Indian Diaspora in Saudi Arabia: The Problems of Reverse Migration
Dr. Rincy Mathew
Oil rich Gulf countries became
more attractive destination for temporary labor from south Asia since 1970s.
The scale of labor movements to Gulf linked to the exploration of oil revenue,
investment in domestic industry and the shortage of domestic labor. Saudi
Arabia is an important destination for unskilled and semi-skilled labors from
India, especially Kerala. Remittance from host countries played crucial role
for the development of sending countries in the form of creating employment,
labor market and livelihood prospects. But, the worldwide oil
market crisis, the Nitaqat program, the countrywide lockdown and the closing of
international and interstate borders in an effort to contain the COVID-19
pandemic all contributed to the informal migrant workers' reverse movement. In
this context, this article discusses Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia and
the impact of reverse migration.
Key words: Diaspora, Reverse migration, Nitaqat, Covid 19,
Unemployment, Foreign remittance
Diaspora is a word of Greek
origin that means scattering or sowing of seeds.
It is used to refer to people who leave their native lands to settle in other parts of the world for employment,
business or any other purpose. The term ‘Diaspora’
has become so diluted and dispersed from its original meaning that ‘Rojers Brubecker’ interpreted the term
and gave it new significance which is widely accepted.
He argues that there are three fundamental components of diaspora that are still widely recognised. The first is spatial dispersion; the second
is orientation to a ‘homeland’, and the third is boundary-keeping (Brubecker, 2006). The term ‘diasporas’ has no clear definition,
and its meaning has shifted
dramatically throughout time, making it difficult to quantify.
Indian Diaspora is a generic term used for addressing people who migrated from
those territories that are currently within the borders of the republic of
India. It constitutes NRI’s1 (Non Resident Indians) and PIO’s2 (Persons of Indian Origin). The
government of India recognizes the importance of Indian Diaspora as it has
brought economic, financial and global benefit to India.
Diasporas are non-state
actors who engage with state actors,
most notably their host state (the country in which they now reside) and their motherland. They play a unique role in international relations because they are bound between two countries, sharing
two cultures, having an emotional
attachment to two countries, and maintaining social links in two communities.
Diaspora groups have risen to prominence as an essential component of foreign policy formulation. They have
developed as powerful entities, since they are
recognised as 'soft power3' in the area of foreign policy strategy,
as well as an agent or catalyst of
economic growth in their countries of origin in addition to their active participation in host
nations. The Indian diaspora can be found all over the world, and the most prominent of them are in the West Asian
countries. Since independence, two types of migration have left India. One is
professionals and technical experts chosen to migrate industrialized countries,
semi-skilled and skilled workers emigrating to Middle East
In the late 1970s, Indians began moving to the oil-rich Gulf in
search of work. The top migration corridors for Indians are the UAE, the US and Saudi Arabia. During 1992-2001,
nearly 3.6 lakh persons
per annum migrated
from India to the Gulf countries. This is
significantly
higher than the quantum of labour
outflows from India attained even during the ‘Gulf boom’
of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The scale of labour movements to the Gulf linked to the
exploration of oil revenue, investment in domestic
industry and the shortage of domestic labour. Numerous substituent global events have had a substantial impact on this
labour migration. With the introduction of a new economic paradigm, the Indian
diaspora was able to take advantage of the unregulated and open Indian economy's profusion of economic prospects. Due to
large investment and remittance from the Indian diaspora, it was able to settle the foreign
policy dilemma
According to Global Migration
Report 2020, India accounts for the highest share with 17.5 million Indians
living outside the country. According to this report India, China, Mexico, Philippines and Egypt were the top
five remittance recipient countries. The
migration report shows that Indians constitute the world’s largest diaspora population, making it the largest source of labour for the world market.
Although, India and China were well above the rest with total inward
remittances and India exceeding US$78.6 billion
annually.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been the principal destinations during the last two decades. In fact, they
account for about 55 percent of total Indian
emigration to the Middle East. The 82 percent of the total remittances received by India originated from
eight countries- the UAE, the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the UK and Malaysia. Saudi continues to be among
the most preferred destination for Indians seeking
jobs abroad, resulting
in the Gulf Kingdom becoming
among the highest source of remittance to India. Figure 1 shows Indian trends of labour migration to the Gulf countries
since 1999.
