Doha : 'Open House' Between NRIs and Ministry of Overseas Official
by Alexis Castelino
Daijiworld Media Network – Doha (SP)

Doha, March 22: A number of Indian expatriates vented their grievances and sought answers to questions they posed in an ‘open house’ session organized by the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) here, on the occasion of the visit of the secretary in the ministry of overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), Didar Singh, recently. 

In the evening, ICC secretary, Habibul Nabi, introduced the guests. ICC president, K M Varghese, welcomed the gathering.

Indian ambassador to Qatar, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, addressed the gathering.
 
Singh, who took over charge a few months ago as the secretary of the above ministry, was on the first lap of his tour of two Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the other being the UAE.

Singh expressed happiness at the fact that only 12 countries in the world have such organizations in place, and that India is one among them. He noted that India has around 30 million work force spread over 180 countries, adding that anyone can reach out the ministry at any time through helpline for any assistance.

One of the questions raised to him by the expatriate Indians present at the function, was about the ‘looting’ of the community members by some private agencies which ‘offer’ services for attestation of certificates to the higher education requirements of the children completing schooling in the country. The inter-face lasted more than an hour.

While acknowledging the difficulties faced by the ministry in getting the certificates attested by relevant agencies in India, the official agreed to look into the possibilities of finding an alternative arrangement, in consultation with the non-resident Indian (NRI) cells working in various Indian states.

Answering a query by the former ICC secretary, Salim Ponnambath, and some others on the issue of eliminating agents from providing attestation assistance, the official said the issue would be taken up soon at appropriate levels, so that the difficulties being encountered by the community members on the issue could be reduced considerably.
 
“If individuals or educational trusts run by Indians in the Gulf region moot any proposal for setting up such universities, the ministry would consider their requests and appropriate action would be taken without fail,” Singh said.

Answering a query by Indian Business Promotion Network (IBPN) president, Azeem Abbas, on the chances of an Indian university campus being set up in Qatar, Singh said it was an issue to be decided by the local officials alone, and that his ministry could only forward a proposal to them on the basis of suggestions from the community members.
 
S K Mishra, manager of an exchange house run by a bank from India here, requested the official to explore the chances of operating a full-fledged Indian bank in the country, Singh said it was the privilege of the local central bank and the MOIA could only forward the proposal to the concerned ministry in India. He also revealed that a few banks have been working on it.
 
Another participant highlighted an issue that seemed to require diplomatic intervention at the highest level. He also submitted a memorandum to the visiting official on behalf a few persons, who have been told to leave the country. Guest of honour and Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa and Singh intervened at this stage and assured the complainant that the local Indian mission would spare no efforts to help such hapless citizens.

Singh also cleared doubts of some participants on the issue of leasing agricultural lands for NRIs and foreign companies. The official said that the system already exists in India, even though the foreign firms and NRIs would not be allowed to buy such lands outright. “However, foreign companies and individuals are being granted permission to run food processing companies, as joint ventures or by setting up different companies in India,” he said.

During the intervals, the ambassador also answered queries of a number of participants. Another visiting official, director of financial services of MOIA, Shiva Rattan, was also present.