Canada, two years after the cap — what happened to the Indian student dream
Inheritance, wills, and the OCI estate — what diaspora families learn the wrong way
Tax for the OCI cardholder — a 2026 guide to residency, withholding, and the money flowing both ways
How OCI students apply to India's premier institutes — a guide for diaspora families
Indian study permits to Canada have collapsed from 188,715 in 2024 to 94,605 in 2025 — a 50 per cent drop in a single year. The approval rate for Indian applicants fell from 81 per cent to 28 per cent. Brampton's agent economy is folding; families in Punjab and Andhra are reassessing; the Canadian dream that Indian families spent two decades constructing is being quietly dismantled. This is what the data shows, and what it does not.
Figures of the diaspora whose work the wider public has not yet adequately recognised
Inaugural Class of 2026 — coming soon.
The first cohort of inductees is being researched. The class will be announced as a cover-story feature later this year.
See the Founders' Roll →Archive
Figures of the diaspora whose recognition is already universal · hover to pause
Kamala Harris
Politician, lawyer
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Rishi Sunak
Politician
Dadabhai Naoroji
Politician, economist, social reformer
Cheddi Jagan
Politician, dentist
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Sir Anerood Jugnauth
Statesman, lawyer
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Sundar Pichai
CEO, Alphabet/Google
Satya Nadella
CEO, Microsoft
Indra Nooyi
Former CEO, PepsiCo
Lakshmi Mittal
Steel magnate, ArcelorMittal
Amartya Sen
Economist, philosopher
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Astrophysicist
Har Gobind Khorana
Biochemist
Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
Structural biologist
Sir Salman Rushdie
Novelist
Sir V. S. Naipaul
Novelist, essayist
Jhumpa Lahiri
Novelist, short-story writer
Mira Nair
Filmmaker
Sir Anish Kapoor
Sculptor
Kalpana Chawla
Astronaut, aerospace engineer
Capt Sunita Williams
Astronaut, US Navy
Sir Ben Kingsley
Actor
Pandit Ravi Shankar
Sitar maestro, composer
Mindy Kaling
Writer, producer, actor
Basdeo Panday
Politician, lawyer, union organiser
A Diaspora Dreams series
4 of 5 published
A reference series for the Indian diaspora navigating life back home — the rules, the routes, the practical work.
About the series →
Property rights for OCI cardholders
Premier Indian institutes for diaspora children
Tax for the OCI cardholder
Inheritance, wills, and intergenerational transfer
Returning to India — the OCI's relocation guide
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🌿 PART 1: Awakening & Life Path Q: You’ve shared that your spiritual awareness began early in this lifetime—what did that experience feel like as it unfolded? Yes… from a very young age, I was aware of many things that others around me didn’t seem to notice. I could see beings—spirits, entities from another dimension—
Growing up amidst the scenic splendor of Kashmir, MADIHA TALAT witnessed the struggles of her community amidst scarcity and limited opportunities. Despite the challenges, the breathtaking beauty of her homeland left an indelible mark on her. This stark dichotomy spurred a deep-seated desire within her to effect positiv
Questionnaire for Ms. Malin Loibner for DIASPORA DREAM Q1. What initially drew you to Yoga? Can you share a brief overview of your journey? My journey with Yoga began at a tender age, as I mimicked my mother’s practice while learning to use my feet. Over time, Yoga became a constant companion, offering me a […]
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Most Indian estates are run on default settings: no will, no plan, no conversation. For the OCI cardholder thirteen time zones away, that default is the slow tax — months of paperwork, frozen bank accounts, sibling disputes, property that mutates into nobody's. This is the part of the law where preparing in advance costs almost nothing and not preparing costs years.
A practical guide to what Overseas Citizens of India can and cannot buy on the subcontinent, how the 2021 government notification settled the rules, why a Supreme Court judgment caused panic — and what the tax position looks like on the way out.
For the first time in Australia's history, a non-British-origin migrant community is the country's largest. The shift coincides with a rise in anti-immigration demonstrations, including the 'March for Australia'.
Diaspora remittances to India climbed 14% year-on-year to US$135.46 billion, with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia driving the growth.
Canada is no longer the safer-than-the-United-States bet. It is, in approval-rate terms, harder than the United States. The dream that the 2010s constructed will need to be re-imagined for the conditions of the 2030s.
On 6 September 2026, the AMARA Hall of Fame Awards became the first Indian and Indo-US-centric awards platform to be staged at New York's David Geffen Hall.
New research from ORF finds domestic Indian founders are now outperforming returnee NRI founders in fundraising — reversing the historic Silicon Valley-fed pattern.
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Persons of Indian Origin cards are no longer accepted at India's border check posts. PIO holders who did not convert to OCI must now apply for an Indian visa to travel.
Effective 8 April 2026, eligible foreign nationals can apply for an Overseas Citizenship of India card without completing six months of stay in India.
From 1 May 2026, OCI applications and renewals are paperless. The new fee structure: US$275 from abroad, ₹15,000 in India.
A wage-weighted lottery, a US$100,000 petition fee, and a Congressional bill calling for a 3-year pause: the H-1B is in the middle of its biggest overhaul in a generation.
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Mumbai | 15 May 2026 For Indians living abroad, the search for an authentic taste of home rarely ends. The right kaju, the right kishmish, the right kulfi-style ice cream — these things matter in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t packed a suitcase full of dry fruits before a flight […]
If you or someone you know has been quietly Googling hair transplants abroad — and wondering whether it makes sense to combine a trip home with treatment — this story is for you. Picture this: a man boards a flight from Manchester to Mumbai, not for a wedding or a family visit, but for a hair […]
Mumbai: Eugenix Hair Sciences has etched its name into global medical history as representatives from World Records Book of India officially conferred the title for achieving the highest number of grafts in a single hair transplant sitting. In a landmark moment witnessed at the event, the team validated the procedure a
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From short community profiles to book-length legacy pieces, Diaspora Dreams takes paid commissions for founders, authors, community leaders, and family milestones — reported and written to our editorial standard, and clearly labelled as paid posts.
