Recent NRI Q&A: Will Indian parents have to pay NRI Fees for schooling in India, if their child is born in the US?

Here are my recent responses to questions about  NRIs on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond on this blog or Quora  

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Question: Will Indian parents have to pay NRI Fees for schooling in India, if their child is born in the US?

The Fee for School and admissions really depends on parents and less on the immigration status of the child. Most schools have a complex fee structure that could include items like

• Admission (donation and other fees)
• Initial fees (books, annual fee etc)
• Annual fee
• Tuition (monthly/quarterly)
• Special fee for sports and other activities
• Transportation fee etc. etc.

Image source (link)

If the Indian parents flaunt their NRI status and seek admission in elite “International” schools, they will have to pay the going rate. Some of these elite-schools cater to international expatriates, Diplomats and others, and charge equivalent of the fee in Dollars. American School charges $24,200/Yr for Grades 1–5.

(Link Article on American School in India)

On the other hand, if they decide to seek admission in convents/English-medium or other schools where most middle/upper-middle class folks send their kids to, they may have to pay a high initial admission fee, after which other fees would be on par with locals.

NRI Scam alert ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000

Received the following mail that clearly sounds like a Phishing mail

The mail goes:

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Dear Mohan K,

Hello Friend, 

Hope you are doing well despite all the financial crises you are facing.
I’m working with United Nations and some other NGOs in India. I can help you to exchange your Rs. 1000 % Rs.500 to US dollars but I will take 20%. 

We can only Exchange minimum of 50 lakhs.
If you are interested, kindly reply back Via (whitecollins30@hotmail.com)for more details.

Regards,
Dr. Collins White

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The mail is clearly a scam! 

Why "Fake News" matters to corporate executives too

The media – traditional and social media - and digerati continue with their soul searching after accounts that “Fake News” circulated on social media swayed the hotly contested American Presidential elections. After initially denying accounts of fake news propagated by Facebook users, Mark Zuckerberg publicly announced measures to take on the issue (Facebook’s fake news: We’re working on it)

Traditional media has been under tremendous pressure from digital media like blogs, wikis, online “media,” News Aggregators, RSS readers, and is using the fake-news issue to highlight the importance of “News.”  New York Times analyzes the issue, pointing to digerati and digital news aggregators

Most of the fake news stories are produced by scammers looking to make a quick buck. The vast majority of them take far-right positions. But a big part of the responsibility for this scourge rests with internet companies like Facebook and Google, which have made it possible for fake news to be shared nearly instantly with millions of users and have been slow to block it from their sites.

How this plays out is anyone’s guess; but digital experts and technologists are already proposing the way forward. In a popular post “,Four Ways to Deal with Fake News Online,” Jan Dawson highlights options like:

• Do nothing — keep things more or less as they are. 
• Leverage algorithms and artificial intelligence — put computers to work to detect and block false stories.
• Use human curation by employees — put teams of people to work on detecting and squashing false stories.
• Use human curation by users — leverage the user base to flag and block false content.

While all this plays out in the media, and behind the scenes solutions are rolled out by Facebook, Twitter, Google and others, corporate executives and technologists and digital strategists are taking note too. 

Why it matters to corporate executives?

Businesses depend on their reputation and closely watch media mentions about them and their brands. For instance, business school professors love the game where they challenge students to validate the multi-billion dollar valuations of soda makers like Coke or Pepsi, emphasizing branding, marketing and other reasons why consumers are willing to pay top dollar for mere “flavored fizzy water.” These companies gamely play along, highlighting how they guard their “secret recipes” in fort-Knox like secret vaults

A few examples why fake news matters to business leaders: 

• Swaying consumer sentiment – Businesses continually monitor news that has potential to go viral and adversely impact the brand. For example, restaurant chain might monitor “waiter, there is a fly in my soup” or toy company will monitor “baby chokes on” and similar news, with the intent to react immediately. (It is probably easy to guess the keywords my employer, a multinational agri-business company would want to continually monitor)
• Competitors and activists may try to unleash smear campaigns against new product launch or brand offerings; and such activities are continually monitored by corporate security and consultants. 
• Misdirection. For example, planting “fake news” on a competitor, and watching how they react to it publicly can give clues to those planning Phishing, industrial espionage or other corporate activism. 
• At times of major transformations, M&A, or announced layoffs corporate leaders closely monitor activities in Informal corporate networks (a.k.a rumor mills, watercoolers) to keep a pulse on employee sentiments. While forwarding links to “news” or articles may generally not be against corporate digital policies, those with malicious intent could conjure “fake news” to be forwarded to informal corporate networks. 

