Panaji, Jul 5 (IANS): The union Human Resource development (HRD) ministry has decided to set up a chair on Indian diaspora studies at the Goa University, Goa's commissioner for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) affairs Eduardo Faleiro said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters here, Faleiro said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has agreed to establish a chair on the diaspora community at the state university in Goa, a state which has a history of emigration.

"I have requested the Goa governor, Dr S.S. Sidhu, who is the chancellor of the Goa University (GU), to advise the university in this regard so that we have a quality institution for study and research on the Indian diaspora in general and on the Goan diaspora in particular," said Faleiro, a former union minister of state for external affairs.

The chair on diaspora studies will deal with the questions and issues regarding the Indian diaspora (Goan diaspora included) in academic depth and in a comparative context, he said.

It will also study migration in other countries, he added.

He said a part payment has already been made by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to the GU towards the creation of the chair.

"The study on migration in all its diverse aspects is one of the most fascinating areas of research. A very large number of universities abroad have this facility," Faleiro said, adding that the GU is the first in India to establish a chair on the diaspora studies.

Incidentally, Goa is the second state in India after Kerala to conduct a survey on out-migration of its working population to other countries for employment, primarily in the Gulf region.