Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) from around 30 countries will submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister to bring an NRI Protection Bill or establish a centralised NRI agency in the Union government.
The NRIs have claimed that this Bill is necessary after they have allegedly noticed a trend of organised crime against NRIs, which include land encroachment, cheating, forgery, and illegal deposit withdrawals.
They also alleged that owing to deception from builders, acquaintances, and bank officials while making property investments in India, around ₹800 crore to ₹1,200 crore is at stake from among 900 NRIs. These NRIs include doctors, engineers, innovators, executives, and other professionals from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and also from other countries.
“There are builders and developers who target only NRIs with something very similar to Ponzi schemes. Hundreds of NRIs are facing these issues. We are remitting over $125 billion a year which forms a significant part of the Indian economy. We are victims of such crime trends, and we need solutions in the form of protection from the government,” said Subhas Balappanavar, convener, NRI Grievances’ Group.
The memorandum by the NRIs states that based on their data analysis, one in every three NRI is being victimised in India. Seeking corrective measures, they are strongly batting for the NRI Protection Bill.
The key features of the proposed Bill include legal protection for property disputes, NRI investigation agency, non-bailable warrants for accused parties and provision for online voting, among other things.
While they have already sent an email to the Prime Minister’s Office, the NRIs have now decided to submit the memorandum to Indian consulates across the world.
