Punjabi is set to become the fourth most widely-spoken language in Canada by 2011, after English, French and Chinese, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada Minister Jason Kenney said on Friday.  

The 2006 census by the Canadian government revealed that Punjabi is currently the sixth most-widely spoken language in Canada, after English, French, Chinese, German and Italian. However, Punjabi is set to overtake German and Italian over the next four years.  

Kenney made the announcement on Friday, after opening the Spinning Wheel Film Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum. The festival screened films from around the world and showcased films made by Sikhs or about Sikhs. 

The Minister also praised the Sikh community in Canada, saying that despite initial struggles, Sikhs in Canada have contributed to and made a place for themselves in Canadian society.

More than four decades ago, Venkatraman, then a Baroda resident, got the national talent award after finishing his high school. Venkatraman, known as Venky to his friends and colleagues, also got admission at the Baroda Medical College.  

His parents, father  C V Ramakrishnan and mother Rajalakshmi, themselves scientists, wanted their son to take up medicine, not science. 

“You know what, this kid refused to study medicine. When I had gone out of Baroda for some work, my son quietly went to Baroda University, instead of the medical college, to enroll himself in undergraduate studies in physics,” senior Ramakrishnan, who now lives in Seattle, recalled as he spoke with rediff.com.  

The parents, however, did not push him to become a doctor, though the senior believes Venky would have obliged if they did. 

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Here’s something else you should know: Four of those winners were born outside the U.S. 

That dynamic neatly summarizes the current state of our innovation economy. We are increasingly dependent on brainpower from overseas that migrates here to drive the research and discoveries we need to power economic growth. 

Silicon Valley has been a bigger beneficiary of this influx of brains and talent than perhaps any other region in the U.S. And that means we have more to lose when the debate about immigration turns to demagoguery. 

However you feel about the H-1B visas that our tech companies hunger for, or the swarms of bodies crossing our borders to pick our crops, these hot-button topics obscure the reality: We need these immigrants to renew our economy and to prosper. Our demonization of them is shameful.  

Instead, we should celebrate the presence of people like Elizabeth Blackburn, professor at the University of California-San Francisco. Blackburn was born in Australia and moved to the U.S. in 1975. On Monday, she and two other researchers learned they would receive the Nobel Prize for medicine and split the $1.4 million it brings. 

That money should more than make up for the 5 percent pay cut and furlough Blackburn (and most other University of California employees) received courtesy of the sad, sickly state of California. I wonder how many other Nobel winners took pay cuts just before receiving the award? 

When Blackburn came here in the 1970s, it was clear that the U.S. was the undisputed center of the universe when it came to research. But that advantage is slipping away, as Blackburn noted that she sees exciting work being done in many other regions. Given the growing options for new researchers, erecting barriers to them coming to and staying in the U.S. seems ill-advised. 

“I’m a big proponent that the flow of intellectual ideas is crucial,” Blackburn said. “To have borders for it seems counterproductive.” 

Such walls hurt our country and our economy far in excess of whatever benefits they produce. We need to recognize the enormous contributions immigrants are making to the innovation economy. 

According to statistics from the National Science Foundation released in February, foreign-born science and engineering students in 2003 earned one-third of all Ph.D.s awarded in the U.S. And the study noted that “those who do decide to finish advanced study in the United States overwhelmingly choose to stay in the country after earning their advanced degrees.” 

Thank goodness. In addition to Blackburn, the other foreign-born Nobel winners over the past two days included:  

Charles Kao, who was born in Shanghai, and has both U.K. and U.S. citizenship. 

William Boyle, of Bell Laboratories, was born in Nova Scotia and holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.

Jack Szostak, of Harvard Medical School, was born in London, grew up in Canada and is now a U.S. citizen. 

We should be particularly proud that these people did not go to Russia or Germany, but came here. Our nation remains as dependent today as on the day of its founding on the ideas and imagination brought by fresh waves of newcomers arriving on our shores. 

How strange that a nation founded by immigrants so easily forgets their value. 

Source: www.mercurynews.com

Contact Chris O’Brien at 415-298-0207 or cobrien@mercurynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/sjcobrien and read his blog posts at www.siliconbeat.com.

It wasn’t the U.S. economy that convinced Tao Guo to leave the USA. It was the Chinese economy.

After 24 years in the United States, the 46-year-old naturalized citizen moved to Shanghai in December to take a high-level position at WuXi AppTec, which does research for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

He’s among a growing number of highly skilled immigrants who are leaving the USA to take jobs in their native countries, particularly India and China. The International Monetary Fund projects that China’s gross domestic product will grow by 7.5% this year and India’s by 5.4%. In the USA, the GDP is projected to contract by 2.6%.

