Date:27/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/27/stories/2008052754820700.htm

New Delhi

Punjab to set up toll-free call centre

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government would set up a 24-hour toll free call centre to redress problems and grievances of the Punjab origin NRIs. The call centre, a bilingual facility in Punjabi and English, comes as a follow-up to the decisions taken during the NRI Sammelan held in Chandigarh and Jalandhar in January this year.

Disclosing this, Harcharan Bains, media advisor to the Punjab Chief Minister, said that in addition to the Call Centre, the NRI-specific official website of the State Government would also function as a logistic back-up for increased facilitation of the Government-to-NRI interaction. It may be mentioned here that about 70 lakh NRIs of Punjabi Origin are settled in different parts of the world, with Canada U.K., U.S.A, Malaysiaand some countries in the middle-east being the favoured destinations. Meanwhile, the Punjab Government on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in the Government of India for putting in place a structured mechanism for the welfare of Punjabis going to or already settled in different countries across the world.

The MOU was signed in the presence of the Punajb Chief Minister.- PTI