NEW DELHI: Nearly eight lakh persons of Indian origin have been granted the status of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) as of November 2006, according to 14th report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs.

The report, tabled in Parliament on Monday, also reiterated the committee's suggestions that the Government "explore the feasibility of extending the benefit of voting rights" to overseas Indian citizens.

"The Committee has been recommending to the Government to allow OCI cardholder[s] to participate in the political process of the country. Given the contribution of overseas Indians to the Indian economy through their investments and remittances, the committee feels that it is time the Government stops treating overseas Indians as mere economic citizens," it stated.

The scheme

The OCI scheme, operational since December 2, 2005, allows for a life-long visa but cannot be considered as "dual citizenship," as it does not confer any political rights. Deposing before the committee on the issue, the Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, stated, "... I would submit, with the indulgence of this House that the similar subject was discussed in other committees / forums and that we have followed whatever direction has been given.

"That was the decision of Parliament. This was not the recommendation of this Ministry. That committee's recommendation presently is that political rights are not available under this system. This subject was debated considerably. Now, the view has to be taken in Parliament," the Secretary added.

The report also revealed that nearly half of the total Non-Resident Indian (NRI) remittance of Rs. 55,000 crore came from Keralite NRIs. It estimated that the total number of overseas Indian workers would be in the range of 50 to 60 lakh.

"While the UAE [United Arab Emirates], Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the top destination countries for overseas Indian workers, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are some of the top sourcing States," it said.

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