Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11, 2004
IANS
Kerala is considering floating bonds to tap cash-rich expatriates for
infrastructure finance.
Discussions have held between Finance Minister K. Sankaranarayanan,
Non-Resident Keralites Minister M.M. Hassan and senior bureaucrats in
these departments.
This is the first time Kerala is planning to seek funds directly from
its expatriates through bonds. The state has close to 1.9 million non-resident
Keralites (NRKs) who in 2003 made a total remittance of Rs.184.65 billion.
Hassan said the finance secretary and NRK secretary have begun work
in this regard.
"It is understood that Punjab has done a similar thing and we
have requested the secretaries to study that and also initiate discussions
with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in this regard," he said.
The government is serious about tapping NRK funds ahead of the visit
of Chief Minister A.K. Antony to select Middle East countries next month.
"We want this scheme to be announced while Antony is in the Middle
East," added Hassan.