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Separated by seven seas, they married over phone |
| It is normal for wedding albums to carry pictures of newlyweds smiling happily at each other. In Falak Naaz’s case, however, the album will have a picture of her anxiously waiting for an international call from Johannesburg. The 22-year-old took her vows with Syed Ahmed, 28, a South African businessman. Only, they were separated by the proverbial ‘seven seas’. In a ceremony where tradition merged with technology, the couple exchanged vows over phone. Many Muslims say telephonic marriages are a part of a growing trend since more and more Muslim youths are taking up overseas jobs. “We had planned an Internet wedding but finally settled for a phone wedding,” says
Naaz. |
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SBT plans to open rep office in Dubai |
| State Bank of Travancore
(SBT), a member of India’s largest banking group, plans to open a representative office in Dubai as part of move to strengthen its Gulf presence and “give an edge to its NRI business.”The bank, which has the largest network of branches and ATMs in
Kerala, has received the go-ahead from Reserve Bank of India to set up the office which will primarily serve as a service and contact point for SBT’s strong client base in the Gulf, which accounts for more than 30 per cent of its total deposits running to $6 billion. Om
Bhatt, Managing Director of SBT, who held discussions with the UAE Central Bank Governor Sultan Nasser Al
Suwaidi, said he was hopeful of setting up the Dubai rep office within a month after obtaining the green signal from the
UAE. He said the Gulf NRI clientele is a very important segment for the bank’s overall business running into $10 billion last year. “The total number of NRI accounts in SBT is more than 7,50,000 and more than $1 billion is remitted to India from the Gulf through our bank.” |
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NRI women mix business with pleasure at home |
NRI women entrepreneurs of the Silicon Valley are closing in on their share of the India growth story. Radha R. Basu, chairman & CEO, SupportSoft, who had relocated to India in the mid-1980s to set up Hewlett-Packard’s operations here, has big plans lined up for India.
Today, our India team provides advanced application support and services to worldwide users of ERP applications. One of the key factors fuelling our high-quality and low-cost services engine is our innovative remote delivery capability leveraging a 24x7 India centre,” she says.
“India is an important market for Rubiconsoft’s Internet-based consumer service and an important resource for our development and operational needs. Our plans are to address the market and leverage the resources afforded to us in the IT arena in approximately 12 months,” she says. The other high-profile woman entrepreneur of Silicon Valley, Lata Krishnan, has left behind a career
with salary and stock options worth $3.9m. |
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Rate hike may not lure NRI cash |
| Mumbai banks will not see dollars gushing into their vaults from deep-pocketed NRIs, who still have a platter full of options to cherry-pick from in their quest for juicy returns. At the same time, hike in rates on NRI deposits hardly created ripples in the forex market, where the dollar galloped to a two-and-a-half high at 44.7 against the rupee. “High net worth Indians are not interested in deposits offering sub-Libor rates. Banks overseas offer yield enhancement structures and structured notes where an investor can get returns higher than Libor,” said Manoj Rane, head of treasury at IndusInd Bank. The RBI allowed banks to offer NRIs deposit rates matching the London interbank offered rate
(Libor). |
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NRIs can transfer money to India for free under HSBC scheme |
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), one of the largest banking and financial services organisations, has launched a scheme under which Non-Resident Indians worldwide can transfer money free of cost to their accounts in India.
UK customers holding personal banking accounts with HSBC could activate the service by phone or internet and then transfer money in pounds sterling to HSBC accounts in India, the bank’s senior vice-president and NRI Services Head, Manasije Mishra said. “22 million Non-Resident Indians around the world expect global banking expertise and a high level of service. This includes 1.2 million in the UK,” he said. “HSBC currently services NRIs through our 43 branches in India as well as through 11 international NRI centres in the UK, Middle East, Hong Kong and New York,” Mishra added.
The bank already offers a wide range of services to UK’s South Asian community. According to Mishra, HSBC had made a profit of Rs 330 crores in 2004-05 from India alone. |
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Germans in a Trance |
| ITB Berlin is a prime meeting place, a marketplace and a driving force behind the global tourism business. With 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries and regions, ITB represented the full spectrum of global tourism at all levels of the value-added chain, including tour operators, booking systems, travel destinations, airlines, hotels and car rental operators. The composition of ITB exhibitors represented the entire service spectrum of the worldwide tourism industry. This year’s layout of the ITB was maintained and complemented by a number of special themes: travel technology, ITB trends and events with youth travel, eco-tourism and experience adventure, cruise lines, cultural tourism, the ITB Book World, “Training and Education in Tourism” and the ITB Congress, which was presented under a new name: Market Trends and Innovations.
Dhyan Foundation was asked by India’s Tourism Ministry to showcase yog and ayurved to the world at the ITB Berlin held in March
Dhyan Foundation’s well-trained yog and ayurveda experts created a stir the moment they reached and set up their stall at the fair. The first day saw a wide range of people from other stalls inquiring what the people in yellow did. Highly impressed by the non-commercial philosophy of following the true form of Yog, they expressed their desire to have Yogi Ashwini in their presence in their countries. Nepal, Bhutan. Sri Lanka, Germany are but a few who are interested in inviting him. From India there were a number of travel agents who expressed their desire to visit the Dhyan Foundation’s Tapobhumi Ashram in the scenic hills of Himachal Pradesh, and organise workshops.
The following day saw a stream of journalists ranging from Greek magazines to Deutch Wella, a radio station, taking photographs and interviewing the Foundation’s sadhaks. Amazed at the philosophies and the practices, people insisted on learning how to make use of the meditation CD, even though they knew no English and the sadhaks spoke no German. The ayurved stall was a hot favourite with the free samples of ayurvedic health tonics and beauty products being handed in large numbers on popular demand. Hoards of visitors to the fair wanting to make a trip to India decided to make Dhyan Foundation their destination.
With the camphor and the incense sticks, lit under Yogiji’s photograph, people were drawn to the stand like moths to a flame. “The place looked so calm, I just had to enter; the yellow colour stood out, and
drew me to it,” said one of the visitors. The yellow colour of the Foundation could be spotted from a distance enticing people to come and enquire about the glow at the stall. Some people turned up every day to learn the intricacies of yog.
Their brief glimpse into the true meaning of yog left them wanting more. Each one equipped with The Inner World (Dhyan Foundation’s newspaper) and a brochure left after signing up for workshops in their own countries. Such is the power of yog. As Yogiji says, “Yog begins, where logic ends.”
For details contact: +919810044035,
ashwiniyogi@yahoo.co.in, www.theinnerworld.org, www.dhyanfoundation.com |
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