# Indian diaspora

**Published by:** [Gricia](https://paragraph.com/@gricia/)
**Published on:** 2023-05-29
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@gricia/indian-diaspora

## Content

Overseas Indians (IAST: Pravāsī Bhāratīya), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India.[16][17] According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who are not living in the country, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are not citizens of India, but are citizens of other nations and may additionally have Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), with those having the OCI status known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).[18] According to a Ministry of External Affairs report, there are 32 million NRIs and PIOs (inc. OCIs) residing outside India and overseas Indians comprise the world's largest overseas diaspora.[1] Every year 2.5 million (25 lakhs) Indians migrate overseas, which is the highest annual number of migrants in the world.[19] Legal framework Strictly asserting, the term says non-resident refers only to the tax status of a citizen who, as per section 6 of The Income-tax Act, 1961, has not resided in India for a specified period for the purposes of the Income Tax Act.[20] The rates of income tax are different for persons who are "resident in India" and for NRIs. For the purposes of the Income Tax Act, "residence in India" requires stay in India of at least 182 days in a financial year or 365 days spread out over four consecutive years and at least 60 days in that year. According to the act, any Indian citizen who does not meet the criteria as a "resident of India" is a non-resident of India and is treated as NRI for paying income tax. A person of Indian origin (PIO)[21] was a form of identification means a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and/or Nepal), who: at any time held an Indian passport (but not currently) or either of their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents were born and permanently resident in India as defined in Government of India Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India thereafter provided neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid countries (as referred above) or is a spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO. nft://137/0xD7661fd1eAe04327710e4c8d1a74Ed5bfa97115d/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true Main article: Overseas Citizenship of India After multiple efforts by leaders across the Indian political spectrum, a long term visa scheme was established, the "Overseas Citizenship of India", commonly referred to as the OCI card. The name is itself misleading, as it doesn't offer Indian citizenship. The Constitution of India does not permit full dual citizenship. The OCI card is effectively a long-term visa, with restrictions on voting rights and government jobs. The card is available to certain Overseas ex-Indians, and while it affords holders residency and other rights, it does have restrictions, and is not considered to be any type of Indian citizenship from a constitutional perspective. Prime minister Narendra Modi announced on 28 September 2014 that PIO and OCI cards would be merged.[22] On 9 January 2015, the Person of Indian Origin Card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of India and was merged with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme. PIO cardholders must apply to convert their existing cards into OCI cards. The Bureau of Immigration stated that it would continue to accept the old PIO cards as valid travel documents until 31 December 2023.[citation needed]

## Publication Information

- [Gricia](https://paragraph.com/@gricia/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@gricia/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@gricia): Subscribe to updates