Manoj Project

ROLE OF NRI

MEANING

Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origi

A Non-Resident Indian (NRI; Hindi: NRI is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country,

a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides

permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate

Indian. In common usage, this often includes Indian-born individuals (and also people of other

nations with Indian ancestry) who have taken the citizenship of other countries.

A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) is usually a person of Indian origin who is not a citizen of India.

For the purposes of issuing a PIO Card, the Indian government considers anyone of Indian origin up

to four generations removed to be a PIO, with the exception of those who were ever nationals

of: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka.[2][3] The prohibited list

periodically includes Iran as well[4]. Spouses of people entitled to a PIO card in their own right can

also carry PIO cards. This latter category includes foreign spouses of Indian nationals, regardless of

ethnic origin, so long as they were not born in, or ever nationals of, the aforementioned prohibited

countries.[5]. PIO Cards exempt holders from many restrictions applying to foreign nationals, such as

visa and work permit requirements, along with certain other economic limitations.

The NRI and PIO population across the world is estimated at over 30 million. As per a UNDP's 2010

report, after China, India has the largest Diaspora in the world, estimated at 25 million, besides being

one of the largest "sending" nations in Asia, with an emigration rate of 0.8%. Out of which, 72%

work in other Asian countries. Also, as per UNESCO Institute for Statistics the number of Indian

students abroad tripled from 51,000 in 1999 to over 153,000 in 2007, making India second after

China among the world’s largest sending countries for tertiary students.[6]

Since 2003, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-resident India Day) sponsored by Ministry of

Overseas Indian Affairs, is being celebrated on 9 January each year in India, to "mark the

contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India". The day commemorate the

arrival of Mahatma Gandhi in India from South Africa, and during three-day convention held around

the day, a forum for issues concerning the Indian Diaspora is held and the annual Pravasi Bharatiya

Samman Awards are given away.[7] As of January 2006,[8] The Indian government has introduced the

"Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)" scheme to allow a limited form of dual citizenship to Indians,

NRIs and PIOs for the first time since independence in 1947. The PIO Card scheme is expected to be

phased out in coming years in favor of OCI. This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Outsourced material may

be challenged and removed.(February 2011)

History

It must be pointed out that strictly speaking "non-resident Indian" refers only to the tax status of a

person, i.e., someone who, under Income Tax Act of 1961 has not resided in India for the purposes

of the Income Tax Act (under Section 6), but is a citizen of India nonetheless. Residence in India, for

the purposes of the Indian Income Tax Act requires stay in India of at least 182 days in a given

calendar year or 365 days spread out over four consecutive years. This requirement applies to all

individuals, in that a person with non-Indian citizenship can also be "resident in India" for the

purposes of the Act, but a resident Indian would only be one who meets the above requirement and

possesses Indian citizenship. Likewise, anyone who is not a resident of India according to the Act, is,

obviously a non-resident of India, but only those who possess Indian citizenship but do not meet the

requirement of residence are treated as Non-Resident Indians.

Historical migrations out of India

The most significant historical emigration from India was that of the Romani people, traditionally

known by the term "Gypsies".[9] Linguistic and genetic evidence indicates the Romanizes originated

from the Indian subcontinent, emigrating from India towards the northwest no earlier than the 11th

century. The Romani are generally believed to have originated in central India, possibly in the

modern Indian state of Rajasthan, migrating to northwest India (the Punjab region) around 250 B.C.

In the centuries spent here, there may have been close interaction with such established groups as

the Raj puts and the Jats. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is believed to

have occurred between 500 A.D. and 1000 A.D. Contemporary populations sometimes suggested as

sharing a close relationship to the Romani are the Dom people of Central Asia and the Banjara of

India.[10]

Another major emigration from the subcontinent was to South East Asia. It started through early

interaction of Indian traders and, after mid-first millennium CE, by some import of Brahmins. This

resulted in the establishment of the so-called Indian zed kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The Cholas,

who were known for their naval power, conquered Sumatra and Malay Peninsula. The influence of

Indian culture is still strongly felt in South East Asia, for example with the royal Brahmins of

Thailand (rajkru), or especially in Bali (in Indonesia). In such cases, it is not reasonable to apply the

label 'PIO' to the descendants of emigrants from several centuries back. Intermixture has been so

great as to negate the value of such nomenclature in this context.

Another early Diaspora, of which little is known about was a reported Indian "Shendu" community

that was recorded when Yunnan was annexed by the Han Dynasty in the 1st century by the Chinese

authorities. Indian trader's family in Bagamoyo,German East Africa, around 1906/18.

The Indian merchant Diaspora in Central Asia and Persia emerged in the mid-16th century and

remained active for over four centuries. Astrakhan at the mouth of the Volga was the first place

inTsardom of Russia where an Indian merchant colony was established as early as the 1610s.

Russian chroniclers reported the presence of Hindu traders in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 18th

century. During the 19th century and until the end of the Raj, much of the migration that occurred

was of poor workers to other British colonies under the indenture system. The major

destinations, in chronological order, were Mauritius, Guyana, the Caribbean, Fiji,

and East Africa. There was also a small amount of free emigration of skilled.

Emigration from the Republic of India

After the 1970s oil boom in the Middle East, numerous Indians emigrated to work in

the Gulf countries. With modern transportation and expectations, this was on a

contractual basis rather than permanent as in the 19th century cases. These Gulf

countries have a common policy of not naturalizing non-Arabs, even if they are born

there.

The 1990s software boom and rising economy in the USA attracted numerous Indians

who emigrated to the United States of America. Today, the USA has the third largest

number of Indians.

Vikash Dhorasoo, former professional French football midfielder

Main article: Indian Diaspora in East Africa

Before the larger wave of migration during the British colonial era, a significant group

of South Asians, especially from the west coast

(Sindh, Surat, Konkan, Malabar and Lanka) regularly traveled to East Africa,

especially Zanzibar. It is believed that they traveled in Arab dhows , MarathaNavy

ships (under Kanhoji Angre), and possibly Chinese junks and Portuguese vessels.

Some of these people settled in East Africa and later spread to places like present

day Uganda. Later they mingled with the much larger wave of South Asians who

came with the British.

Indian migration to the modern countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania started

nearly a century ago when these were part of British East Africa. Most of these

migrants were of Gujarati or Punjabi origin. Their number may have been as high as

500,000 in the 1960s. Indian-led businesses were (or are) the backbone of the

economies of these countries. These ranged in the past from small rural grocery

stores to sugar mills. In addition, Indian professionals, such

as doctors, teachers,engineers, also played an important part in the development of

these countries. After independence from Britain in the 1960s, the majority of Asians,

as they were known, moved out or were forced out from these countries (in 1970's

by Idi Amin in Uganda). Most of them moved to Britain, or India, or other popular

destinations like the USA and Canada.

