NRI data bank to be expanded, says CM

The data bank of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) will be expanded by holding the Kerala Migration Survey, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says.

He was addressing the expatriate delegates at the concluding meeting of the third session of the Loka Kerala Sabha online, here on Saturday. An expatriate data portal would also be prepared for this through which an extensive global registration campaign would be organised, said Mr Vijayan.

Terming expatriate data collection as an urgent issue, the Chief Minister said that the lack of accurate information was also hampering the welfare activities of the expatriates. Saying Loka Kerala Sabha would also become a statutory forum in the near future, the Chief Minister said that there would not be much of a gap between the expat community and Kerala anymore.

Emphasising the great concern for the expat community, Mr Vijayan said the State would go forward with one mind. The recommendations of the Loka Kerala Sabha would be taken seriously and necessary decisions would be taken. The decisions to be taken in consultation with the Center and the decision to be taken by the State alone would be considered as such.

The Pravasi community can set up good higher education institutions in Kerala and the State government would give all support for this. The State had a plan to elevate Kerala to the level of a developed middle-income country. The plan was to reach the level in 25 years and expatriates should give the necessary suggestions for this, said Mr Vijayan.

The Chief Minister also explained the development plans adopted by the State government in the field of higher education. The State would prepare a package to be a segment leader in the field of 5G network services. It would be implemented in four Information Technology (IT) corridors in the State, for which a high level committee would be formed. The State collected the data of extreme poor families and the government had set aside Rs 100 crore to lift them out of extreme poverty, said Mr Vijayan.

Speaking at the function, Industry Minister P. Rajeeve said that an online adalat would be held to resolve the industrial investment grievances of expatriates. Outdated laws and outdated provisions in the rules would be replaced, for which the committee formed to look into the issue had submitted its recommendation. The decision was to replace the rules that were out of date, said Mr Rajeeve.