The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs provides information and services for the millions of Indians living abroad. It is estimated that the number of Indians living abroad maybe as high as 25 million, though an official Ministry survey put the official number at just under 22 million. This figures includes people of Indian origin (PIOs), who are permanently settled in other countries like Indo-Caribbeans of Guyana and Trinidad or the Tamils of Malaysia and Singapore and the newer economic migrants who predominate in the Gulf, but who are not permanently settled there. In Kerala, a state with a massive proportion of workers, remittances (both legal and the unofficial transfers called Hawala) are believed to make up close to half of the state's economy. This remittance money is also believed to be the primary reason why the state has one of India's highest standards of living. There are about a million more PIOs than NRIs.
In 2003, the Union government even created a special day to honor Indians who are living abroad called Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The Ministry was founded in May 2004 and initially called the Ministry of Non-Resident Indians’ Affairs. In September of the same year, it was renamed the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA).
During the British Raj, Indians were sent to work on sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean and African islands like Mauritius and South Pacific islands like Fiji at the turn of the 1900s. The tea estates of Sri Lanka, for example, were staffed by Indians from Tamil Nadu. In the early part of the 20th century, many Indians from Gujarat went to Africa as traders.
While many of these migrants ended up staying in their adopted country, the most recent wave of Indian economic migrants, concentrated in the Gulf states, are more likely to take a job and work somewhere for five years and send their money back in the form of remittances. While states like Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are more than happy to have the cheap labor of Indians, they're generally not interested in offering unskilled or semi-skilled workers citizenship. Skilled workers generally stand a better chance of becoming longer term residents or citizens.
Manual laborers and construction workers are most likely to get to be exploited in their adopted country or recruited through an agency that often takes huge chunks of their salaries. In some cases, their passports are taken as well. Though the plight of these workers is well known and has even been fictionalized in films like Syriana, the Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs was created primarily to try to help them and make sure that are treated fairly.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs tries to connect the Indian diaspora with the motherland via four divisions:
The Diaspora Services division handles all general matters related to Indians living abroad including those whose forefathers emigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These services include: India orientation programs, conventions, scholarship programs to study in India, tracing ancestry assistance, assistance for women who were deserted by their overseas husbands and voting information.
The Financial Services division focuses on promoting information about and creating opportunities for overseas Indians invest in India.
Established in 2006, the Emigration Policy Division’s primary responsibilities include proposing and implementing emigration reforms, creating welfare (legal, financial or personal counseling) resource centers and encouraging co-operation in global migration.
The Management Services division oversees ministry staff matters including wages, postings, promotions and coordinates intra- and inter-ministry communication.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 2012-2013 budget is
1. Secretariat-General Services: Rs 38.10 crore ($6.95 million USD)
2. External Affairs (international conferences/meetings, entertainment, other/Pravasi Bhartiya Divas): Rs 56.67 crore ($10.33 million USD)
3. Public Works: Rs 20 crore ($3.65 million USD)
Worker Exploitation in Gulf
Indian emigrants in the Gulf region are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Many leave India with the expectation of a certain job only to arrive and become domestic servants. Employers often take their passports, leaving them without paperwork and unable to return back to India.
They also face gross labor exploitation. In Ha’il, Saudi Arabia, a worker was paid $133/month, working 16-hour days. In Bahrain government reforms focused on safety regulations, measures to combat human trafficking, workers’ rights education campaigns, and greater ability to leave employers. However, they have not implemented other worker protections against withheld wages, recruitment fees, and passport confiscation, making it difficult to leave abusive employers.
Indian Migrant Workers Exploited and Enslaved in Arab Countries (Asianews.It)
Bahrain: Abuse of Migrant Workers Despite Reforms (Human Rights Watch)
"Bad Dreams:" Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia (Human Rights Watch)
Government-Owned Air India Fails Indian Workers in the Gulf
Indian workers have complained repeatedly about issues with government-owned Air India. The airline cancelled numerous flights between the Gulf region and India (1.2 million Indians work in the United Arab Emirates alone, majority from the Indian state Kerala). For instance flights to Kerala were cancelled nearly 200 times in four months. The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi (and former Aviation Minister) essentially gave up, saying that he has tried working it out with the Ministry of Aviation and there is nothing more he can do.
