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Panel to look after needs of Indian diaspora worldwide

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

The Government of India has set up a high-level committee to look into needs and demands of an estimated 20-25 million Indian diaspora scattered around the globe.

Member of Parliament and former Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr L M Singhvi, will head the committee.

Singhvi, an eminent jurist, will hold the rank of a cabinet minister in his capacity as chairman of the panel.

Other members of the high-powered delegation are R L Bhatia, Member of Parliament and former minister of state for external affairs; J R Hiremath, a retired Indian Foreign Service officer; and Baleshwar Agrawal, secretary-general, Antar Rashtriya Sahyog Parishad, New Delhi.

The member-secretary will be J C Sharma, additional secretary (non-resident Indians and passport-visa), ministry of external affairs.

A statement by the ministry of external affairs listed the terms of reference:
* Review the status of persons of Indian origin (PIO) and non-resident Indians (NRI) in the context of the constitutional provisions, laws and rules applicable to them in India and countries of their residence;

* Study characteristics, aspirations, attitude, requirement, strengths and weaknesses of Indian diaspora and their expectations from India;

* Study the role that PIO and NRIs may play in economic, social and technological development of India;

* Examine regime that governs travel and stay of PIO in India and investments by PIO in India, and recommend measures to resolve problems faced by NRIs in these areas; and,

* Recommend a broad but flexible policy framework and country-specific plans for forging a mutually beneficial relationship with the region or PIO and NRIs, and for facilitating their interaction with India and their participation in India's economic development.

The committee shall submit its report to the minister of external affairs in 180 days.

The statement added that the Government of India has always attached great importance to the Indian diaspora and its relations, including cultural and emotional bonds with India. The concerns, needs and problems of overseas Indian communities and their potential for contributing to India's socio-economic and technological transformation and development are matters of priority concern.

Ministry of external affairs spokesperson R S Jassal said that the committee will look into certain specific demands of PIO and NRIs, such as double citizenship.

He pointed out that the PIO scheme, first announced in March 1999, had commenced and persons holding PIO cards did not require a visa to enter India.

The spokesperson emphasised that the government was extremely responsive to needs of PIO and NRIs and had recently shifted the chief commissioner of NRI from the ministry of finance to the ministry of external affairs to look into their all-round needs.

According to government estimates, huge numbers of Indians reside abroad, and in many countries, constitute a huge proportion of the population. For instance, the 352,000 people of Indian origin comprise 44 per cent of the population, while in the Trinidad and Tobago, the 520,000 Indian origin persons make up 45 per cent of the population.

In the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Australia, NRIs and PIO number over one million in each country.

However, the problems and aspirations of the vast Indian diaspora, who today can be found on every continent of the globe, are varied. For instance, Indians in the US constitute the richest ethnic group in that country and are deeply involved in the information technology revolution of Silicon Valley.

On the other hand, in Malaysia, as an article in a recent issue of Time magazine pointed out, Indian origin people are among the poorest ethnic groups, often denied basic economic and political rights offered to other citizens and brazenly discriminated against. Then there was the case of Fiji where a duly elected government, headed by a person of Indian origin, was overthrown in a coup.

Such people have often sought help from India to fight this brazen political discrimination, but have found the response limited.

NRIs and PIO have got together to the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin to lobby for their cause. One of the GOPIO's demands is that the Indian government set up a separate ministry to deal with NRIs and PIO and their issues.

For the Indian government, NRIs and PIO represents huge wealth and talent that can help India leapfrog in its development requirements. However, despite the government's best efforts, investment in India by PIO and NRIs has been tardy, especially compared to investments by overseas Chinese in China.

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