Under the Indian laws, if the holder of an Indian passport acquires nationality of another country, he should surrender his/her Indian passport forthwith to the nearest Indian Mission/Post. Unauthorised possession of Indian passport constitutes an offence punishable under the Indian Passports Act, 1967.

2.         The Consulate General has come across several cases where persons of Indian origin who have acquired British citizenship continue to hold their Indian passports. The Indian laws are very clear on this.  Article 9 of the Constitution of India states that a person shall cease to be a citizen of India, if he voluntarily acquires the citizenship of any foreign State.  A foreign national is thus not entitled to hold an Indian passport.  In the light of this position, all persons of Indian origin, who have acquired foreign nationality, are advised to surrender their Indian passports forthwith to the nearest Indian Mission/Post for cancellation, in case they have not done so, so far.

3.         There is also a misconception among the public that now that the Government of India have introduced the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), foreign nationals of Indian origin can continue to hold an Indian passport. The factual position is that holding of an Indian passport by a foreign national continues to be an offence punishable under the Indian Passports Act, 1967.  OCI holders would be granted a “U” sticker visa which will be a multi-purpose, multi-entry, life-long visa pasted on their foreign passports.  Indian passport would not be issued to an OCI holder.

COMPLAINTS FROM OUR NEIGHBOURS AT JEWELLERY QUARTERS

Complaints have been received from neighbours in Jewellery Quarters, Birmingham that the service-seekers to the Consulate General are misusing their premises while they wait for the Consulate General of India to open in the morning. For the information of the visitors, there is a public convenience facility at Vise Street, about 300 yards away from the Consulate building. The local authorities have also emphasised the need to keep the area neat and tidy.

INDIAN WOMEN IN DISTRESS

Consulate General of India, Birmingham is in the process of identifying NGOs/Women's organisations and other organisations which may be involved in working with Indian women in the United Kingdom. The focus is presently on women who are Indian nationals. The objective of this exercise is to examine the magnitude of the problem and to see that the process of giving support to such women is streamlined and made more effective. Institutions/organisations in the Midlands and other areas under the jurisdiction of this Consulate, working in this domain are invited to send details of their activities and contact particulars to Mr. S.V. Balaji, Consul (P&I) at the Consulate at the earliest either by fax: 0121-212-2786 or by e-mail: cons_cgibir@fsmail.net.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

The Government of India has promulgated Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005 which came into force with effect from October 12, 2005.  All Indian citizens abroad have come under the ambit of the RTI Act subsequently.  

Those wishing to apply for any information/documents under the RTI Act may please contact the following official who has been designated as the Public Information Officer (PIO) of this Consulate General for necessary action:

 Public Information Officer
         Mr. V.V. Narayanan,
          Consul (V & C)
          Tel       : 00-44-121-212-2791
          Fax     : 00-44-121-212-2786
          E-mail : hoc.birmingham@mea.gov.in

1. The details of organization containing information regarding finance & administrative strength, organisational structure and source of funding with appropriate documentation. Audited accounts to be furnished at least for the last five years.

2. Attested copies of registration certificate of Trust or Society.

3. Details of experience of the Trust/Society in managing such institutions for at least the last five years.

4. Detail of Management Competence for this project.

5. Briefly state concept of the proposed project and details regarding finance, faculty, administration and construction schedule etc.

The expression of interest shall be sent within 45 days from the date of publication of this advertisement. Short-listed Trusts/Societies will be invited to make a presentation on their proposal to a Screening Committee and thereafter will be required to submit the detailed project report for setting up the proposed University for further evaluation. 

Interested parties shall submit the EOI to the Ministry Of Overseas Indian   Affairs. Broad guidelines for the PIO/NRI University are available in the Ministry’s website: www.moia.gov.in.

The envelope must be superscribed “Shortlisting Trust/Society for PIO/NRI University in India”. The Expression of Interest document shall be addressed in a sealed cover to:

Joint Secretary (DS)
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
Room No. 906, 9th Floor, Akbar Bhavan, Chanakyapuri
NewDeihi-110021.   Phone: 26874240 Fax 24197942
E-mail: jsds@moia.nic.in