E-Paper
423,559 Indian workers returned home between June 2020 & Dec 2021: Centre to LS
During the specified period, the largest number of Indians – 152,126 – returned from the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia (118,064), Kuwait (51,206), Oman (46,003), Qatar (32,361), Bahrain (11,749), Malaysia (9,228) and Jordan (2,243)
A total of 423,559 Indians returned from 14 countries between June 2020 and December 2021, with more than half of them coming from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the government informed Lok Sabha on Friday.
During the same period, a total of 141,172 Indian nationals went to work in six West Asian countries, minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said, citing figures from the government’s eMigrate system in a written reply to a question.
“While a large number of Indian workers, particularly in the Gulf, returned to India due to Covid-19, the economic recovery in that region and their increasing openness to travel from India has now seen a return by many of them,” he said.
According to the eMigrate portal, a total of 416,024 Emigration Clearances (ECs) were issued for Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022, he added.
Under the Emigration Act of 1983, Indians holding ECR passports need to obtain ECs from the office of the Protector of Emigrants for travelling to 18 countries, most of them in West Asia.
During the specified period, the largest number of Indians – 152,126 – returned from the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia (118,064), Kuwait (51,206), Oman (46,003), Qatar (32,361), Bahrain (11,749), Malaysia (9,228) and Jordan (2,243).
Small numbers of Indians also returned from Iraq (342), Lebanon (210), Thailand (18), Indonesia (seven), and Afghanistan and Sudan (one each).
The largest number of Indians – 51,496 – travelled to Qatar for work, followed by Saudi Arabia (36,451), Oman (21,340), the United Arab Emirates (13,567), Kuwait (10,160) and Bahrain (8,158).
The government’s priority during the Covid-19 pandemic was ensuring that its impact on Indian workers, in terms of loss of employment, was mitigated, Muraleedharan said.
“To that end, the [external affairs] ministry and all our missions in the Gulf were continuously engaged with the government of the Gulf nations to maintain the workers, ensure their welfare and facilitate financial payments due to them,” he said.
The external affairs ministry, in collaboration with the civil aviation ministry, facilitated the repatriation of citizens stranded abroad during the pandemic through Vande Bharat Mission.
The government launched the Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support (SWADES) portal as a joint initiative of the ministries of skill development and entrepreneurship, civil aviation and external affairs to create a database of returning citizens who lost their jobs, based on their skill sets and experience.
In reply to another question, Muraleedharan said a total of 17,848 labour complaints were received by Indian missions and posts from Indian workers, including those related to non-payment of wages or salaries, between March 2020 and December 2021.
“Wherever required, such cases were promptly taken up by the missions and posts with concerned companies to resolve the issues. Indian missions and posts also facilitated discussions between Indian workers and their employers to settle the issues by providing all possible help. These issues were also taken up with the governments of host countries during high level bilateral meetings,” he said.
