Kerala to seek centre's help to resolve diaspora woes: Minister


Posted on 3rd Jan 2015 05:14 pm by ram kishor

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 2 (IANS) Kerala will present its progress card on what it has done for the diaspora and then ask for the centre's help for its plans, Diaspora Minister K.C.Joseph said Friday.

Joseph will be part of a Kerala delegation at the Pravasti Bhartiya Divas (PBD) to be held in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar from January 7 to 9.

Joseph Chief Minister Oommen Chandy would lead the delegation and there would be a Kerala Pavilion at the three-day event which will showcase "our advantages to the visiting diaspora".

"See, Kerala is probably the only state that has led from the front to support its diaspora, whenever there arose an occasion. There are limitations for a state and currently we have launched a rehabilitation package for those who have returned from the Middle-East. It's here we seek the Centre to support us financially when we draw up special schemes," the minister told IANS.

Of the 23.63 lakh Keralites who went abroad, 90 percent are in various Middle-East countries. Close to 13 lakhs have returned from these countries.

According to the latest figures from the State Level Bankers Committee, the total remittances made by the Kerala diaspora to the banks here has crossed Rs.1 lakh crores.

"The chief minister will be speaking on January 9 at the chief minister's session. He will touch upon the issue of giving necessary sanction for our proposal to start our own airline- Air Kerala and also on the hefty air fares being charged by airlines operating to the Middle-East," Joseph said.

According to the minister, the Kerala government is perhaps the only state government which recently has come out with a financial assistance package for the members of diaspora who have returned.

"We along with two public sector banks have launched a self employment scheme and by now more than 20,000 people have applied for it. The maximum cap on loans would be Rs. two million and the Kerala government would offer a 10 percent subsidy to all those who begin an enterprise in the agriculture, trading, manufacturing or the service sectors," he said.

Joseph, who would present Kerala's progress card in the Gulf Session, scheduled for January 9, also said: "The Kerala Pavilion will showcase investment opportunities for the visitors and tourism, IT would be the key areas."

Did you know?Explore Trending and Topic pages for more stories like this.
0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

JEE Mains Result Out: NTA released the JEE-Mains result, two girls were included among those who got 100 percentile

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the results of the Joint Entrance E

Cold Thursday Morning in Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) It was a cold Thursday morning here with the minimum temperature recor

MP Board Result 2026: MP Board Class 10th and 12th Results Expected Soon; Results Can Also Be Checked via DigiLocker.

Students who appeared for the Class 10 and 12 examinations, conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Board

Varun Dhawan: Can Varun Dhawan announce any new show on April 12? These famous stars will be seen

Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan is currently in the discussion about his upcoming film Baal. The new

New Zealand third team to win after follow-on: scored 483 runs in the second innings, gave England a target of 258, defeated by 1 run

New Zealand defeated England by 1 run in the second Test being played in Wellington. It also beca

The gifts received by PM Modi will be auctioned from today, You can also bid from Rs 1700

The online auction of 1300 gifts received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the country and th

Jaishankar met families of 8 Indians who were sentenced to death in Qatar, and said to take all possible steps for their release

Jaishankar in Qatar External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the families of 8 Indians who were

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh reached Bombay High Court, pleaded against his transfer, and Anil Deshmukh

The Bombay High Court has approached former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh, who has ma

IND vs SA: Will the Indian team be successful in drawing the series? Know the weather in Cape Town

The second test match between India and South Africa will start today on the grounds of Cape Town

Radicalisation in Pakistan concern for India: NSA

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) The threat of increasing radic

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash