New Delhi, Jan 07, 2004
NRIpress
The Minister of State (IC) for Indian Overseas Affairs, Shri Jagdish
Tytler today assured the NRIs and overseas Indians that his Ministry,
which is newly set up by the UPA Government, is taking its job very
seriously and would be doing everything to fulfill its promises. Speaking
at a Special Plenary Session on the theme of ‘New Initiatives for
the Diaspora’ at the three day Pravasi Bhartiya Divas here today,
he said that his Ministry would take a number of initiatives to change
the traditional mindset of the bureaucracy to emerge as the single window
facilitator for the concerns and issues relating to overseas Indians.
Shri Tytler said that it was however going to be a tough job as many
of the existing laws and legislations need to be amended and changed.
Apart from integrating and involving the overseas Indians in various
aspects of economy and development. The Ministry is also contemplating
a number of measures to deal with the problems faced by NRIs in the
gulf particularly the treatment that the labourers and girls in these
countries. There are various issues which are to be looked into, including
protection of NRIs properties, responsive administration to facilitate
the NRI investments etc.
The Plenary Session was chaired by Lord Navnit Dholakia, Member of
the House of Lords of UK and the panelists included Mr. Dato Seri S
Samy Vellu, Minister of Works, Government of Malaysia, Mr. A.R. Bundhun,
Vice-President, Mauritius, Dr Basdeo Panday, Trinidad and Tobago, Dr.P.Mohamed
Ali, Oman, Mdr.Shashi Tharoor, Under Secretary, United Nations, Dr Sam
Pitroda, USA, Mr Madhu Goud Yaskhi, MP, Mr S Krishna Kumar, Secretary,
MOIA, Mr.T.K.A Nair, Principal Secretary to PM and other dignitaries.
Earlier the Secretary Ministry of Oversea Indian Affairs, Shri S.Krishna
Kumar gave a presentation highlighting the four thrust areas for new
initiatives for the Indian Diaspora. These related to the fields of
Consular Services, Employment Services, Social Services and Economic
Services.