One of the major recipients of H1B visas in India, Infosys is going overseas at an aggressive pace to strengthen its global workforce with trained American workers. After having announced to create over 1000 jobs at its upcoming $21-million technology and innovation hub in Hartford, CT in March this year, Infosys plans to open an education center in Indianapolis for American workers and create nearly 3000 new jobs by the end of 2023.

It seems the beginning of a downward or reverse trend for the few Indian IT companies including Infosys, which have been sending their Indian professionals to the United States on H1B visa for years. Owing to the Trump government’s stiff anti-immigration stance, the number of H1B visa approvals for the top 7 Indian IT conglomerates dropped by 43% between 2015 and 2017. In FY 2015, 14792 H1B visas were granted to Indian IT giants including Infosys, TCS and Wipro. The figure was cut by almost an half in FY 2017.

To be integrated into Infosys’ new technology and innovation hub in Indianapolis, the proposed education center is supposed to transform a 70.5-acre site at the old Indianapolis airport terminal. Infosys will initially invest $35 million to develop 125,000 sq. ft. of the facility at the first phase, where the IT giant’s American workers will be equipped with requisite skills for the coming decades of digital technology.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the initial phase of the proposed Infosys education center in Indianapolis is expected to be held before we ring in 2019. The first phase, which will include a training center with a 250-person residential facility, will be completed by the end of 2020. The center will also be used as a seat for development of next-gen digital tools and technologies.

In a recent media release, Infosys asserted its hiring plans to create new jobs from 2000 to 3000 until the end of 2023, as part of the previous commitment to build a US workforce of 10,000 and invest in their training for the changing digital landscape.

The US state of Indiana and its capital Indianapolis have announced to offer incentives worth $101.8 million for the upcoming Infosys education center in Indianapolis over a period until the completion of the project. Infosys’ plan is to develop a $245-million campus over an area of 141 acres in a phased manner. Infosys will receive conditional tax credits up to $56.5 million and training grants worth $1.5 million from the state government. The incentives and grants depend on the company’s capital investment strategy and job creation plan. Indianapolis and the state will jointly contribute $37.8 million to the project’s infrastructure development.

The upcoming Infosys education center in Indianapolis will deploy the best practices and training methodology from the company’s Global Education Center in Mysore, India. It will seek partnership with the world’s leading education providers. The Indianapolis education center of Infosys will have training programs designed combining classroom-based teaching and immersive, interactive learning. Infosys’ American workers will be given lessons on key competencies including big data, cloud technology, computer science, user experience and digital economy.

Travel Beats is a thriving Indian community portal in USA owned by Indian Eagle, a trusted travel booking organization for Indians in America. Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay tuned to latest news & stories about Indian Americans, Indian events in US cities, US visa & immigration news, US to India travel updates, and airfare discount campaigns.  

The post Infosys Plans to Open $245-million Education Center in USA and Hire 3000 American Workers appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

In 2016, young Indians in America were on a roll from publishing a debut book to winning spelling bee contests to helping the poor in India to contributing to social campaigns in some or the other way. 2107 is not an exception. Young Indian Americans will come out of the cocoon with innovations, inventions and campaigns for greater goals and causes to make headlines. The ball has started rolling with the selection of Swetha Prabhakaran, an Indian American student from Indianapolis, for the US First Lady Michelle Obama’s ‘Better Make Room’ campaign.

16-year-old Swetha Prabhakaran from Indianapolis will join ‘Better Make Room’ campaign’s inaugural Student Advisory Board and work to facilitate better educational opportunities for teenagers in the United States. Michelle Obama appointed her a member of the campaign in recognition of her exemplary efforts to educate teens in computer sciences. She is the only one from the first generation Indian American community in the team of 12 high school seniors and five college students selected for the campaign.

The Student Advisory Board of Michelle Obama’s ‘Better Make Room’ campaign will work towards creating and nurturing a college-going, college-persisting and college-graduating culture at their respective schools. The board members will also connect with fellow students of their schools and provide them with the resources they need. They will attend Michelle Obama’s School Counselor of the Year Ceremony at the White House today.

Swetha Prabhakaran is one of the youngest social entrepreneurs in USA. She is the founder of CEO of Everybody Code Now, a non-profit body which empowers youth with coding skills to help them become scientists and engineers. She was not in the know of what computer science was all about until she joined a Java class in her 9^th grade. Currently a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, she teaches kids coding and aspires to major in computer science in college.

Swetha Prabhakaran from Indianapolis traces her parental roots in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Her parents immigrated to USA in 1998. The opportunity to serve on the board of Better Make Room is not her first recognition from the White House. in 2015, she was selected as one of the White House’s Champions of Change.

The goal of Michelle Obama’s ‘Better Make Room’ campaign is to make high school students pursue higher education and improve college completion rates, which is not absolutely new to Swetha. The principal objective is somewhat akin to what she does through her non-profit initiative, Everybody Code Now. She feels honored to be part of the campaign and share her passion for education with more students.

Travel Beats is a fast-growing portal for Indian Diaspora by IndianEagle, a leading organization booking travel to India for Indian Americans. Travel Beats publishes news as well as stories of Indians in USA and shares the latest air travel updates.

The post Michelle Obama Picks 16-year-old Swetha Prabhakaran from Indianapolis for ‘Better Make Room’ Campaign appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

An India-born Muslim police officer became an epitome of religious harmony when the air of the United States is rife with racism before the upcoming presidential elections. He is trusted with the security of the largest Hindu temple in the US state of Indiana. He also conducts self-defense training programs.

Lieutenant Javed Khan from the Indian state of Maharashtra is the security-in-charge of a Hindu temple in Indianapolis City. He is at the helm of security for hundreds of devotees visiting the temple daily. He makes sure that there is no loophole in the overall security system either during his presence or absence. A huge number of visitors throng the temple in Indianapolis on weekends and special occasions, but the temple authority is not worried about the security due to Javed Khan’s hawk-eyed supervision.

“There is only one God. We are all children of Him. It is we who choose to worship the Almighty in different names, different forms and different languages. One half of my family is Hindu and the other half is Muslim. I revere both religions. However, I am an Indian first,” Javed Khan said in an interview with PTI.

Born in Mumbai and brought up in Pune in Maharashtra, Lt Javed Khan is a kick boxing champion. He is an eight-degree black-belt Taekwondo too. Martial art is his passion. He used to visit the United States for martial art competitions till he relocated there in 2000. He permanently settled in Indiana in 2001.

This Indian American Muslim, who married off his only daughter to a boy from the Telugu community in USA, believes in humanity, brotherhood and camaraderie. He says that he feels being in India, not in America, when he is at this Indianapolis Hindu temple. He thinks that strengthening and supervising the security of the temple is his duty.

Imran Yousuf, a New York based Indian American Muslim who rescued many people during the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12, is one of those who worship humanity and champion social harmony irrespective of religions.

Travel Beats is a leading community portal for Indians in America by Indian Eagle, a most trusted travel-booking partner of Indian Diaspora in the US. Subscribe to our free newsletter and tune in to our Facebook page for NRI community stories, H1B visa, US immigration, OCI card, and anything related to air travel to India.

The post This Indian American Muslim Cop is Chief of Security at Indianapolis Hindu Temple in USA appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.