Figure 1 – Indian
trends of labour migration
to Gulf since 1999
Source: Migration Policy Institute
The figure 1 shows increasing trend of the Gulf migration
and migration to Saudi Arabia
during the period
of 1999 - 2007. The chart depicts that since 2000, there has been an
increasing tendency towards migration. That means,
in the beginning of migration, the Gulf became an attractive destination for Indian migrants. Migration to Saudi
Arabia shows an increasing trend in this figure.
The Saudi economy hired foreign workers mainly during oil boom years.
Table 1.1 – Indians
in the Gulf countries, 2018
|
Country |
NRI’s |
PIO’s |
Overseas Indians |
|
UAE |
3,100,000 |
4586 |
3,104,586 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
2,812,408 |
2,160 |
2,814,568 |
|
Kuwait- |
928,421 |
1482 |
929,903 |
|
Qatar |
691,539 |
500 |
692,039 |
|
Oman |
688,226 |
919 |
689,145 |
|
Bahrain |
312,918 |
3257 |
316,175 |
|
Total |
8,533,512 |
12,904 |
8,546,416 |
Source: Ministry of External Affairs,
Govt. of India. Statistics on NRI’S and PIO’s.
Table 1.1 shows the statistics of Indians in the
Gulf in 2018. There are
an estimated 25 million Indians living abroad (Press Information Bureau,
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, 2015). This represents a significant
portion of the country's population. Of these, the majority—roughly six
million—dwell in the Gulf. As per the World Bank statistics, the population of
Saudi Arabia in 2019 is estimated to
be at 34.14 million. As per the data from Saudi General Authority of Statistics (GaStat)
in 2017-18, more than 30% of Saudi population were expats. Indians
are the largest diaspora in the country. There are 2.8 million Indians
living and working
there.
Figure 2- No. of people got emigration clearance to Saudi Arabia 2014-2021 February)
Source: E-migrate portal, Govt. of India
Figure 2 depicts the number of Indians who have got emigration clearance to Saudi Arabia since 2014. The pattern of Indian migration to Saudi Arabia has shifted significantly during the last decade. The number of blue-collar employees migrating to Saudi Arabia has dramatically declined. The number of Indians granted emigration clearance to work in Saudi Arabia has fallen sharply since its high in 2014, as seen in figure 2. A combination of elements at both ends of the migration corridor contribute to the diminishing number of Indians leaving for employment in Saudi Arabia. Nationalisation policies implemented by Saudi government, low wage rate, oil market crisis, voluntary return to home and recent pandemic Covid-19 are also responsible for this diminishing tendency.
In the beginning of
migration to the Gulf, most migrants came from south Indian states of Kerala, Tamilnadu
and Andra Pradesh.
These states have historical
connection with the Gulf and have large number of Muslim population. Almost half of the Indian migrants to the Gulf
is from Kerala. Among them 16% are women. Saudi Arabia was the destination of Malayali emigrants
in 1998 with 37.5 percent. Since then Saudi’s share of Keralites declined
to 26.7 percent in 2003 and further
to 23 percent in 2008 and 21.8 percent in 2013 (Zachariah &Rajan, Migration and Development: The
Kerala Experiance, 2012). The most striking
aspect is that Kerala remittance made up 21 percent of state income in the 1990s. “After independence, large number of
Keralites found jobs in cities like Mumbai,
Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru etc. But this trend declined in the 1970s due to the native’s mentality”,
according to K V Joseph, the migration expert. In this time, job seekers
in the Gulf became witnessed
a golden boom for
Keralites. A huge number of Keralite Considered the Gulf as their new destination.
Nearly 40 percent of Kerala emigrants live in the UAE and 25 percent in Saudi Arabia.
