Date:17/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/17/stories/2004051705190400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

NRIs seek separate Ministry

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 16. Organisers of the second NRI convention, to be held in Hyderabad from July 30 to August 1, have requested the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, to create a new NRI Ministry in his Cabinet.

They have made this demand when they met him to extend invitation for the convention. According to a press release, representatives of Indian Doctors, Engineers, Architects and Accountants Society (IDEAS), a network of Indian professionals abroad, told Dr. Reddy that there are more than 5.5 million NRIs from Andhra Pradesh alone, many of them in the Gulf.

These NRIs contribute substantially to the Indian and State economy and need Government support for the safety of their investments as well as to relocate when they return. They said that Kerala had already created an NRI Ministry.