NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday announced that the government would celebrate the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 9 and honour ten Non Resident Indians every year.
Vajpayee said he was fascinated by the word Bharatvanshi to denote persons of Indian descent.
"I like the word because it is a neutral term and does not denote any caste or religion," Vajpayee said after receiving the report of the high-level committee on Indian diaspora.
He admitted that he had 'borrowed' the word from noted jurist L M Singhvi who chaired the committee.
Stating that some of the countries were even prepared to relax visa rules to attract the Indian talent, the prime minister said, "Bazaar bahut achha hai (market is very good)."
On the contributions of NRIs in the US, he said that they even played a key part in the American Presidential elections.
In a short span of time they had made a mark for themselves, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said setting up such a committee on the Indian diaspora was one of the election commitments of the government.
It was aimed at taking concrete steps to fulfill some of the long-standing expectations and requirements of the Indians settled abroad, he said.
Singh quoted former US president Bill Clinton as saying that though the Indians settled in USA was barely two per cent of the population, they contributed five to six per cent of the wealth of that country.
The minister wondered as to why it took 50 years to set up such a committee to look into the problems and the expectations of the NRIs, who have contributed immensely to their motherland.
Stating that the report was the first exercise of its kind in the country, Singhvi said that it dealt with the 'needs, concerns, hopes and aspirations' of the people settled abroad.
He said the report has made recommendations on major Diaspora issues in the fields of consular and related issues such as culture, economic development, investment, international trade, industry, tourism, education, health, media, science and technology.
Stating that the committee also suggested modification of Persons of Indian Origin card scheme and grant of dual citizenship, he said it proposed a single window dedicated organisation to interact with the Diaspora.
Singhvi said the committee had identified seven countries -- US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, a large part of Europe and Singapore -- for implementation of dual citizenship.
He said the committee recommended dual citizenship within the framework of the Citizenship Act and it did not involve any amendment in the Constitution.
Related Report: Committee suggests welfare fund for Indian diaspora
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