NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi on Thursday appealed to millions of people of Indian origin across the world to turn to their homeland after he eased visa rules to lure overseas talent, in a bid to make the country a top power.
India has the world’s second largest diaspora after China, with more than 25 million people settling overseas since colonial times, from Guyana in South America to Singapore in East Asia.
Modi’s desire to harness the group’s skills and resources is bolstered by his Hindu nationalist leanings towards reasserting India’s position as a global leader with a unique civilisation stretching back thousands of years.
“There was a time when professionals in India went to distant lands to explore new possibilities,” Modi told an annual gathering for people of Indian origin in the western state of Gujarat. “Now India awaits you with opportunities.”
The diaspora event was timed immediately prior to a large investment meeting that will be addressed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.
On Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee approved an executive order to ease the way for those whose families left India as many as four generations ago, as well as their spouses, to get lifetime visas and own property in India.
