Overseas Indians in Goa can now seek help from the Goa NRI Commission’s website, which has been upgraded, in case of distress. NRI commissioner Narendra Sawaikar said that Goans who live abroad would have to register on the website, after which the commission will be able to help when they are in distress.
“The idea to develop a website with the provision to register was conceived in February 2020,” Narendra Sawaikar told the media.
Sawaikar also said that on various occasions, relatives of NRIs were unable to provide details of a person who needed intervention in times of need. However, if the person registers on the website, getting his or her details will only be a click away.
“Data registered on the website will help us in case of any eventualities,” Sawaikar said. “I appeal to the Goan diaspora and seafarers to register on the site. The information will be protected and not available in the public domain.”
An estimated 3,00,000 Goans are living and working abroad. The Goa NRI Commission, which has been upgraded recently, was originally established in 2006.
The description on the Goa NRI Commission website reads: “With a view to promote, nurture and sustain a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship between the State of Goa and the vast and diverse Indian community of Goan origin overseas, the Government of Goa has established a Commission for NRI Affairs as a separate entity w.e.f. 23rd February 2006. Presently Adv. Narendra K. Sawaikar is the Commissioner for NRI Affairs in the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.”
“The Commission strives to establish an Institutional framework to benefit from networking with and among the Overseas Indians of Goan origin,” the website description says, adding, “the Commission will strive to meet the expectations of the Goan Diaspora across the world in a manner that will best serve the interest of Goa, as a rapidly developing State of India.”
In a recent development, when Covid-19 is creating massive distress across the country, the Goa government moved an application before the Bombay High Court at Goa. It sought directions to permit entry in the state to fully vaccinated people in the absence of a COVID-19 negative certificate.
