INDORE: Underlining the contribution of non-resident Indians, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said remittances sent to the country by overseas Indians were about USD 100 billion for the year 2022, an increase of 12 per cent in one year.
Speaking at a session during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, she described NRIs as the "real ambassadors of India" and appealed to them to use made-in-India products and services as far as possible so that the country's individual brand can be promoted across the globe.
Sitharaman also said that after the "China plus one" policy, the world is now talking about the "European Union (EU) plus one" policy.
The government is strongly presenting India to multinational companies as a country where they can set up their factories apart from China and the EU, she said.
Sitharaman said the Indian diaspora should also partner with small and big businessmen in the country so that the entrepreneurial skills of NRIs can be harnessed in the next 25 years during the 'Amrit Kaal' of independence.
"I recognise that remittances, which come from abroad by Indians who migrated, are about 100 billion US dollars for the year 2022. This is one of the highest remittances which is coming," the finance minister said.
This has gone up by 12 per cent if compared to 2021, she said.
"Within a year which was post-pandemic, people thought Indian workers will not go back abroad again, they have not only gone back but more have gone for very useful employment and the remittance numbers have gone up by 12 pc within one year," she said.
Citing the dominance of Indian professionals in information technology, digital technology, automobiles, semiconductor designing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and other fields, she said the country is becoming a global hub of knowledge and progress.
"In the Amrit Kaal of independence, an aspirational India will focus on four 'I's which include infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusion," she said.