1 MEMBERS REFERENCE SERVICE LARRDIS LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI REFERENCE NOTE For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION No.22/RN/Ref./November/2019 ENGAGING INDIAN DIASPORA (NRI’s AND PIO’s) IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Prepared by Shri Abhishek Thakur, A.R.O of Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Shri Sayed Kafil Ahmed, Director and Shri R.C. Tiwari, Joint Secretary. The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the context. Engaging Indian Diaspora (NRI’s and PIO’s) in National Development Introduction: Indian Diaspora1 (Pravaasee/प्रवासी) is a generic term used for addressing people who have migrated from the territories that are currently within the borders of the Republic of India. It constitutes NRIs (Non-resident Indians) and PIOs (Persons of Indian origins). The Indian Diaspora is estimated to be over 30 million in over 200 countries and out of these 25% live in the Gulf countries. Policymakers in the Asia-Pacific region increasingly recognize the value that Diaspora populations bring to development efforts at home. The Government of India also recognizes the importance of engaging the Indian Diaspora, as it has brought economic, financial and global benefits to India2. If Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during his 1998-2004 tenure, is credited with having promoted serious engagement with the Indian Diaspora to develop mutually beneficial linkages, current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is getting known for his enthusiasm in expanding those earlier efforts. The prime minister’s initiatives in this arena have been evident since the day he took office in May 2014, and it has been reflected in his public pronouncements. In foreign trips and outreach activities with India’s expatriate communities, he has always persuaded them to contribute to India’s growth story3. 1 Diaspora1 is a word of Greek origin that means scattering or sowing of seeds. It is used to refer to people who leave their native lands to live in other parts of the world for employment, business or any other purpose. 2Ministry of External Affair 3 www.orfonline.org 2 How does the Diaspora benefit India: The biggest way in which the Diaspora helps the economy is through regular remittances. According to a World Bank report released in April, India was the largest remittance-receiving country in the world, with an estimated $69 billion in 2017.This amounts to a whopping 3.4 per cent of India’s GDP, an amazing multiplier because just 1 per cent of the citizenry, which does not even live in the country, contributes more than three times its fair share to the nation’s wealth. There are other advantages which diaspora populations bring that are harder to measure. When they visit India, they tend to spend more lavishly than the locals, thereby helping economic activity. NRIs are more prone to donating to domestic charities because of the strong cultural and emotional feelings that they nurse. They bring technical and domain expertise to domestic startups and often act as angel investors. Diaspora Indian faculty abroad volunteer time and resources to help faculty on Indian campuses improve the quality of education — as in the case of member institutions of the Indo Universal Collaboration of Engineering Education. With a little commitment and some creative thinking, the government could double or even treble the already substantial economic value of diaspora contributions by carefully designing a set of policies to exploit the talent, industriousness and patriotism of those living abroad. Migration of skilled labours to foreign countries and their eventual success bolstered the nation’s image. A less tangible but important advantage in having a large emigrant group is “diaspora diplomacy” and they act as “bridge-builders” between their home and adopted countries. 3 Engaging Indian Diaspora The Government has instituted many revolutionary reforms for accelerating the development of the country that offer tremendous gainful opportunities to Diaspora. Government of India has over the last four-and-a-half years launched several measures / programmes with scope of foreign/ NRI investment like Start-up India scheme, Make in India project along with significant reforms to improve Ease of Doing Business, Liberalization of FDI norms etc. The Government of India has given special focus on disinvestment strategy which offers significant scope of investment to NRIs, Overseas Indian Affairs Division of Ministry of External Affairs is dedicated to the multitude of Indian Nationals settled abroad. Driven by a mission of development through coalitions in a world without borders, OIA seeks to connect the Indian Diaspora community with its motherland. Positioned as a ‘Services’ Division, it provides information, partnerships and facilitation for all matters related to Overseas Indians (comprising Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Schemes and Programmes to engage Indian Diaspora National Pension System (NPS4) for NRIs NRIs have a pivotal role to play in the Indian economy. India has the second- largest Diaspora in the world, with around 29 million people living Most of the Indians going to the Gulf and some other countries go for employment and return to India after having worked abroad for a certain period. NPS can provide a long term solution to their old age income security. NPS has been available to NRIs for some time through Bank 4 National Pension System (NPS) account provides tax breaks of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under Sec 80C and Rs 50,000 under Sec 80CCD(IB). 4 offices and now, to further ease the process of joining, eNPS is being extended to Non- Resident Indian subscribers. NRIs (should be between 18 and 60 years can now open NPS Accounts online if they have Aadhaar Card, or PAN card Till now, NRIs could open NPS accounts only through paper applications by approaching Bank offices but this has now changed. Through eNPS, a subscriber will be able to open an NPS account from the comfort of his home. All he will need is an internet connection and an Aadhaar/ PanCard. Further, NRIs will be able to open NPS accounts both on Repatriable and on Non Repatriable basis. On a Repatriable basis, an NRI will have to remit the amount through his/her NRE/FCNR/NRO account. For Non-Repatriable scheme, NRIs will be able to join NPS through their NRE/FCNR/NRO accounts and at the time of maturity or during partial withdrawl, the NPS funds would be deposited only in their NRO accounts. Both Repatriable and Non- Repatriable schemes will greatly appeal to NRIs who intend to return to India after their employment abroad, in view of their attractive returns, low cost, flexibility and their being regulated by the PFRDA, a Regulator established by the Central Government . Non Resident Indians (NRIs) can join and subscribe to NPS online through eNPS. (1) Online Services for Voters A bill to extend the facility of 'proxy voting' to overseas Indians, on the lines of service voters, was passed by the Lok Sabha on 9 August, 2018. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the provision would help non-resident Indians (NRIs) to participate in the electoral process. Overseas Indians were free to cast their votes in the constituencies where they were registered. The Bill seeks to give them the option of proxy voting, which till now was only available to service personnel. An expert committee of the Election Commission, working on the issue, had in 2015 forwarded the legal framework to the Law Ministry to amend the electoral laws to 5 allow the overseas Indians to use proxy voting. The bill proposes to replace the term 'wife' with 'spouse', thus making the provision gender neutral. (2) Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme In response to persistent demands for "dual citizenship" particularly from the Diaspora in North America and other developed countries and keeping in view the Government's deep commitment towards fulfilling the aspirations and expectations of Overseas Indians, the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005. The Scheme was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 2006 at Hyderabad. The Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or thereafter or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. OCI is not to be misconstrued as 'dual citizenship'. OCI does not confer political rights. The registered Overseas Citizens of India shall not be entitled to the rights conferred on a citizen of India under article 16 of the Constitution with regard to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Detailed instructions and procedures on the OCI Scheme are available on the MHA's website: www.mha.nic.in . As on 31st May, 2013 13.25 lakh OCI registration booklets and visa stickers have been issued. (4) Know India Programme Know India Programme (KIP) is a flagship initiative for Diaspora engagement which familiarizes Indian-origin youth (18-30 years) with their Indian roots and contemporary India, through a three-week orientation programme organised by the 6 Ministry. In 2016, the scheme was revamped to increase duration from 21 to 25 days, with a 10-day visit to one or two States and preference given to PIOs from Girmitiya countries. Since 2016, six KIPs are being organised in a year.