NRI Online: The portal for NRIs launched

NRI Online, the portal for Indians overseas, has been launched at https://www.nriol.com! In contrast to websites that offer news and information about India, NRI Online addresses issues that are related to "Non Resident Indian" life. The site is a cyber-home for NRIs, and acts as a link for the global NRI community. It addresses issues that are relevant to the NRI - from homesickness to raising kids abroad to coping with new cultures. More than anything else, NRI Online provides a platform for NRIs to get together where they can discuss issues that affect them.

NRI Online has a host of features, including yellow pages, an NRI white pages, classifieds, news and so on. For example, you can find the nearest Indian restaurant or temple or grocery store in your area. Or if you want to find other NRIs near you, you can look up the NRI directory. It also has links to many NRI-relevant sites.

NRI Online also aims to lobby the Indian government for changes as well as raise the image of India abroad.

The company has been founded by a group of engineers and a journalist who have gone through the ups and downs of living abroad. They noticed that although many sites claimed to be aimed at NRIs, none actually catered specifically for the NRIs.

" Most Indian sites that target NRIs overlook the fact that NRIs are human beings, not just walking wallets," said Chetan Dhruve, Editor and a founder-member of NRI Online. "We therefore decided to create something that was fun, useful and most importantly, provided a place where we NRIs could get together and talk about issues that were relevant to us".