Send tourists to help economy, Modi tells Indian-Americans
PM urged every Indian-American to send five families from the US to India every year
Help India by sending over some tourists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indian Americans at a power dinner on Sunday with Mukesh Ambani and Indra Nooyi.
NEW YORK: Help India by sending over some tourists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indian Americans at a power dinner on Sunday with Mukesh Ambani and Indra Nooyi.
Not just some tourists. He had a plan: Let each Indian Americans end only five American families to India every year. And that will be do wonders for the Indian economy.
In the morning, the Prime Minister had thanked a large gathering of Indian Americans for their support in his election as PM, and announced some travel concessions for them.
In the evening, he had a plan for them. If each of the 3 million Indian Americans sends five American families — four members each — you are looking at 60 million.
And that’s only from the US. But the number suggested by PM Modi could bring in 10 times more than the actual number of foreign tourists to India in 2013, according to ministry of tourism.
He said India doesn’t need anything else from overseas Indians — “not your dollars or your pounds”. These additional tourists would be a great help — “will create so many jobs”.
It was not a routine pre-dinner warm-up speech. He had a plan, as said before.
The move would do wonders for the Indian economy which has a thin slice of the estimated $3 trillion worldwide tourism business.
And he left them with that thought to chew over, with the food. The Prime Minister was not eating of course, this being his fifth day of water-only diet for the navratras, but others could feast on a multi-course vegetarian meal.
Other guests included industrialist Romesh Wadhwani,
THE NUMBERS SUGGESTED BY PM NARENDRA MODI COULD BRING 10 TIMES MORE THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF FOREIGN TOURISTS TO INDIA IN 2013, ACCORDING TO MINISTRY OF TOURISM
US lawmakers Ed Royce, Ami Bera — an Indian American, Joe Crowley and Pete Sessions.
Most of them sat at the prime minister’s table — with exter nal af f airs minister Sushma Swaraj — but saw very little of him as he spent most of the evening on the stage, greeting guests.