UAE Indian Expat Alert: NRI Minister 'Kills' Air India, 'Opens' Sharjah Cemetery (by Joseph George, Emirates 24/7)
Air India Gives Gulf-Bound Passengers a 'Harrowing' Time (by Press Trust of India, NDTV)
Launching Air Kerala
Background
Initially proposed in 2005 by Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the project was revived in 2011 due to frequent flight cancellations and high airfares between the Gulf nations and Kerala. Chandy wants Air Kerala to be operational by April 13, 2013. One major obstacle is the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5-year domestic service rule before allowing an airline an international route. Chandy has been lobbying for a waiver. Another concern is government ownership. The Kerala government and Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will hold a 26% stake, the remaining 74% from private investors (public-private participation).
Pro-Exemption of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5-year Domestic Rule
Daily Air India Express Gulf routes have dropped from about 200 in May to 145 in September. Fares have risen sharply (In August, Kochi-Dubai return tickets were Rs 70,000 ($1287.91 USD). Allowing Air Kerala to bypass the 5-year domestic flight rule will help the estimated 2.5 million Keralites in the Gulf region and attract major NRI investors, who are unwilling to invest in a domestic-only operation. The Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, is in favor of the waiver on the condition that Air Kerala operate domestically for shorter period of time.
Anti-Exemption of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5- year Domestic Rule
Allowing Air Kerala to begin service with international routes will set a precedent for other proposed regional airlines.
Pro-Kerala State Government Ownership
Kerala started the first PPP-ownership (public-private participation) airport Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) in 1999 and is profitable, earning Rs 100 crore ($18.33 million USD) in 2011. Architect of CIAL and current managing director, VJ Kurian, would be heading Air Kerala. With the proposed airline based on the PPP model, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is confident it will work.
Anti-Kerala State Government Ownership
Capt G R Gopinath, founder of Air Deccan, thinks that governments should create favorable business environments instead of entering the aviation industry. Additionally, it is a conflict of interest since CIAL is an airport operator. There’s the possibility that Air Kerala would receive favorable business terms and tax incentives.
Kerala Govt Revives Airline Plans, To Cannibalise AI Express Business (by Aneesh Phadnis & Reghu Balakrishnan, Business Standard)
Air Kerala Grounded Before Take-Off? Major Gulf Nris Not Keen To Invest (by VM Sathish, Emirates 24/7)
'Many Challenges Before Chandy's Air Kerala Project' (The Sunday Indian)
Air Kerala: Vishu-ful Planning! (by AK Ramdas, MoneyLife)
Kerala Planning to Start Its Own Airline (by Shobha John, The Economic Times)
Waiting in the Wings (by K.R. Balasubramanyam, Business Today)
Suicide Prevention
Indians are one of the largest expat communities in the UAE. As of November 2012, 91 Indian expats committed suicide in the Emirates. Although down from 97 in 2011, the rate is still alarmingly high. Indians account for 70% of suicides in Dubai. Reasons range from financial troubles, social isolation and psychological factors such as the pressure of high expectations and certain standard of living back in India to maintain. While there are local campaigns such as UAE Exchange’s Mission Zero Suicide and Suicide in the Middle East: prevalent but preventable, community leaders are calling for better promotion of the Ministry’s Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC). The IWRC offers free financial, legal and psychological counseling.
UAE Initiative Aims to Cut Suicide Rate Among Blue-Collar Workers (by Preeti Kanan, The National)
Two Indians a Week Take Their Own Lives (by Preeti Kanan, The National)
Pratibha Launches Indian Workers Resource Centre (by Smita Gupta, The Hindu)
Indian Ends Life a Day before Leaving for Home (by VM Sathish, Emirates 24/7)
Indians Top Suicide Cases in Dubai (The Indian Express)
Immigration Reform
To protect unskilled and semi-skilled workers (particularly in the Gulf and South East Asian nations), the ministry drafted a new bill to replace the Emigration Act, 1983 to provide greater transparency and better regulation of the emigration process. All information related to recruiting agencies, employers and workers would be available online to emigration authorities and Indian missions abroad. As of January 2, 2013, the revised bill was still in the inter-ministry consultation process.
