The Overseas Indian Citizenship (OCI) card scheme, launched by the government in January 2006, has been a great success and the demand for OCI cards has been very high.

Stating this at a press conference here Thursday, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said that close to 90,000 OCI cards have been issued ever since the scheme was announced at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2006, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, in Hyderabad.

Persons of Indian origin (PIO) in countries that allow dual citizenship can apply for the card. An OCI cardholder enjoys all benefits that an Indian citizen enjoys except for voting rights and the right to hold constitutional posts like the president, vice-president or a judge of the Supreme Court or high courts.

Asked about problems faced by applicants for the card, the minister said, "We have come across problems relating to our consular services in different countries. But then you have to understand that the size of the Indian diaspora has increased significantly. The number of our consular offices has not been adequate. We are in the process of boosting the number of our consular offices abroad."

Another complaint of OCI cardholders, Ravi said, is that in places of tourist attraction like the Taj Mahal they are charged a high fee that is applicable to foreign tourists and not the fee that applies to Indian citizens.

"I am in touch with the tourism ministry to end this problem," he said.

Another problem faced by the people of Indian origin residing abroad is a technicality in applying for the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) card.

PIO card applicants are mostly descendants of Indians who had migrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries to work as indentured labour and are mainly concentrated in countries like Fiji and Suriname and the Caribbean region.

PIO applicants are required to produce the embarkation cards that were issued to their forefathers when they had boarded the ships to different countries. However, applicants have found it difficult to locate these passes.

"I am aware of this problem. I have come across people who I know for sure are of Indian origin but don't have the embarkation card.

"We are consulting with the home ministry as it is a matter of national security and we hope to resolve this problem soon," he said.