NEWS

The United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) denied a high number of H-1B non-immigrant visas to Indian companies in the third quarter, a study by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) found.

In fact, except for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with a denial rate of 15 percent, all other Indian services companies had the highest average denial rate of 21 percent, The Economic Times reported.

A steep rise in denials has been noted, when comparing the 6 percent denial rate in FY15 to the present 21 percent, Stuart Anderson of the NFAP said, adding that denial rates rose over the years – 21 percent in FY19 and 24 percent in FY18.

The new farm Acts are not in the interests of farmers and they should be repealed, said Dr Vardinderpal Singh, Principal Soil Scientist at Department of Soil Sciences, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), who refused an award from the central government.

The Fertiliser Association of India awarded Singh for his work in the field of plant nutrition. He was supposed to receive the award from Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda at an event in New Delhi on Monday (December 7). But when Singh's name was announced, he came on stage but refused to accept the award, saying that his conscience would not allow it.

"I returned the award to tell that farmers are right and these laws should be repealed... These laws are not in the interest of farmers. Farmers, not only from Punjab but other parts of the country as well are protesting. No one is listening to them. It is being said that terrorists have come. They are not terrorists, they are farmers," Singh told a news agency on Friday (December 11).

Taking cognisance of the sustained high Covid fatality rate in Punjab, the state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered the extension of night curfew and curbs on the gathering of people till January 1, 2021, with directives to the state police to ensure strict compliance, especially at wedding halls.

Amid complaints of mass violation of Covid norms, Amarinder Singh asked DGP Dinkar Gupta to strictly enforce the restrictions.

Now, a maximum of 100 people will be allowed at indoor gatherings and 250 outdoors -- at wedding halls and other places. Penalties will be imposed on the hosts in case of deviance, the order said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention on December 12, at 11.00 AM via video conferencing, said the PMO office in a statement. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the virtual FICCI Annual Expo 2020 tomorrow (December 12), it said.  

FICCI's Annual Convention is being held virtually on 11, 12 & 14 December.  The theme of this year's Annual Convention is Inspired India. The event will see participation of several ministers, bureaucrats, captains of Industry, diplomats, International experts, and other leading luminaries. The convention will witness various stakeholders deliberating on implications of Covid-19 on the economy, reforms being undertaken by the government and the way forward for the Indian economy.  

FICCI Annual Expo 2020 will start from December 11 and will continue for a period of one year. The virtual expo will provide an opportunity to exhibitors from across the globe to showcase their products and advance their business prospects.