The prime minister was inaugurating the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi.
"I consider NRIs India's brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities,"
"People of Indian origin are in leadership roles in countries such as Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland,"
Modi also alluded to Rajiv Gandhi's comment that only 15 paise of Re 1 reaches masses and said the Congress government had done nothing to stop the leakage.
For the first time, the three-day convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade in the national capital.
The theme of this year's convention is 'Role of the Indian diaspora in building new India', a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made a big announcement on the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya Divas and said that the government is coming soon with chip passport. In his address here, the Prime Minister said that work is going on in the direction of the e-passport. Also, our government has simplified the process of converting PIO cards into OCI cards.
PM said that a new step has already been taken for the expatriate Indians a few months ago. Our Embassies and Consulates are being connected to the Passport Seva Project worldwide. This will prepare a centralized system connected to the passport service for all of you. Our government has made the process of converting PIO cards into OCI cards too.
