Standing committee may discuss possibility of inclusion of NRIs in Parliament

While making the pitch for a discussion on the subject, Congress lawmaker Deepender Singh Hooda cited the example of Italy, which has overseas members of Parliament

A suggestion to discuss the possibility of Non-resident Indians (NRIs) getting representation in Indian Parliament was floated by Congress lawmaker Deepender Singh Hooda during a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on external affairs on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said.

Shashi Tharoor (PTI)

While making the pitch for a discussion on the subject, Hooda cited the example of Italy, which has overseas members of Parliament.

“It was merely a suggestion given by a member MP to consider discussing the issue. We will discuss it in the next sitting,” a lawmaker aware of the development told HT.

The meeting — titled “Indian Diaspora Overseas including NRIs, PIOs (Person of Indian Origin), OCIs (Overseas Citizen of India) and Migrant Workers: All Aspects of their Conditions and Welfare, including the Status of the Emigration Bill”, was headed by the chairperson of the standing committee and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The meeting also saw participation from the department of NRIs affairs, Punjab; People of Indian Origin (PIO) Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi; Centre for Diaspora Studies, Central University of Gujarat; and NORKA ROOTS, the Kerala government’s agency to provide support to non-resident Keralites.

“We had a detailed discussion with four organisations working with the diaspora — two on behalf of states Kerala and Punjab, one PIO organisation, and centre of diaspora studies in Gujarat. All spoke about their issues dealing with NRIs. It was a very good discussion. The MPs were very engaged,” Tharoor said after the meeting.

Skilling people, seeking jobs outside India based on the needs of various countries also came up for the discussion. Among other issues, the standing committee also discussed Emigration Bill, 2022, a person aware of the matter said.

According to an earlier standing committee’s observation, the Emigration Bill–which seeks to establish a robust, transparent and comprehensive emigration framework involving states, Union territories and other stakeholders–has been kept for discussion and vetting “for long”. The then committee had urged the ministry of external affairs to complete all the formalities at the earliest and introduce the bill in Parliament so as to “ensure the welfare/protection of Indian migrants and empower them for overseas employment”. The ministry had replied that the bill is in consultation with the ministry of labour and employment and is in advanced stages.