How To Get Police Clearance Certificate From USA While In India

The immigration departments of several countries require Police Clearance Certificate for which  fingerprint of the immigrant is required.Sometimes this fingerprint needs to be from an official source such as state police or district police and needs to be attested by concerned officer.

Although there are several private agencies who does finger print for this purpose, it is always advisable to get this done from police department. Most of us are not aware that the police departments in India provide this service for a nominal fee and they are experts. Here I am providing you the procedure to get finger print done from police department.Since I am from Kerala, I am explaining the procedure for Kerala Police. I am sure for each state and each district in India there will be facilities to get finger print taken.

Since I was in need to get finger print taken for police clearance certificate from USA, I followed the FBI procedure. For each Country, there may be different procedure and specific finger print forms. If there are no specific forms,Kerala police has got their own form/format.

Here are the requirements to get finger print done from Kerala police

1. Remit a fee of Rs.1000/- in any Govt. Treasury under the head of account “0055 Police – 501 service & service fee”. Please add Rs. 100/- for each additional copy of finger print. So for example, if you need two copies in total,  fee to be remitted in treasury will be 1000+100=1100.You can print the below chalan payment form and complete all the three sections. 

www.treasury.kerala.gov.in/treasury_site/Forms/FORMTR12.pdf

You need to fill the below fields in the form at a minimum and need to complete all the three section. Treasury officer will fill the required details from their side,sign and seal the document. If the treasury does not have facility to make cash payments, the officer will provide the details of the nearest authorised bank, most probably SBI or SBT. You need to go to the bank with the chalan form authorized by treasury officer and make the payment. The bank will retain two of the three sections in the form and the third section will be signed and sealed by the bank officer before providing you. This needs to be submitted to the finger print Test Inspector/Officer

1. Name of treasury in at...... field
2. Date
3. Head of account-
4. By whom paid...--Your name and address
5. Purpose of remittance..-This should be 0055 Police - 501 service & service fee
6. Amount in Rs- 1000/- (add Rs 100/- for each additional copy)
7. Total-1000/-(add Rs 1000/- for each additional copy)
8. Total in words- One thousand only (add 100 for each additional copy)
9. Signature of Remitter
   

2.An application in plane paper addressed to Tester Inspector / officer explaining why you require the finger prints.

3.Valid passport with photocopies of relevant pages(usually first and last page)

4. Proof of present address like aadhar/ration card / electoral card / driving license  and its photocopy

5.Two passport size photographs

6.Two copies of Country specific finger print forms.One for you and one for Finger Print Inspector to keep in their records.If you need to take additional finger prints, you need to keep that much number of copies.If there are no country specific forms, police department will provide finger prints in their own form.

For FBI, you need to download the FD-258 form from below link
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/fd-258-1

You can can approach the Director, State Finger Print Bureau or Tester Inspectors of District Finger Print Bureau. For Thrissur district, the office is located at Administrative Office of Thrissur City Police Commissioner,Ramavarmapuram

Once you get the finger print done,you can follow the below link for rest of the process for PCC from USA.
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/submitting-an-identity-history-summary-request-to-the-fbi

1.Complete the application form
                                If you have a printer at home, you can  type directly in the form and take a print out.
In case you do not have a printer at home, install pdf printing software like  pdfcreator,type and complete the form,print it as pdf,copy it to a usb flash drive or external HDD, and then take it to a computer were printer is available and print it.
 http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator/download
This form is pretty straight forward.For payment purpose, you have 3 options .. certified check,money order and credit card form. I used credit card form.This form is available separately and used to authorize payment using your credit card. I provided  my ICICI bank credit card details.

2. Obtain finger prints using the FD-258 form.
Take print out of FD-258.Complete the form. The form is pretty straight forward except few fields which I am explaining below.Please refer the pdf from below link for guidelines on filling the form. Follow the one for CIVIL FINGER PRINT CARDS

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/fingerprints_biometrics/guidelines-for-preparation-of-fingerprint-cards-and-association-criminal-history-information

Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) Block-- This is not required since we are applying as individuals from India.

3. Payment Form
Download the payment form from below link
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/credit-card-payment-form
 Complete the payment form and don't forget to sign it.

4.Checklist
Once all above forms are done, use the checklist in below link to make sure that you completed everything as required.

