Overseas Indians ministry gets teeth, finally

A notification issued by Prez on Dec 16 defined role of newly formed Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

From being taunted for being given a ministerial berth with no work, Jagdish Tytler is now to look after the interests of over 25 million overseas Indians settled in various parts of the world.

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With a notification issued by the President on December 16 defining the role of his newly formed Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Tytler has been given sweeping powers in relation to the Indian diaspora, virtually making it a single-window outlet as far as overseas Indians are concerned.

The President's notification has shifted the Protectorate of Emigrants, which was functioning under the Labour Ministry, to the new ministry which will now coordinate all man power export projects to different countries.

It shall also look after all emigration matters. In addition, the ministry will be represented in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Foreign Investment Implementation Authority. It will look after promotion of investment by overseas Indians in India including innovative investments and policy initiatives consistent with the overall government policies particularly in areas such as Special Economic Zones for overseas Indians.

The Reserve Bank of India will also consult the ministry while framing policies and schemes governing deposits by overseas Indians.

It will also be consulted by the concerned ministries in all matters concerning overseas Indians handled by them such as PIO (people of Indian origin) card scheme, dual citizenship issues, FCRA matters of non governmental organisations.

The notification was issued after the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Pranab Mukherjee, examined various issues raised through a 23-point note prepared by Tytler.

Earlier, Tytler had been upset that his role was being severely curtailed because of the refusal of several ministers to give up departments and areas under them. Significantly, while the ministry was originally defined as ministry for NRI affairs, it now covers much more through its new nomenclature.

The ministry, presently working out of five rooms in South Block has been allotted 38 rooms spanning two floors in Akbar Bhawan in Chanakyapuri and Rs 2 crore to redo his new office.

Mr Krishan Kumar, a senior IAS officer of the Karnataka Cadre has already started functioning from there as the Union Secretary. The ministry will also have one additional secretary and four joint secretaries. According to Tytler, he shall soon be setting offices of his ministry in countries having major concentration of Overseas Indians in consultation and coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs. Some offices will also be set up in various zones in India.

Tytler told the HT that the first set of representatives of his ministry from amongst overseas Indians will be announced during the three day Pravasi Bharaitya Divas in Mumbai from January 7. He has also toured various countries to get the feedback from the Indian diaspora. He ruled out appointment of an ambassador at large as was done by the NDA government.

"They had divided the Indian society abroad on ideological lines. We cannot repeat these mistakes''.

His proposal to the Prime Minister for defining the role for his ministry was inspired by the way the Chinese diaspora and the Jewish diaspora work. He said that it was a challenging task since the new ministry has now really got a lot of teeth. Tytler should know since he has also had the experience of heading a newly created ministry - Food Processing - when he was in Rajiv Gandhi's council of ministers in the late eighties.

The President's notification has shifted the Protectorate of Emigrants, which was functioning under the Labour Ministry, to the new ministry which will now coordinate all man power export projects to different countries. It shall also look after all emigration matters.

In addition, the ministry will be represented in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and the Foreign Investment Implementation Authority. It will look after promotion of investment by overseas Indians in the country including innovative investments and policy initiatives consistent with the overall government policies particularly in areas such as Special Economic Zones for overseas Indians.

The Reserve Bank of India will consult the ministry while framing policies and schemes governing deposits by overseas Indians.

It will also be consulted by the concerned ministries in all matters concerning overseas Indians handled by them such as PIO (People of Indian origin) card scheme, dual citizenship issues, FCRA matters of non governmental organisations.