Even before the recent raucous over “fake news,” digital companies like Reputation.com, ReputationDefender.com and other online reputation management services had been targeting corporate clients, SMEs and individuals extensively. They offer to monitor, manage, and improve the way companies and brands appear online, across search engines, online reviews, and social media.

While all eyes are on Facebook, Google, Twitter and others, innovative startups are bound to leverage advanced artificial intelligence techniques to bring some of these solutions to corporate clients too.  

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End note: As the social media giants begin policing “fake news,” there is a risk of the pendulum swinging too far. In a case of throwing the baby-with-bathwater, it would be a shame if two of my favorite “fake news” sites - The Faking News and The Onion - and other satirical sites like these are also censored out.

Recent Q&A on NRIs

Here are my recent responses to questions about  NRIs on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond on this blog or Quora  

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Question: Why are Indians so obsessed with the NRI status?

The purchasing power of NRIs -essentially the “rich uncle” syndrome is part of the reason for the obsession.

But that alone doesn't explain the full story. Different groups in the society are obsessed for different reasons:

• Relatives of NRIs: Obsessed with the rich uncle/aunt/cousin whom they can lean on for foreign goodies and some $$s
• Real-estate agents, builders and brokers: Opportunity to “sell” a slice of Indian dream to this affluent market segment
• Students and youngsters: Look to NRIs as global role model: “If my cousin could go to US to study and get a nice job at Google/Microsoft, so can I!”
• Rest of the digirati and Junta: Always looking for interesting stories. NRI did well in ….. America, England, elsewhere is and interesting story.
• Media and Journalists: Always looking for a juicy story to sell to the above groups. NRIs stories sell!

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Question:  What do we do with left over money after the visit to India as an NRI? 

The question is too open ended. Your options would depend on :

• NRI status and intent: Are you a transient NRI (e.g working for a service company with an Indian passport) or hold a foreign passport (and only occasionally travel to India)
• Amount of money we are talking about.
• If it is a few hundred rupees, why not just donate it to charity?
• If it is a larger amount - hundreds of thousands - you need to think if you want to “invest” it or repatriate it back “home” in Dollars, Euros or Pounds
• Bank accounts in India: Many long-term NRIs who just visit India occasionally may not have bank accounts or the means to manage their investments in India. For them, holding Indian currency is meaningless
• Other factors: your investment preference, inclination to donate to charity etc etc.
• More recent factor: Is the money in OLD 500s and 1000s. If so, is the Amount in India or with you overseas? Check out: Indian Government's decision to do away with 500, 1000 RUPEE NOTES! Impact on NRIs )

Think about it a do good!

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Question:   What should the Indians abroad in possession of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes do if they are not returning till 31 Mar 2017? 

First things first. What will NOT work

• Panicking about this is not going to help. Unless you have stashed away hundreds of thousands of rupees in 500 and 1000 rupee notes in your bedroom or bank locker overseas, there is no reason to panic.
• If you had a lot - hundreds of thousands - of currency notes with you while traveling overseas, ask yourself:Has the money had already been taxed in India? If yes, just hold on to the currency till your next trip back to India and follow RBI guidelines ( check out Indian Governemtn statement )On the other hand, If the money had not been taxed, or it was a "cash payment" you received, ask yourself if you should just count your losses and walk http://away.As per RBI regulations, Foreigners and Indians are not legally "allowed to carry any Indian notes with them." Although the rule, which is part of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), has been in place for quite sometime now, it is only now that the central bank is trying to enforce it.If you walk into an Indian Embassy or Consulate overseas with a suitcase full of 500 or 1000 rupee notes, you could be in trouble!
• Branches of "Indian" banks like State Bank of India, ICICI and other banks in the US and Canada operate as local banks. They are not authorized to operate your "Indian" NRI or NRO accounts. Therefore, they will not take your 500 or 1000 rupee notes for deposit.
• Currency exchange ( money-exchange ) outlets in foreign countries may NOT accept the old 500 or 1000 rupee notes. There are already accounts in media that commercial money exchange outlets overseas have reportedly refused to accept the old 500 and 1000 notes.