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks/identity-history-summary-request-checklist-1


5.Mail the required items listed above—signed applicant information form, fingerprint card, and payment of $18 U.S. dollars for each person or copy requested—to the following address:

FBI CJIS Division – Summary Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306

 

I mailed it through Fedex.It costed be around Rs3000/- and the package reached FBI office in 3 days

Ideas For Change:- Get Seeds From Vending Machines

Tired of endless search and visit to plant nurseries for getting quality vegetable seeds? Here is a simple solution ..... a vending machine at KSRTC bus stand at Thrissur, Kerela, India dispenses vegetable seeds  for six types of seeds, including spinach, pulses, ladyfinger and cucumber.Vending machine was set up by Kerala State Seed Development Authority.Each packet of seed will cost just 10Rs only. 

There was huge demand on first day itself. I could see people standing in queue to get seeds. This is definitely a positive steps and will boost growing Organic vegetables at home.We can expect more and more of these machines coming up in different parts of Kerala.

Ivor Madom Inching Towards Limca Book Of Records

Ivor Madom is located in the banks of Nila river (Bharathapuzha), towards the north of Thrissur district in south Indian state of Kerala. This holy place located in a small village witnesses several hundred of people all along the country visiting, worshiping and performing rites and rituals every day. Cremation here is believed to be a very holy.

The legends says that Ivor Madom is the place where Pandavas, after Kurukshetra war, got relief from their mental agony by doing prayers and Bali Tarpanas for their Guruji’s and cousins who were killed by them in the war. Bharathapuzha is believed to have cleansed them of all their sins and restored their mental strength. Even now, hundreds of people come to Ivor Madom Sree Krishna temple and do the last rites and Bali Tarpanam to those departed souls dear to them.

This is the only public crematory which followed Hindu rituals in the state of Kerala.Ivor Madom is getting entry in Limca book of records for the largest number of cremations as per Hindu rituals( more than 150000).

High Tech Fish Trading In Thrissur Fish Market :)

SMSs tend to arrive at all wrong times.But more than 200 people in Thrissur City and surroundings look forward to C I Devassy's 6:30 AM SMS.

Devassy's family has been in fish business for more than 60 years and the members have been inhabitants of Shakthan fish market ,Thrissur district which is in southern most state of India-Kerala, ever since it was established 24 years ago.But it required a combination of the youngest member of the family and a modern gadget to come up with an innovation that would capture imagination of the public.

Earlier Devassy used to get a lot of calls from people who wanted to know the prices for the day.It used to take lot of Devassy's time to tell every single one of them the rates for every type of fish..He tried to introduce a couple of more phones in the shop, but it still was'nt enough to answer all the customer queries.This was when an innovative plan began to take shape in Devassy's mind.

He started using Reliance free SMS pack to text fish prices to around 100 s of regular customers.That was four years ago and Devassy hasn't looked back since.He got more than 200 subscribers now.Every morning his wife texts the fish prices for the day to his customers, and all they have to do is choose the fish,quantity and how they want it and then wait for delivery boy to arrive at their door step.

Teaching Online-Indian Teachers Have Great Opportunities Ahead

After software and BPO jobs, the next wave of jobs coming to India is Online Teaching where English speaking Indian teachers coach students in US and other countries over internet.The fee for online tutoring is hourly or even monthly as per the student agreement. Some offer hourly rates of $25 to $30 instead of the $50 to $60 hourly charges typical of on-site tutoring.

Online tutoring has picked up a big way in Kerala with many companies providing online coaching in various subjects including Mathematics.According to Beena George, Centre Director of Kochi based Growing Stars Infotech, subsidiary of California based Growing Stars Inc, they have catered to the needs of about 2500-3000 students in US since the company was formed in 2003. Coaching is provided on subjects like Maths, Pysics, Chemistry, Biology and English. Now they are handling about 900 customers with about 120 staff based in various locations in Kerala.

Students are spread across the world including China,UAE,Egypt etc.The interesting thing is some of the online teachers are very young and are well versed school students.

Good Samaritans Are There Everywhere

This is a typical scene in a village from south Indian state of Kerala. A packed bus in which commuters were stacked like sardines screeched to a halt to pick up more passengers. The next available bus in this stretch is only at dusk hence the bus was unusually crowded. The passengers comprising of shoppers, government employees,students,fisherman,farm workers etc young and old were trying to get a toe hold at the foot board when a good Samaritan popped up from nowhere from the crowd. He started to mind the crowd and to yell out the names of the bus stops for people to get down easily.

This supportive act helped the hapless conductor who is in charge of issuing tickets after collecting money a lot as he was finding it very hard to issue the tickets and to manage the doorbell in the milling crowd all at once. Soon, things fell in place and it was a smooth sail till the bus reached its destination where this helpful guy got down after a commendable endeavor.I have experienced this several times while travelling in bus when I was very young and usually gets lost easily in the crowd without even a view of the outside.

