Finance minister P Chidambaram decided to come out with a package of measures specially directed at NRIs after it learnt about the widespread disappointment among the NRIs that the government had made no provisions for them in the budget.
Finance secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia has since convened a series of meetings and is in the process of reviewing the recommendations of the Sodhani committee which have not been implemented so far before finalising the package, ministry sources said.
Of the 47 and odd recommendations made by the Sodhani committee in 1994, 12 have already been implemented. Three were shot down by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while three others have yet to be announced though they were cleared in December 1995.
Of the rest, some require inter-ministerial clearances while others have revenue and foreign exchange implications. Hence, they are being finalised in consultation with the concerned departments/ministries, ministry sources said,
The demand for dual citizenship had gained momentum after NRI pressure groups like the Hinduja-lead IndusInd Federation had met Prime Minister Deve Gowda in early July. The group had pressed for the grant of dual citizenship on economic criteria. Government sources said the grant of dual passport on economic criteria