There is no question of appointing an ambassador for NRIs. "My ministry will be India's interface with its diaspora," Tytler said.

New Delhi, May 27
(NNN):

New Non-Resident Affairs Minister Jagdish Tytler on Thursday ruled out appointment of an ambassador-at-large for the 20 million Indian diaspora like the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had done.

"When I am there as a minister, where is the question?" the minister asked . "My ministry will be India's interface with its diaspora," he added.

The previous Atal Behari Vajpayee government had appointed Bhishma Agnihotri, an Indian American, as its ambassador-at-large -- a precedent that did not go down well either with the foreign service establishment or with the more secular intelligentsia.

Even though he was based in New York, his mandate covered the entire community of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and people of Indian origin (PIOs) spread across the globe, which a high-powered committee has estimated at 20 million.

Agnihotri resigned after the NDA was defeated in the recent elections.

Meanwhile, Tytler said he had already started work on providing an institutional mechanism and legislative teeth to many of the issues and concerns that had been raised during the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meeting here in January.

"Some of these issues include a single window mechanism for non-resident investments, dual nationality, reducing import tariffs and setting up educational institutions for non-resident Indian children," he said.

Tytler, who was initiated into politics by Sanjay Gandhi, the son of late prime minister Indira Gandhi who was killed in an air crash, said he would soon go to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with a concrete action plan.

Asked about the specific mandate for his ministry, he said it was an issue that remained to be sorted out. "It is a new ministry, so it is taking time. But I now have an office in South Block. It is being renovated and I should move in soon," he said.

"The rest of the matters also, I expect, will be sorted out in a week's time," he added.

Tytler had a meeting with senior officials of the ministry of external affairs at his residence to discuss issues such as the composition of his secretariat and the specific brief for his ministry.

Currently, the home ministry deals with subjects such as PIO cards that are issued to persons of Indian origin, while most other matters concerning the Indian diaspora are broadly dealt with by the external affairs ministry.

The foreign office is also the nodal ministry for the division of NRIs and PIOs.

"I would expect that the non-resident division would be under my ministry. These issues, as I said, would be sorted out soon," Tytler said.