Abu Dhabi: The welfare of low-paid workers, who constitute about 80 per cent of the Indian population in the Gulf, is paramount as they are a vital resource of foreign remittances to India.
They contribute most of the remittances from the Gulf to India, which are estimated at 50 per cent of around $71 billion (Dh260.79 billion) of total remittances India received last year, a conference in the capital heard on Saturday. Remittances from UAE to India last year stood at $15 billion.
At the States’ Conference, the first-of-its kind initiative organised by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, officials of Indian diplomatic missions in the UAE and six Indian states presented various welfare measures for Indian expatriates. Representatives of Indian community organisations raised their grievances, concerns and suggestions at the event held at the Indian Social and Cultural Centre (ISC).
All concerns and suggestions raised at the conference will be brought to the attention of relevant authorities, T.P. Seetharam, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said.
Francis D’Souza, Deputy Chief Minister of the Indian state of Goa, said the Indian diaspora, comprising People of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), estimated at 25 million-strong Overseas Indians, constitutes a substantial global community spread over five continents.
R. Buhril, Protector General of Emigrants, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, detailed many new initiatives including the online system to track repatriation of the bodies of migrants from abroad.
M.A. Yousuf Ali, Managing Director of Emke Group and board member of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, launched a booklet titled “Guidelines for Indians” published by the Indian Embassy, which details dos and don’ts for expatriates in the UAE.
Anad Bardhan, Counsellor Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said Indians in the UAE remitted $15 billion to India last year.
Y. Sudhir Kumar Shetty, COO of UAE Exchange, said low-paid Indian workers are the ones regularly sending remittances to India. “Therefore their welfare is paramount for India.”
Although no official figures are available, his company estimated that more than $35 billion of total $71 billion total remittances to India received last year were mostly from low-paid workers in the Gulf. But most of them are unable to make savings from their income because their remittances are used for consumption purposes of families back home.
He suggested introducing a regular investment scheme for that category.
About 15 to 20 per cent of high-income expatriates in the Gulf do not remit money regularly to India, Shetty told Gulf News on the sidelines of the conference. “Most of them don’t have anybody in India waiting for their remittance. Their remittances are sent for investments in real estate and the stock market.”
Rani George, Secretary of NORKA (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) of Kerala Government, said her government is giving priority to resettlement schemes for returnees from the Gulf.
