Calcutta Notebook

by B J

Frontier| Vol. 50, No.19, Nov 12 – 18, 2017

President Donald Trump is tightening the issuance of H1B Visas that have been used by large numbers of Indian engineers to work in the United States. A H1B Visa is issued by the US Government at the request of an American Company which says it cannot find the required skilled personnel within the United States, hence needs to employ foreign workers. Many American companies are doing business of H1B Visas. They apply for H1B Visas, bring in Indian engineers into the US, and then lend the services of these engineers to other companies. Trump wants to put an end to this practice. He has proposed that the Principal Employer requesting a H1B Visa will have to disclose the name of the ultimate user of the services of the person brought into the US. This will restrict the ability of these companies to lend the services to any company that gives a high price for the services of the engineer.

Calcutta Notebook

by B J

Frontier | Vol. 50, No.18, Nov 5 – 11, 2017

The recently enacted Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, RERA for short, has brought in certain regulations that appear troublesome at the present but will lead to the expansion of the housing sector in the long run. It has been made mandatory that houses will be sold on the basis of carpet area. Builders often “load” the carpet area with non-existent common area. One builder of Ghaziabad has charged the flat owners for about 600 square feet of common area while the actual common area provided was only about 200 square feet. It will not be possible for the builders to engage in such malpractices any more. RERA also provides a dispute resolution mechanism. At present the buyers are virtually at the mercy of the builders because the only course of redressal is through the Consumer Protection Act which is tedious, expensive and time consuming. A Resident’s Welfare Association in Ghaziabad filed a case in the National Consumer Redressal Forum. The case is still lingering on after 5 years. Another Association filed a case in the same Forum. The Builder did not receive notice on the pretext of incorrect address and the case has not started even after 55 months. RERA provides for the establishment of a Regulatory Authority which will resolve such issues speedily. An aggrieved buyer will be able to make a complaint to the Authority and hopefully get relief without having to go through the courts. RERA provides that resolution will take place within 2 months though it is to be seen how much this works in practice. These measures will bring in transparency and lead to the development of the housing market in the country. Buyers will be assured that they will not be shortchanged and will come forth to buy property in larger numbers.

Calcutta Notebook

by B J

The NDA Government promised in the budget last year to double the incomes of the farmers by 2020. There was no improvement in the incomes of the farmers, however. Now, it has again promised to do the same by 2022 in the budget for 2017-18. This promise will meet the same fate as the previous one because the Government refuses to even recognize, let alone solve the basic problem of the farmers. The intention of the Government may be good but the policies are straightforward bad.