IFFCO, KRIBCHO to invest in Oman Fertilizer Project

January 8, 2002. 6.30 p.m.

Indian Diaspora Commission Report Submitted to Indian Prime Minister

• Suggests Welfare Fund for Repatriate workers in Stress
• labour export agrements with foreignc ountries.
• legal assitance locally
• infrastructure bonds for NRIs
• control fraud involving NRI Bank accounts
• special cell to assist Indian women married to NRIs.
• special economic Zones for NRIs

KM Correspondent

New Delhi: The high level committee on the Indian Diaspora has recommended setting up of a special welfare fund for repatriated overseas workers in distress and negotiating a standard labour export agreement with host countries. The Final Report of the Commission submitted to the Indian Prime Minister in New Delhin on Tuesday, the committee suggested monitoring and supervision of both the employment contracts and the conditions of overseas workers by the Indian Missions.

The committee has also recommended launching compulsory insurance scheme covering the risks faced by the overseas workers and establishment of a mechanism for pre-departure counselling and the provision of legal assistance locally. The Committee has also recommended setting up Sepcial Economic Zoes exclusively for projects to be set up by Non Resident Indians, people of Indian Origin. Capital raised from the overseas Indians could be used to set up such zones.

The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is presented a Report of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora by its Chairman, Dr. L.M. Singhvi at function in New Delhi on January 8, 2002.

A dedicated single window set up which would provide consultancy services for overseas Indian investors be a liaison point for getting various clearances, was imperative for the success of this step. The committee also said that some of the Indian banks have already made special arrangements to facilitate payments in rupees against incoming foreign xchange remittances of workers in the Gulf region and suggested that similar arrangements should be replicated for the overseas workers in other countries too.

Noting the high incidence of frauds in the bank accounts of their NRIs the committee recommended that the instructions of the Reserve Bank of India in this regard should be strictly adhered to by all commercial banks.

Other recommendations are: the Indian Government should consider issuomg special infrastructure bonds for attracting NRI investment. Extending fiscal incentives, reducing corporate tax rate blow international level, removing restriction on profit reptriation, eliminating needless licensing requirements would be useful in attracting NRI Investment.

For the welfare of Indian women married to NRIs, the committee has suggested that a special cell should be formed within the proposed welfare organisation to handle diaspora issues with the mandate to assist in the provision of free legal counselling for the families of girls contemplating marriage to NRIs.

The bridegroom should be asked to give them an affidavig stating his current marital status and this document should be attached to the application for marriage registration. This should be a mandatory prerequisite to the issuance of a marriage registration certificate, the report said.

The commission prepared the report after visiting a numbr of Gulf Countries, including Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and getting public feedback.

IFFCO, KRIBCHO to invest in Oman Fertilizer Project

Kaunpur: The Indian Farmers Fertilizr Cooperative Ltd will invest $80 million to set up the urea and ammonia plant in Oman and set up another agrotech company in India by investing Indian Rs. 15 billion. The total project cost of the Oman urea plant is $1 billion, said U.S.Awwathi, IFFCO Managing Director in Kaunpur. KRIBCHO is putting another $80 million in the Oman project and the Omani Government will invest $160 million through the Oman Oil Company, he told media.The Oman Fertiliser project will start production from 2005, with a production cpacity of 1.6 million tonnes of urea and 3,000 million tonnes of Ammonnia.