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India woos its rich diaspora New Delhi, January 9 Punjab took the lead in announcing the setting up of a commission for NRIs on the pattern of human rights commission. (Punjab) Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the idea to form the commission would now be mooted in the state cabinet. The proposed commission, said Sukhbir, would be headed by a retired high court judge and the focus would be on providing speedy relief to NRIs in property, marital and immigration disputes. The commission would ensure that nobody was exploited, he said. Also, said Sukhbir, the Directorate of NRIs’ office in Chandigarh was being shifted from the Punjab Secretariat to Sector 17, the latter being centrally located. Exhorting the NRIs to invest in the state, Badal Junior reminded the diaspora audience that Punjab was the only state that had set up separate police stations for the NRIs and amended revenue laws to provide relief to them in case of forced possession of their m property during their stint abroad.Replying to a query on failure of the Indian government to convince France to allow turbans in schools, Badal Junior regretted that the Union External Affairs Ministry “could not present the case properly and convey the religious sentiments of the Sikh population all over the world”. Earlier, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia announced that regulatory constraints would be eased to allow NRIs’ participation in the education sector. “It is quite logical to allow NRIs a role in the expansion of education sector and to improve the quality of skill development. There are regulatory constraints, which may come in the way...but we are working to relax them,” Ahluwalia said. Among other states to present their case before the NRIs were Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Orissa. The states conducted separate sessions, each targeting NRIs of their own state. Bihar, which a few weeks ago was named as the second fastest growing state after Gujarat in terms of economy, did not seem a bad word at all, with delegates and media packing the hall to full to hear the success story. Officials narrated how all the district headquarters had been connected with a wide area network. Rajasthan tried to woo the NRIs on the basis of the multi-billion dollar Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project that would pass through the state. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are already leading in NRI investment.
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