“They see much more promise in the economic future of those countries,” says Charles Hsu of Bay City Capital in San Francisco. “There’s also a chance for them to move ahead much more rapidly in their careers.”

At WuXi, 80% to 90% of senior managers returned to China from other countries, mostly the USA, says Rich Soll, vice president of medicinal chemistry.

“I have much bigger responsibility than I used to have,” says Guo, the company’s executive director of chemistry. Previously, he was director of chemistry for a pharmaceutical firm in New Jersey.

His wife and teenage children remain in the USA. He visits but plans to keep working in China. “It’s more challenging,” he says. “It’s more rewarding.”

Other skilled immigrants don’t want to leave but say immigration-related delays give them no choice.

Nil Dutta, 37, came to the USA in 1999 on a student visa and after getting two master’s degrees at the University of Michigan, he took a job at a European software company with offices here. He now has an H-1B visa for skilled workers.

Dutta, who lives in Hampton Roads, Va., applied for legal permanent residency, also called green-card status, in 2004 and most likely still faces years of waiting. The government is just now processing applications made in his category on or before April 15, 2001.

A maximum of 140,000 green cards are awarded on employment-based visas each year, and that quota is divided into categories for classes of workers and a set percentage for each country.

Applicants from India and China face especially long waits because more of them apply, says Bill Hing, law professor at the University of California-Davis. “Since there are more applicants than visas available each year, there’s a carry-over to the next year,” he says.

Dutta says the wait is wearing on him. Visa rules limit his family’s travel, he says, and his ability to get a promotion.

He’s considering returning to India, where he has two job offers. He says he’s likely to make the move in the spring.

“I had a lot of enthusiasm and was very eager to work for this country. It’s all fizzled out. It seems I’m not wanted,” Dutta says. “In 10 to 15 years, I could be much better off in terms of position as well as money in India.”

The skilled and young Indian workforce was considered hot property around in world, specially in countries with changing demographics and an ageing workforce. But has the advent of the dreaded ‘R’ word, changed all that? A look at the US, where the much sought-after H1B visas are still going a begging, even as the fiscal year 2010 comes to an end, does seem to point in that direction. Compared to the previous two years, when the H1B cap of 65,000 visas were grabbed within almost minutes of the window opening up, this does bring to mind the record high above 9% unemployment rate in the US, with financial services companies - that employed a large number of Indian knowledge workers - among the hardest hit. President Obama’s stimulus package has also incorporated a provision that requires companies that received money from the Troubled Assets Relief Programme, and having more than 15% of their workers on H1B visas, to prove that they are not replacing or depriving a US citizen of a job with a foreign worker. According to figures from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of August 28, 2009, approximately 20,000 H-1B ‘cap-subject’ petitions were still up for grabs. 

But despite the writing on the wall in the US, the message for skilled Indians looking at opportunities overseas may not be really all that bleak. Even though the opportunities in some geographies may have shrunk in the short-term, the outlook in the long haul may not be so bad. In fact, concerns over the impact of global slowdown on jobs of Indians working overseas has catalysed the ministry of overseas Indian affairs into carrying out a study on the global scenario. “What we have found is that while immigrants in some geographies may be facing job losses, there are others where new opportunities are emerging. The other fear that there would be a sharp drop in remittances, too, has been largely unfounded. Remittances grew to a whopping $45 billion in 2008. And in 2009 too there has been no slowdown in remittances,” says Mr G. Gurucharan, joint secretary, MOIA.

The Indian government is, in fact, trying to tap into the propensity of the overseas worker to remit back to India specially in the face of the global banking crisis. “We want India to be perceived as a safe destination with strong fundamentals and a sound banking industry. It will be a challenge to convert the NRIs from savers to investors and we will soon introduce new products for them to invest in,” Mr Gurucharan added.

Even though Dubai - a major destination for Indian workers - has been hit by the global slowdown, there are other Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, which have actually seen an increase in numbers of Indian workers emigrating there. Overall, the number of Indian workers moving to the Gulf in 2008-09 has gone up to 8.79 lakh from 8 lakh in 2007-08. “Even for skilled categories such as doctors, nurses and IT workers, there has not been any big drop in employment figures in the Gulf region. Besides, there’s no exodus of returnees,” said Mr Gurucharan.  