Indians in Madagascar are descended mostly from traders who arrived in 19th century

looking for better opportunities. The majority of them came from the west coast of

Indian state of Gujarat known as Karana (Muslim) and Banian (Hindu). The majority

speak Gujarati, though some other Indian languages are spoken. Nowadays the

younger generations speak at least three languages

including, French or English, Gujarati and Malagasy. A large number of Indians are

highly educated in Madagascar, particularly the younger generation, who try to

contribute their knowledge to the development of Madagascar.

The current President of Mauritius, Anerood Jugnauth, with former US

President George W. Bush . Jugnauth is of Indian descent.

Outside of India itself, Mauritius is the only country where people of Indian Origin

form the vast majority (not including Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago where Afro-

Trinidadians and Indo-Trinidadians have equal populations, or Fiji where the Indo-

Fijians once formed the majority but not today). The people are known as Indo-

Mauritians, and form about 70% of the population. The majority of them

are Hindu (77%) and a significant group are Muslims (22%). There are also

some Christians, Bahá'ís and Sikhs, but the Bahá'ís and Sikh populations do not add

up to even 1% of the population. Various Indian languages are still spoken,

especially Bhojpuri, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Hindi, and Urdu, but most Indo-

Mauritians now speak a French-based Creole language at home, as well as French in

general fields. Finding an Indo-Mauritian who exclusively speaks an Indian language

is very rare.

Main articles: Réunionnais of Indian origin and Malbars

Indians make up a quarter of Réunion's population. Most originally came

as indentured workers from South Indian

Navanethem Pillay, South African Tamil People

Main articles: Indian South Africans and Tamil South Africans

Most Asians in South Africa are descended from indentured Indian laborers who were

brought by the British from India in the 19th century, mostly to work in the sugar cane

plantations of what is now the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). A minority are

descended from Indian traders who migrated to South Africa at around the same time,

many from the Gujarat area. The city of Durban has the highest number of Asians in

sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indian independence leader Mahatma worked as a lawyer in

the city in the early 1900s. South Africa in fact has the highest number of people of

Indian descent outside of India in the world, i.e. born in South Africa and not migrant,

compared to the U.S. Most of them are fourth to fifth generation descent. Most Indian

South Africans do not speak the Indian languages which were 'lost' over the

generations, although they do enjoy watching Indian movies and listening to music.

Deborah, Miss Malaysia 2007

Current World No. 1 of women's squash, Malaysia's Nicola David, is

of Chadian descent.

The former President of Singapore, S.R. Nathan, is a Tamil of Indian descent.

Janine San Miguel, Filipino beauty queen

Main article: Indian Indonesian

Though there are no official figures, it is estimated that there are around 25,000

PIOs/NRIs living in Indonesia of which the Indian expatriate community registered

with the Embassy and our Consulate in numbers around 5000.

Indians have been living in Indonesia for centuries from the time of

the Srivijaya and Majapahit Empire both of which were Hindu and heavily influenced

by the subcontinent. Indians were later brought to Indonesia by the Dutch in the 19th

century as indentured laborers to work on plantations located

around Medan inSumatra. While the majority of these came from South India, a

significant number also came from the north India. The Medan Indians

included Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. They have now been in Indonesia for over four

generations and hold Indonesian passports. While local statistics continue to suggest

that there are some 40,000 PIOs in Sumatra, the vast majority are now completely

assimilated in Indonesian society, though some elements of

the Tamil, Sikh and Bihari Communities still maintain their cultural traditions.

The Indian Diaspora also includes several thousand Sindhi families who constitute the

second wave of Indian immigrants who made Indonesia their home in the first half of

the 20th century. The Sindhi community is mainly engaged in trading and commerce.

Among these communities, Tamils and to a lesser extent Sikhs were primarily

engaged in agriculture whileSindhis and Punjabis mainly established themselves

in textile trade and sports business.

The inflow of major Indian investments in Indonesia starting in the late 1970s drew a

fresh wave of Indian investors and managers to this country. This group

of entrepreneurs and business professionals has further expanded over the past two

decades and now includes engineers, consultants, chartered accountants,bankers and

other professionals.

The Indian community is very well regarded in Indonesia, is generally prosperous and

includes individuals holding senior positions in local and multinational companies.

Due to economic factors, most traders and businessmen among PIOs have over past

decades moved toJakarta from outlying areas such as Medan and Surabaya. Almost

half the Indian Community in Indonesia is now Jakarta-based; it is estimated that the

population of Jakarta's Indian community is about 19,000.[13]There are six main social

or professional associations in Jakarta's Indian PIO/NRI community. Gandhi Sever

Loka (formerly known as Bombay Merchants Association) is a charitable institution

run by the Sindhi community and is engaged mainly in educational and social

activities. The India Club is a social organization of PIO/NRI professionals. An Indian

Women's Association brings together PIO/NRI spouses and undertakes charitable

activities. There is a Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee in Jakarta and Sindhisas well

as Sikhs are associated with Gurudwara activities The (ECAII) brings together leading

from the Indian community with the objective of promoting bilateral economic

relations, but has been largely inactive. Finally, there is the (ICAI).

Main articles: Indian Malaysian and Chitty

Malaysia has one of the world's largest overseas Chinese and overseas Indian

populations. Most Indians migrated to Malaysia as plantation laborers under British

rule. They are a significant minority ethnic group, making up 8% of the Malaysian

population. Most of these people

are Tamils but Malayalam, Telugu,Punjabi and Gujarati- speaking people are also

present. They have retained their languages and religion — 80% of ethnic Indians in

Malaysia identify as Hindus. A significant number of the population are Sikhs and the

rest are Christians and Muslims.

There is also a small community of Indian origin, the Chitty, who are the descendants

of Tamil traders who had emigrated before 1500 AD, and Chinese and Malay locals.

Considering themselves Tamil, speakingMalay, and practicing Hinduism, the Chittys

number about 2000 today.

Main article: Indian settlement in the Philippines

At present time, there are approximately 38,000 and more Indians and Indian Filipinos

who are PIOs/NRIsas a whole living throughout the Philippines. Most are

concentrated in Manila, Cebu, and Davao, and even in places like Zamboanga, and

other major cities and small towns of the named 11 islands.

Indians from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India also came with the British expedition

against Manila that took the city from the Spaniards and occupied Manila and the area

around Canto and Morongo (which is now Rizal province) between 1762 and 1763. Many

of them refused to leave, mutinied, and married local Tagalogwomen, which explains

why many Filipinos around Canto, Rizal are Indian descendants.[14] Many Indians have

intermarried with Filipinos, more so than in neighboring countries such

as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, mainly because their populations are

largely Muslim, and Islam doesn't recognized non-Muslim males who marry Muslims.

