News - Issue -5 August 1, 2007

• Kerala Government decided to reduce stamp duty on flats. Flats assessed to be below a cost price of Rs 5 lakh would be totally exempted from tax. For those assessed to be above this threshold limit, the rates have been reduced to 10 per cent, nine per cent and 6.5 per cent in corporation, municipal and panchayat areas, in that order.
  
• Almost five million Indians working in the Arabian Gulf region have been affected by the appreciation of the rupee against the US dollar as well as rapidly rising inflation.
  
• The government's much touted Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) certificate scheme has seen a lukewarm response with just 140,000 people of Indian origin opting for it since the scheme's launch in '05. The reason cited is lack of publicity.
  
• Following the growing number of complaints of harassment and ill-treatment of workers at their workplaces in Gulf countries, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has announced the setting up of a dedicated helpline.
  
• The efforts of Rights To Information (RTI) activists in the US and India since November 2006 have been rewarded with the Indian Embassy in Washington DC being brought under the purview of the RTI Act, 2005.
  
• Self-funded engineering colleges falling under the government category in Kerala will reserve 15% of their seats for NRI students.
  
• SBI US operations now offers most competitive remittance products, details are available on website http://www.statebank.com/remittance.htm.