From correspondents in Delhi, India, 08:31 PM IST

The cabinet Friday approved the setting up of a non-profit trust that will serve as a channel for overseas Indians to take part in developmental projects in India.

A statement by ministry of overseas Indian affairs said that the 'India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians' will be exempted from provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

'The trust will function with the objective of promoting diaspora philanthropy in the social sector and facilitate public-private partnerships between the overseas Indian philanthropist and credible philanthropic organisations. It is to be fully owned and managed by the government,' said the press note.

The trust will be administered by an advisory council and a management committee. The council chairman will be the overseas Indian affairs minister, and the secretaryits vice-chairman.

It will have 12 members - four each from overseas Indians, resident Indians and from government.

A chief executive officer appointed to head the trust will also be the advisory council's secretary.

'The foundation will subject all the philanthropic activities to international accounting standards on the one hand and through objective criteria encourage credible partnerships while weeding out the less credible organisations,' said the statement.

The proposal for the foundation was made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in January this year at the inauguration of the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

It was first mooted by the high-level committee for Indian diaspora, which recommended specific efforts to tap the philanthropic propensities of overseas Indians, including the establishment of a central institution for facilitating diaspora philanthropy.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)