NRI’s and MDG’s

During the signing ceremony of Indo-US civil nuclear agreement into law, the US president had commended the role of Indian American community in the US in enabling this law into a reality. Also the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh had acknowledged their role.

Indian Americans or Indians living abroad are generally referred to as “Non-Resident Indians” or NRI’s. They are estimated to be about 30 million in number and 10% of them (or 3 million) are living in the United States of America alone, generating an estimated wealth of a quarter of a trillion US dollars. It certainly has become a force to reckon with.

Now, with the civilian nuclear agreement (it is termed as the best foreign policy initiative of the Bush presidency) behind us, the obvious question NRI’s must be asking themselves is “What now”? If I may suggest, Right away they can start working on two things to help India become the economic super power in the next 15 – 20 years. First being finding a place in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the second being to achieve millennium development goals (MDG) of India.

While membership of UNSC is more symbolic and gives the name recognition for India as a ‘leader’ in world affairs, achieving the MDG’s gives an objective way to address the grass root level issues of day to day lives of Indians. MDG’s of India are as follows:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/ AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability and
8. Develop a global partnership for development

In this context, I would also like to mention of new idea that is been floated by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs to start a foundation where NRI’s could contributing with a specific objective of their choice (like building a school/ health clinic in one’s village) an the government will take the responsibility to complete the project and operate it with the help of the local NGO’s. This is a novel idea because NGO’s need funds to do the work and the government wants accountability of NGO’s and both can be met by this new thought.

NRI’s do what they do for India not because they have to but because they want to. They want to do it because they feel that they owe their debt of gratitude to India for making who they are. They give willingly and freely because they can never compensate for what they had received. Indians in India are grateful for their willingness.

Even if one half of one percent of the wealth that is reported to have been created by the NRI’s in the US alone is contributed to this new foundation every year or used to start businesses, we are talking about 1.25 billion dollars or 6000 crores rupees each year readily available to meet the MDG’s and I have no doubt in my mind that the fair amount of MDG’s can be achieved by 2020.