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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations in India It isn’t without reason that Prime Minister Narendra Modi considered the Indian Diaspora as an asset at a time when few even imagined to do so. It was during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat when he organised ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ with the intention of harnessing the potential of Pravasi Bharatiya in the development of Gujarat and then later, as the nation’s Prime Minister since 2014 when he galvanised the role of Pravasi Bharatiya to spearhead the economic development of the nation.
So, this year, when on 9 January 2022, India celebrated the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, it wasn’t any mean task nor a favourable coincidence. For years, India would interact with the Indian community only on national days or key occasions while completely glossing over the problems faced by the Indian diaspora. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, as a concept was begun during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and first launched in 2003.
Indian PM planned way ahead
In working towards this, Narendra Modi undertook a tour of the globe during his first term as the world’s largest democracy to USA, UK, Australia, Israel, Canada, Singapore; urging and motivating the Indian community overseas to reconnect with their Indian roots. He insisted they played a critical role in the development of country. The PM’s interactions with members of the Indian community at New York’s Madison Square Garden turned every Indian abroad into an ambassador.
It may be recalled that it was the Chinese diaspora who played a pivotal role in the 90s in the economic transformation of their nation by investing in the rural and semi-urban township. The Chinese diaspora further help in globalising the Chinese trade through its global network in a continual process of nation building. On similar lines, PM Modi is keen to transform the Indian diaspora into a ‘strategic asset’ and play a role of facilitator in the globalising the Indian trade/export through their global network. The aim is to bring investment across cities.
In 2021, on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), Modi called for the decisive role of the event in the building of Atmanirbhar Bharat too. The Indian diaspora is the largest diaspora in the world bringing in a record amount of remittance through its 18 million from across 136 countries. The diaspora fetched $87 billion in 2021 of which the largest percentage came from Gulf countries. Compared to the world at large, Indians contribute 13 per cent of global remittances.
The remittance sent by Indians back to India adds up to a whopping 3.2 per cent of the Indian GDP. And, over the last two years, their contributions have been phenomenal. PM Modi has lauded the contribution of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas during Covid times making India stand firm and tall. Even amidst the deepening economic crisis triggered due to COVID-19, India’s PM Narendra Modi successfully launched the world largest vaccination programme in the country even helped other Asian and African countries.
Positive transformation in perception
There has also, over the last few years, been a positive transformation in the perception of the world towards India. The dominance of Indians in computer software, particularly in the Silicon Valley, has only bolstered the image of India as a technology powerhouse and a source of quality human resources. The Indian diaspora has come a long way to play a significant role in keeping India at the centre of global affairs.
The nation is all set to contribute towards global supply chains. Self-reliant India envisions India as a contributor to the world and a part of Covid crisis has shown the perils of being dependent upon foreign sources for raw materials and intermediate products. Thus, the direction of self-reliance is towards creating alternate supply chains. Also, with the focus on ‘Make in India’, Indian diaspora could invest in greenfield and brownfield projects, as well as, portfolio investments in India and guide policy-makers in the field of the Artificial Intelligence-driven industry which will create high-value jobs.
The Indian government has facilitated rules and regulations that have significantly improved Indian ranking in ease of doing business from 130 to 66 in 2020. Besides creating a favourable environment for businesses to invest in India, there are myriad opportunities for the diaspora to exert and impress in their areas of influence.
Where the United States is concerned, immigration from India started in the early 19th century when Indian immigrants started settling in communities along the West Coast. While they originally arrived in small numbers, with the advent of new opportunities, the population only grew in strength and numbers. Today, Indian immigrants account for approximately 6 percent of the U.S. foreign-born population, categorising as the second-largest immigrant group in the country after Mexicans and ahead of immigrants from China and the Philippines.
‘Vibrant GujaratUS makes for case in point
According to mid-2019 United Nations Population Division estimates, the United States is the second most popular destination for Indians living abroad, after the United Arab Emirates (3.4 million). Other top destinations include Saudi Arabia (2.4 million), Pakistan (1.6 million), Oman (1.3 million), and Kuwait (1.1 million). Notable not just for their numbers, Indian immigrants when compared with both the overall U.S.- and foreign-born populations, are more likely to be highly educated, work in management positions, and have higher incomes. Apart from registering lower poverty rates, they are less likely to be uninsured too, thereby loading the system even lesser than other immigrants.
A case in point being: Indians have high health insurance coverage rates compared to both the overall immigrant and native-born populations. Consider this: In 2019, just 5 percent of immigrants from India were uninsured, compared to 8 percent of the native born and 20 percent of the total foreign born. Also, Indian immigrants were more likely to be covered by private health insurance than the overall foreign – and U.S. born populations.
Meetings demands of NRI
Back in India, the Modi government brought the merger of PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) and OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India), which has been a long-standing demand of the Indian community that went on to benefit millions. OCIs were favourably treated by including them in the definition of Indian management control, in the context of sensitive industries helping create investment opportunities. On the anvil are awareness generation portals like the Global Pravasi Rishta portal, to provide a platform to connect with the diaspora. This will connect the diaspora with the Ministry of foreign affairs, Indian missions and the Indian diaspora abroad.
Remittances remain high
India registered the perfect recovery of remittances, in the face of one of the deepest recorded global recessions, in 2021 follows the resilience of flows seen in 2020, when remittances recorded only a modest 1.7 per cent decline to USD 549 billion. In 2021, India continues to be the world’s largest recipient of remittances and received USD 87, according to estimates from the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.
There was a substantial 4.6 per cent gain in remittance inflows during 2021, as higher oil prices enabled stronger remittance payments from expatriate workers among the GCC economies, and the dramatic spread of COVID-19 only yielded additional financial support from the diaspora. India was followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines and Egypt. And, the United States was the largest source country for remittances in 2020, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.