During the 1930s and 1940s, many Indians and Indian Filipinos lived in Filipino

provinces, including Davao, which at the time had, and still have,

many Japanese and Japanese Filipinos. When the economy of the Philippines were

based in Manila, many moved there, which explains why today half of the Indian and

Indian Filipino community are now based there. Most of the Indians and Indian

Filipinos in the Philippines are Sindhi and Punjabi, but there is also a large Tamil

population as well. Many are fluent in Tagalong and English as well as the local

language of the provinces and islands. Many are prosperous middle and higher class

with their main occupations in clothing sales and marketing. Sikhs are involved

largely in finance, and sales and marketing. Most of the Indians and Indian Filipinos

are Hindu and Sikh, but have assimilated into Filipino culture and some are Catholic.

There is a main Hindu and Sikh temple in Manila, and all over the Philippine

provinces as well.

Lady Kasha and Kissy, International Rapper and Singer duo from Singapore

Indians in Singapore—defined as persons of South Asian paternal ancestry—form

10% of the country's citizens and permanent residents, making them Singapore's third

largest ethnic group. Among cities, Singapore has one of the largest overseas Indian

populations.

Although contact with ancient India left a deep cultural impact on Singapore's

indigenous Malay society, the mass migration of ethnic Indians to the island only

began with the founding of modern Singapore by the British in 1819. Initially, the

Indian population was transient, mainly comprising young men who came as workers,

soldiers and convicts. By the mid-20th century, a settled community had emerged,

with a more balanced gender ratio and a better groups. Tamils one among the four

official languages of Singapore alongside with English, Chinese and Malay.

Singapore's Indian population is notable for its class stratification, with

disproportionately large elite and lower income groups. This long-standing problem

has grown more visible since the 1990s with an influx of both well-educated and

unskilled migrants from India, and as part of growing income in Singapore. Indians

earn higher incomes than Malays, the other major minority group. Indians are also

significantly more likely to hold university degrees than these groups. However, the

mainly locally born Indian students in public primary and secondary schools under-

perform the national average at major examinations.

Singapore Indians are linguistically and religiously diverse, with ethnic Tamils and

nominal Hindus forming small majorities. Indian culture has endured and evolved

over almost 200 years. By the mid to late 20th century, it had become somewhat

distinct from contemporary South Asian cultures, even as Indian elements became

diffused within a broader Singaporean culture. Since the 1990s, new Indian

immigrants have increased the size and complexity of the local Indian population.

Together with modern communications like cable television and the internet, this has

connected Singapore with an emerging global Indian culture.

Prominent Indian individuals have long made a mark in Singapore as leaders of

various fields in national life. Indians are also collectively well represented, and

sometimes over-represented, in areas such as politics, education, diplomacy and

the law. There is also a small community of Indian origin, the Chitty, who are the

descendants of Tamil traders who had emigrated before 1500 AD, and Chinese and

Malay locals. Considering themselves Tamil, speaking Malay, and practicing

Hinduism, the Chittys number about 2000 today. Also there are manyMarwaris in

Singapore doing business successfully.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 there were 962,665 people who classified

themselves as being of Indian origin, including terms of "East Indian", South Asian

or Indo-Canadian. In 2001, Sikhs represented 34%, Hindus 27%, Muslims 17% and

Christians 16% (7% Protestant/evangelical,9% Catholic) of the total people of Indian

origin in Canada.[15] Relatively few people of Indian origin have no religious

affiliation. The main Indian ethnic communities are Punjabis as well

asGujaratis, Tamils (Indian as opposed to Sri Lankan), Indo-Caribbean’s (numbering

approximately 200,000),Kannadigas, Keralites, Bengalis, Sind his and others.

The first known Indian settlers in Canada were Indian army soldiers who had passed

through Canada in 1897 on their way back home from attending Queen's Diamond

Jubilee celebration in London, England. Some are believed to have remained

in British Columbia and others returned there later. Punjabi Indians were attracted to

the possibilities for farming and forestry. They were mainly male Sikhs who were

seeking work opportunities. Indo-Caribbean, descendants of the Indian indentured

workers who had gone to the Caribbean since 1838, made an early appearance in

Canada with the arrival of the Trinidadian medical student Kenneth Mohair and the

Demurer (now Guyana) clerk M.N. Santo, both in 1908.

The first Indian immigrants in British Columbia allegedly faced

widespread racism from the local white Canadians. Race riots targeted these

immigrants, as well as new Chinese immigrants. Most decided to return to India,

while a few stayed behind. The Canadianprevented these men from bringing their

wives and children until 1919, another reason why many of them chose to leave.

Quotas were established to prevent many Indians from moving to Canada in the early

20th century. These quotas allowed fewer than 100 people from India a year until

1957, when the number was increased to 300. In 1967, all quotas were scrapped.

Immigration was then based on a point system, thus allowing many more Indians to

enter. Since this open-door policy was adopted, Indians continue to come in large

numbers, and roughly 25,000-30,000 arrive each year (which now makes Indians the

second highest group immigrating to Canada each year, after the Chinese).

Most Indians choose to immigrate to larger urban centers like Toronto,

and Vancouver, where more than 70 percent live. Smaller communities are also

growing in Calgary, Edmonton and Montreal. Indians in Vancouver are from diverse

locations in India, such as Punjab, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra

Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. A place called Little India exists in Vancouver and a

section of Gerard Street (Toronto) in Toronto as well. Indians in Vancouver mainly

live in the suburb of Surrey, or nearby Abbotsford but are also found in other parts of

Vancouver. The vast majority of Vancouver Indians are of Sikh origin and have taken

significant roles in politics and other professions, with several Supreme Court justices ,

three Attorneys General and one provincial premier hailing from the community.

The Greater Toronto Area contains the second largest population of Indian descent

in North America, enumerating 484,655 residents of Indian origin as of 2006,

surpassed only by the 575,541 estimate by the 2007 American Community Survey for

the New York Combined Statistical Area . Note, however, that the Toronto count (but

not the New York count) includes individuals of West/Indo-Caribbean descent.

Shiva Chanderpaul, one of the most successful West Indian cricketers.

From 1838 to 1917, over half a million Indians from the former British Raj or British

India, were brought to the British West Indies as indentured servants to address the

demand for labor following the abolition of slavery. The first two shiploads arrived

in British Guiana (now Guyana) on 5 May 1838.

The majority of the Indians living in the English-speaking Caribbean came from

eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar, while those brought

to Guadeloupe and Martinique were mostly from, but not only, from Andhra

and Tamil Nadu. A minority emigrated from other parts of South Asia, including

present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh. Other Indo-Caribbean people descend from

later migrants, including Indian doctors, Gujarati businessmen and migrants

from Kenya and Uganda. A vague community of modern-day immigrants from India

is to be found on Saint-Martin / Sint Maarten and other islands with duty-free

commercial capabilities, where they are active in business.

Indo-Caribbean’s are the largest ethnic group in Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and

Tobago. They are the second largest group in Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines and other countries. There are small populations of them

in Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, French Guiana, Grenada, Panama, St. Lucia, Haiti,

Martinique and Guadeloupe.

