I consider NRIs India’s brand ambassadors.They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities

“A former prime minister once said that only 15 per cent of the money sent from the Centre reached the beneficiary people in villages.The party that ruled for so long and the system that it built for the governance of the country, the then prime minister admitted the problem. They diagonsed the ailment but did not treat the illness. Even in the 10 -15 years of rule thereafter, they did not try to plug the pilferage of 85 per cent of resources.We have plugged the leakage completely. In the last four-and-a-half years, we have transferred Rs 5.80 lakh crore or about 80 billion dollar to people’s bank accounts directly for various purposes.Had the country been run by the old system, Rs 4.50 lakh crore of Rs 5.80 lakh crore would have leaked out of the system. Had we not changed the system, the resources would have been looted in the same manner as admitted by the former prime minister,earlier, there was no political will or policy to stop the leakage, now, we have a policy to transfer the amount directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries,identified 7 crore people who were not born but were taking benefits from the government…They were all living only on paper…This is a glimpse of the change that we have brought in the last four and a half years,people of Indian origin are in leadership roles in countries such as Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland…I consider NRIs India’s brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  the occasion of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi