Agencies/Gandhinagar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday appealed to millions of people of Indian origin

around the world to bolster their homeland’s economy, after easing visa rules to attract

overseas talent.
Modi, who won a landslide election victory last May on a pledge to revive the economy,

urged the Indian diaspora to consider returning home, saying the country was “brimming

with opportunities.”
“It was a time when your forefathers did what was necessary. They ventured in search of

opportunities to unknown countries,” Modi said at the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD),

the world’s largest annual gathering of people of Indian origin, in his home state of

Gujarat.
“Today, times have changed rapidly and now opportunities await for you here in India. The

world is now looking with great expectations at India,” Modi said.
“Times have changed very quickly. India is brimming with opportunities.”
Modi has long appealed to overseas Indians who gave him a rockstar welcome during official

visits to the US and Australia last year. Yesterday’s event in Gandhinagar commemorates

the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa in 1915.
Gandhi had his political baptism in South Africa after arriving there in 1893, with his

experience of racism in the country shaping his future political activism back home.
The event coincides with a major investment summit on the weekend in Gandhinagar also to

be attended by non-resident Indians and to be addressed by US Secretary of State John

Kerry.  
President Pranab Mukherjee has in recent days signed an executive order paving the way to

make it easier for Indians who left the country years ago to get lifetime visas back in

their nation of origin.
“Indians living outside the country are a big asset. But it’s not a one-way thing, it

should be two-way. India must also reach out to its people,” Modi told the audience who

included Indians currently living in more than 50 countries.
More than 21mn Indians live outside the country, according to government figures.Indians

also sent home $70bn in remittances in 2013, the World Bank said in a report last year.
Modi has been attempting to attract foreign investment to India including through his

“Make in India” campaign, and by easing regulations for businesses wanting to set up in

the country.
Young, foreign-educated Indians came back in droves at the turn of the millennium and

poured in funds as the economy took off with a roar, but the flow has dried up as growth

sputtered in the past few years. Modi is keen to reverse that trend.
The energetic leader’s popularity has already won over some high-profile individuals,

including Arvind Panagariya and Arvind Subramanian, two of the world’s top economists, who

recently joined his government after long careers in the US.
Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj said the government was determined to work closely

with the diaspora, and invited professionals to join in efforts to develop the country and

“restore it to its past glory.”
She assured the diaspora that their efforts to contribute to India’s development would be

a “mutually rewarding and satisfying partnership.”
“I believe you have the unique insights, perspectives and the extensive natural links that

can make this partnership work,” she said.
Swaraj, who is also the external affairs minister, said the diaspora constitutes an

important and unique force that has given India a presence in many parts of the world.
“However, it is not a one-way interaction that benefits only one side. It pleases all

Indians when the overseas Indian community is respected for its work culture, discipline,

successful integration with the local community and for its outstanding contributions in

their countries of residence,” she noted.
“A successful, prosperous and politically influential diaspora is an asset to India, much

as a strong and self-reliant India would be a source of strength and inspiration for the

diaspora. This synergy acts as a vibrant bridge between us and sustains our relationship,”

she said.
The diaspora meeting was attended by Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar, and also sought to

tap into the French-speaking Indian diaspora from island nations such as Mauritius.