The indentured Indians and their descendants have actively contributed to the

evolution of their adopted lands in spite of many difficulties. Jamaica has always

celebrated the arrival of the East Indians in Old Harbour Bay on 13 May. In

2003,Martinique celebrated the 150th anniversary of Indian arrival. Guadeloupe did

the same in 2004. These celebrations were not the fact of just the Indian minority but

the official recognition by the French and local authorities of their integration and

their wide-scale contribution in various fields from Agriculture to Education, Politics,

and to the diversification of the Creole culture. Thus the noted participation of the

whole multi-ethnic population of the two islands in these events.

Rajiv Shah

Indian immigration to North America started as early as 1890s. A Sikh-Canadians

community has existed in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, for over 100 years.

Emigration to the U.S. also started in the late 19th and early 20th century, when Sikhs

arriving in Vancouver found that the fact that they were subjects of the British Empire

did not mean anything in the Empire (Canada) itself, and they were blatantly

discriminated against. Some of these pioneers entered the U.S or landed

in Seattle and San Francisco as the ships that carried them from Asia often stopped at

these ports. Most of these immigrants were Sikhs from the Punjab region. They were

referred to in the U.S. as Hindus (due to a common American misconception that

everyone in India was a Hindu and also for want of a term that distinguished these

immigrants from Native Americans who were then called Indians).

Bobby Tindal, 55th and current Governor of the state of Louisiana.

Asian women were restricted from immigrating, because the US government passed

laws in 1917 at the behest of California and other states in the west, which had

experienced a large influx of Chinese, Japanese and Indian immigrants during and

after the gold rush. As a result, many of the South Asian men in California

married Mexican women. A fair number of these families settled down in the Central

Valley in California as farmers, and continue to this day. These early immigrants were

denied voting rights, family re-unification and citizenship. In 1923 the Supreme Court

of the United States, in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, ruled that people from

India (at the time, British India, e.g. South Asians) were ineligible for citizenship.

Thind became a citizen a few years later in New York. Bhagat Singh Thind was

a Sikh fromIndia who settled in Oregon; he had earlier applied for citizenship and

been rejected in Oregon.[17]

After World War II, US immigration policy changed to allow family re-unification for

people of non-white origin after being banned for almost half a century. In addition,

Asians were allowed to become citizens and to vote. A large number of the men who

arrived before the 1940s were finally able to bring their families to the US; most of

them settled in California and other west coast states.

Another wave of Indian immigrants entered the U.S. in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and

1980s. A large proportion of them were Sikhs joining their family members under the

new more (though not completely) color-blind immigration laws, and professionals or

students that came from all over India. The Cold War created a need for engineers in

the defense and aerospace industries, many of whom came from India. By the late

1980s and early 1990s, Marwari’s, Gujarati and South Indian Tamil people settled in

the U.S. . Overall Tamil (Indri Nooyi,Venkatraman Ramakrishnan,and Robert

Chandra), Marwari’s, Gujarat is, and Punjabis are the most prominent groups of

Indian origin. The most recent and probably the largest wave of immigration to date

occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000 during the internet boom. As a result,

Indians in the U.S. are now one of the largest among the groups of

Indian Diaspora with an estimated population of about 2.7 million. In contrast to the

earliest groups of Indians who entered the US workforce as taxi drivers, laborers,

farmers or small business owners, the later arrivals often came as professionals or

completed graduate study here and moved into the professions. They have become

very successful financially thanks to the hi-tech industry, and are thus probably the

most well-off community of immigrants. They are well represented in all walks of

life, but particularly so in academia, information technology and medicine. There were

over 4,000 PIO professors and 84,000 Indian-born students in American universities

in 2007-08. The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin boasts a

membership of 35,000. In 2000, Fortune magazine estimated the wealth generated by

Indian Silicon Valley entrepreneurs at around $250 billion. The combined wealth of

the non-resident Indian community is estimated to be over 1 trillion dollars according

to a report by the High-Powered expert committee appointed by the center.[citation needed]

Though currently the Indian Diaspora in the US is largely concentrated in

metropolitan areas such as New York (with the largest Indian American population,

enumerating 575,541 individuals according to 2007 American Community Survey

estimates by the U.S. Census) - as well as Washington

D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and San

Francisco - almost every metropolitan area in the US has a community of Indians.

Freddie Mercury, lead singer and co-founder of the immensely successful rock

band Queen, was of Paris descent and grew up in India.

Sean, British singer-songwriter, rapper, beat boxer and record producer

Main articles: British Indian and Indian community of London

The Indian emigrant community in the United Kingdom is now in its third generation.

Indians in the UK are the largest community outside of Asia proportionally, and the

second largest in terms of population, only surpassed by the United States, and closely

followed by Canada. The first wave of Indians in the United Kingdom worked as

manual laborers’ and were not respected within society. However, this has changed

considerably. Third and fourth generation immigrants are on the whole proving to be

very successful, especially in the fields of law, business and medicine. Despite only

making up 3% of the population, Indians account for 45% of students at private

schools, demonstrating the financial prosperity enjoyed by many of the immigrants.

Indian culture has been constantly referenced within the wider British culture, at first

as an "exotic" influence in films like My Beautiful Launderette, but now increasingly

as a familiar feature in films like Bend It Like Beckham.

According to the April 2001 UK National Census,[18] There are 1,051,800 people of

Indian origin in the UK. The main ethnic groups are Marwari’s, Tamils, Punjabis,

Gujarat is, Bengalis and Anglo-Indians. Hindus comprise 45% of the population,

Sikhs 29%, Muslims 13%, Christians nearly 5%, with the remainder made up of Janis

(15,000), Paresis (Zoroastrians), Buddhists and those who stated no religion. 2005

estimates state 2.41% of England's population as being Indian (not including mixed

race), which would be around 1,215,400 (see Demographics of England). Following

the continuous trend (including those of mixed Indian ancestry), in 2008 there are

likely to be well over 1,600,000 Indian people in the UK. Some are Atheist (<1%).[19]

Most Indians in the United Kingdom have settled in London, the Midlands, the North

West, Yorkshire and the South East. Their presence in Scotland, Wales, Northern

Ireland and other regions is not as large. The first generation of immigrants were to be

found in the east-end of London which, traditionally was the poorest area in London.

However, due to gentrification, this is no longer the case.

