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The largest remittance community to India. It has a Prime Minister in three major countries, a President in two countries and a Vice President in one country. Its CEOs are among the world’s leading companies. We are talking about NRIs.
His status can be understood from the fact that the President of India, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and many powerful Cabinet Ministers are coming to Indore on January 9 to welcome him. On the occasion of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conference.
In Bhaskar Explainer 6 questions, you know who are diaspora Indians, i.e. Indians living abroad, why so much importance is given to this community?
Question-1: Are only Indians who earn money abroad are included in NRIs or is there anyone else?
Answer: Diaspora is a Greek word. In Greek it means to scatter seeds. Later, the term Diaspora was used to refer to Jewish communities who were expelled from various countries and settled in other countries. Today, diaspora means expatriate and is generally used for people who live outside their home country for whatever reason.
That is, people who migrated from India to other countries are called Indian Diaspora or Pravasi Bharatiya. During the British rule, a large number of Indians went to countries like Fiji, Kenya, Malaysia, which were British colonies. This continues at various social levels after independence. Now Indians want to go to UK, USA and Gulf countries.
Migrant Indians were earlier divided into 3 categories.
- A Non-Resident Indian i.e. NRI: Indian citizens who have temporarily moved to another country for 6 months for work or education. Some of these Indian citizens settle abroad and acquire citizenship of that country and such people are called NRIs.
- Person of Indian origin i.e. PIO: A person not resident in India, whether Indian by birth or descent.
- Overseas Citizenship of India i.e. OCI: A person who was a citizen of India on or after January 26, 1950, or who became eligible to become a citizen of India on that date, or who belonged to any territory which became a part of India after August 15, 1947. or a child or grandchild of such person who meets the criteria.
PIO card was first introduced in 2002 for foreigners of Indian origin. Its aim was to connect overseas Indians with their third generation. OCI Card was implemented in 2005. In this, more benefits were provided than the PIO card. This card is valid for lifetime. In 2015, the Government of India withdrew the PIO card scheme and merged it with OCI.
Question-2: What is the number of overseas Indians in the world and what are the important posts?
Answer: According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, 32 million Indians have migrated to more than 100 countries around the world. The number of Indians living abroad has increased by 346% in the last 28 years. In 1990, the number of overseas Indians was 9 million.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha in April 2022, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nithyanand Roy said that from January 1, 2015 to September 30, 2021, around 9 lakh people had renounced Indian citizenship. That is, about 350 Indians leave the country every day.
Prime Minister of Indian origin in 3 major countries, Vice President in USA
Britain, Portugal and Ireland have 3 prime ministers of Indian origin. Rishi Sunak in Britain, Leo Varadkar in Ireland and Antonio Costa in Portugal are the Prime Ministers. Along with this, US Vice President Kamala Harris is also visiting Indian diaspora. Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfan Ali and Suriname President Chandrikaprasad Chandoki are also of Indian origin. At the same time, 285 MPs in about 30 countries are of Indian origin.
12% CEOs of leading Fortune 500 companies are of Indian origin
12% of the world’s leading Fortune 500 companies are of Indian origin. These include companies ranging from Google to Microsoft.
Question-4: Why is so much importance given to NRIs?
Answer: Pravasi Bharatiya i.e. Diaspora Indians can play an important role in promoting the interests of their own country abroad i.e. they act as a bridge. One of the easiest ways for immigrants to help their home country develop is to send a portion of their income there.
Economic benefit
2022 is the best in terms of repatriated earnings of migrants. During this time, migrants have remitted 100 billion dollars i.e. 826 crore rupees.
Political advocacy for India
Diaspora played a major role in securing the 2008 Indo-US nuclear deal. At that time, there was strong opposition to this agreement in the US Parliament. But in the US, overseas Indians come forward as a group to the government. One by one he meets with opposing US MPs and convinces them. After that it is settled.
Question-5: What is the purpose of celebrating India Abroad Day?
Answer:
- The main objective of organizing the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conference is to provide a platform for the achievements of the overseas Indian community and take them to the world.
- To provide a platform for overseas Indians to express their thoughts and feelings towards India and to interact positively with the country people.
- Building a network of overseas Indians in all countries of the world. Connect the younger generation with the diaspora and make efforts to address the difficulties of the diaspora Indian workers.
Question-6: Why Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is celebrated only on January 9?
Answer: Government of India conducts Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas on 9th January every year. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on this day in 1915. Mahatma Gandhi is regarded as the greatest immigrant who not only led India’s freedom struggle but also changed the lives of Indians forever.
Also read other explanations on different topics…
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