Governor P. Sathasivam on Saturday called on non-resident Keralites to join the “noble task” of building a new future for the State and for the deployment of NRI earnings for the State’s development. He was inaugurating the valedictory session of the two-day Global NRK Meet 2015 here on Saturday.
The two-day meet which was a biennial event till now and will be made an annual event from next year, ended with a seven-point agenda being taken up by the State government for consideration and implementation.
The agenda includes the setting up of a commission “with quasi-judicial powers” to look after the affairs of non-resident Keralites, said Minister for Culture and Rural Affairs K.C. Joseph, who presided over the valedictory session.
Certification of the skills of NRKs, who do not have high education levels; an education cell for the expatriates; inclusion of the Cochin International Airport in the list of hub ports in the country; an advisory committee for non-resident Keralites in different parts of the world and an Special Purpose Vehicle to help NRK investments are the other points in the agenda set by the Global NRK Meet 2015. The Governor lauded the Department of Non-Resident Keralites’ Affairs for its activities in protecting the interest of non-resident Keralites. He also told the NRKs to follow the rules and regulations of the country to safeguard their earnings and recalled that bank deposits from NRKs had touched Rs. 1 lakh crore during the year. Rani Georege, NORKA secretary, made a presentation on the NORKA 2015 summit. Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha P.J. Kurien; N. K. Premachandran, MP; and Dominic Presentation, MLA; were among those who spoke on the occasion.
Airlines under fire
Air transport operators came under fire from several speakers at the valedictory function with Mr. Premachandran and Mr. Presentation calling for an end to what they called was the exploitation of non-resident Keralites during the peak travelling seasons. Keralites in the Gulf countries were the most exploited, they said. Mr. Presentation also said that frequent changes in government policies affected the investment climate in the State.
