BENGALURU: To address the growing concerns of overseas Kannadigas relating to welfare, employment, investments, legal assistance, student support and emergency services, Non-Resident Kannadigas (NRKs) have urged the Karnataka government to set up a separate Ministry for NRI Karnataka Affairs along with a dedicated Secretariat and Directorate and demanded that MLC Arathi Krishna be made its minister.
A 30-member delegation of Global Non-Resident Kannadigas led by NRI Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Dr Ronald Colaco, met Chief Minister DK Shivakumar with the demand.
Addressing the media, Dr Ronald Colaco said, “As per official estimates, there are over 18 lakh Kannadigas across 100 countries. While states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have a dedicated NRI Ministry, Karnataka lacks one, and we demand it to be set up.”
“If Karnataka has to develop quickly, it has to tap all the resources. Instead of investors dealing with as many as 25 government departments to invest in the state, a dedicated Ministry handling them and getting clearances through a single-window facility would help get more investments”, he explained.
