Allow NRIs to invest via overseas corporate bodies: Hinduja

NEW DELHI,March14,2012: Pitching for simplification of investment procedures for NRIs, the UK-based conglomerate Hinduja Group's chairman S P Hinduja has said that the Indians settled abroad should also be allowed to invest in the country through overseas corporate entities. In the upcoming Union Budget, the government should also consider bringing NRIs at par with the resident Indians in terms of their investments and taxation, said the chairman of Hinduja group, an estimated USD 25 billion conglomerate with presence across automobile, banking and energy sectors among others across 50 nations, including India. Listing out the 'tasks and opportunities for the government' during the Budget for 2012-13, to be presented on March 16 by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Hinduja said that there was also a need "to regularise political funding and eliminate its corrosive influence of corruption." To tackle the menace of black money, he said, the government could consider an amnesty scheme to make accountable the illicit funds allegedly stashed abroad. He further said that the government should also push forward various economic reforms, including opening up of retail business for foreign investment and further liberalisation of FDI rules in insurance and other sectors.
While suggesting agricultural reforms in the country, Hinduja said that NRIs should also be allowed to purchase farm land or take on long-term lease (over 10 years), as this will bring latest technology and modernise agriculture sector. For NRIs, he said that the country should introduce the concept of International Trust and lift the ban on investments through Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs).