Help India become knowledge superpower, PM tells NRIs

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 6. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today sought the help of the Indian diaspora in making India a ``knowledge superpower'' by 2010. Delivering the inaugural address at the first international convention of the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) on Indian soil here, he said PIOs and Non- Resident Indians (NRIs) should be partners in the country's efforts to become a major global power.

``We do not merely seek investment and asset transfer. What we seek is a broader relationship; in fact, a partnership among all children of Mother India so that our country can emerge as a major global player,'' Mr. Vajpayee said while addressing the gathering of PIOs from over a score of countries.

Pointing out that India was at the threshold of a technological revolution in many areas that define the ``New Economy'' of the 21st century, he said the Indian diaspora could play a vital role in the development of information technology, bio-technology, agriculture, space and energy. ``The Indian diaspora has made seminal contributions to the development of many of these sectors in their adopted countries... they can make a similar contribution here.''

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by PIOs in some adopted countries, Mr. Vajpayee referred to the overthrow of the democratically-elected government in Fiji and the subsequent actions targeting Indians in that country. He felt that the Indian diaspora should mobilise public opinion the world over to ensure restoration of ``due constitutional processes as enshrined in the 1997 Constitution''.

Though Mr. Vajpayee did not give any concrete assurances on the demands raised by the GOPIO leadership, he said the high-level committee set up to study the expectations of overseas Indians would examine the current regime that governs their travel, stay and investment in India. The committee has also been asked to review the status of PIOs and NRIs in the context of the constitutional provisions, laws and rules applicable to them both in India and the countries of their residence.

The GOPIO leadership had demanded that the Government reduce the cost of a PIO Card (currently $1,000), remove the clause that forces families who have lived outside India for more than four generations to forfeit their claim to Indian roots, set up a university in India for children of PIOs, and make arrangements for enabling coming generations of overseas Indians stay in touch with their moorings in their adopted countries.

To the last demand, the Prime Minister did say that his Government would assist the overseas Indian community in maintaining its cultural identity and strengthening the emotional, cultural and spiritual bonds that bind them to the country of their origin. While taking on this responsibility, he was quick to state that the Indian Government would always encourage PIOs to keep their political commitment to their adopted countries.

Earlier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation of Mauritius, Mr. Anil Kumar Singh Gayan - who is also a PIO - said his country would support India's candidature for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council to allow India play a greater role in the comity of nations.

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