Remaining 10 percent
of emigrants concentrated were in other countries like
the USA, the UK and Australia etc. Compared
to the last five years, the emigrant population is showing a decline. Keralite are the largest expatriate
communities in Saudi Arabia. Recent trends to
the Gulf migration from India have witnessed certain changes. Table 1.2 clearly depicts this trend. State - wise data
comprises emigration clearance taken by recruiting
agents, project experts or through
direct recruitment. The table 1.2 shows only Indian
ECR workers in Saudi
Arabia from leading
states.
Table 1.2- State wise emigration
clearance to Saudi Arabia
|
States |
2007 |
2010 |
2012 |
2015 |
2018 |
|
Bihar |
2888 |
29919 |
43223 |
43189 |
13337 |
|
Kerala |
8741 |
43765 |
41799 |
12388 |
5739 |
|
Rajasthan |
3312 |
21574 |
25527 |
16264 |
6668 |
|
UP |
9941 |
87924 |
128381 |
128925 |
25501 |
|
West Bengal |
1177 |
15507 |
22224 |
37678 |
7408 |
|
Tamil Nadu |
2971 |
24553 |
23348 |
14443 |
2380 |
|
Andra Pradesh |
1066 |
5973 |
10398 |
8935 |
840 |
|
Karnataka |
1188 |
8197 |
9464 |
4702 |
908 |
|
Total |
31,278 |
2,37,412 |
3,04,364 |
2,61,822 |
62781 |
Source: e-Migrate portal, Government of India
Table 1.2 clearly shows the
recent trend of Indian migration to Saudi Arabia.
Instead of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the north Indian states of UP and Bihar now lead the list. The Ministry of
External Affairs only keeps track of the number
of Indians living abroad and those who need an emigration check. The Kerala Migration Survey 2016 conducted by
CDS shows an absolute decline in the total number of Kerala emigrants
from 2.4 million in 2014 to 2.24 million in 2016, constituting a drop of 1.54
lakhs. It is for the first time the number has
declined since CDS started conducting migration survey in 1998. The preliminary findings
of the survey conducted by I.Rajan (2016) shows that among
the 14 districts, Thrissur has seen the largest decline in the number of emigrants (75,355) followed by Ernakulam
(71,749) compared to 2013 figures. Malapuram, which has the higher number of emigrants, also saw a decline
(58,618)
during 2013-2016. Nearly 38 percent of Kerala’s emigrants live in the UAE and 22 percent live in Saudi Arabia.
After Nitaqat, Saudi Arabia has lost its 3 percent share.
Trends of Remittance from Saudi Arabia
Despite a decrease in
Indian migration, remittances surged by about 14% to $ 78.6 billion in 2018. There are several elements that
contribute to the trend. First, the Indian rupee has depreciated, and second, the Indian expatriate population in the Gulf comprises a significant proportion of
high-income earners whose remittances
are not recorded by official migration figures and finally, many migrant workers in the Gulf have
climbed the social ladder. Despite the pandemic
that decimated the global economy, India received over $83 billion in remittances in 2020, a decline of only 0.2 percent from the previous
year, according to a World Bank report.
According to a World
Bank report, India retained its position as the country receiving the most remittances in
2018, with $80 billion sent home by the diaspora. China ($67 billion), Mexico
and the Philippines ($34 billion each), and
Egypt ($26 billion) are the next largest recipients of remittances. As a result of the enormous diaspora in the Gulf and
other countries, India has been a major recipient of remittances. Expat workers account
for three-quarters of the Kingdom's 13.6 million workforce, with the
majority being from India, Syria, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. In the first ten months of 2020, Saudi Arabian
expats contributed SR123.4
billion ($32.9 billion)
in remittances to their home countries,
a rise in 18.58 percent as compared to the year
2019. The payment increase occurred as foreign employees in the Kingdom sought to assist their families amid the
corona virus outbreak (Gassem, 2020).
Figure 3-India’s total inward remittances
Source: World Bank
People working
overseas sent home less than $3 billion
until 1990. However,
by 2018, India's
international remittances would have increased
significantly, reaching $ 78.6 billion. In 2020, the pandemic Covid-19 has
affected inward remittance. Figure 4 shows Middle East countries with highest remittance to India in 2018.
