Virtual Deepotsav, Holi celebrations for UP NRIs

NRI minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Wednesday directed officials to ensure that UP natives settled abroad should continue to remain connected with the state, both culturally and economically. He said in the way Prime Minister Narendra Modimanaged to link Gujarati NRIs with the state while he was the CM there and brought major investments into Gujarat.

For this purpose, the NRI department is developing a website, especially for NRIs, that will contain information about the cultural activities in the state, possibilities of investment, tweets and messages by the CM. The website, which will work as a unified interface for NRIs, will be connected with the Centre’s website for NRIs and contain links to important departments in the state like tourism, health tourism, education, MSME and industries. A link to the investment portal ‘Nivesh Mitra’ will also be available on the website which is being developed as mobile friendly as well. It will be available in both Hindi and English.

NRIs will not just get information about tourism and cultural events on the portal but will also be able to access virtual tours of special events, religious occasions once in a while.

Calling the website a game changer for increasing investments in UP, Singh said: “Investors will find all information related to industry and investment opportunities on the website. It will work as a communication hub for NRIs and I have asked the department to complete it within this week so that the CM can inaugurate it this month.”

While NRIs from any state will be able to register on the website for access to information on industry, special events, those from UP will also be able to renew or apply for fresh NRI cards online. The website will be linked to a payment gateway and a digital NRI card will be issued to the applicant. They will also be able to register for NRI award through the website.