Kerala Cabinet has cleared its plan to set up a diaspora investment company with a 74% stake of non-resident Keralites and a 26% government stake. This PPP ( public-private partnership) company is to fund infrastructure projects and NRI townships in the state.
The company will be known as NRK Investment and Holding Company, said a release from chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office. The state enjoys about Rs 1.5 lakh crore annual remittances from about 24 lakh expats in GCC countries, Europe and the US.
“To execute the NRI investment projects, a separate subsidiary would be formed under the holding company. The government will be in constant touch with the participating NRI businessmen to facilitate their investments in schemes through a single-window channel,” says the release.
NRI holding company was one of the major recommendations of the Loka Kerala Sabha, a recently formed outfit of influential NRIs from the state. The projects planned under ‘Rebuild Kerala’ initiative, following the humongous floods of 2018, will also be a priority for the new company.