Figure 4- Middle East countries with highest remittance sending to India
Source: World Bank
Countries in the Gulf
region collectively account for a large share of overall remittances to India. According to the Reserve Bank of
India's fourth round survey of
authorised dealers on India's inbound
remittances in 2016-17, the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
and Qatar accounted
for over 45 percent of all remittances to India. The figure 4 clearly
shows that Saudi Arabia is the second largest
remittance sending West Asian country to India. In most areas of the Saudi economy, Indians have become the
major and leading labour force.
Impacts of Migration
There is a direct relationship between
migration, remittance and development. The effect of migration is
significant in major sending regions. Foreign remittances and reduction of unemployment are major benefits
of external migration. Remittance
has a considerable impact on regional economies. Migration acted as
a safety valve in countries like India to reduce growing unemployment.
Flow of remittances not only boosts foreign exchange but also provides potential source of additional savings
and capital formation. As nations increasingly
opened their borders to foreign workers in the last two decades, remittances to India have sourced from US$
2.10 billion in 1990’s to US$ 78.6 billion
in 2018. The emergence of ‘remittance communities’ creates symbiotic relationships between source and remittance receiving countries.
At the family and community levels, migration and remittances have a positive impact on development.
Migration may increase household wages, food, health,
housing, and educational standards at the family level. Improvements
in health, education, sanitation, and infrastructure may be seen at the community level, benefitting both migrant and non-migrant households. These migrants provide a vital source of money for India through
remittances, as well as contributing significantly to the economic growth of the Gulf States.
Remittances do improve
social and economic conditions within different areas of the country. It constitutes a flow in cash and kind directly
to the migrant’s family. There is a question whether remittances can
help to alleviate poverty and improve
human well-being in origin areas. Remittance to India has a considerable impact on economy
and development. It is also reflected in the
consumption pattern. With regard to the skill acquired from Saudi, 33.1 percent opined that they achieved some sort of skills, supervision etc. during their emigration
life. The impact of migration clearly reflected in the socio- economic life of Indian society. In the case of Kerala,
foreign remittance played an important role in ‘Kerala Model of
Development’5, because Kerala has enjoyed the benefits of migration in the early 1990s. Other states of India have utilised the scope of migration
in the late 2000s.
When we look into the
impact of migration in Kerala, it has provided the single most dynamic factor in the otherwise dismal scenario of the state in the last quarter of the 20th century. This helped those households to attain high income, consumption and acquisition
of assets. This also pushed up the prices of land, consumer
food, education, transport
etc. (Prakash, 1998). Currently
Kerala receives remittance of 36.3 percentage of its GDP. Malabar was in the forefront of GCC migration.
Kerala approached the end of the millennium with
a little cheer of money in its homes, thanks to migration and the economic returns that it brings. In Kerala,
migration must have contributed more to poverty alleviation than any other social factor including agrarian
reforms, trade union activities and
social welfare legislation (Zachariah, Mathew, & Rajan, 2001). This
flow appears to have increased wealth. Although the average per capita consumption in Kerala was below national
average until 1978-79, but by 1999- 2000
consumer expenditure in Kerala exceeded the national average by around 41% (Srivasthava, Ravi, & Sasikumar, 2003). The volume of remittances received by Kerala contributed to the state’s excellent and
improved health and education. Remittances are used for housing, purchase of land, education of children’s and dowry.
Housing has been the first
requirement of emigrants.
Declining
Trend of Migration
Fluctuations in migration
happened in certain years. There are a number
of reasons behind this. Migration to West Asia, especially Saudi Arabia,
has declined since 2011 due to
fluctuations in oil price, regional policies of host countries, job loss due to continuous lock down during the time of the pandemic
Covid-19 etc. Table 1.3 clearly illustrates the sharp decline of Indian
migration to Saudi Arabia.
