VISA Financial News

Bank of India has circulated a list of bad loans with a total outstanding of Rs 15,000 crore to be considered for sale during the current financial year to asset reconstruction companies and other entities. The lender looks to enhance profitability from its legacy non-performing asset (NPA) accounts. The debt on sale has increased multifold compared with the previous year when the lender had showcased Rs 3,000 crore, a bank source said.

France on Tuesday said its goal to welcome 30,000 students from India by 2030 is aimed at fostering academic excellence, boosting cultural links and enhancing long-lasting friendship between the two nations. Under the new programme, France plans to offer a five-year Schengen circulation visa for Indian alumni.

Penny stocks are often treated like 'kachra' stocks by matured investors who happily ignore all get-rich-quick schemes. However, one can't help but take notice when foreign institutional investors or FIIs are also investing in such penny stocks. An analysis of institutional ownership in penny stocks, as defined by those with market capitalisation below Rs 1,000 crore and share price below Rs 25, shows that FIIs hold over 10% stake in a dozen such counters.

Student visa fraud: The Canadian Border Service Agency have currently narrowed down their suspect list of fraud cases where students entered the country taking unfair advantage of the system to 300, sharply bringing it down from 2,000 cases as were reported earlier. On 23 June, Reuters had reported that Canadian authorities had taken into custody, one Brijesg Mishra, an immigration agent from Jalandhar. On 24 July, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has laid charges against Brijesh Mishra for his involvement in defrauding 700 Indian students.

Ireland granted 6,868 employment permits to Indian in the first seven months of 2023, figures provided by the Irish government showed. The permit was distributed in fields like health and social work activities, information and communication activities, accommodation and food services activity, financial and insurance activities, agriculture, forestry, and fishing. So far, Ireland has granted a total of 18,367 employment permits in the first seven months of this year, figures provided by the country’s government showed while 967 were refused and 403 were withdrawn. In addition, previously, the government of Ireland announced that it made some changes to the terms and conditions of the Atypical Working Scheme, which is a short-term contract dedicated to all non-EEA countries’ nationals who want to work in Ireland for short term. This scheme provides individuals to work legally for short-term. The new changes that were introduced by the Department of Justice, from January 1 this year included the salary threshold for this program was amended from the National Minimum Wage in order to align with the salary requirement for General Employment Permit. This decision meant that all employers attempting opting for this visa scheme to get workers will have to ensure that the minimum salary surpasses €30,000. Another major changes included the reduction in wait time. Now, the permission under the Atypical Working Scheme is issued for 90 days.

Saudi Arabia announced that citizens of eight more countries will now be eligible for a visitor e-visa, state media reported. The e-visa will be available to visitors from Albania, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, for leisure, business, and religious (Umrah only) travel, bringing the total number of eligible countries to 57, Xinhua news agency quoted the state media report as saying. The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries, and permits a stay of up to 90 days. After launching the e-visa program in 2019, Saudi Arabia welcomed 93.5 million visits in 2022, a 93-per cent increase from 2021, registering a tourism expenditure of 185 billion Saudi Riyals ($49 billion). In 2022, Saudi Arabia decided to provide a visitor e-visa for holders of valid Schengen, British and US visas that have been used to enter these countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia and for permanent residents of the European Union, Gulf Arab countries, Britain and the US.

A Delhi court allowed Bollywood diva Jacqueline Fernandez, who has been named in the Rs 200 crore money-laundering and extortion case with conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar — to travel to San Francisco, USA, for work. The actress is set to perform for the company Show Blast LLC from August 7 to August 23. The 37-year-old's application sought permission to travel to the USA to engage in professional services for the promotion of the company's client from August 10 to August 20 this year.

It is well-known that Canada is struggling to advance dual commitments to realize an overdue open banking system and modernize the payments system (often referred to as “PayMod” as an industry shorthand). Proponents of these innovations frequently remind regulators of the benefits these advancements promise to both citizens and innovative firms. Canadians need and deserve choice, along with robust digital architecture that facilitates the services for their various banking needs.

State Bank of India intends to sell over Rs 96000 crore distressed loans to asset reconstruction companies in a fresh attempt to clean its books. The country’s largest bank circulated a list of 331 accounts comprising Rs 96278 crore loans to Future group, Anil Ambani promoted companies, Videocon group, and Jaypee group, among others, shows a copy of note circulated by the bank and reviewed by ET. In July, SBI circulated the list among ARCs seeking preliminary interest, said people involved in acquiring stressed loans.

