Minister wants Kerala to tap Indian expatriates

Lily

B.R
Staff member
Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs and Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi said on Saturday that non-resident Indians (NRIs) must be involved in speeding up development activities in the state.

The minister delivered a keynote address during the session on diaspora at the Kerala Development Congress organised by the state unit of the Congress party.

"Every year the [NRIs] remit close to Rs50,000 crore [Dh39.6 billion] in the state and this money should be channelled in productive sectors." said Ravi.

"Sadly at the moment there is no avenue to do that."

He chided the state government for not involving the NRIs to take part in the equity of the Kannur international airport project.

"The state government should have allowed the diaspora to invest in small amounts in the airport. Other possible sectors to channel NRI money are services and tourism industries," he said. There are more than two million NRIs from Kerala out of which close to 90 per cent are working in Middle East countries.

 
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