Seamless link between North-east, Thailand to boost trade: Modi in Bangkok

OCI card holders can enrol for NPS; 1,000 youth from Asean nations to get post-doctoral seats in IITs

Reaching out to the Indian diaspora at an event organised for the purpose in Bangkok, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said plans were on the cards to establish seamless connectivity between North-East India and Thailand.

He said that such a move would provide a fillip to both, India's Act East Policy, and Thailand's Act West Policy, and boost trade between the two nations, while enhancing the development of the entire region.

As part of this initiative, the Prime Minister dwelt on the development of a 'Buddhist Circuit' that would connect Buddhist places of importance.

Modi also spoke about making the OCI (Overseas Citizenship Of India) card more flexible and stated that one of the first steps towards this end was to permit OCI card holders to enrol for the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

The Prime Minister added that 1,000 youth from Asean nations would be able to pursye post-doctoral fellowships at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

Modi had earlier dwelt on the issue of terror and militancy and had asserted that the impact of Scrapping 370 was felt across the world.

He also said that due to changes in teh past five years, the people of India had given his government a bigger mandate in teh 2019 Lok Sabha elections.