By IANS
Chandigarh : London-based non-resident Indian (NRI) Raj Loomba Saturday announced that he would give a grant of Rs.5 million for the renovation and upkeep of a state-run school in his native village in Punjab.
Reacting to his announcement at an NRI conference here, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal promised to give a matching grant of another Rs.5 million for the school in Dhilwan village of Kapurthala district.
“It was a nice gesture from the chief minister to make the announcement of a matching grant. If every NRI helps his or her village, the educational needs of most villages of Punjab can be taken care of,” Loomba told IANS.
Loomba is actively involved in welfare activities for widows and children in India and several other countries through The Loomba Trust.
Badal urged NRIs assembled at the conference to contribute to provide better facilities for their own villages and those nearby.
“You people have done well in life. You can contribute to your roots. My government will match your contribution for the betterment of villages,” Badal said.
Other delegates at the conference urged the Badal government to pay attention to the problems faced by the NRI community.
“NRIs don’t have too much time. If they want to invest here, they want things to move fast. Otherwise they lose interest,” Sukh Dhaliwal, an MP from Canada, pointed out.
Badal said he was setting up a committee under senior Akali Dal leader and former central minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, which would also include Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, to deal with issues relating to NRIs.