Kerala to rope in M A Yusuffali, Ravi Pillai to sell Pravasi Chitty

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is exploring the possibility of a ‘package deal’ with top non-resident Keralite businessmen to enlist maximum subscriptions for the ambitious ‘Pravasi Chitty’ that will be rolled out by Kerala State Financial Enterprises in January 2018.  M.A. Yusuffali of Lulu Group and Ravi Pillai, who owns the RP Group of Companies, are reportedly favourable to the proposal that their entire Malayali workforce can be enrolled.  Both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and finance minister Dr T. M. Thomas Isaac will travel to the United Arab Emirates next month to hold talks with select non-resident businesspeople with a large workforce, including Mr Ali and Mr Pillai.

“If the Malayali employees in the firms of Yusuf Ali and Ravi Pillai alone agree to be part of the ‘Pravasi Chitty’, it would mean at least 20,000 subscriptions,” a top finance department official said.  Kerala State Financial Enterprises (KSFE) plans to enrol 10 lakh subscribers in the ‘Pravasi Chitty’ in the next three years.  The NRK chitty, though it functions just like a normal chitty, has extra benefits. There will be an insurance cover for non-resident subscribers. If a chitty holder dies, the remaining payment will be made by the insurer. And when the chitty matures, the prize money will be routed to the account of the closest kin.  An agreement has already been entered into with LIC. The premium will also be paid by KSFE from its profits. There will be insurance cover when a chitty holder suffers permanent disability, too. 

There are more add-on benefits. If the chitty holder dies, the person will be flown to his hometown at the state’s expense. The flight cost of the person accompanying the body will also be met by the state. Perhaps, more importantly, there will be a pension scheme. If the prize money is deposited in a pension fund, the subscriber will get a regular monthly pension once they reach 60 years.
The ‘Pravasi Chitty’ is essentially a fund mobilisation mechanism for Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board. 

The KSFE expects a total turnover of Rs 24,000 crore from the operation of the NRK chitties.  The money the non-resident subscriber transfers to the KSFE will be automatically converted as KIIFB bonds through a ‘bond convertor software’. KIIFB will use the money to fund various development projects. As for the KSFE, they can redeem the bonds whenever they require the money, like when the time comes to pay the prize money.  “It is redeemable on a daily basis,” a KIIFB official said. KIIFB will also offer an interest stipulated by SEBI for its bonds.