Akhilesh to woo NRIs, PIOs for investment

About 100 delegates from around the world are expected to attend the event

The Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to hold its maiden Non-Resident Indians (NRI) Diwas at Agra from February 28 to March 1.

Some prominent NRIs and persons of Indian origin (PIOs) would be feted at the conclave, the state government will make an appeal to the diaspora for contributing to their province of origin.

“We are reaching out to the Indian diaspora both directly and through embassies abroad,” Madhukar Jetley,  advisor, NRI department and externally aided projects department, Uttar Pradesh,  told Business Standard here on Thursday.

He said the delegates would arrive from the US, Canada, the UK, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji and Europe, among other countries. About 100 delegates are expected to attend the event.

In its endeavour to reconnect to its diaspora settled around the globe, the state had created the NRI department supported by a dedicated website www.upnri.com which is now the single-point forum for Uttar Pradesh-origin NRIs. The department has been mandated to respond to investment enquiries from overseas. It has also started the process of preparing a comprehensive database in this regard.

A corporation for NRI-oriented activities is on the anvil, with four regional centres proposed in Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur and Noida. The state had created a Japan cell and a European desk to coordinate issues of entrepreneurs.

With eyes on 2017 assembly elections, the Akhilesh government has fast tracked development and infrastructure projects, including Lucknow Metro Rail, Agra-Lucknow Expressway etc.