Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has urged young Diaspora Indians to participate in the India growth story and become “ambassadors” in making the country “great”.
Addressing Indian expats at the annual in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event in Gujarat, Ms Swaraj called on second and third generation Indians overseas to “connect, celebrate and contribute” to what she called the “transformational change” being witnessed in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The Indian youth Diaspora can become ambassadors of the ‘new’ India because you have retained a bit of India in your heart and each one of you have a bit of ‘Bharat’ in you”, Ms Swaraj said.
“What excites the world today is India’s growth story,” Ms. Swaraj continued, and pointed to the government’s success in bringing about a complete transformation of business sentiment in the country.
This, she added, was the outcome of the numerous steps undertaken by Mr Modi’s government to improve the ease of doing business.
Ms Swaraj also called on the Diaspora in general to contribute to the development of India through initiatives such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and the creation of smart cities.
As India’s economy has boomed in recent years, an ever-increasing number of young NRI’s are returning to the home of their parents or grandparents birth, keen to be a part of a country with seemingly infinite possibilities.
So-called ‘Reverse Migration’ has seen NRI’s bringing their western-acquired expertise in everything from e-commerce and investment to renewable energy to India.
Polls suggest that, despite the relative difficulties in doing business in India, a vast majority of returning expats feel that there are far better opportunities for professional advancement in India than anywhere else in the world with many also feeling that the best is yet to come for India.