There are 2,360,000 people currently speaking Indian languages in the United

Kingdom.[20]

There is a huge population of Indians in the Middle East, most coming

from Kerala and other south Indian states, especially in the oil rich countries

neighboring the Persian Gulf. Most moved to the Gulf after the oil boom to work as

engineers, doctors, lawyers, laborers and forclerical jobs. Indians – all foreigners, in

fact – in the Gulf do not normally become citizens however. They retain their Indian

passports since most of the countries in the Gulf do not provide citizenship or

permanent residency. One of the major reasons why Indians like to work in the Gulf is

because it provides incomes many times over for the same type of job back

in India and its geographical proximity to India. The Indian Diaspora makes up a good

proportion of the working class in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2005,

about 40% of the population in the United Arab Emirates were of Indian descent.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states include Saudi

Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. NRI population in

these GCC countries is estimated to be around 6,000,000 (2006–2007), of which over

1,500,000 stay in the UAE. Majority of them originate from Rajasthan, Kerala, Uttar

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Bihar. NRI population tends to

save and remit considerable amount to their dependents in India. It is estimated such

remittances may be over USD 10 billion per annum (including remittances by formal

and informal channels in 2005-2006). (Source: Research by S.Kadwe, 2007).

Main articles: Indians in Israel, Bene Israel, and Bnei Menashe

The Bene Israel (Hebrew: "Sons of Israel", Marathi: are a group of Jews who

migrated in the 19th century from villages in the Konkan area to the

nearby Indian cities, primarily Mumbai, but also to Pane, and Ahmadabad. In the

second half of the 20th century, most of them emigrated to Israel, where they now

number about 60,000. The native language of the Been Israel is Judæo-Marathi, a

form of Marathi.

The Jews of Cochin, in Kerala (Cochin Jews), were another prominent community

that migrated to Israel after its creation. They were granted protection by the King of

the Princely State of Cochin. The earliest Jews in this region, as per local tradition,

date to as early as 379 CE. The community was a mix of native Jews (called 'Black

Jews'), and European Jews (called 'White Jews') who had emigrated to Cochin after

the successive European conquests of Cochin. The Jewish community of Cochin

spoke a variant of Malayalam, called Judeo-Malayalam. The community, after the

creation of Israel, saw a mass exodus from Cochin, and is presently facing extinction.

Another group of Indians to arrive in Israel belong to the Benin Menasha ("Children

of Manasseh", Hebrew a group of more than 9,000 people from India's North-Eastern

border states of Manipur and Mizoram, who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes

of Israel, and of whom about 1,700 now live in Israel (some of them in Israeli

settlements on the West Bank). Linguistically, Benin Menasha are Tibeto-Burman and

belong to the Mize, Koki and Chin peoples (the terms are virtually interchangeable).[21] The move to convert them to Judaism and bring them to Israel is politically

controversial in both India and Israel.

As of 2009 it is estimated that there are over 405,000 Australians of Indian origin of

which 308,542 are born in India.[22] It is said that the first Indian had come to Australia

as part of Captain Cook's ship.[citation needed] Before roads and road transport were

developed, many Indians had come to Australia to run camel trains. They would

transport goods and mail via camel in the desert. Some of the earliest Punjabi arrivals

in Australia included Kareem Bux who came as a hawker to Bendigo in 1893, Sardar

Beer Singh Johal who came in 1895 and Sardar Narain Singh Heyer who arrived in

1898. Many Punjabis took part in the rush for gold on the Victorian fields. Indians

also entered Australia in the first half of the 20th century when both Australia and

India were still British colonies. Indian Sikhs came to work on the banana plantations

inSouthern Queensland. Today a large number of them live in the town

of Woolgoolga (a town lying roughly half-way between Sydney andBrisbane). Some

of these Indians, the descendants of Sikh plantation workers, now

own banana farms in the area. There are two Sikhtemples in Woolgoolga. One of

which even has a museum dedicated to Sikhism. A large number

of Britons and Anglo-Indians born in India migrated to Australia after 1947. These

British citizens decided to settle in Australia in large numbers but are still counted as

'Indian' Nationals in the census. The third wave of Indians entered the country in the

1980s, after the demise of the white Australia policy. After the policy was abolished

many Indian teachers and doctors settled in Australia. Another big influx began with

the IT revolution. Large numbers of Indian software professionals arrived in Australia

from 1976 onwards. After successive military coups in Fiji of 1987 and 2000 a

significant number of Fijian-Indians migrated to Australia as such there is a large

Fijian-Indian population in Australia. Fijian-Indians have significantly changed the

character of the Indian community in Australia. While most earlier Indian migration

was by educated professionals, the Fijian-Indian community was also largely by

professionals but also brought many small business owners and entrepreneurs.

The current wave of Indian migration is that of engineers, tool-

makers, Gujarati business families from East Africa and relatives of settled Indians.

Starved of government funding, Australian education institutes are recruiting full fee

paying overseas students. Many universities have permanent representatives stationed

in India and other Asian countries. Their efforts have been rewarded and a new influx

of Indian students entering Australia. The total number of student visas granted to

Indian students for 2006-2007 were 34,136;[23] a significant rise from 2002 to 2003

when 7,603 student visa's were granted Indian students.[24]

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 87% of Indians residing in Australia

are aged under 50 and over 83% of the population are proficient in English. Many in

the community are Hindu and Sikh, while there are also smaller number of Christians

and Muslims.[citation needed]

[edit] NRI is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who

is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other

terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian. In common usage, this

often includes Indian-born individuals (and also people of other nations with Indian ancestry) who

have taken the citizenship of other countries.

A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) is usually a person of Indian origin who is not a citizen of India.

For the purposes of issuing a PIO Card, the Indian government considers anyone of Indian origin up

to four generations removed to be a PIO, with the exception of those who were ever nationals

of: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka.[2][3] The prohibited list

periodically includes Iran as well[4]. Spouses of people entitled to a PIO card in their own right can

also carry PIO cards. This latter category includes foreign spouses of Indian nationals, regardless of

ethnic origin, so long as they were not born in, or ever nationals of, the aforementioned prohibited

countries.[5]. PIO Cards exempt holders from many restrictions applying to foreign nationals, such as

visa and work permit requirements, along with certain other economic limitations.

The former Governor General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand, is

of Indian descent.

Indians began to arrive in New Zealand in the late eighteenth century, mostly as crews

on British ships. A small number deserted; the earliest known Indian resident of New

Zealand was living with a Māori wife in the Bay of Islands in 1815. Numbers slowly

increased through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, despite a law change in 1899

which was designed to keep out people who were not of 'British birth and parentage'.

