New Delhi
17 December 2005
The government is planning to set up
"townships" for the elderly Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of
Indian Origin (PIOs) who would be interested in returning to India or living
here.
A senior official of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs said that an
announcement about scholarships for students from the Indian diaspora
to study in India could also be expected during the Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas to be held in Hyderabad from January 7 to 9.
"We call it assisted living, [so that] the elderly people wanting to return to
India can live in townships in certain cities," Mr Malay Mishra, Joint
Secretary (Diaspora Services), told this newspaper on Saturday.
The townships will be developed in collaboration with certain agencies
like the Life Insurance Corporation of India and HDFC, who will finance the
project in cities which the government is in the process of identifying.
Mr Mishra clarified that the townships for the elderly NRIs and PIOs will
be unlike the "old age homes" with all the amenities expected of a
township catering to people with diverse tastes and cultural backgrounds.
At the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Hyderabad, the government is
also expected to announce scholarships for students from the Indian
diaspora who would be interested in pursuing their studies in India.
Mr Mishra said the scholarships will be awarded for professional and
non-professional courses alike. "The idea," he observed, "will also be to
promote India as an education destination."
The government was also planning to build a database of the Indian
diaspora so that not only will it facilitate betetr communication with the
government but also between the members of the diaspora itself.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be organised at three venues in
Hyderebad: the newly built International Convention Centre, Hi-Tec
Exhibition Centre and the Shilparamam Village.
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