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Here are a few facts and practical tips for NRIs, left with "some" Indian currency in hand:

1. Carry the cash with you to India: According to a press release by India's Ministry of Finance, individuals can exchange the old notes till December 30, 2016.
2. If you have some money left back in India, you could authorize another person in India to deposit the notes: According to RBI guidelines, if you have old banknotes in India, others may be authorized to deposit the notes into your Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) or Non-Resident External (NRE) bank account. The authorized person should go to the bank branch with the old banknotes and authorization letter from you. He or she should also carry a valid Indian identity proof
3. Send the rupees back to India with someone you trust. If the person is traveling before end of 2016, he or she can deposit it into your account (similar to step 2)

 Mohan Babu K, Indian American, OCI... Once an Indian, always an Indian at heart

Journey of an iPhone lost in an Ola Cab

A couple of days ago, my wife accidentally left her iPhone in the back-seat of an Ola Cab during a trip to Malleshwaram. She realized the mistake after alighting and immediately borrowed a friend’s phone to try and call her phone. She then called me to convey the message.

I logged into the Ola App and called the driver’s number, who responded immediately. He said he could locate the phone in the cab and had it is with him. I asked him if he could go back to the drop-point and hand it back to my wife. The driver indicated that he already had another ola-booking and had to take a passenger to Koramangala. He said he would be returning to North Bangalore later in the evening and could return the phone back to us.

I also did a quick “find iphone” to verify it was live and where the driver said he was. At this point, I was reassured that

• The phone was not lost
• The driver admitted he had the phone and would eventually have to return it

I continued to track the phone during the day - from Malleshwaram to Banshankari, on to Electronic City, then to Sahakar Nagar, Hebbal to Banaswadi.

Later that evening, I called the driver who said he was in Nagvara area and if I could come there to pick-up the phone. It was well after 8 PM and I realized that although I knew the way to Banaswadi, I wasn’t very familiar with the neighborhood; and it would take at least an hour in traffic to get there. I requested him to stop by the next morning, and I would compensate him for the trip. 

I called the driver the early next morning, but he didn’t take the call. I continued to call him during the day and his number was switched off.  “find iphone” showed that our iPhone hadn’t moved from the location in Banaswadi though the battery was starting to run low.

I logged into Ola App to see if their customer service could help. Under contact-us, left item in the cab option, their message is simple: 

“You can view the driver details below on the screen. Please call the driver and arrange for a pickup of the belonging at a convenient location. If driver was unable to help you with your belonging, we request you to lodge a police complaint. We will cooperate in the investigation and provide the required assistance in recovering your belonging.”

I also called their customer care number and talked to an agent who reiterated the message. He said that since it was over 24 hours since I had “lost” the phone, I should file a First Information Report (FIR), after which their back-office folks would help in the investigation. On googling about similar cases, people had posted their experiences about filing a FIR with the police; hence, I wanted to do so as a last resort only since:

• The phone was technically not “lost” since the driver admitted he had it. 
• As many of us in India realize, it is more than a bit of a hassle to file an FIR
• Finding the appropriate police station to file the report would be a bit of a runaround: Would I have to file the report at Malleshwaram where the trip ended, or SanjayNagar, where the trip began, or somewhere, where the driver lived?
• Getting the Police involved too early might put the driver on the defensive
• I would also have to “cooperate” with the Police to eventually close the case

I decided to adopt a wait-and-watch for yet another day. I was willing to give the driver the benefit-of-doubt, especially since Ola and cab drivers do take on multiple shifts and have to cris-cross the city to earn a living. A reward for a forgotten phone is not sufficient to drive across the city and miss a peak-time earnings.  Early next morning (Day-3) I tried calling the driver, who didn’t pick up. I decided to email a complaint to Ola.

