July 2015 – Page 2

Weekend Links: July 10 2015

One of the most interesting things I came across this week was Google’s Deep Dream program. Basically, this is Google’s Image recognition program which they have flipped on its head to now create images.

The results are a little freaky right now, but people have already found incredible uses with it and none more incredible than what Turkish artist C.M. Kosemen has already achieved.

There are still some people who deny climate change, but Exxon actually seemed to know about this as far back as 1981.

We are all worried by the fear of rejection, and it keeps us from doing many things that we want to; 2 research backed ways to beat the fear of rejection.

I was surprised to learn that there about 7,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in Afghanistan right now, but I was not surprised to see that their condition is bad.

India’s solar push could be a gold rush for investors.

Finally, Professor Sanjay Bakshi’s great talk about seven great businessmen and companies in India.

How to apply for a Police Clearance Certificate for a Passport or Visa?

I had to apply for a PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) recently, and I was surprised at the lack of information about this online even though this is a very important thing without which you can’t get a passport, and some countries don’t issue you a visa.

In this post, I’m going to recount my experience and cover everything that I dealt with and learned about this process.

When do you need a PCC?

You need a PCC when applying for a passport or when applying for visas of certain countries, and while the overall process for this is similar — it is not exactly the same. As a result of this — your experience might be completely different from the experience of someone else whose situation varied only slightly.

Who issues you a PCC?

Usually, PCC is given by the Regional Passport Office of the place that you have resided in the last six months. Location is important because although the PCC is a document issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, it does mention the place it is issued at and many countries require you to get it from the place you have resided in.

This can pose challenges for people who travel for work, and don’t have an address proof in the place they currently live in.

Here is a list of all the documents that they accept as a residence proof:

If you don’t have any of these documents then getting an address proof in the form of a bank statement is your best bet.

You can change your address to your existing one at the bank which is usually a very straightforward process, and then request them to issue a bank statement for the last twelve months. You need to go to the bank to get this because the bank stamps and signs this statement, and that’s what authenticates it. The statement will not work for you if you just download it online; it needs to have the stamp of the bank.

Also, keep in mind that it should be the last twelve months, I didn’t read anywhere that this ought to be the case but they insist on it once you are at the center. The other interesting aspect about this is that the more things you have the better it is. If you have a rental agreement which is not registered, just notarize it and take it with you anyway. If your passport has a local address, but it is different from the one you’re applying for, take a copy of that as well, take a copy of all your official documents, visas that you may have for other countries, marriage certificate etc. Although these documents aren’t mentioned in the list of documents that can be given as proof, I believe they can be used as supporting documents and the staff there likes to get as many of these documents as possible.

Also, this is not written anywhere as well, you need to take your actual passport with you so they can verify that and also provide the stamp on that. This is very important. Something else that isn’t mentioned is that you have to write a letter saying why you need a PCC. This can be a simple typed letter, or even a handwritten letter.

Where do you apply for a PCC?

Go to the Passport Seva website, and take an appointment at a date and center convenient to you. I was getting appointments for the next day at Hyderabad, but I’ve heard from people that sometimes you have to wait a week or more.

When you book the appointment, there is an option to enroll into the SMS service for Rs. 35, I enrolled in that and paid the 35 rupees in cash at the center, and I think this is an important thing to keep in mind, so you keep getting updates on your status.

On the day of the appointment, take a print out of the appointment letter along with your other letters, and reach the center at the time prescribed. I’ve been there thrice now, and I don’t see any benefit of reaching there before time. At the prescribed time, they ask people who have appointments for that time to form a queue and get inside to get a token and I think this is a very simple and efficient way of managing their queue.

There were three zones – A, B and C and three officers who each do part of the process, and there is an electronic board that tells you which counter to go to based on your token number, and there are people who also escort people around counters.

At the first counter, they check the documents, and create a file for you. They ask questions about what other documents you may possibly have, and put everything relevant in that file.

At the second counter, they scan and upload these documents, as well as verify the details you filled online. I had made a mistake in entering my place of birth which they caught and corrected. You are also finger printed, and photographed at this counter.

In the third counter, the officer actually brings up your information on their computer, and it tells them whether there are issues with your case, whether there are no issues, but a physical police verification is required, or if a physical police verification isn’t required altogether.

