Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
New government of India rules create undue hardships for Indian Americans
Washington: A leading body NRIs has asked New Delhi to withdraw new rules seeking surrender of Indian passports upon acquisition of US citizenship, saying they impose undue burdens on the Indian American community.The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) strongly objected to notices posted on the website of consul missions asking Persons of Indian Origin in the US who to surrender their Indian passports within 90 days of their naturalization as US citizens.
It urged the Indian government to reconsider the retroactive enforcement of the new rules as many thousands of people who have acquired citizenship of the United States could suffer undue and unnecessary hardship for no fault of their own.The surrender certificate is free if the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. However, if the Indian Passport expired after January 1, 2005 and were not surrendered within three years of obtaining US citizenship, a service fee of $175 will be charged, provided the Indian passport was not used for travel in which case a penalty would also apply.A US citizen of Indian origin applying for an Indian visa, OCI/PIO cards or wanting other consular services may not be able to get any such service without complying with the new rules.Several thousand Indians have obtained US citizenship over the last over 60 years and they have been travelling to India on American passports with Indian visas granted by the same consulates whose websites now have new rules which are applicable retroactively.If the law did exist in the past, Indian consulates in the USA should have asked for the surrender of Indian passports before granting Indian visas to US citizens of Indian origin, GOPIO said.Requiring Americans of Indian Origin to surrender their Indian passports after the lapse of many years of their naturalization as US citizens would cause undue hardship and delay in getting consular services, it said, noting a large majority of the new citizens have no use for their old Indian passports and may have lost, misplaced or never kept in their possession after naturalisation as US citizens.
It urged the Indian government to reconsider the retroactive enforcement of the new rules as many thousands of people who have acquired citizenship of the United States could suffer undue and unnecessary hardship for no fault of their own.The surrender certificate is free if the Indian passport expired before January 1, 2005. However, if the Indian Passport expired after January 1, 2005 and were not surrendered within three years of obtaining US citizenship, a service fee of $175 will be charged, provided the Indian passport was not used for travel in which case a penalty would also apply.A US citizen of Indian origin applying for an Indian visa, OCI/PIO cards or wanting other consular services may not be able to get any such service without complying with the new rules.Several thousand Indians have obtained US citizenship over the last over 60 years and they have been travelling to India on American passports with Indian visas granted by the same consulates whose websites now have new rules which are applicable retroactively.If the law did exist in the past, Indian consulates in the USA should have asked for the surrender of Indian passports before granting Indian visas to US citizens of Indian origin, GOPIO said.Requiring Americans of Indian Origin to surrender their Indian passports after the lapse of many years of their naturalization as US citizens would cause undue hardship and delay in getting consular services, it said, noting a large majority of the new citizens have no use for their old Indian passports and may have lost, misplaced or never kept in their possession after naturalisation as US citizens.
4G MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
4G mobile technology is the name given to the next generation of mobile devices such as cell phones. It became available from at least one provider in several parts of the US in 2009. There is not yet an agreed industry standard for what constitutes 4G mobile, so for now it is merely a marketing term.
The use of G, standing for generation, in mobile technology covers the major advances of the past 20-30 years. 1G technology involved the first widely available mobile phones. 2G technology, which began in the early 1990s, switched to a digital format and introduced text messaging. 3G technology improved the efficiency of how data is carried, making it possible to carry enhanced information services such as websites in their original format. The latest iPhone is the best known example of 3G technology.
4G mobile is not yet established as an agreed set of standards, so its features are currently simply goals rather than requirements. As well as drastically increasing data transfer speeds, 4G mobile should use enhanced security measures. Another goal is to reduce blips in transmission when a device moves between areas covered by different networks. 4G mobile networks should also use a network based on the IP address system used for the internet.
Within the United States, there are two major systems using 4G mobile technology. One is known as WiMax and is backed by Clearwire, a firm whose majority owner is Sprint Nextel. It began testing services in Baltimore in 2008 and was set to expand this into major new markets in 2009. Sprint intended to have 80 cities covered by the end of 2010.
The rival system, Long Term Evolution or LTE, is backed mainly by Verizon. It was expected to be ready for testing in 2010 but not available for widespread use until 2012. LTE's backers hoped to overcome this disadvantage by offering faster speeds and producing cheaper equipment.
Unlike previous generations of mobile technology, 4G mobile will be widely used for internet access on computers as well as carrying cell phone communications. Customers in areas which have strong 4G coverage will be able to use it for a home broadband connection which doesn't require any cabling to their household. It can also be used for accessing the internet on the move without having to be in a wireless hotspot such as those offered by some coffee shops, airports and libraries
The use of G, standing for generation, in mobile technology covers the major advances of the past 20-30 years. 1G technology involved the first widely available mobile phones. 2G technology, which began in the early 1990s, switched to a digital format and introduced text messaging. 3G technology improved the efficiency of how data is carried, making it possible to carry enhanced information services such as websites in their original format. The latest iPhone is the best known example of 3G technology.
4G mobile is not yet established as an agreed set of standards, so its features are currently simply goals rather than requirements. As well as drastically increasing data transfer speeds, 4G mobile should use enhanced security measures. Another goal is to reduce blips in transmission when a device moves between areas covered by different networks. 4G mobile networks should also use a network based on the IP address system used for the internet.
Within the United States, there are two major systems using 4G mobile technology. One is known as WiMax and is backed by Clearwire, a firm whose majority owner is Sprint Nextel. It began testing services in Baltimore in 2008 and was set to expand this into major new markets in 2009. Sprint intended to have 80 cities covered by the end of 2010.
The rival system, Long Term Evolution or LTE, is backed mainly by Verizon. It was expected to be ready for testing in 2010 but not available for widespread use until 2012. LTE's backers hoped to overcome this disadvantage by offering faster speeds and producing cheaper equipment.
Unlike previous generations of mobile technology, 4G mobile will be widely used for internet access on computers as well as carrying cell phone communications. Customers in areas which have strong 4G coverage will be able to use it for a home broadband connection which doesn't require any cabling to their household. It can also be used for accessing the internet on the move without having to be in a wireless hotspot such as those offered by some coffee shops, airports and libraries
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