Not many noticed that on December 11, a 44-member Standing Committee of Parliament on Home Affairs endorsed a significant piece of legislation that grants dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) residing in 16 countries. The countries are Australia, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, UK, USA, Switzerland, Greece, Israel, Sweden, France, Cyprus, Portugal, and New Zealand. Since the legislation now enjoys consensus across the political spectrum, it will make its way through Parliament as soon as it is tabled.
The legislation marks a turning point in India?s relations with its diaspora, or at least a significant chunk of it. PIOs of these 16 countries will now enjoy all rights that resident Indians have, except the right to vote. The legislation will go a long way in converting the emotional bond that PIOs have with their mother country into a permanent stake in its progress and welfare.
But dual citizenship is just one element of a much larger initiative that Prime Minister Vajpayee has launched to strengthen India?s links with its people living abroad. The high-level committee that he appointed to define a policy framework for engagement with its diaspora made a number of recommendations. The Bhartiya Samman Awards conferred on 10 eminent PIOs early this year and the move to grant dual citizenship now is evidence of the seriousness with which the recommendations are being pursued.
Though most of us seem to know it, we do not realise what a huge political, social and economic resource the 20 million strong Indian diaspora spread across 110 countries is. After China and UK, it is the largest diaspora in the world. PIOs make the largest minority group in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius, and the third largest in Singapore. Their influence in the US and Canada is growing rapidly. In some countries, Indians lead the political process, while in others they play a significant role in shaping the same.
In most countries, Indians are more educated than other minority groups, are professionally and managerially more accomplished, display better business and trading acumen, and enjoy higher than average per capita incomes. Indeed, the annual per capita income of Indians living abroad falls in the same bracket as 10 per cent of most affluent resident urban Indians. They now have financial and technological muscle. Indians account for the largest number of start-ups in Silicon Valley. The annual savings of overseas Indians, and this is a back-of-the-envelope calculation, exceed $50 billion. More significantly, PIOs are increasingly becoming global in their outlook and exploring avenues for growing faster than they have thus far.
This urge for growth coincides with the rise of India as an attractive destination. The diaspora is now beginning to realise that India too is a huge resource to be tapped for their benefit. On the other hand, India can leverage the diaspora for its capital, technological and trading skills, and its growing political role in a number of countries for improving bilateral relations with those nations. Thus, the relationship has the potential for delivering mutual advantage to both the diaspora and mother country. The dual citizenship initiative needs to be seen in this light.
The difference that this relationship can make to both India and its diaspora is evident from what the ?bamboo network? of 55 million overseas Chinese and China have gained from each other. The Chinese diaspora accounts for over two-thirds of the FDI that pours into China. On the other hand, Chinese businesses abroad have consolidated their positions through ?backward linkages? with businesses based in China. Closer home, this is precisely what the Gujaratis have accomplished in the diamond trade. With their linkages in Surat, they now dominate the trading at Antwerp where they have displaced the Jews to emerge as the numero uno ethnic group.
This experience can be replicated in many sectors. Indian companies can leverage the reputation and skills of PIOs abroad to carve a niche in those markets. The diaspora can invest in Indian companies for tapping both Indian and global markets. The aim should be to form a network that spans the globe. Our policy makers realise that the destiny of India and its diaspora is linked.
The author is an advisor to Ficci. Views expressed herein are personal