PCC and PCC Stamp

If a physical police verification is not required altogether then they ask you to go to a counter where the individual takes the PCC letter and puts the stamps on them. He puts three stamps on them:

An endorsement with your application number, and a place to hand-write the country for which the PCC is being issued.
Second is a stamp of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Third is the stamp of the individual authorized to give this clearance.

Not only do they stamp the PCC letter, they stamp a page on your passport as well.

After these stamps are placed, the authorized individual also signs the letter as well as passport page, and you are all set.

It is my understanding that you don’t need physical police verification if you had a verification done from the same place earlier, and it doesn’t matter how long ago that verification took place as long as there are no police records about you after that verification.

Physical Police Verification

If you do need a physical police verification then you are given a receipt number, and a document that you are supposed to take home.

They send an SMS with the name and phone number of the police officer who will come to your house to verify your details. This SMS usually comes the same or the next day, and the police officer comes the subsequent day. It is best to call the officer, and get a tentative idea of when he plans to come visit so you can be available at home when he comes there.

Here again, keep the original proof that you submitted to the passport office ready with you. If you gave a stamped bank statement, get another bank statement out, take a copy of all your documents whether they are listed or not, as well as take a copy of your passport. He will ask for all of these. He will also need signatures of two neighbors so ensure that you have two neighbors who are willing to sign as witness, any two will do, even from the same house.

How long does it take to get PCC after the verification?

This is another important thing to keep in mind — if you’ve been living in your current city for less than a year then the verification takes two to three weeks, but if you have been living in the city for more than a year then the verification is done the next week and then two or three days after that you can go to the Passport Seva Kendra and get your passport stamped and PCC letter issued.

This information is not present anywhere and it isn’t even very clear to me from which form they obtain this information, but the document that the police officer receives from the passport office contains this so make sure when filling the forms you pay attention to this.

This is everything I learned about this process, and while I truly feel the process is a lot better than the one ten years ago, there is no place where it is explained properly so you can be prepared for it. I hope this post helps people who are going to apply for a PCC and if you have any questions, or anything to add to this, please do leave a comment.

Weekend Links: July 3 2015

First up, a very very interesting quiz in the NY Times that you should all try out. Don’t worry about hating numbers or anything else like that. Spend some time on it, very well worth it.

Next up, an article on what Greece may be able to do next. Semi related, how 16th century Spain dealt with a bankruptcy.

Euthanasia is a difficult and hard topic to discuss, here is a good article on how some countries are dealing with it .

Indian companies bypassing banks, and going directly to the public for funds.

Pakistani mall charges an entry fee with a certain exceptions, and people are not happy about it. I think they missed a trick here, could have simply exempted people who buy something inside, but made it elitist instead.

Finally, a great article on what makes the expat lifestyle attractive.

Greek Referendum – What a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ vote on July 5 would mean?

This post is written by Shiv Kukreja, who is a Certified Financial Planner and runs a financial planning firm, Ojas Capital in Delhi/NCR. He can be reached at skukreja@investitude.co.in

Greece debt crisis is deepening. Neither the Greece government nor its creditors are ready to budge this time around. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been making contradictory statements which has made this crisis more complicated and the creditors are now readying themselves for an actual default.

Two days from now on July 5th, Greeks will cast their votes in a referendum in which they decide whether their government should accept or reject the proposals made by its creditors – International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU) and European Central Bank (ECB). These entities are collectively known as the Troika.

If Greeks vote ‘NAI’ (YES) while casting their votes, it would mean that they have voted in favour of the Troika’s proposals and they want the Troika to provide the Greece government a much needed bailout package. In exchange of this bailout package, the Greece government will have to implement some strict austerity measures involving spending cuts, tax increases and speed up economic reforms.

On the other hand, if they opt for ‘OXI’ (NO) while voting, it would mean that they are not in favour of any kind of austerity measures or tax increases and they are ready to live in a situation in which their government could be officially announced as in default and their top banks would go bankrupt in no time.

Tsipras has urged Greeks to vote against the bailout offer, saying ‘No’ to the proposals. It seems that a ‘No’ to the creditors’ proposals in Sunday’s crucial referendum would lead Greece out of the eurozone and probably out of European Union as well.

All these developments could derail an already fragile global economic recovery and would put more pressure on the global central banks to try and introduce more innovative measures to keep their respective economies floating.

It is a highly uncertain economic environment that we are living in for the past few days and it seems that uncertainty will prevail for a few more days, weeks and months before a clear picture emerges out of this crisis.