139 complaints or cases of fraud NRI marriages received from US, 22 from Canada in in 3 years: Indian Minister

New Delhi: The US tops the list of eight countries from where complaints or cases of fraudulent Non-Resident Indian (NRI) marriages have been received, with 25 complaints received so far this year, the Indian Parliament was told Wednesday.

Minister of State in the ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs and External Affairs General V.K. Singh (retd) said in the Lok Sabha that the Indian missions provide assistance to the complainant in the form of financial help for legal procedures, counselling and taking necessary action as per the need and requirement of the case.

In the list circulated by the minister, covering three years from 2011-12 onward to the present, the largest number of complaints or cases of fraudulent NRI marriages have come from the US.

In 2011-12 it was 26, followed by 49 complaints in 2012-13, 39 in 2013-14, and 25 in the current year, with the total working out to 139 complaints.

Canada followed with a total of 22 complaints or cases over the three years, with the highest of 11 complaints filed this year so far.
Britain has 13 complaints or cases filed over the three year period, with the highest of eight complaints filed this year so far, the list shows.

The other countries from where complaints or cases have been reported are New Zealand, Germany, the Philippines, Australia and Singapore.

NRI marriages during each of last three years and the current year, which are as follows:

S.No.	Name of Country	No of Complaints/Cases
		2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	Current year	Total
1.	New Zealand	2	0	5	0	7
2.	Germany	0	0	1	0	1
3.	Philippines	0	0	0	1	1
4.	United States of America(USA)	26	49	39	25	139
5.	Canada	3	4	4	11	22
6.	Australia	0	0	0	1	1
7.	United Kingdom(UK )	0	3	2	8	13
8.	Singapore	2	1	1	0	4
	Total	33	57	52	46	188

Singh said the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) implements the scheme for giving legal/financial assistance to Indian women deserted by their overseas Indian/foreigner husbands through the empanelled NGOs and legal organisations.
Such assistance under the MOIA’s Scheme is provided through Missions/Posts in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Gulf countries.

The amount of assistance provided per case under the scheme to deserted Indian women is up to $3,000 in developed countries and $2,000 in developing countries, an official statement said.

Ease norms for MBBS seats, demand NRIs

Edmonton - After denied admission in the MBBS course in Punjab, many NRI students have approached the Medical Education and Research Department, seeking abolition of new rules under the All-India Pre-Medical Entrance Test (AIPMET) on July 6.
Earlier, all NRI quota seats in medical colleges of Punjab were filled on the basis of marks obtained by the candidates in exams equivalent to Class XII of the PSEB or CBSE. Under the new rules, it is mandatory for every candidate to appear in the AIPMET and get a minimum 50 per cent marks to be eligible for MBBS and BDS courses.
The seven state medical colleges have 72 NRI quota seats, but the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) could find only two eligible candidates.
A number of other applications were rejected as the candidates had scored less than 50 per cent marks in AIPMET. Several others did not even appear in the AIPMET.
In their representation to Minister, Medical Education and Research Department, Punjab, the NRI students said they had passed their qualifying examination (equivalent to Class XII) from the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other countries. They maintained that they had different curriculum than the one taught in India, so they had no exposure to the Indian examination system.
Dyal Sharma, father of Akanksha Sharma, an NRI student, said: "Since the academic period in India and in several foreign countries is different, it is not practical for NRI students to travel to India and appear in the AIPMET."

NRI Sabha, Canada urged Punjab Govt. that these conditions must be relaxed else all NRI seats will remain vacant in the state, the students said in their representation.

7 IAS, four PCS officers shifted

Chandigarh, August 23
The Punjab Government today transferred seven IAS and four PCS officers.

Ajoy Sharma has been posted Special Principal Secretary to the CM while Vipul Ujwal has been made the Commissioner, MC, Moga.

Shena Aggarwal would be SDM, Raikot; Sangam Aggarwal SDM, Khanna; Vineet Kumar SDM, Dera Baba Nanak; Keshav Hingoma SDM, Phagwara, and Surabhi Malik SDM, Nangal.

Among the PCS officers, Jagwinderjit Singh Grewal has been posted DTO, Gurdaspur, in addition to SDM, Batala. Rahul Chaba has been made ADC (General), Muktsar; Rakesh Kumar Popli, Estate officer, Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority, Ludhiana and Rajat Oberoi SDM, Mukerian.

Road repair plan

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked Major General MS Pillai (Retd), adviser (Roads) to the state government, to prepare a master-plan for periodic maintenance of the total roads measuring 60,676 km in Punjab. Badal took this decision at a meeting with the Chief Engineers of the Public Works Department, NHAI, Punjab Mandi Board and BRO. 

Supreme Courtrefuses stay on UPSC exam

New Delhi, August 23
The Supreme Court today refused to postpone the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Preliminary Examination scheduled for August 24, saying the objections raised by students on comprehension part have been addressed.

In a special hearing, a Bench of Justices JS Khehar and Arun Mishra, dismissed a plea seeking a stay on the examination saying it couldn’t be given at the last hour when nine lakh students were ready to appear. The Bench did not agree with the petitioner’s contention that the examination procedure favoured students of science background. “You have raised only one point i.e. on comprehension, and it has been removed. Defect has been remedied,” the Bench said.

“We find no merit in this petition,” it said.

2 Jalandhar boys feared drowned in Italy

Jalandhar, August 23
Two Punjabi boys, Ravinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh from village Sanora in Jalandhar, are reported to have died after the boat they were in capsized while on its way from Libya to Italy.

The duo was among the 150 passengers aboard the boat. Though the incident occurred on the night of August 14/15, the victims’ families came to know about it yesterday. The relatives of a fellow passenger informed them.

Karnail Singh, Gurpreet’s father, said, “We received a call from Dalbir Kaur of Moga, who said her husband Cheter Singh too was on the boat along with the boys.”

Though Cheter was rescued by the by the Italian army, the fate of the boys was still not known.

Jagdish Singh, Ravi’s father, said he had received a call from his son a day before the incident that he was leaving for Italy, and that he would not be able to call up home for the next 12 days.

“He was very upset for the last four months as he had not been able to earn money due to tension in Libya. A day before the incident, he informed us that he along with many other Punjabi boys was boarding a ship for Italy. I haven’t heard from him ever since,” said Jagdish.

The families also informed that though their travel agent had promised them a visa for Dubai, he could only send them to strife-torn Libya after charging them Rs 1.5 lakh each.