Narendra Modi connects with NRIs at Madison Square Garden

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday. Photo: PTI

Mint  PTI 29 Sep 2014

Prime Minister says PIO card holders will get lifetime Indian visas, and that it will be merged with OCI cards soon

New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced a raft of measures aimed at making it easier for non-residents Indians (NRI) visiting India, as he spoke to a large crowd of cheering people of Indian origin in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Modi said holders of Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards will henceforth get lifetime Indian visas; NRIs who stay in India over a long period of time will no longer have to report regularly to police stations; and the PIO and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards will be merged into one in order to do away with difficulties arising from the differences in these cards.

In addition, US citizens will be granted long-term tourist visas and visas on arrival in India, he added.

Elsewhere, during his over-one-hour-long speech, Modi borrowed a key phrase from Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” speech.

“I have a dream,” said Modi in Hindi. His dream, he said, was that in the 75th year of India’s independence, in 2022, every Indian family will have a house to live in.

He told the crowd of thousands of NRIs that India’s Mars probe—accomplished at a cost of only Rs.7 per km—shows India’s youth and talent pool can scale “many new heights”.

The visiting Indian leader said the cost of sending an Indian spacecraft to Mars was even cheaper than what autorickshaw drivers of Ahmedabad charge in his native Gujarat—Rs.10 per km. “If this is not talent, then what is?” said Modi amid frequent applause from the audience. “Such a country can scale many new heights.”

People had begun assembling hours in advance to hear Modi at the venue—a huge indoor stadium generally used for music concerts and sporting events. They were greeted with huge screens sporting names of “welcoming partners”. While the list of welcoming partners mostly included names of various Indian-American associations and organizations, Adani group, Essar group, Amul and Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd were listed as “Diamond Patrons”. The organizers of the event have not disclosed the cost of hosting the event. The rental of the venue itself is estimated at about $500,000.

Modi said his party’s big win in the Lok Sabha elections had come with a big responsibility. Listing out India’s advantages, the Prime Minister said the nation’s three strengths are democracy, a young population and that it is a huge market.

Modi said there was a great need to develop skills in India, adding he planned to invite other countries to contribute to India’s skills development.

“My government will be 100% successful in fulfilling the aspirations of the people,” Modi added.

Exhibiting unusual glitz for a visiting leader, Narendra Modi was taking a star turn at the famous New York auditorium as he courted the Indian-American community on his first US visit since sweeping to power in May.

Modi is no stranger to a big stage. Madison Square Garden, however, takes it up a notch. It is home to the New York Knicks basketball team, and was where John Lennon played his last concert. Muhammad Ali fought his first bout against Joe Frazier there.

The organizers expected about 18,500 Indian-Americans to attend.

They are among the more than 30,000 across the US who had registered for free tickets. The speech was broadcast on a big screen in Times Square.

However, several hundred anti-Modi protesters, mostly Americans of Indian descent, both Hindu and Muslim, gathered across the street from Madison Square Garden, chanting behind police barricades, “Modi, Modi, you can’t hide, you committed genocide!”

They accuse the Indian leader of failing to stop the anti-Muslim rioting as chief minister of Gujarat in 2002.

Signs read “Modi, the fascist” and “Stop spreading hate in the name of Hinduism.”

Inside the Garden, the audience was quite sympathetic to Modi.

US lawmakers, Indian celebrities and prominent Indian-American business people attended.

Modi spoke from a rotating platform measuring 15 meters (yards) across.

AP contributed to this story.

More options for your NRI relatives to send money home

Shyamal Banerjee/Mint

Live Mint : Vivina vishwanathan :Jul 11 2013. 05 21 PM IST

Apart from the traditional way remittance , a few innovative ways have been introduced recently.

On 27 June, the rupee plummeted to 60.73 per dollar and that was good news for non-resident Indians (NRIs) who send money to their families in India. According to the World Bank, India is the largest recipient country in the world; it received almost $70 billion in remittances in 2012. Like the numerous NRIs from the Gulf Co-operation Council, Rengish Antony, project development engineer, Johnson Controls Inc., too, sends money to his homeland. Says Antony, “I send money every month to India either through UAE Exchange or Western Union. It takes almost two-three working days for the money to reach my parents.”

Though Antony still follows the traditional way of remitting money, a few innovative ways have been introduced recently. Says Kiran Shetty, managing director, Western Union India, “People look for options to send money through Internet or mobile. This transformation will happen slowly.” Here are some of the innovative ways of remitting money to India.

Remittance card

It is a rupee-denominated prepaid card. Your relative in the US, the UK, Canada, the UAE or any other country can load cash in the prepaid card at any UAE exchange centre. The card is not issued to the remitter; it is only for the beneficiary or receiver in India. All you have to do is apply for it online on the bank website. After ensuring compliance with know-your-client norms, the bank would activate the card. You will also get a personal identification number. Once the sender remits the money from the overseas UAE Exchange branch, the funds will be automatically loaded into the prepaid card, which can be used at any automated-teller machine (ATM) or point of sale (PoS) terminal like a debit card.

The cash withdrawal limit is Rs.50,000 per day and PoS transaction limit Rs.15,000 per day varying from bank to bank. Currently, ICICI Bank Money Transfer Money2India and PNB Xpress Money Remit card—launched by Xpress Money and Punjab National Bank—are available.

Charges: There is no issuance fee for the ICICI Bank card. But there is a one-time processing fee ofRs.300. The charges vary from card to card.

Mobile-based remittance

Banks and money transfer operators have started providing mobile-based remittance via instant money transfer. For instance, Xpress Money and Axis Bank Ltd together have launched a platform where you can receive money using a code sent to the phone. For this the sender has to visit an Xpress Money outlet. While sending the money, she has to mention the beneficiary’s mobile number. The receiver will then get a code on her mobile. She can walk into any Axis Bank ATM and key in the code to withdraw the money. For this, the sender and the receiver need not be an Axis Bank account holder.

Charges: Only the transaction fee is applicable here and it varies from country to country. For instance, if you send money from the US, the transactional cost will be $28 and if it is from UAE, it will be 15 United Arab Emirates dirham.

Apps

If you are a smartphone user, you are likely to see more action in the remittance space soon. Xoom Corp., a digital money transfer provider and Vesta Corp. have introduced an app for money transfer. You can download the app only on an android or iPhone. Once you download the app, you will have to create a login ID. Through this you can remit money after which the receiver will get a transaction number. The receiver has to quote the transaction number to withdraw the money. Some banks offer apps to track the money transfer process.

Charges: The app is free. However, transaction fee is applicable and it varies from country to country.

Quick remit

If you are one of those who is sceptical of using new ways of remitting money to India, you can continue using traditional platforms to remit money. However, the current environment has pushed traditional remittance service providers to upgrade their existing platforms. Money transfer companies are seen focusing on instant cash, too. Says Promoth Manghat, vice-president (global operations), UAE Exchange, “Now everything needs to happen instantly. Flashremit, a real-time account credit solution, is an offering to address that need. Here transactions are done instantly on a one-on-one basis. Even before you leave the counter, the sender and the receiver will get an SMS on their mobile phones confirming the credit of the remittance.”

Charges: Only transaction fee is applicable, which varies from country to country. If you plan to send money through any of these modes, remember to check transfer charges, exchange rates, service charges and the number of days required to send the amount. Also, ensure to initiate transaction with an authorized remittance provider.