New Delhi, January 3
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is expected to make an announcement regarding dual citizenship for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian origin (PIOs) when the “Pravasi Bhartiya Divas” celebrations begin here from January 9.

A Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr J C Sharma, told reporters today that the matter of dual citizenship was “in a very advanced stage of discussion at the highest level”. A high-level committee on the Indian diaspora, led by Mr L.M. Singhvi, has already made a strong recommendation to the Vajpayee government to confer dual citizenship on NRIs.

Mr Sharma said the issue was at the “final decision-making stage” and that “various inputs are being harmonised. At this stage, that is the maximum I can say”.

Mr Sharma said the dual citizenship would be a “voluntary scheme”. It would be applicable to only those Indians residing in the USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, which allow dual citizenship, and would benefit more than seven million expatriates.

The Indian diaspora is 20 million strong and spread across 110 countries and five continents. The “Pravasi Bhartiya Divas” is intended to forge a constructive relationship between India and its diaspora. January 9 has been chosen for the purpose because it was on this day that Mahatma Gandhi, himself a “Pravasi Bhartiya” in South Africa for two decades, finally returned to India to lead the country’s struggle for freedom.