Dubai : The number of emergency travel documents issued to Indians following the economic recession peaked between February and March last year, but things have stabilised now, a top diplomat said.
"There are no signs of any exodus," Venu Rajamony, the outgoing Consul General of India, said. He added that over the past nine months, an average of 445 outpasses had been issued by the consulate every month, a marked decline from the highs of 2,035 in February and 1,732 in March 2009.
This is because illegals, who were the first to feel the impact of the global economic downturn, left the country by the end of the first quarter of 2009, he said.
Rajamony, whose term as Consul General of India ends on February 13, said despite the drop in the number of outpasses issued in recent months, the total number issued in 2009 was 8,455, which was far higher than the 3,433 emergency certificates given out in 2008. It may be recalled that 40,000 outpasses had been issued during the amnesty in 2007.
In terms of new permission for entry, he said group recruitments had by and large come down, while there was no significant change in individual recruitments. Figures in this regard were not immediately available. He said outsourcing of passport and visa services has ensured that the turnaround is more efficient. He said a total of 190,000 passport services were dealt with in 2009 as against 120,895 the previous year.
As for visas, the consulate issued 59,314 visas last year as against 61,127 in 2008, he said. Similarly, a total of 71,000 attestations were handled during 2009 as against 91,616 the previous year, he added.
The consulate also registered 7,450 births, 1,285 deaths and 158 marriages in 2009, with the corresponding figures in 2008 being 6,934, 1,420 and 161 respectively.
Parting tribute
Venu Rajamony, the outgoing Consul General of India, has come out with a book as a tribute to the UAE on the eve of his departure. The book is titled India and the UAE: In Celebration of a Legendary Friendship.
