JOIN USIn a bid to woo the Indian diaspora, BJP president Rajnath Singh on Monday promised facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) by non-resident Indians (NRI) if the party forms the government at the Centre.
He also suggested that Indian embassies should offer facilities for NRIs to exercise their franchise, as it would make them party to government formation in the country.
For them, travelling along with their families to India to vote is a big ask, the BJP chief acknowledged.
Appealing to the Overseas Friends of BJP to support them in their bid to form the next government, Singh encouraged the diaspora to invest more in the country that reflects their international standing which is next only to the Chinese. The FDI contribution by the NRIs is a mere 10 to 15 per cent, Singh said.
“You should cooperate in the formation of a BJP government and we will create conditions such that your contribution to the FDI in the country will go up to 35-40 per cent,” Singh added.The party chief attempted to lure Overseas Friends by offering them bonds to allow investment in the manufacturing sector. He recalled that during the earlier National Democratic Alliance regime led by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the global community had invested in the Resurgent India Bonds floated to meet constraints out of the international sanction post Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998.
Urging the US to have a second thought at the Border Security Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernisation Act of 2013, he said Indian engineers were facing problems due to the visa fee hike.