JALANDHAR: The intelligence and enforcement branch of Canadian Border Service Agency has revealed that based on tips from public, they had initially identified over 2,000 cases where fraudulent documents might have been used to obtain a student visa and now, they have narrowed down such suspected cases of concern to 300. Responding to a June 8 letter sent by some students, who are victims of fraud, to Canadian public safety minister Marco E L Mendicino, asking about their immigration status in Canada, branch vice-president Aaron McCrorie has revealed these figures in his reply. «In 2018, CBSA was investigating organised crime

Indian students comprise over 21 per cent of the total population of international students in the United States. During the 2021-2022 academic year, nearly 200,000 Indian students were studying in the United States.

F1 visa is opening up at various consulates in India, giving hope to students who want to pursue their Masters in United States. Some of these students have faced rejections in the past and hope that they will be able to finally get their hands on the visa. «I have deferred my admission twice since last year as my visa got rejected a couple of times. In my desperation, I even went to Vietnam for a visa interview, but even there my visa was rejected,» said Rakesh P, who is now set to travel to New York on August 14 to TOI. He attended a visa interview in New Delhi recently and has been approved to study in the US, on his third attempt. Another candidate, Vijay M, said: «I have been appearing for interviews since June last year. I deferred my admission five times. Finally, my visa has been approved now and I will be travelling next week.» Vijay too appeared for his last interview from Chennai. US student visas grew by the largest annual margin seen in over a decade, in line to becoming the highest single-year total of F-1 visas since 2016.

Switzerland rejected 13.2 per cent of all visa applications filed by Indian nationals in 2022, Schengen Statics showed. The same data also showed that 106,025 applications filed by Indians received a positive response. Indians are listed as the 30th nationality in the list of those with rejection rates. Nationalities whose visa applications were rejected the most include Pakistani, Ghanaian, and Congolese nationals. The rejection rates of Pakistani nationals were the highest – 55.1 per cent, showing that more than half of applications for visas got rejected. Ghanaians and Congolese had a rejection rate of 46.5 and 41.5 per cent respectively, while the other nationalities in top 5 included Algerians and Argentinians with 39.9 and 35 per cent rejection rates, respectively. Recently, in an article SchengenVisaInfo.com said that the Swiss embassy in New Delhi has declared its temporary suspension of Schengen visa applications for Indian tour groups until October. Clarifying the same, Swiss embassy in Delhi issued a statement saying that it has not suspended Schengen visa appointments for Indian tour groups and has almost 800 daily appointments through the end of September 2023. The mission asserted that people-to-people contact is at the core of Swiss-Indian relationship.

Narendra Modi announced that Indian students pursuing their master's studies in that country will be granted a five-year post-study visa. This betters the two-year post-study work visa arrangement put in place after Modi visited France in 2022. According to India Report Card 2022 of Duolingo, the certification-based language-learning programme, French has the highest number of learners in India after English and Hindi.

China will allow some foreigners to obtain visas on arrival and rural residents to settle more easily in cities as part of a series of measures aimed at boosting its flagging economy. The relaxations aim to «promote the free movement» of «people, vehicles, information and data», an official from the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday. China's post-Covid recovery has run out of steam in recent months, dragged down by sluggish consumption and a real estate sector in crisis. GDP growth increased by just 0.8% from the first to second quarter of the year, and youth unemployment has reached record highs at over 20%. In response, the ministry announced 26 new measures on Thursday, including a new visa policy for foreign businesspeople.

Indian market. The statement said, “Qualcomm Incorporated today announced the appointment of Savi Soin as senior vice president and president of Qualcomm India," reported PTI. Savi Soin, who has been with Qualcomm for more than two decades, previously served as the head of strategy and business development at Qualcomm Technologies' semiconductor division.

Seema Haider to contest the election on the symbol of the Republican Party of India. The officials of the RPI said they are waiting for Seema Haider to get a clean chit in the investigation by the security agencies. This week reprts also emerged that Seema Haider is likely to get featured in the movie.

₹10 trillion capex announced in the budget. ₹2,000 crore:That’s the amount of late submission fee the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped on ONGC Videsh Ltd, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd, and Oil India Ltd for delayed reporting of their overseas investments, Mintreported.

Indian tourists, but also tourists from China. tour operators in India had also been disappointed by the news considering Schengen Visa and Switzerland tour form their most profitable ventures.

Sachin Meena, has reportedly been offered the role of a RAW agent in a movie. As per reports, Haider auditioned for a role in a movie called 'A Tailor Murder Story' that revolves around the murder of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal by Islamic radicals and is being produced by Jani Firefox Production House. Ironically, Seema was believed to be an ISI agent.

NRI account proves helpful. By opening a savings account meant for NRIs they can transact conveniently in India while living abroad. Let’s understand the finer details and benefits of an NRI Savings Account.