OCI (Overseas
Citizenship of India) cards are set to be treated on par with NRIs
OCI cardholders to get some NRI privileges
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2007
IANS
Indian origin people abroad holding Overseas Citizenship of India
(OCI) cards are set to be treated on par with NRIs on issues such
as adoption of children from India.
According to government sources, despite the ministry of home affairs
raising objections to the move to grant OCI cardholders parity with
NRIs, the proposal is likely to go through once it reaches the cabinet
for approval.
"Most of the ministries to which a draft cabinet note on the
proposal was circulated have approved it," a top official told
IANS.
According to the eligibility criteria, any foreign national eligible
to become a citizen of India on Jan 26, 1950 or who was a citizen
of India on or at anytime after the date, or belonged to a territory
that became part of India after Aug 15, 1947, and his/her children
and grandchildren can apply for an OCI card.
But the card will be issued only if the country of which the applicant
is a citizen allows dual citizenship in some form or other under
local laws.
According to the new proposal, OCI cardholders will be treated
on par with NRIs in terms of adoption of children in India, domestic
airfares, entry fees to national parks, monuments and museums and
hotel tariffs.
Also, like NRIs, OCI cardholders can go in for up to 100 per cent
investment under automatic route - without prior approval of the
government or the Reserve Bank of India - in the domestic airlines
sector. They will also have the right to practice in India in professions
like medicine, dentistry, architecture, chartered accountancy and
engineering.
The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) had first sent the
proposal to the committee of secretaries. Following the committee's
approval, the draft cabinet note was circulated among 77 ministries
and most of them have sent in their responses.
According to sources, most ministries, including external affairs,
finance, IT and telecommunication, tourism, environment and forest,
culture and the department of legal affairs, have approved the proposal.
However, the home ministry is reportedly having a rethink on giving
equal rights to OCI cardholders as they are foreign nationals and
might pose a security threat in strategic areas. The ministry has
sought government control with the right to review and refuse any
such right at any stage.
It also learnt that certain ministries like health and family welfare
as also commerce have suggested that a precondition be set that
the right to practice in India in different professions only be
given to those OCI cardholders who are citizens of countries which
allow reciprocity of the facility with India.
But the sources said the objections were unlikely to stop the proposal
from getting approved by the cabinet as it has already been cleared
by the committee of secretaries and provided proper checks and balances.
At the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2007, the annual conclave
of the Indian diaspora held in New Delhi in January this year, Minister
for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi had announced parity to
OCI cardholders with NRIs in several areas like domestic airfares,
inter-country adoption of children and entry fees to national parks
and wildlife sanctuaries.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced the launch of OCI card
scheme at PBD 2005 held in Mumbai and the first card was issued
at PBD 2006 in Hyderabad.
Benefits enjoyed by an OCI cardholder include multiple entry, multi-purpose
lifelong visas to visit India and exemption from reporting to police
for any length of stay in India.
However, an OCI cardholder does not have voting rights, cannot
contest in elections for Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislative
assemblies or councils and cannot hold any constitutional posts
such as president, vice president, judge of Supreme Court or high
court.
Till now the Indian government has issued around 145,000 OCI cards
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