Table 1.3- Declining trend of Migration to Saudi Arabia
|
Country |
2018 |
2017 |
2014 |
% change 2018/17 |
% change 2018/14 |
|
Saudi
Arabia |
65,542 |
78,557 |
3,29,882 |
-16.56 |
-80.13 |
Source: Reply by MEA in Parliament: statistics for 2018
up to Nov 30
The five-year outflow of Indian migrants
to Saudi Arabia peaked in 2014 at
3,29,882. Compared to that figure, the decline in 2018 is as high as 80
percent. In 2017, Saudi Arabia has relinquished its position as the most attractive destination among the Gulf countries for
Indian workers. The effect of Nitaqat reflected
in migration after 2014. Nitaqat is not the only reason for the decline in migration
from India to Saudi
Arabia. It is essential to consider the diminishing migration
trend and its reasons, including Nitaqat, fall of oil prices, and Covid-19. Some of the prominent
oil producing self- economies are trying to increase the share of their native population in the workforce engaged in various sectors of
the economy, realising that the oil boom may end at some point.
The Program
of Saudisation and Its Impact
The term Saudisation came
in the late 1970s as a new economic term. Saudi
Kingdom began its Saudisation policies in 1995. The concept refers to the replacement of expatriates with competent and skilled local employees. The policy was formulated through a
ministerial decree in 1995, which declared that private firms with over 20 employees should
reduce the number of non-Saudis by 5 percent annually,
implement penalties for noncompliance including
denial of access to certain
types of Govt. support, enforce a freeze on application to hire new workers from abroad and on their
renewal of existing permits (Al-Bureay &
Asad, 2009). But, it also failed.
In 2011, the government
intensified the emphasis on Saudisation through the Nitaqat programme, was introduced to boost failed
Saudisation programme. The Arabic
word ‘Nitaqat’ means ‘ranges’ or ‘limits’. It
is an attempt of Saudi government to assist Saudi locals. Theoretically, it should
reduce unemployment rate in the country by compelling companies
to hire more locals. Nitaqat acts as a monetary rule in Saudi labour
market. This program looks more on the number
of employees in each company rather than their capabilities. Saudi
government took this effort after the
ongoing slowdown of the economy due to continued low crude oil prices. The policy is not specifically directed at
Indian nationals and the Saudi government is exercising its prerogative and sovereign right by following
this policy uniformly in respect
of all foreign nationals.
Why Saudisation
The unemployment rate is strikingly
high for Saudi nationals with a bachelor’s degree, but, there are large
numbers of both male and female bachelor degree holders, and a substantial
percentage of them are unemployed. Lack of suitable
public transportation, lack of information about the availability of jobs, and the weak professional networks for
youth and female employees make it costly
and time consuming for job seekers to hunt out jobs suitable for their skills.
Saudi government’s flagship program ‘VISION 20304’ aims at securing meaningful employment for Saudi citizens
and to raise the proportion of women who are active in the labour
force to 28 percent (currently
at 17 percent).
According to the report of
International Monetary Fund (IMF) the figure
of jobless Saudi nationals ballooned to 11.6 percent and it has reached
32.8 percent among women. Saudi
Arabia’s unemployment rate remained the same at 6% in December
2018, from the previously reported
number of 6 percent in December 2017. In the latest reports, Saudi Arabia’s population reached 33.41 million in December 2018.
Saudi employment in the private
sector is hampered
by high wage requirements and mismatched career expectations. Private
sector employment provides
lower wages and weaker job security than the public sector. The ‘Vision 2030’ aims at making most of the new
employment being generated in the private sector.
It ensures 4.5 million job opportunities for Saudi women and men in the private sector by 2020. Furthermore, it
aims at increasing the ratio of Saudis employed in the
private sector to 50 percent by 2020.
Covid 19 and reverse migration
Due
to the unexpected shutdown and widespread layoffs, there was a pressing need
for them to return to India (Kumar&Akhil, 2021). Wage theft is a
long-standing problem, but it was made worse by the COVID-19-induced migrant crisis (Foley & Piper, 2021). The
abrupt and unplanned lockdown, closing of hotels, construction sites, and other
industries that employed migrant workers and paid them meager wages, left them
jobless, homeless, and without wages. The employers' recklessness, widespread
wage theft, and forced layoffs of a significant number of both domestic and
foreign migrant workers added to their suffering
(Kuttappan, 2020; Sarkar, 2020).
