Top MOIA official meets NRIs on his Gulf tour

Commemorating the recent visit of Dr Didar Singh, Secretary of Ministry of Overseas Affairs (MOIA) to two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) there had organised an open house session for Indian expatriates. Another visiting official, director of financial services of MOIA, Mr Shiv Rattan, was also present. Dr Singh answered several questions right from attestation of certificates by relevant agencies in India to setting up non-resident Indian (NRI) universities. He agreed to evaluate possibilities of finding alternative arrangements in consultation with non-resident (NRI) cells working in various Indian states.

He also said that the issue of providing attestation assistance too would be worked on to reduce the hindrances being faced by NRIs. He also informed the audience that a university for NRIs by NRIs and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) was being set up in Karnataka shortly. He also said that if individuals or educational trusts run by Indians in the Gulf region had any proposal for setting up such universities, the ministry would consider their requests and appropriate action would be taken without fail.

Singh also cleared doubts of some participants on the issue of leasing agricultural lands for NRIs and foreign companies. He told the gathering that the system already existed in India even though the foreign firms and NRIs could not buy such lands outright. However, foreign companies and individuals were being granted permission to run food processing companies, as joint ventures or by setting up different companies in India.

Earlier, Dr Singh urged the Indian expatriates to make use of the services provided by the helpline of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA). He explained the services provided to the expatriates through the ministry’s Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC), the India Development Foundation (IDF) and the Global Ink, the ministry’s knowledge arm.

He said Indians living abroad should access the ministry’s frequently updated websites regularly.The senior bureaucrat also advised the gathering to explore the possibilities of bringing either international firms or utilise affluent non-resident Indians themselves to invest in mega infrastructure projects in the country. Singh said the government had identified at least 40 major road projects, 25 power projects and several airports where there could be private-public participation. He also said that the country’s economy is now worth US$ 3.8 trillion (according to World Bank estimates) and was bound to grow considerably in the coming years.

Dr Singh said that India has been termed as second most popular investment destination in the world in the post slowdown phase which the World Bank has also acknowledged in recent times. Professionals and top level firms from all over the world are now coming to India to invest in its infrastructure development, Singh said.

Foreign investments worth US$ 500 billion have been pouring into the country in the ongoing 11th five-year-plan period, he said. Singh also said that India was only one of the 12 countries in the world to have a separate ministry for overseas Indians, who numbered nearly 30 million of which about 13 million were NRIs and the rest were either People of Indian Origin (PIOs) or Overseas Indian Citizens (OIC) with Indians residing in 181 countries worldwide. He added that realising the contributions of the Indian diaspora, most state governments too have created either separate ministries for overseas Indians or NRI cells.