NEW DELHI, NOV 9, 2004
MYTHILI BHUSNURMATH
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday announced non-resident Indians
(NRIs) in the Netherlands would soon be granted dual citizenship.
He was speaking at a reception hosted by the Indian ambassador at The
Hague and attended by a large number of the 220,000 strong Indian community
in the Netherlands.
Admitting that there have been delays in the dual citizenship proposal,
first mooted by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao way back in 1993, he assured
them that his government was working hard to make that promise a reality.
He also announced the Pravasi Bharati Divas would be held in January
in Mumbai.
Earlier, he appealed to the NRI (the majority of who are Indians who
had settled in Surinam before coming to the Netherlands and are known
as Hindustanis) not to forget their ties with India.
On his part he assured them his government would create a hospitable
climate. “We are open for business,” he said. India is now
recognised as a fountainhead of the new knowledge economy and there
are huge opportunities there, he told the assembled NRIs.
“Take a hard look at India, now on the move” he exhorted,
and you will find many attractive opportunities for investment. Agro-processing,
manufacturing, science and technology in particular are areas where
India could gain from investment by the Dutch, he said.
Competitive politics is part of the game, he said. Some people like
to emphasise differences among parties but the truth is there is a great
deal of continuity in policies. In the last 14 years, there have been
three changes of government, he pointed out, but the direction of reform
has not changed.
With disarming candour, he admitted the pace of change in India has
been disappointing but promised to accelerate it. “There will be
new and exciting opportunities,” Dr Singh assured the gathering