Even though slowdown has impacted employment in some Western countries, there are others who are addressing long-term domestic labour shortages and looking at tapping skills from countries such as India to fuel economic growth. It’s not always a case of protectionist barriers. The ‘Blue Card’ plan by European Union countries, for instance, is part of a comprehensive migration policy and is targeted at attracting highly-skilled immigrants to take up jobs in EU in sectors suffering from skill shortages. The EU Council has adopted the Blue Card directive in May 2009, which will establish more attractive conditions for third-country workers to take up highly qualified employment in the EU, by creating a fast-track procedure for issuing a special residence and work permit. The Blue Card is intended to facilitate the holder’s access to the EU labour market and thereby to attract and retain highly qualified third-country workers to the EU, with the ultimate goal of creating a competitive knowledge economy. India features very prominently among the list of countries from where the highly skilled talent pool will be drawn.  

The Blue Card will not replace existing national systems, but would provide an additional attractive channel, with a common procedure. Meanwhile, some European countries have already gone an extra mile to revamp their immigration policies. In a major change in earlier policy, the government of Sweden has unveiled a new labour immigration system which makes it much simpler for Indians and other non-EU workers to move to Sweden for employment. Sweden’s new immigration policy is, in fact, targeted in a big way at attracting young immigrants from India.  

The Danish Embassy in New Delhi has set up a Work-in-Denmark Centre to promote job opportunities in Denmark among Indians, as well as to assist Danish employers seeking to explore the potential of the Indian labour market.

The government of France, too, has launched the skills and talents permit, which allows skilled professionals from overseas to participate in the economic development of the country. This special category of work permit was launched despite the economic slowdown to help France remain connected to the global job market. The skills and talents permit is valid for three years at a time and is renewable. It is issued directly by the local French embassies and consulates and will enable the holder to engage in a salaried position or business activity in France. Spouses of the permit-holders will also be eligible to work in France. The fact that the permit is flexible is very good news for skilled Indian professionals considering that various western countries are imposing protectionist barriers to protect their own domestic workforce in the face of job losses.

And on its part, the Indian government is putting in place bilateral social security agreements on a reciprocal basis with various governments to protect the interests of Indian professionals who are posted in various countries by their employers. The SSAs protect the interests of the Indian workers by exempting them from social security contributions under the host country legislation for a certain period of time (provided that the worker continues to pay the contribution under the home country system during the period of detachment) and by providing for portability of pension in the case of those who have to contribute under the host country legislation. To prevent loss of contribution on account of the minimum contribution period, the SSAs provide for totalization of contribution periods covered under the two legislations. These agreements make the companies of both the countries more competitive since exemption from social security contribution in respect of their employees substantially reduces costs. The government is also in talks for labour mobility partnerships with Denmark and France and has opened a dialogue with the EU as a whole for an India-EU mobility partnership. SSAs have already been signed with Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland; while talks have been concluded with The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Denmark, Canada , Australia, Norway and Luxembourg. Negotiations are also on with Sweden. The SSA with the US has been hanging fire for some years now, but in view of the fact that the US is not that attractive a destination for skilled Indians following the slowdown, the concern on that is less.

And it is no surprise that Indian IT companies are looking at the European market to offset the slowdown in the US. Says Mr Vasudeva Nayak, GM, overseas operations cell, Wipro Technologies: “In eastern Europe, we have a fairly good presence. We have a development centre in Romania. But immigration laws are still tough and it is challenging.”

The fact that skilled Indian immigrants are still being sought after around the world, is highlighted even by countries where job losses have hit the domestic economy very hard. The UK, for instance, has unveiled the points-based system for immigration and has made rules tougher for various categories of people seeking to move to the UK. “The UK’s migration policies are not protectionist. They are about responding responsibly and quickly to economic realities. We continue to encourage inward investment in the UK economy and welcome the entry of migrants with the skills needed. Migration makes a substantial contribution, filling gaps in our labour market, including in key public services such as health and education. Migration also increases investment, innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK and helps maintain our leading position in global markets. Skilled migrants from India and elsewhere have supported the UK economy for many years. Their contribution is recognised and they will be part of the UK’s recovery,” says Chris Dix, regional director, South Asia and the Gulf, UK Border Agency (UKBA). ishani.duttagupta@timesgroup.com

Source: Times of India, August 13, 1009

Pranav Mistry is a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT’s Media Lab. Before his studies at MIT, he worked with Microsoft as a UX researcher. Mistry is passionate about integrating the digital informational experience with our real-world interactions.  

