By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala later this year will hold a global meet of Keralites living outside the state, Governor R.L. Bhatia told state legislative assembly Wednesday.
Bhatia’s address to legislators formed the basis of the policies for the year ahead of the ruling V.S. Achuthanandan government. Wednesday was the first day of this year’s budget session.
“(The) government is considering issuing identity cards to NRKs (non-resident Keralites),” the governor said.
The Kerala government expects more investment in the state from the NRKs and more so to set up high tech dairy farms in Idukki and Wayanad districts.
The state government also wants the residents living abroad to promote Malayalam language across the world but setting Malayalam study centres.
Kerala has more than two million of its people settled outside with close to 90 percent of them in the Gulf.
Over the years, the remittances made by them have kept the state economy afloat. Last fiscal Kerala received 24,525 crore as remittances which is about 20 percent of the state’s net state domestic product and 30 percent more than the state’s annual receipts.