Reverse Migration
and Its Impacts
Regarding the issue of
reverse migration, the number of Indian workers emigrating to the Gulf for work has dropped in the past couple
of years, probably due to the slowing
economies of countries that are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which have been hit by reduced
oil prices. According to the World Bank, the Nitaqat
law implemented by the Saudi government
at the local level, and the fall in global oil prices and the pandemic Covid-19
have led to a large number of job losses and returns.
But the government's failure to show accurate figures on how many people
have returned as a result makes it
difficult to understand its impact. The job losses and returns of expats
will be problematic for India. It might result in the laying off a huge number of Indian workers, mainly in the
states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which already
have high unemployment rates. According to a World Bank Report, inward
remittances to India remained flat at
$83 billion in 2020 (a mere 0.2 percent drop over 2019) owing to the return of migrant workers from the Gulf to India
due to the spread of the devastating Covid-19
pandemic that has impacted the global economy since the beginning of 2020. The loss was mostly attributable to
a decrease in remittances from the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates (Kulkarni, 2021). Figure 5 shows the return of the migrants from the Gulf countries in
2018.
No.of Indians brought back by Govt. of India, 2018
Figure 5
Source: Ministry
of External Affairs
(In reply to starred question
No.247), Rajya Sabha, Session-246)
The Figure 5 clearly shows
that Saudi Arabia is in the top in the list of
returnees. This also happened due to the policies implemented by the
Saudi government and the fall of oil price. The effect of oil glut and resultant
downswing of economies
in the Saudi has had some delayed
impact on remittances. The movement in oil prices
has a big influence on oil, given that these
economies depend on oil for growth. Earnings of the migrant workers from India reflected in the slowdown of these
economies in the aftermath of the oil price fall in 2015 and 2016.
Reverse migration
seriously affected trade, real estate,
construction, business and education in India especially Kerala. If a worker leaves the Kingdom for not having legal documents, he
can come back once and find a sponsor
and stay there. This provides
relief to the returnees. As per
the Kerala Migration Survey (2014), the number of Kerala migrants who returned
from abroad is 12.5 lakh in 2014, 11.5 lakh in 2011, 11.6 in 2008 and 7.4 lakhs in 1998. The largest number
of Kerala migrants returned from Saudi Arabia
is 34.5 percent of the total. Once the return emigrant reaches Kerala, unemployment rate increases substantially to 18 percent.
Emigration brings substantial reduction of unemployment rate in Kerala. The major part of the trade and
commerce, construction etc., depends on foreign
remittances. In Kerala, Gulf migration has been considered as a 10-20 year project. Remittance for this period
was used for construction of houses, household
expenditure, education of children, buying land etc. More than 40 percent of returnees spent their savings
for construction and nearly the same proportion
had been used for the purpose of marriage of their daughters. But the increasing rate of reverse migration due to nationalisation policies, fall in oil price and the
Pandemic Covid-19 and other
reasons affect this project.
Problems of Indian
Migration
Our present policy is not
sufficient to address the problems of unskilled labourers and returnees. The greatest limitation of Indian
migration management system is the lack of sound and judiciously defined policy structure. The regulatory system
followed by India is a selective system in which certain groups come
under this act and others are outside its purview. It has two major adverse impacts.
First, all those who possess an education
of higher secondary
level get an unregulated chance. A proper documentation of this
section is not done. Second
and most importantly, contrary to stated intention, the emigration clearance system makes the ECR passport
holding emigrants more vulnerable in multiple forums and various
stages of their emigration. ECR passport is discriminatory
in principle and in praxis become a stamp for exploitation (Rajan, Varghese, & Jayaumar, 2008). The data
on who passes through the channel of emigration
is only available. To protect the vulnerable categories of unskilled, semi-skilled and women, the Protector
General of Emigrants checks their labour contracts
before they deport to ensure working conditions and fair wages. This process
is called an Emigration Clearance
Check. From August 2016, the recruitment
through the six states run recruitment agencies was made mandatory for Indian nurses and domestic workers.
