The Donald Trump administration on Thursday said applications for H-1B visas had dropped significantly this year after major changes were introduced to the work visa selection process. Calling it a crackdown on misuse of the system, the administration said "the days of abusing the programme with mass, low-wage registrations are over." Data released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) showed that properly submitted H-1B registrations fell by 38.5 per cent compared to last year, from 343,981 in fiscal year 2026 to 211,600 for fiscal year 2027. The H-1B visa programme, widely used by Indian professionals seeking jobs in the United States, has come under tighter scrutiny in recent years. The White House had earlier rolled out stricter wage requirements and raised application fees, saying the aim was to curb widespread abuse of the system. This year's H-1B season is wrapping up, and we're seeing great results from @POTUS ' new policies that pr...
In a shocking statement, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state sees more weapons being smuggled from other states, like Madhya Pradesh, than it does from across the border- a reference to Pakistan.
The remark, made at a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, comes at a time when central agencies have shared extensive details of how terrorists and Khalistani elements have been pushing weapons into the state via drones and other means, with the backing of the Pakistani establishment.
To counter the threat of drones, the chief minister said that a centre of excellence for drones should be set up in Punjab. He said that, being a border state, drones pose a mammoth challenge for the Punjab Police, as is reflected in the year-on-year increase in their sightings and recoveries. He said that drones are mainly being for espionage and cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs.
This led Mr Mann to flag the issue of the smuggling of weapons from within the country. Pointing out that this is posing a "great threat" to law and order in the state, he said that it is unfortunate that the number of weapons smuggled from within the country (especially from states like Madhya Pradesh) is much more than is smuggled from across the border.
Advocating for the setting up of a regional centre of National Security Guards (NSG) in Pathankot at the earliest, the chief minister said that Punjab is always prone to terror attacks from across the border. He said that the NSG hub, which was announced by the Union government, must be set up at the earliest to help safeguard the country's borders.
The chief minister also underscored the need for revision of the clause of having to pay for paramilitary forces to maintain law and order when needed. He said that this clause of 'paramilitary forces on rent' should be abolished as far as Punjab is concerned, adding that the centre must be magnanimous in allocation as companies.
Mr Mann also spoke on the requirement of a genuine federal structure in the country and said that the need for more financial arid political power to states has been felt across the spectrum of political opinion.
He said that there is a wide consensus, cutting across party lines, that the state governments need to be given much greater operational freedom in choosing and financing their developmental priorities. "Everybody knows that the state governments are in a much better position to understand, address and solve the problems of their people, at the cutting edge" the chief minister said.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/B2Y5E7l
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