Bengaluru: Nov 26: The NRI Forum Karnataka wants the government to set aside a budget of Rs 10 crore for providing innovative services to the NRI community and to look after their welfare.

Arathi, who was appointed to the post recently, said that the focus would be attract NRIs, Non-resident Kannadigas (NRKs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to invest in Karnataka in various development areas, especially the social and education sectors. She said that one of the key exercises to be taken up would be the creation of a database of NRK students and professionals living in various countries. She said that according to a rough estimate, there are around four lakh NRKs, with a large number of them living in the United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The forum also proposes to create ID cards for NRKs, to ensure that they are not fleeced by hotels, during their visit to Karnataka. With theNamma Ooru, Namma Naadu' concept, the forum plans to encourage NRIs, NRKs and PIOs to adopt villages, temples and schools in the state.
Special tourism packages for second and third generation NRKs; concessions and incentives for NRI investments; a business incubation centre for NRIs; and a migrant facilitation centre, are some of the other initiatives that the forum has mooted.
Arathi said that her earlier experience in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in New Delhi, and as community development officer in the Indian Embassy in Washington, would help her reach out to the NRI and PIO communities across the world. She said that about 25 million people of Indian descent live on foreign soil.

Comments
Add new comment