Feel-good goes global: India Inc can invest 100% abroad

The corporates can make these investments either as wholly owned subsidiaries or as overseas joint ventures. ‘‘I am happy to announce that Indian corporates will hereafter be freely permitted to make overseas investments,’’ Vajpayee said.

He hoped that the measures would enable Indian companies to ‘‘take advantage of global opportunities and also acquire technological and other skills for adoption in India’’.

With protests growing in several countries on the outsourcing rush to India, the PM termed the services offered by Indian companies as a win-win situation for India as well as the other countries.

Since last year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Vajpayee pointed out, ‘‘a resurgent India’’ had notched up several achievements, with the foreign exchange reserves crossing the $100-billion mark last month. The country was pre-paying its external loans, and the next step should be an 8-per cent growth rate next year, he stressed.

Lauding the role of persons of Indian origin and NRIs, and their contribution to the economies of their adopted countries, the Prime Minister pointed out that over Rs 55,000 crore had come in from NRIs, and that Malayalis from Kerala accounted for nearly half of that.

Catering to a major demand of Gulf-based NRIs at last year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Vajpayee also announced the introduction of a special insurance scheme for Indian workers in the Gulf. Children of Indians who are working in the Gulf and South East Asia can avail of one-third reservation out of the 15-per cent supernumery seats across different educational institutions, Vajpayee said. The children of NRIs in the Gulf would also be exempt from NRI fees slabs and be treated on a par with resident citizens.

In keeping with the success of the last Pravasi Divas, the Prime Minister announced the setting up of a Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in Delhi that would receive Rs 25 crore from the Union Government as ‘‘seed money’’. While the exact function of this Kendra wasn’t specified, it will probably organise similar Pravasi functions and ease problems faced by them.

Terming the stories of Pravasi Bharatiyas who had left India as indentured labourers and fought against adversity to achieve success as an ‘‘inspiration for us all’’, Vajpayee also announced setting up of commemorative plaques at ports and places from where a ‘‘significant number of Indians left for foreign shores’’.