Parekh, who is to address the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Monday in New Delhi, today said there are around 22 million Indians settled in about 44 countries, 22 of them in large numbers.

“These include from all walks of life, but there's a catch. Data shows that only around two per cent are in a position to invest in India in a way that the government wants. The government only concentrates on this two per cent,” Parekh said.

He added that this kind of policy meant that the other 98 per cent were not really useful, which he said was a misnomer. “Our thinking is ignorant as compared to what other countries like Israel, China, Australia and South Africa are doing,” he said.

Parekh believes that the economy and the need to attract investments dominate India's present approach to the NRIs. “The economy does not function in a vacuum and equal attention must be paid to India's political, social and educational institutions, which are in a sorry state,” he said.

He suggested three points that should be considered while forming the basis of collaboration between the NRIs and the Indian government.

According to Parekh, a proper policy first needs a proper framework, including possibly an advisory council, which includes the bureaucracy and prominent NRIs from various disciplines. “The country also needs to significantly improve its knowledge based economy, which is weak. In the last 60 years, there has been but little development in science and technology,” he said.

He further said that this was an area where NRIs could play a crucial role in setting up educational institutions and foundations to fund research.

Parekh also stressed on the need to initiate a journal giving information about NRIs scattered around the world.