As in many other countries, Indians in New Zealand dispersed throughout the country

and had a high rate of small business ownership, particularly fruit and vegetable shops

and convenience stores. At this stage most Indian New Zealanders originated

from Gujarat. Changes in immigration policy in the 1980s allowed many

more Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis into the country, and the 1987 and 2000

military coups in Fiji caused a large increase in the number of Fijian Indians coming

to New Zealand. Notable Indian New Zealanders include

former Dunedin mayor Sukhi Turner, cricketer Dipak Patel, singer Aaradhna, and

former Governor General Anand Satyanand .[25]

[edit]Fiji

See Indians in Fiji, Girmityas, Gujaratis in Fiji

[edit]Statistics

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

Africa 2,800,000+

South Africa Indian South

Africans

1,300,000[26] 2.7%

Mauritius Indo-Mauritian 855,000 68.3%

Réunion

(France)

Réunionnais of

Indian

origin (Malbars)

220,000[27] 28%

Kenya Indians in Kenya 100,000[27] 0.3%

Tanzania Indians in Tanzania 90,000[27] 0.2%

Uganda Indians in Uganda 90,000 0.3%

Madagascar Indians in

Madagascar

28,000[27] 0.15%

Nigeria 25,000[27] 0.02%

Mozambique Indians in 21,000[27] 0.1%

Mozambique

Libya 20,000[28] 0.34%

Zimbabwe Indians in

Zimbabwe

16,000[27] 0.1%

Botswana Indians in Botswana 9,000[27] 0.5%

Zambia Indians in Zambia 6,000[27] 0.05%

Congo DR 6,000[27] 0.04%

Seychelles Indo-Seychellois 5,000[27] 6.2%

Ghana 3,800[27] 0.017%

Eritrea 1,753[29] 0.04%

Côte d'Ivoire 300[29] 0.0017%

Namibia 110[29] 0.005%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

Asia 9,800,000+

Nepal Nepalese people of

Indian ancestry

4,000,000[30] 14.7%

Malaysia Malaysian

Indian (Chitty

·Tamils)

2,400,000 8.7%

Burma Burmese

Indians · Anglo-

Indian

2,000,000[29] 4.2%

Sri Lanka Indians in Sri

Lanka(Tamils)

850,000[31] 4.4%

Singapore Indians in

Singapore

320,000 6.6%

Indonesia Indians in Indonesia 120,000[29] 0.05%

Thailand Indians in Thailand 65,000 0.1%

Philippines Indian settlement in

the Philippines

38,000[29][32] 0.04%

China Indians in

China (Hong Kong)

Mainland

China: 25,000

Hong Kong:

20,444

0.0019%

0.3%

Japan Indians in Japan 22,335[33] 0.02%

Maldives Indians in Maldives 9,000[34] 3.1%

Brunei Indians in Brunei 7,600[29] 2%

South Korea

North Korea

Indians in Korea 7,000[35]

5[36]

0.014%

0.00000021

%

Bhutan 1,500[29] 0.07%

Kazakhstan 1,200[37] 0.08%

Afghanistan Indians in

Afghanistan

1,000[37] 0.003%

Uzbekistan 700[37] 0.003%

Turkmenistan 700[37] 0.014%

Vietnam Indians in Vietnam 1000[29] 0.0011%

Cambodia Indians in

Cambodia

1500[29] 0.01%

Laos 125[29] 0.002%

Kyrgyzstan 100[29] 0.002%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

Middle East 4,200,000+

Saudi Arabia Indians in Saudi

Arabia

1,900,000[28] 6.1%

United Arab

Emirates

Indians in the

United Arab

Emirates

1,300,000[38] 31.7%

Kuwait Indians in Kuwait 580,000[39] 21.6%

Oman Indians in Oman 450,000[28] 17.5%

Bahrain 150,000[28] 19%

Qatar Indians in Qatar 125,000[28] 15.7%

Israel Indians in Israel 45,000[40] 0.7%

Lebanon Indians in Lebanon 11,000[29] 0.27%

Yemen 9,000[41] 0.04%

Syria 1,800[29] 0.009%

Iran Indians in Iran 800[37] 0.001%

Turkey Indians in Turkey 300[42] 0.0004%

Cyprus Indians in Cyprus 300[43] 0.24%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

Europe 1,768,834+[44]

United

Kingdom

British Indian 1,053,411

(2001)[45]

England 1,414,1

00 (2009)[46]

Wales 20,100

(2009)[47]

Scotland 17,000

(2001)[48]

1.8%

2.7%

0.7%

0.3%

0.1%

Northern

Ireland 1,600

(2001)[49]

Netherlands Hindoestanen 123,000[43] 0.7%

Italy Indians in Italy 150,000[43] 0.25%

Portugal Indians in Portugal 70,000[43] 0.7%

France Indian diaspora in

France

65,000[43] 0.1%

Russia Indians in Russia 40,000[50] 0.01%

Germany Indians in Germany 97,000[43] 0.04%

Spain Indian community

of Spain

29,000[43] 0.07%

Switzerland 13,500[43] 0.2%

Austria 11,945[43] 0.15%

Sweden 11,000[43] 0.1%

Belgium Indians in Belgium 7,000[43] 0.07%

Greece 7,000[43] 0.06%

Norway 5,630[43] 0.1%

Denmark 5,500[43] 0.1%

Ukraine 3,500[43] 0.007%

Republic of

Ireland

1,600[43] 0.04%

Romania 1,200[51] 0.0055%

Finland Indians in Finland 1,170[43] 0.02%

Poland Indians in Poland 2,000[43] 0.005%

Slovakia 100[43] 0.002%

Lithuania 100[43] 0.003%

Bulgaria 20[43] 0.0003%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

North

Americ

a/Caribbean

5,100,000+

United States Indian American 2,843,391[52] 0.9%

Canada Indo-Canadian

(Tamil Canadians)

1,230,051[53] 3.9%

Trinidad and

Tobago

Indo-Trinidadian

and Tobagonian

525,000[54] 40.2%

Jamaica Indo-Jamaican 90,000[55] 3.4%

Guadeloupe

(France)

Indo-Guadeloupean 55,000 13.6%

Cuba Indo-Caribbean · A

sian Latin American

34,000[56] 0.3%

Saint Vincent

and the Grenadines

Indo-Caribbean 21,500[citation needed] 19.7%

Grenada Indo-Grenadians 12,000 11.7%

Martinique

(France)

Indo-Martiniquais 43,600 10%

Saint Lucia Indo-Caribbean 4,700 2.8%

Puerto

Rico (United

States)

Asian Latin

American ·Indo-

Caribbean

4,500[citation needed] 0.1%

Barbados Indians in Barbados 2,200[29] 0.8%

Mexico Indian immigration

to Mexico

2,000[57] 0.0004%

Saint Kitts and Indo-Caribbean 1,100[29] 2.6%

Nevis

Netherlands

Antille

s(Netherlands)

Indo-Caribbean 600[58] 0.3%

Belize Indians in Belize 500[29] 0.2%

Antigua and

Barbuda

Indo-Caribbean 300[59] 0.4%

Haiti Indo-Haitian 200[60] 0.4%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

population

Percentage

of local

population

South America 510,000+

Guyana Indo-Guyanese 327,000 43.5%

Suriname Indo-Surinamese 135,000 27.4%

Panama Indians in Panama 20,000 0.3%

Brazil Indian immigration

to Brazil

1,900[29] 0.001%

Argentina Indians in

Argentina

1,600[29] 0.004%

Chile Indians in Chile 1,400[61] 0.004%

Venezuela Indians in

Venezuela

690[29] 0.0026%

Peru Asian Latin

American

145[29] 0.0005%

Uruguay Indians in Uruguay 90-100[62] 0.001%

Colombia Asian Latin

American

20[29] 0.00004%

Continent /

country

Articles Overseas

Indian

Percentage

of local

population population

Oceania 850,000+

Fiji Indians in Fiji 340,000 40.1%

Australia Indian Australian 405,000+[22] 2.0%

New Zealand Indian New

Zealander

105,000[63] 2.6%

Total overseas

Indian population

~24,000,000

[edit]See also

[edit]Diaspora of Indian ethnic groups

Punjabi diaspora (Sikhs)

Non Resident Oriya

Tamil diaspora

[edit]Related diasporas

Bangladeshi diaspora

Non Resident Nepali

Pakistani diaspora

[edit]Others

List of NRIs

[2]

Indianized kingdom

Indian Arrival Day

Indian diaspora in East Africa

Indophobia

Life Insurance of NRI's

Life Insurance Corporation cater to the life Insurance

needs of Non-Resident Indians working Indians

working abroad thousands of miles away from the

Homeland.

1. Eligibility Criteria

NRIs holding valid passport issued by the Govt. of

India and who are INDIAN NATIONAL Can take

L.I.C. policies in Indian Rupee currency either

i. during their short visit to India from any of its

2048 branch offices spread all over India OR

ii. Can avail insurance from country of his

temporary residence on MAIL ORDER BASIS.

2 Selecting a Plan

To select a plan as per your needs, please choose from the

"Schemes" and then from "Plans", from our WEBSITE.

3. How much to Pay?

Please click on "Premium Calculations" to get instalment

premium for the selected plan at your age, for the sum to be

assured and the term for which policy is desired online from

LIC's site. Facility for payment of premium in Quarterly, Half

yearly and Yearly modes are available. Enclose copy of your

PASSPORT towards age.

4. How To Apply?

To obtain insurance on your own life, use "Proposal for

Insurance on Own Life" which you can conveniently download

right away from "On Line Forms" For other plans, please

download appropriate Proposal Form from "On Line Forms".

Kindly complete the Non-Resident Questionnaire available

at "On Line Forms".

5. Completion of Policy

Please read carefully 'Completion of Proposal Form' and

'Medical Examination Procedure' for completion of documents

request your Medical Examiner to send his Medical Report.

Other Proposal papers and Full deposit towards the First

Premium by AIR MAIL directly to the Branch / Divisional

Office convenient to you for underwriting and completion of

policy. Please hand-over a Stamped envelope with the address

of the office of the Corporation to the Doctor for Dispatching

papers.

For Email address of L. I. C. Zonal / Divisional Offices, please

select the option "Contact to L.I.C.". You can get POSTAL

ADDRESS from Zonal / Divisional Office.

6. Remittance of Premium

The Reserve Bank of India permits payment of premium in one

of the following ways :

i. By direct remmitance from abroad through banking

channels in approved manner (preferably by Indian Rupee

Demand Drafts drawn in favour of L.I.C. Of India) or by

remittance through postal channels like Foreign Money

Order

ii. By payment out of funds held in Non-Resident (External)

or Foreign currency (Non- Resident ) Account with Bank

in India.

iii. By cheques drawn by non-Resident policy holder on Bank

Accounts held in India in his Own name (either solely or

jointly) with another member of the family) whether or not

the Account has been designated as non-resident.

iv. By cheque drawn on account maintained by resident

parent or spouse of policyholder in their own name or

joint names with other close relatives.

v. By the absolute Assignee in India wherever such policies

have been absolutely assigned To a resident in India.

vi. By the employers in respect of policies issued to their

employees who have been deputed Abroad by them

vii. Premiums can be paid in cash by a resident parent or

spouse of the non-resident Policyholder subject to his/her

submitting a letter stating the relationship with the

Policyholder.

viii. Premiums due on policies issued to Indian students who

have gone abroad for higher Studies may be collected in

Rupees out of the Resident Bank Account in India or any

of their representatives in India by cash or cheques.

7. Export of Policy

As per the present rules, policy cannot be exported out of

India. It can be retained in L.I.C. Office, to be handed over to

you, when you visit India next or can be sent to Resident of

India to be named by you or to your banker for safe custody.

8. Settlement of Claims

Claims of any nature arising under the policy will be settled in

Indian currency in India. The payment of policy moneys in

foreign currency can be made on getting approval from

Reserve Bank of India. Present Exchange Control Regulations,

permit policy moneys Payment in foreign currency

proportionate to the premiums paid in foreign currency by

direct Remittance or from the Non Resident (External)

Account or Foreign currency Non Resident Account with a

Bank in India.

Note:

To ensure and enhance the quality of life of people through

financial security by providing Life Insurance products and

services of high quality, and by providing resources for

economic development.

How NRIs help India while desis crib about them

MADHU GOPINATH RAO writes from New York City: If you write about India or

Indian matters, and happen to be based outside India, it comes as no surprise to see a

couple of “Why don’t you come back to India first…” or a “What do you know of the

rural reality?” taunts pop up in the comments. Many of these come from the web

2.0 crowd that has embraced the IT boom and blogging, and are themselves an

integral part of it.

We have come to accept, embrace and revere the beacons of India’s web 2.0 :

the N.R. Narayana Murthys and Azim Premjis, who, as czars of Nasdaq and NYSE

listed conglomerates, made their riches in dollars and pounds among a bunch of other

currencies. The NRNs and Premjis are national heroes while your typical Non-

Resident Indian (NRI) is a deserter who is pursuing his dreams outside the

subcontinent.

Quite a few of these IT giants/heroes, rightfully praised for their entrepreneurship,

have shied away from doing domestic IT business as the profits are shallow and it

does not make business sense. On the other hand, a garden-variety NRI gets a jeer for

the foreign association.

Why the different yardsticks?

Since the rupee-to-dollar conversion provides a 40x multiplication factor, a dollar

saved is 40 rupees saved; hardly anything you did not already know. The factor is

similarly attractive in some other foreign currencies as well. This has been a strong

reason for Indian nationals, and companies alike, being interested in overseas markets

—yours sincerely included.

I offer no other altruistic, untrue reason that intends to side-swipe this gospel truth.

None is needed in my opinion, for it is not a crime to pursue your dream while being

rooted deeply with the mother ship. Far from jeering, NRI baiters may have a reason

to thank me and my ilk.

If you think this is another bored to death NRI spinning a tale, no, I’m not about to

spin a tale, I sit on my tail thank you.

***

Get this:

India’s Foreign Direct Investment in 2007: $16 billion

NRI remittances: $29 billion, translating to $90 billion

India’s FDI has witnessed a startling surge. As compared with $16.5 billion over the

whole of the 1990s at an annual average of $2.2-3.2 billion, the FDI for 2005-06 was

pegged at $5.5 billion. In 2006-07, it touched $11.19 billion and for 2007, by Oct-

2007, it was at $15.7 billion and climbing. It is downright stupendous when your

current year investment (2007) is as much as the whole investments in the last decade

pre-millennium(1990s).

