OCI cardholders made eligible for teaching faculty in new AIIMS, IIS

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders have been made eligible to apply for teaching posts in the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and the new AIIMS being set up in different parts of the country, officials said Thursday.

The decision has been taken as a number of teaching posts were lying vacant in these institutes due to shortage of eligible candidates.

An order has been issued specifying that a person registered as an OCI cardholder under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 shall be eligible for appointment as teaching faculty in the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and the new AIIMS set up by the central government under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana, a Home Ministry official said.

Addressing the first convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar on August 25, Union Health Minister J P Nadda had said 22 new AIIMS are coming up across the country and admitted that there was a shortage of skilled human resource in the health sector.

"Twenty-two new AIIMS are coming up across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhya Yojana to reduce regional imbalance in the health care and tertiary fields," Nadda had said.

The OCI card scheme was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 2006 in Hyderabad. The scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on January 26, 1950 or there after or were eligible to become citizens of India on January 26, 1950 except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

A registered OCI is granted multiple entry, multi purpose, life-long visa for visiting India, he/she is exempted from registration with Foreign Regional Registration Officer or Foreign Registration Officer for any length of stay in India, and is entitled to general parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect of all facilities available to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties, another official said.