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

Gurugram News: Gurugram and 2 more areas of Delhi will be connected through the Delhi Metro, plans are being made

The plan for metro connectivity from Gurugram's Palam Vihar area to Delhi's Dwarka Sector-21 was

Victory for Kejriwal, Rout for Bedi, Maken

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) Arvind Kejriwal was the only one among the three people who led the AA

Joshimath: Amit Shah held a high-level meeting on the situation in Joshimath, including Nitin Gadkari.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a high-level meeting on Thursday regarding the situation in Jo

CNG Price Hike: CNG Becomes Costlier for the Fourth Time After Petrol-Diesel; New Rates Effective From Tuesday—Check Your City’s Latest Price

The relentless rise in fuel prices across India continues to worry consumers as Compressed Natura

IND vs BAN: Virat Kohli became selfish for his century? KL Rahul was refusing to run one run, and the conversation on the field was revealed

Virat Kohli Century KL Rahul: Virat Kohli is known as a team man. Kohli thinks more about helping

Budget will widen income, wealth inequalities: CPI-M

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The CPI-M Saturday denounced the union budget as pro-rich and said it

PM Modi: 'There is a conspiracy to divide the society, it is necessary to stop it', Modi on the 200th anniversary of Shri Swaminarayan Temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 200th anniversary celebrations of Shri Swaminara

21 task forces to implement AAP's 70-point agenda

New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) The AAP government will set up 21 task forces to give specific recomm

Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections: Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan Cast Their Votes; Crowd Swarms Dhanush; Vijay Sethupathi Exercises His Franchise.

Voting is currently underway in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Several superstars from South

Chinese President Xi Jinping to launch national exercise to discipline Communist Party: Report

Chinese President Xi Jinping described his term in power as a new one, in which he would launch a

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