- H-1B Visa: It is a non-immigrant visathat allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise for a specified period. Occupations that qualify for the H-1B visa are typically in fields such as technology, finance, engineering, architecture, or more.
Eligibility: A valid job offer from a U.S. employer for a role that requires speciality knowledge
Proof of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in that field.
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- The US employer must show that there is a lack of qualified U.S. applicants for the role.
- The annual H-1B visa limit is 85,000. There are 65,000 regular H-1B visas each year, and an additional 20,000 visas are reserved for applicants with advanced degrees.
- Some exceptions to the H-1B visa cap include people entering the U.S. to work in higher education or affiliated research/non-profit organisations.
- Applicants are selected for adjudication via a lottery system.
Features: The H-1B visa is valid for three yearsand can be extended one time for an additional three years. In general, the H-1B is valid for a maximum of six years.
- There is no limit to the number of H1-B Visas that an individual can have in his or her lifetime.
- H1-B holders can seek a Green Card or Lawful Permanent Residency for themselves and their families.
- If the H1-B holder is changing jobs, he or she must reapply for a new visa.
- Corruption Perception Index (CPI): It is an annual index released by Transparency International, a global civil society organisation. Since its inception in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption.
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).It uses data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the views of experts and business people, not the public.
Highlights of CPI 2023:
- CPI-2023 results show that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption.
- CPI global average score remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row.
- Denmark topped the index for the sixth consecutive year.
- Somalia was ranked last, other countries occupying the bottom spots included: Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan and Yemen.
- India, Maldives, Kazakhstan, and Lesotho to ranked 93.In 2022, India was ranked at 85.
- Pakistan: rank of 133 and China:76.
- Bharat 5G Portal: The Ministry of Communications (MoC), launched the “Bharat 5G Portal- an integrated portal” on the sidelines of ‘Bharat Telecom 2024.It is a comprehensive platform serving the interests of startups, industry and academia in quantum, 6G, IPR and 5G domains. It also features the Future Tech-Experts registration portal in collaboration with PANIIT USA, aimed to help and advise the Indian Telecom ecosystem to advance the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. It acts as a one-stop solution for all quantum, IPR, PoCs/Pilot, 5G and 6G-related works capturing academic R&D developments, industry standards, OEMs, startups/MSMEs.