Some previous projects from Mistry’s work at MIT includes intelligent sticky notes, Quickies, that can be searched and can send reminders; a pen that draws in 3D; and TaPuMa, a tangible public map that can act as Google of physical world. His research interests also include Gestural and Tangible Interaction, Ubiquitous Computing, AI, Machine Vision, Collective Intelligence and Robotics. 

This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine “Minority Report” and then some.

View this brilliant demo

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

In an attempt to help root out fraud and other criminal activity, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services agency is making surprise visits to companies with H-1B visa holders on the books.

After reports came out that there has been evidence shown of fraudulent use of temporary workers, bad documentation abusing the system and many visa holders not being paid prevailing wages, the Feds are showing up without notice and looking to see that everything is on the up and up. 

From a CIO article on the subject (edited): 

Recently, the USCIS has begun making “surprise visits” to the U.S. work sites of companies that sponsor H-1B and L-1 visa holders, including some large U.S.-based financial services companies, says Elizabeth Espin Stern, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Baker and McKenzie. USCIS assessors come with a checklist of questions designed to confirm the identity of the employer who petitioned for the visa and the visa beneficiary and to verify that both are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the visa… 

The objective of the unannounced on-site visits is clear: to detect fraud and abuses of the visa program. A study conducted last year by the Office of Fraud Detection and National Security estimated that 21 percent of H-1B visa petitions violate H-1B program rules. The offenses range from technical violations to outright fraud. The most common violation was not paying a prevailing wage to the H-1B beneficiary. 

The USCIS overseas the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. One question that some attorneys wonder, however, whether surprise visits, random audits and other fraud detection tactics are in the jurisdiction of this agency? From the same article: 

USCIS investigation tactics often exceed what is necessary and reasonable to obtain H-1B application verification information, according to Stern (Elizabeth Espin Stern, of law firm Baker and McKenzie). Unlike the Department of Labor, which has the statutory authority to investigate an employer’s compliance with visa obligations but rarely conducts audits unless there are complaints, the USCIS has no statutory or regulatory authority to enter the workplace of H-1B and L-1 visa holders. And investigators do not arrive with search warrants or subpoenas, says Stern.  

What’s more, USCIS has hired contract workers, who complete a USCIS training course, to conduct the site visits. But many of the contractors lack expertise about how companies maintain employment records or demonstrate employment terms, adds Stern.

 Evidently, compliance with the program is voluntary, but imagine if an agency of the federal government busted into your workplace without being prepared? It’s not hard to imagine your employer feeling a bit compelled or intimidated to hand over information.

 Source:eweek.com

To make it to the elite list, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technological innovation and play a positive impact on people’s lives.  

Previous Technology Pioneers awardees, which have turned into today’s technology icons, include Google, Infosys, Mozilla Corporation and Nanosolar among others. 

One of the two Indian IT companies in the list, JiGrahak provides “ngpay”, India’s first end-to-end, and mass market mobile commerce service. The Bangalore-based company was founded in 2003 by Sourabh Jain. 

Ngpay is India’s Largest Mall on the Mobile   Shop, Bank, Buy Tickets, Order Food, Pay Bills and more - easily and securely - from your mobile handset.  

The company recently tied up with HDFC Bank to offer mobile banking services to the bank’s customers. The service enables HDFC customers to get account statements, enquire about cheque book requests, get fixed deposit enquiry and transfer fund to any HDFC bank account or non-HDFC bank holder using the ngpay platform.  

Today, ngpay reportedly has 65 clients including with 230,000 users of the platform. The company claims about 40,000 are joining every month. 

Source:IndiaTimes Infotech

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NEW DELHI: Microsoft founder Bill Gates said it would be a “big mistake” if the US imposes curbs on the entry of skilled workers from abroad, putting his weight behind “smart people” from countries like India who want to work overseas.

“I can’t make any predictions. Immigration policy could get more difficult. Microsoft as a company is very vocal. It would be a big mistake,” Gates, here for overseeing the philanthropic activities of his foundation, said in an interaction with India Inc.

“The US Congress is very tough on immigration. But why not make an exception for smart people?” said Gates while addressing an interactive session organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).

Even though Gates now devotes most of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has always been vocal about his support for migrant professionals that is reflected in the number of such workers at the Microsoft offices in the US.

Gates said he was also keen to partner India in its ambitious plan to issue a single identity card and number to its 1.17 billion citizens for which a new authority has been formed under Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

“Microsoft wants to be part of the Unique Identification Authority of India project,” he said, adding that he hoped to meet with Nilekani to discuss the issue.