Excellent inflow of NRI funds

Consistent improvement in operating profits, treasury operations and other income have significantly contributed to South Indian Bank achieving a net profit of Rs 93.38 crore in the second quarter, a 22 per cent growth over the corresponding period last year. Emphasising that the bank has maintained its asset quality in a challenging environment, VG Mathew, Managing Director and CEO, of the bank said the focus on various retail sectors for asset growth has started yielding results.
Read the interview here

Saudi woman honoured for promoting Yoga

A prominent Saudi Arabian woman who has been working to introduce Yoga in the Gulf countries, has been honoured by the Indian consulate in Saudi Arabia.
Full report here

Sanjeev Gupta re-starts mothballed UK steel plant

An Indian-origin tycoon has made British steel history by resuming production at his 40-year-old mothballed plant here even as the UK steel industry is facing severe hardships due to a global slump.

Sanjeev Gupta, managing director of international steel and metals group Liberty House, hailed the resumption of production at the Liberty Steel Newport rolling mill on the banks of the river Usk in Newport as the start of a new era.

UK-based Gupta founded Liberty as a metals trading company from his student flat at Cambridge University in 1992.

The firm acquired the Newport facility in 2013 and retained the 150 staff over the intervening period in order to be ready to restart when market conditions allowed.

Read full Economic Times report

Square Yards opens office in Qatar

Square Yards, a real estate startup focussed on the NRI segment, has opened its office in Doha, Qatar. This is the startup's third office in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC region) after Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The Gurgaon-based company sees massive potential in Qatar which it claims has over 500,000 Indians with nearly 30% qualifying in the Middle/ Upper-Middle Income category. Through the new office, Square Yards aims at serving the NRI clientele better who want to invest in India but lack sufficient knowledge.
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Britain plans tougher English tests

Bad news for all those who want to go to Britain for studies ....


Britain is considering tougher new English tests for foreign students, a move set to negatively impact the already dwindling number of overseas students, including from India, applying to study in the country.
Read the full economic times report here

Air Kerala possible

There is still hope if some laws are changed...
 
Air Kerala - a dream project of the Kerala government to own an airline in the PPP mode - would be a success in case the Centre relaxes certain civil aviation rules, a Kerala businessman said.
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H-1B visa get cheaper

Good news for Indian IT companies

In a big relief for Indian IT cos US Congress lets ‘discriminatory’ outsourcing H-1B fee to lapse. The “discriminatory” USD 2,000 H-1B fee, which was mostly imposed on Indian IT companies has now lapsed in a Republican-majority US Congress.

Read full report by andhrawishesh here

Tips for NRI buyers for buying house in India

Moneycontrol has published a detailed checklist for NRIs buying home in India this will be useful for many....


There are plenty queries and ambiguity around a purchase, executing Power of attorney (POA), home loan and tax matters related to an investment in property in India for non-resident Indians (NRI). A few basic questions and answers here to guide a homebuyer, starting from the inception of the idea to buy, till the property gets sold and money transferred back abroad. 
 Read the full story here