In another seemingly unrelated yet relevant news, Western Union, a global provider of

cross-border money-transfer services, proudly opened its 50,000th agent location in

India on January 14 this year.

According to the Reserve Bank of India, India is one of the largest receivers of foreign

remittances. How much is it anyway? And shall we compare that with the FDI that we

are so proud of?

Sure, how does 200% of FDI sound? There is no typo there. The remittances were in

the excess of $26.9 billion for 2006-2007. Now contrast $29+ billion with India’s

2006-07 defence budget as the fourth largest military on the planet: $20 billion.

By the time you have collected your jaw from the floor to retort about the urban-rural

disparity in the flow, let me tell you that Western Union’s 50,000 agent locations in

India span across 5,000 cities, towns and villages. This includes more than 8,500 post

offices and more than 14,000 branches of leading banks. That’s clearly not just your

major metros?

And it gets even better, $30 billion is more like $90 billion!

“If the World Bank is correct, every dollar remitted contributes 3 dollars to the GDP

growth—which means that NRIs are contributing almost $90 billion to the growth of

India’s rural economy…”

— Shekhar Kapoor, the noted film maker, who pursues as much of his dreams

overseas as in India.

Per above, the NRI funds seem to disseminate better into the rural areas than many a

fancied FDI. The common-man -being-left-out card doesn’t hold water either. Yes, the

IT boom and the ‘going abroad’ becoming a commonplace has created an economic

imbalance. But the same has also led to the vast upwardly mobile bludgeoning middle

class that has a better quality of life.

Per above the myth that this boom has not helped the poor, is well, a myth at best.

The McKinsey group ‘s detailed study takes a realistic note of the ground realities, the

above included. Excerpts:

“Contrary to popular perceptions, rural India has benefited from this growth: extreme

rural poverty has declined from 94 per cent in 1985 to 61 per cent in 2005, and

we project that it will drop to 26 per cent by 2025.”

“The Indian middle class has already begun to evolve, and by 2025 it will dominate

the cities. By then about three-quarters of India’s urbanites will be part of the

middle class, compared with just more than one-tenth today.”

***

I have great respect for people who are driven enough to pursue their ambition, and go

where it takes them. Likewise, I have profound respect for people who are grounded

enough to seek those dreams from their home soil. The former vs the latter is more

often than not a matter of circumstance with a million other influences.

To say one is in any way better or noble compared to the other is myopic and naive. In

times when the world is getting flattened and global sourcing is an accepted norm, we

need to get past denial and onto acceptance.

When was the last time you picked up something that did not have a foreign

collaboration slapped to it?

From the Colgate that starts the mornings, to the Suzukis-Chevrolets-Volvos that ply

you to software parks that cater to a largely foreign customer base, via the HP-IBM-

Dell desktops running Microsoft’s Windows, to the Pepsis-Cokes to the Lay’s chips to

the iPods, you are more of a global citizen today than ever before.

It is no secret that, given a sliver of chance, very many of these critics and jeerers

would only be too happy to pack their suitcases and line up at the embassies.

That notwithstanding, if ‘Foreign Direct Investment’ and ‘Non Resident Indian’

investments are key to India’s growth, and NRIs, apart from re-investing in India do

influence the FDI flow as well, we ought to treat them better—$90 billion is no

chump change, and a similar phenomenon is not happening in China that is oft

compared to India, and China has a bigger expat population.

***

NRIs have a very strong sense of bonding with the mother ship and this helps India.

If the remittances cannot make a believer out of you, just look at any popular

site’s sitemeter. The diaspora that checks in is not all domestic traffic. Nostalgia, a

sense of belonging or longing, sardarjijokes, Rakhi Sawant or Deve Gowda, all of

the above that gets them there, is pure Indian. From the Bollywood movies to the

temples-mosques galore, the Indian diaspora has kept in touch with the Indian culture,

despite being away and in their own way.

The above is just my view point. I’m sure there are interesting, constrasting thoughts

on both sides of the sea.

References

1. ̂ Expatriate Indians in UAE not hit by global meltdown

2. ̂ http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/oci-chart.pdf

3. ̂ http://www.indianembassy.org/policy/PIO/Introduction_PIO.html

4. ̂ https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/pio/display-requirements

5. ̂ http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/oci-chart.pdf

6. ̂ "Health care fails to reach migrants" . Hindustan Times. 1 December

2010.

7. ̂ "Pravasi Bharatiya Divas" . Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs .

8. ̂ http://www.indiacgny.org/php/showContent.php?linkid=174

9. ̂ The History and Origin of the Roma

10. ̂ Hancock, Ian. Ame Sam e Rromane Džene/We are the Romani people.

p. 13. ISBN 1902806190 .

11. ̂ Tan Chung (1998). A Sino-Indian Perspective for India-China

Understanding .

12. ̂ The Indian Diaspora In Russia

13. ̂ Kesavapany, K.; Mani, A; P. Ramasamy. Rising India and Indian

Communities in East Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

pp. 234. ISBN 9812307990 .

14. ̂ Singhs, Ajit (2007). Indian Communities in Southeast Asia.

Philippines: Institute of Southeast Asia studies.ISBN 9789812304186 .

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18. ̂ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13675

19. ̂ 1.6 million Indians in the UK

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33. ̂ http://www.moj.go.jp/PRESS/090710-1/090710-3.pdf


35. ̂ More Indian Techies in South Korea .

36. ̂ Overseas Indian Population 2001 .

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38. ̂ http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/12988.asp

39. ̂ A microcosm of India in the heart of oil-rich Kuwait

40. ̂ Indians in Israel


42. ̂ http://www.indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/part1-est.pdf

43.^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/

chapter11.pdf

44. ̂ Indian population growth

45. ̂ "The UK population: By ethnic group, April 2001" . Office for National

Statistics. Retrieved 4 April 2010.

46. ̂ Indians in England

47. ̂ Indians in Wales

48. ̂ Indians in Scotland

49. ̂ Indians in Northern Ireland

50. ̂ : The Indian Diaspora In Russia

51. ̂ http://meaindia.nic.in/foreignrelation/romania.pdf

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20% sample data


55. ̂ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=102818&rog3=JM/

56. ̂ http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=CU

57. ̂ : Indian Ministry of External Affairs - INDIA-MEXICO RELATIONS

58. ̂ http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=NT

59. ̂ http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?

rog3=AC&sf=primarylanguagename&so=asc

60. ̂ Ayitinou.com - India-Haiti: relationships that are consolidated

61. ̂ : 9 October 08 Bharat Dadlani: "The Hindu community in Chile feels

like home"

62. ̂ [1]

63. ̂ http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/quickstats-about-

culture-identity/quickstats-about-culture-and-identity.htm?

page=para015Master

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