Though going by the books, this overzealous act may not go well with the general public, most of the commuters were all praise for this selfless act, which grabbed a few eyeballs of the curious travelers. Nonetheless some were heard whispering at hushed tones that he might be on a high, which made him lose the sense of reality! It is interesting to note that as always, this selfless deed has also won bouquets and brickbats all at once!.But I am always in praise for these good samaritans in Gods Own Country-Kerala :)

See how a crowded bus in Kerala looks like

Nutmeg – Money shedding trees...

Nutmeg trees are large evergreen tropical trees which grow average 12 Meters and can even grow up to 20 meters,based on the nutmeg type. Nutmeg is seed of the tree and weighs between 5g and 10g (0.2 and 0.4 oz) dried, while mace is the dried lacy reddish covering or aril of the seed.

The nutmeg tree is native to the Maluku (the Spice Islands) and is now cultivated in various parts of the world. Major nutmeg cultivation areas include Banda islands in Indonesia, Penang in Malaysia, Grenada in the Caribbean, and Kerala a southern state in India.

In 1512, Vasco de Gama reached Maluku, which is part of “spice islands”, belonging to Indonesia at present and claimed the islands for Portugal. To preserve their monopoly Portuguese and later the Dutch restricted the trees to the islands. They were cautious about keeping the seeds within the island. To protect against seed propagation, the Dutch even bathed the seeds in lime, which would prevent them from growing. However, birds carried the seeds and scattered it. When there was an abundant harvest, the Dutch even burned nutmeg to keep its supply under control. Despite the precautions, the French led by Pierre Poivre a French horticulturalist, smuggled nutmeg seeds to the island of Mauritius, near Madagascar. In 1796 the British took over the Maluku and spread the cultivation to other East Indian islands and then to the Caribbean, mainly Grenada. Nutmeg was so successful in Grenada it now calls itself the Nutmeg Island, designing its flag in the green, yellow and red colors of nutmeg and including a graphic image of nutmeg in one corner.Nutmeg has been a major foreign exchange earner for Grenada, accounting for 23 per cent share in European nutmeg market. It was the biggest exporter after Indonesia, which has 70 per cent market share in Europe.

Nutmeg was introduced in India by the British in the 18th century. Viswashree, the nutmeg variety developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) in Kozhikode, is now a favorite with farmers in Indian states. Viswashree is in many ways unique since it is the only nutmeg variety in the world that has been developed by scientists.Authorities in Grenada, West Indies, invited IISR scientists to offer solutions to the crisis in the nutmeg sector there after Ivan, a hurricane, devastated nutmeg trees in large numbers. Nearly 90 percent of the nutmeg trees in Grenada were uprooted by the hurricane, precipitating a crisis in the country's economy.Though Viswashree may be the answer to Grenada's nutmeg problems, it would need the Indian Government's approval for growing this variety.

Like in any other filed, India is prospering to become the world's largest nutmeg producing nation.

Traditionally, small farmers have used "volunteer plants" as seedlings for planting. These seedlings have their origin from fallen seeds that have germinated and grown in and around the parent plant. The farmers may use seedlings at two stages of development, the young undeclared plants, plants which have not flowered, or the more mature declared plants, which have flowered and thus the sex could be identified. In the latter instance plants that produced female flowers and then fruits will be selected.The best practice before planting young nutmeg tree is to pre-establish shade.Plantain can commonly selected as the crop of choice to provide temporary shade for young nutmeg plants.


When the planting material is undeclared seedlings the common practice is to plant three seedlings at a planting site, 60 cm apart in the form of an equilateral triangle. The shade requirements for transplants are:

Up to 2 years	50% overhead shade plus ground shade
2 to 4 years	40% overhead shade plus ground shade
4 to 5 years	30% overhead shade plus ground shade
6 years	15% overhead shade plus ground shade
7 years and older	No shade

Shade should be reduced gradually so as to minimize shock. At the first flowering usually at 4-7 years, the male plants are destroyed leaving one female per planting site. Some farmers may leave a few male trees in the field to encourage cross-pollination. This practice is declining. However, no studies have been reported that show the correlation between presence of male flowering trees and the quantity and quality of fruits and seeds that are produced by the female plant.

There is all to gether a different variety of nutmegs which grows in Myristica swamp area of western ghats in south India. The species is Myristica malabarica(kattujathi in malayalam).This is now in red list of threatened species.