The legal and
administrative framework of emigration management in India is provided by the Act of 1983, which seeks to protect the
emigrating workers through a
principle of ‘protection by exception’ by making it mandatory for the ECR passport holders
to get emigration clearance from Protector of Emigrants
(PoE) officers before proceeding for expatriate work in the specified countries. In this system, the decision to
emigrate is that of the individual and government
job in principle is to regulate the flow of people to the best interests of the emigrants. The Protector of
Emigrants (PoE), an office independent India
inherited from the colonial regimes, grants emigration clearance by
ensuring the documentary uprightness
of the applicants for expatriate labour. Considering the magnitude of forgery and fraudulence in the field today, the PoE
offices are not equipped with any
technological means to check the veracity of the documents submitted
to them. This casts serious
doubts about the effectiveness of the exercise of emigration clearance itself.
With regard to India at national level the data
related to returnees are not adequate. But in the case of Kerala, they gave special
effort to keep the details of returnees through its Migration
Survey.
Rehabilitation Policies
for Expatriates
When we look into
government interventions to deal with the problem of return emigrants, we find it is minimal. There has been only a
little effort by central as well as
state govt. since 1990’s. The non-residential Keralite
has begun self-employment schemes for the returnees
affected by Nitaqat. But it was not utilised by a significant number. But in the case of India, national level
policies are not enough for the states.
But, Kerala is far better than other states with systematic policies and programs.
The Department of Norka and Norka Roots played an important role to reintegrate returnees.
Their policies are mainly related
to economic incentive policies. At the institutional level, the Norka is one of the
major initiatives of Kerala
government launched in 1996. NORKA Roots is its wing, which provides various
helpful services to migrants and returnees. Some of their programs are pre-departure training, skill upgradation
program, Pravasi ID card, annual meet and resettlement and reintegration of NRKs returning to Kerala.
Conclusion
Indian Diaspora played a crucial
role in the overall development of the economy. Their remittance helps our
economy for the development and reduction of unemployment. Remittances
have been sent home by migrants under many different conditions. It benefits
the family back home as well as the government, which may import commodities
for the nation with a positive balance of payments. It is essential in lowering
extreme poverty in some places. Diasporic community puts substantial
contribution for development of community and individual level. But the process
of reverse migration seriously affected various levels of development of the
economy. Reverse migration has made a number of pre-existing
issues that the migrant groups faced worse, which has caused them to suffer
consistently at various points during their migration. A major policy concern
is the proper reintegration of migrants, which would involve gathering up-to-
data, creating jobs that match their skill set, including them in welfare
programs, and allowing social security benefits to be portably transferred in
light of the mobile character of migrant communities. A few actions might be
taken to address the problem, including proper verification of recruiters'
details, increased local support via the Indian embassy, and worker welfare
programs in the host nation. So that in the event of an unexpected
return, people can get a reasonable solution for their resettlement.
Endnotes:
2. Person of Indian origin means a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal), who at any time held an Indian passport or who or either of their parents/ great grandparents was born and permanently reside in India as defined in Govt. of India Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India. Thereafter provided neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid countries or who is a spouse of a citizen of India.
3. Soft power definition is the capacity to influence other nations through the use of persuasion and attraction rather than coercion or force. Soft power relies on culture, arts, and science.
4. Saudi Vision 2030 is a government program launched by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which aims to achieve the goal of increased diversification economically, socially and culturally, in line with the vision of Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman
5. The Kerala model of Development refers to the state of Kerala in India’s economic policies. When compared to the rest of the country, it has strong social indices such as high literacy and life expectancy rates, much improved access to healthcare, and low infant mortality and birth rates. Despite having a lower per capita income, the state is frequently compared to developed countries on all parameters. These accomplishments, as well as the reasons that contributed to them, have been regarded as hallmarks of the Kerala model.
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