"Yeh mera India…I love my India…"

This has been a favourite tune hummed by nostalgic non-resident Indians but once they come to back to invest in India the sentiments turn topsy-turvy with bureaucratic hurdles, corruption and hostile treatment paving the way to enterprise. This often has them exclaiming: "This not my India." This is also the case with the UK-based Derewal father-son team which has been running various charity projects in the country since 1999 and are now in the process of building a multi-facility hospital on the Sirhind road near Patiala.

Telling their woes in an interview at Chandigarh, they said that lured by the promises made by the Government of India and the Punjab Government, NRIs who had invested heavily in various sectors are a sad lot today. As member of the Institute of Asian Businessmen, London, Ranjit Singh Derewal, who recently received the Hind Rattan Award at the Parwasi conference in the last week of January, says: "The moment people in India come to know we are NRIs, the bribe and bazaar rates double. This is a major deterrent to NRI investment in the country." His son Jasbir Singh adds, "The situation in Punjab is worse and we shy away from being identified as NRI investors as we will be virtually ripped off."

The Derewals, who deal in real estate and run a chain of nursing homes in the UK, say that they were always proud of their humble Indian origins and are keen to invest in their homeland but the climate here is proving counter-productive. Speaking of his personal experience, senior Derewal says, " I do not mind paying what is due but I do not wish to pay double just because I am an NRI. At one point I was about to set up a mineral water plant near Gurdaspur but an official wanted to force on me a 10 per cent shareholder who would not invest anything." The junior Derewal adds, "In fact I find younger people in India responding better but the old mindset needs to be changed."

Recounting tales of disillusionment of several NRI investors, Ranjit Singh says, "Giving dual citizenship to NRIs has no meaning until the Indian system stops treating them like second- class citizens." He added that many NRI businessmen were now investing in countries like Bulgaria, Tazakistan and some other disintegrated Soviet states, for they were offering various concessions and facilities to foreign investors. "The scene must change here for the better for we would rather come back to our own country. We do love our India."