Thiruvananthapuram: In a first of its kind, the Kerala government has decided to come up with a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to tap the investments of Kerala diaspora, an official said Wednesday.
Speaking to IANS, P. Sudeep, chief executive officer of Norka-Roots, said this idea was mooted and took the initial shape at the recently concluded NRK Global Meet at Kochi last week.
Norka-Roots is a government agency which looks after the welfare of the nearly 2.5 million non-resident Keralites.
"This new thought first took shape at the Pravasi Bharathiya Divas held in Gandhinagar, earlier this month, when our officials made a presentation inviting the Indian diaspora to invest in mega projects in our state," Sudeep said.
"From there, the discussions started and it took a proper shape at our NRK meet when the participants were vociferous that they are willing to contribute, provided they get a fair and reasonable return. Then the thought of the SPV took shape and in principle it was agreed. Now officials are looking into the operational part of launching a SPV," he said.
The most recent study conducted by K.C. Zachariah and S. Irudayarajan of the Centre for Development Studies revealed that the number of Kerala emigrants as of 2014 was 23.63 lakh, with 90 percent residing in the various Middle East countries.
Latest report indicates that foreign remittances to Kerala have crossed Rs.72,000 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal.
Taking this into consideration, the Kerala officials at the Kochi meet showcased three major government projects - Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), Kannur International Airport (both these projects are expected to be inaugurated this year), and Startup Village, which is already going steady - for the non-resident Keralites to make investments in.
"The whole idea behind creating this SPV is to enable Kerala diaspora contribute to this and the money that comes into it can be directed towards funding these three major projects and others which are in the pipeline. In turn, they will also get a reasonable return," added Sudeep.
One reason the Kerala officials are confident of ensuring good returns on the NRK investments is the popular PPP model that was adopted for the first time in building the Cochin International Airport.
Since the airport has become operational, all those who invested have so far recovered 132 percent of their investment, officials noted.
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
Death toll five, 05-year-old kid to 70-year-old man among dead; scores still untraceable
Local police has registered FIR against 2,000 persons, including 50 who were named, however only fourteen people have been arrested so far in connection with the worst kind of violence of ........ More
Also Read: Communal clashes in Bihar's Muzaffarpur, four people burnt alive
Following a complaint lodged by a local organisation, the Hyderabad police Saturday registered a case against Zee News Limited for hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community by reproducing on air the Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting ..... More
According to Xinhua, Russia's chief mufti, Ravil Gainutdin, who also took part in the rally, said that one should not blame Islam just because some terrorists committed crimes under its banner..... More
Also Read: Thy freedom is divine, my freedom is vice!
True love of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is manifested by following in his footsteps and supporting his Sunnah, he says
Historians however are unanimous that the Prophet (pbuh) died on 12th of Rabi'ul Awwal. Considering this also any kind of celebrations on the day when the Prophet (pbuh) died is illogical....... More
Also Read: Prophet Muhammad and Human Dignity
But Muhammad Azam Inquilabi is also passionately opposed to any coalition in the state between any regional party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as that would, he says, hurt Kashmir interests........ More
Between the massacre at the premises of Charlie Hebdo and other event that have followed: I became a Muslim, Matic writes on her Faecbook page
With regard to my position towards the caricatures of the Prophet, I will write you the..... More
Challenging the the rampant anti-Islam and anti-Muslim propaganda, a high school student after a visit to a local mosque wrote in his report that he found Muslims the nicest people he had ever met. ..... More