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."
Another Rhino killed in Assam's Kaziranga
Guwahati, March 4 (IANS) Poachers have killed yet another one-horned rhino, the sixth this year
Railways to connect all northeastern state capitals by 2020
Silchar (Assam), March 16 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), which is building rail i
There has been a series of counter-attacks between the US and India for several days to buy oil f
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take out a road show on the streets of Kashi today amid the sou
A Patient Recovered From Coronavirus Shares How To Handle It..
37 वर्षीय, जिनके पास बायो इंजीनियरिंग
The world will wreak havoc: World War will start in four weeks! Russian military analysts warned
Amidst the corona epidemic, the threat of world war is now underway. Russian military analysts ha
Pollution has stopped the pace of development in Delhi. Work on all the projects of the Public Wo
In Iran, anti-hijab protests, which have been going on for almost a month, have spread to 30 citi
Gujarat Election: Kejriwal's new look shown in Somnath, folded hands-on political question
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has started preparations for the Gujarat Assembly to be held this year.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has declared the result of the National Eligibility-cum-Entranc