Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys, on Saturday, urged the Union finance minister to take action to reinstate the previous limit of 183 days for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to stay in India. He claimed that by reducing this to 120 days in a financial year, we have lost 63 days of the presence of NRIs in India who come and work for the betterment of this nation.
He said, “the country has gained any extra tax by reducing it from 183 to 120 days. But, we have lost the presence of those wonderful people here by 63 days. My humble request to the finance minister is to bring back the old regime of 183 stay days for NRIs, and that will make the life of people here better.”
Murthy emphasised the important role that NRI initiatives play in empowering the less fortunate. He claimed that by welcoming NRIs who bring great value and making their stay and business transactions here comfortable, we can move faster towards our goal of realising the founding fathers’ vision of giving good access to the poorest child in the remotest village to good education, healthcare, nutrition, and shelter.
Speaking at the 14th “Development Dialogue” conference of the Deshpande Foundation in Hubballi, he claimed that NRIs come here and spend money on development even though they are not required to do so because they have a heart for India’s welfare.
“My prayer to political leadership and bureaucracy is to welcome NRIs who come with tremendous value with open arms and to reduce friction for them in adding more value to the country. They are not asking us for anything, but they are contributing to the development of people here out of their own resources. They are genuine people, and they are not doing this with vested interests,” he said.
Murthy stated, “There is nothing wrong even if NRIs’ stay days are increased to 250. The country would not lose anything but would get benefited. Their presence would make the country better. We would get more time with those extraordinary people here, and it would have an impact on startups in India.”
“I have had umpteen debates with ministers in Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh governments on how we should welcome NRIs with much respect and admiration,” he added.
