The Hindu Business Line : PIO body hails creation of new ministry

THE Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (Gopio) has welcomed the creation of a new Ministry of Non-Resident Affairs at the Centre headed by Mr Jagdish Tytler.

Gopio suggested that the new ministry should coordinate the NRI-centric activities being conducted by different ministries including External Affairs, Home, Commerce and Finance. All these individual segments dealing with non-resident affairs should be adequately represented in the new ministry, Dr Thomas Abraham, Chairman, Gopio, said in an e-mail message to Business Line.

The organisation had been campaigning for carving out a separate NRI Ministry for the last 10 years, according to Mr Inder Singh, President. It had submitted memorandums, passed resolutions and even made appeals in person to various officials, including the Prime Minister, for the creation of a ministry that would look after the interests and welfare of the global Indian community, which numbers over 22 million worldwide.

As recently as January this year, the organisation had passed a resolution during a session in New Delhi, demanding the setting up of a Ministry of Overseas Indians in the lines of the Ministry of Overseas Chinese in China.

"We hope that the new ministry would address and monitor the concerns of NRIs/PIOs, interact and relate to more fruitfully," Mr Singh said.

Welcomes SC ruling: Gopio has welcomed the Supreme Court judgment holding that treaties for avoidance of double taxation between India and other countries would override Income-Tax Act provisions.

In this manner, income derived by an NRI from his property in Malaysia would be exempt from tax in India under the provisions of the Indo-Malaysian treaty of 1977. The Supreme Court gave this ruling while dismissing an appeal by the Commissioner of Income-Tax.

The apex court had ruled that the Indian revenue authorities could not tax NRIs on their income from properties abroad, which, according to Gopio, would give a major boost to the inflow of foreign exchange.

This judgment, it said, might have a bearing on certain pending petitions challenging the Indo-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty. It had been alleged in those petitions that the Centre was losing huge amounts in tax as many companies were operating in India after getting registered in Mauritius just for the purpose of avoiding payment of tax.