calling identifying of the beer with Goddess Kali as “inappropriate”, has thanked and commended the Company for showing responsibility, respect and maturity by taking quick action and for having an understanding for the hurt feelings of Hindu community. It was a step in the right direction, he added in a statement in Nevada (USA) today.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stresses that Goddess Kali is highly revered in Hinduism and is meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to be used in selling beer for mercantile greed. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda is not okay.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed argued.

Zed further said that such trivialization of Goddess Kali was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more, but faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the devotees, Zed pointed out and added that businesses should be respectful to various faith traditions.

“Kali-Ma” the beer was earlier announced as spiced wheat ale involving cardamom, fenugreek, cumin, India dandicut peppers, etc., and showed the picture of Goddess with four arms and three severed heads. Jason McAdam is the brew-master at the Company which is also organizing Annual Portland Fruit Beer Festival on June 9-10.

Goddess Kali, who personifies Sakti or divine energy, is widely worshipped in Hinduism. She is considered the goddess of time and change. Some Bengali poets described her as supreme deity. Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Networking the community: Twitter or Facebook?

ashok — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:11:17 +0000

By Dr. Yadu Singh ** Social networking is very hip these days. Facebook [FB], Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, YouTube, Tagg, Digg and many more are increasingly popular in the world. According to EBizmba.com [an industry source], Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have 750 million, 250 million and 110 million estimated unique monthly visitors respectively presently. They are obviously very popular in Australia too.
Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Former PM Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, and Premier Barry O’Farrell are all into it. Indian PM, Man Mohan Singh, Shashi Tharoor, Ministry of External Affairs [Govt of India] are heavily into Twitter. Celebrities like Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey and even Dalai Lama are in it. It would not be wrong to say that almost anyone who is anybody in the world has Twitter and Facebook presence.
I am a keen and regular user of social media for some time for my community interactions. When Kyle Sandilands of 2DayFM made nasty comments against India and River Ganges, a Twitter “follower” sent me a link of the sound bites of his comments on my Twitter account. When Dept of Immigration & Citizenship [DIAC] had put an erroneous map of India [excluding Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh] in its website, someone sent me a link via Twitter. We ran a multi-pronged campaign, which included Twitter and Blog, on these matters, which were picked by other media, leading to successful result. Similarly, it was on my Twitter account that I received a response from Ministry of External Affairs [MEA], Govt of India, about who is our new Consul General of India in Sydney a few weeks ago, after I asked MEA about it via their Twitter account! The list of examples does not end here.
Many events and functions all over the world, including events from Indian Australian community, have a presence in the social media, and are indeed heavily promoted via social media.
With more than 150000 people of Indian heritage in NSW alone and more than 350000 Indian Australians all over the country, there would be obvious benefits in having a better and effective networking among us. Radio programmes, most of which operate on a weekly basis, have some reach but they do not reach everyone because of time and language factors. Monika Geet Mala [Voice of India, Sydney, 8 hours], and SBS Radio programmes on Saturday and Sunday mornings generally do a good but still a limited job for obvious reasons. 24/7 subscription-based Radio programmes have their own limitations. Similarly, Indian ethnic newspapers in English like Indian Link, The Indian, Indus Age, Indian Down Under and Navtarang do a good job too, but their reach is again limited. This reach can improve however with improved content, fewer advertisements [difficult proposition] and better periodicity. Newspapers in regional languages-Punjab Times, Gujarat Times and Tamil Osai, also do a good job for their exclusive audience. Despite this, it is known that ethnic Indian newspapers, even collectively, do not reach a big proportion of Indian Australian community. More needs to be done, and indeed, can be done, using social media, which can easily complement the conventional media.
People often say that Radio programmes and newspapers are the favourite of more established and older group of Indians but younger and newer Indians are not that much into them. They are definitely more into Social media. My anecdotal experience suggests that Facebook is their preferred tool currently. Facebook however has many limitations, including privacy settings, which prevent it from becoming a real tool for mass communication. Creating a page in Facebook or “liking” a site there may overcome it to some extent, but this is yet to happen in a big scale. To have someone as a “friend” in Facebook, a request needs to be sent and then accepted by the recipient of that request. Twitter, on the other hand, has no such limitation. Anyone can “follow” anyone and join the network of that person. Twitter has now become a common, and possibly a favoured, way for politicians, journalists and celebrities to “broadcast” what they want to say to the world. People can also reach out to such people whenever needed, and that too without any hassle. Twitter, unlike Facebook, does not restrict the number of “followers” a Twitter account can have. Many believe that Twitter and Facebook, indeed, have become parts of mainstream media.
My view is that we should get more into social media. This should provide a better and more effective networking among us, even if we leave aside the fun component of being in the social media. With increasing numbers in the younger segment of Indian Australian community, this is actually a necessity.
I will like to see most, if not all, of Indian Australians in Twitter and Facebook, communicating and networking effectively and smartly.
If a non-geek like me can join social media and use it effectively, anyone can do the same. It is not difficult at all to be on Twitter and/or Facebook or any other social medium.
Have you got a “Face” on FB and tweeted on Twitter yet?
**Dr Yadu Singh is a Sydney based Cardiologist who uses Social media-Twitter [www.twitter.com/dryadusingh], Facebook [www.facebook.com/dryadusingh] and Blog [www.yadusingh.wordpress.com] regularly and effectively.

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3 NRI medical scientists honoured in UK

ashok — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:45:59 +0000

Three Indian-origin scientists, based in London and Oxford and noted for their excellence in medical science, are among 46 experts elected Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences, reports PTI.
The three scientists are Professor Anant Parekh, Professor of Physiology, University of Oxford; Professor Jaspal Singh Kooner, Professor of Clinical Cardiology, Imperial College London; and Professor Ajit Lalvani, Chair of Infectious Diseases, Director, Tuberculosis Research Unit, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London.
The 46 Fellows were chosen from 354 candidates. Academy Fellows are elected for outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical science, for innovative application of scientific knowledge or for their conspicuous service to healthcare.

The expertise of the new Fellows spans neurosurgery, anticancer drug development, reproductive sciences, medical genetics and R&D leadership, the academy said in a release today.

Anant Parekh’s work is described as having shaped the understanding of the role of calcium ion channels in cell function. Professor Parekh’s discoveries are said to be highly relevant to the understanding of and treatment of allergies including asthma.

Jaspal Singh Kooner’s specialist areas described on his website are coronary angioplasty and stenting, ischaemic heart disease, acute coronary syndromes, adult interventional cardiology, atherosclerosis and academic cardiology.

Ajit Lalvani’s research has shaped TB control policy internationally and provided fundamental insights into immunity to intracellular pathogens and the action of TB and malaria vaccines.

The expertise of the new Fellows spans neurosurgery, anticancer drug development, reproductive sciences, medical genetics and R&D leadership, the academy said in a release.

Professor Sir John Tooke, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “These new Fellows represent the wealth of talent within the UK biomedical community. Excellent medical science and medical scientists are key to breakthroughs in preventing and treating ill health”.

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on 27 June, 2012, bringing the number of Fellows of the academy to 1061.

The independent Academy of Medical Sciences promotes advances in medical science and campaigns to ensure these are translated into benefits for patients.