From Mohan

To support@olacabs.com

Hi

I need help in passing the message to the ola driver

I had used my ola account with phone number 974130xxxx to book a trip on 16th November. 

My wife forgot her iPhone 5s in the cab by mistake. Immediately after the trip I called and talked to the driver on his number 903525YYYY. He said he found the iPhone and had it was safe with him. 

The driver said he will try to contact me later in the evening on 16th. I have not been able to contact him since. 

I don't want to file a Police FRI yet since the Driver seems Honest. 

Please pass the message to the driver to contact me immediately and arrange to return my phone

My contact: 978789xxxx

Home: 080235xxxxx

Regards

Mohan

Trip details Wed, Nov 16, 08:25    

Mini•CRN 45781ABCd

From Main Road, Sanjaynagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

To 11th Cross Rd, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru

Driver XXX

KAXXXX54 . Indica

I got an immediate response from Ola Support:

##- Please type your reply above this line -##

Ola Mohan

We have received your request (Ticket 26709xxx) and our team is looking at it right now. If you have any questions or comments, please reply to this email.

Thank you.
Ola Support

Get quick help by clicking on the Support section in your Ola app menu or by visiting help.olacabs.com

***

Within 20 minutes of sending the email to Ola, I got a call back from the driver. He said he was in Madiwala and could return my i-phone. I said I could come and collect the i-phone, but he offered to drive down in about half-hour and suggested that I “compensate” him for the trip, which I agreed.

The driver turned up near our house in about half-hour (with a “friend”), returned the phone, collected his reward and left.

I thanked him and sent an email that “The Phone has been returned by the driver. Please thank him for the honesty and you may close the case”

Lesson learnt:

• Recall the message frequent fliers hear all the time? “Please check around your seat for any personal belongings you may have brought on board with you and please use caution…..” This applies equally to cab and Ola rides too
• It is important to be patient but persistent, especially if the “left/lost” item has been located. It may take a while for you to get it back in your hands
• Drivers are intrinsically honest, though they are overworked. 
• Misappropriating an expensive phone is not worth their trouble, especially if they can earn an honest  ‘reward’ or tip in return. 
• Try negotiating the return of the item, and threaten FIR etc only as a last resort

Smile on my wife’s face after she was reunited with her phone: priceless!  😄

Recent Q&A on Enterprise Architecture

Here are my recent responses to questions on Enterprise Architecture asked by fellow EA's on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond here or on Quora or Linkedin Pulse. 

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Are EA tools really helpful in enterprise architecture?

An Enterprise Architect uses several tools including Word (for documentation), Document repositories (to store artifacts), Powerpoint, Visio etc to communicate visual viewpoints.

In some scenarios, EA tools are helpful too. Check out my earlier answer to “What are the best enterprise architecture design tools?”

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Do I have to build models in order to do Enterprise Architecture?

Modeling is one of the most effective ways of communicating architectures. Why? As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. It is easy to visualize architecture models including integration between processes and platforms.

Enterprise Architects use several modes of communication including

• Verbal and nonverbal - in meetings, sessions and workshops
• Written - emails, memos, reference documents etc etc
• Formal Viewpoints, Whitepapers etc
• Blogs, wikis and other social media tools (internally in an organization and externally like this Quora post)

Models - including reference architectures certainly help in such communications.

So, back to your question: Do you have to build models in order to do Enterprise Architecture? You don’t always have to. However modelling skills are expected and effective in communicating your viewpoints.

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What recent technology trends are important to Enterprise Architecture?

Enterprise Architects continually scan the landscape for emerging trends in technology and business. Most of us review “lists” published by analysts and consultants (e.g Gartner's Special Report : 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016,McKiney’s Ten IT-enabled business trends for the decade ahead , BCG’s Ten Trends That Are Reshaping the Retail Industry etc etc).

EA’s also try to contextualize the trends specific to their industry or vertical channels - e.g Retail, Finance, Insurance, Chemicals, Supply Chain, Digital etc).

Given this context, it won’t be fair for me to list “technology trends” here on Quora since such a list is bound to be outdated very soon. You should continue to scan the landscape and some of the references I have posted to formulate an opinion of your own.

Answers by  Mohan Babu K, Enterprise Architect for a global 1000 company.