2012 Saw New Schemes for Overseas Indian Workers (Press Trust of India, The Economic Times)
New Emigration Act to End Problems of Unskilled Workers Overseas (The Hindu)
New Immigration Bill to Address Issues of Indians in Gulf (by Mohammed Saifuddin, Times of India)
Jagdish Tytler
Jagdish Tytler served as Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs from May 2004 to October 2005. Born on January 11, 1944 as Jagdish Kapoor, Tytler is a former member of Parliament and a controversial figure. He was forced to resign his post as head of the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs after a government inquiry said Tytler may have incited and led mob attacks in 1984 against the Sikh community in Delhi. He denied the accusation.
- Table of Contents
- Overview
- History
- What it Does
- Where Does the Money Go
- Controversies
- Debate
- Suggested Reforms
- Former Directors
- Comments
- Leave a comment
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs provides information and services for the millions of Indians living abroad. It is estimated that the number of Indians living abroad maybe as high as 25 million, though an official Ministry survey put the official number at just under 22 million. This figures includes people of Indian origin (PIOs), who are permanently settled in other countries like Indo-Caribbeans of Guyana and Trinidad or the Tamils of Malaysia and Singapore and the newer economic migrants who predominate in the Gulf, but who are not permanently settled there. In Kerala, a state with a massive proportion of workers, remittances (both legal and the unofficial transfers called Hawala) are believed to make up close to half of the state's economy. This remittance money is also believed to be the primary reason why the state has one of India's highest standards of living. There are about a million more PIOs than NRIs.
In 2003, the Union government even created a special day to honor Indians who are living abroad called Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
The Ministry was founded in May 2004 and initially called the Ministry of Non-Resident Indians’ Affairs. In September of the same year, it was renamed the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA).
During the British Raj, Indians were sent to work on sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean and African islands like Mauritius and South Pacific islands like Fiji at the turn of the 1900s. The tea estates of Sri Lanka, for example, were staffed by Indians from Tamil Nadu. In the early part of the 20th century, many Indians from Gujarat went to Africa as traders.
While many of these migrants ended up staying in their adopted country, the most recent wave of Indian economic migrants, concentrated in the Gulf states, are more likely to take a job and work somewhere for five years and send their money back in the form of remittances. While states like Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates are more than happy to have the cheap labor of Indians, they're generally not interested in offering unskilled or semi-skilled workers citizenship. Skilled workers generally stand a better chance of becoming longer term residents or citizens.
Manual laborers and construction workers are most likely to get to be exploited in their adopted country or recruited through an agency that often takes huge chunks of their salaries. In some cases, their passports are taken as well. Though the plight of these workers is well known and has even been fictionalized in films like Syriana, the Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs was created primarily to try to help them and make sure that are treated fairly.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs tries to connect the Indian diaspora with the motherland via four divisions:
The Diaspora Services division handles all general matters related to Indians living abroad including those whose forefathers emigrated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These services include: India orientation programs, conventions, scholarship programs to study in India, tracing ancestry assistance, assistance for women who were deserted by their overseas husbands and voting information.
The Financial Services division focuses on promoting information about and creating opportunities for overseas Indians invest in India.
Established in 2006, the Emigration Policy Division’s primary responsibilities include proposing and implementing emigration reforms, creating welfare (legal, financial or personal counseling) resource centers and encouraging co-operation in global migration.
The Management Services division oversees ministry staff matters including wages, postings, promotions and coordinates intra- and inter-ministry communication.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 2012-2013 budget is
1. Secretariat-General Services: Rs 38.10 crore ($6.95 million USD)
2. External Affairs (international conferences/meetings, entertainment, other/Pravasi Bhartiya Divas): Rs 56.67 crore ($10.33 million USD)
3. Public Works: Rs 20 crore ($3.65 million USD)
Worker Exploitation in Gulf
Indian emigrants in the Gulf region are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Many leave India with the expectation of a certain job only to arrive and become domestic servants. Employers often take their passports, leaving them without paperwork and unable to return back to India.
They also face gross labor exploitation. In Ha’il, Saudi Arabia, a worker was paid $133/month, working 16-hour days. In Bahrain government reforms focused on safety regulations, measures to combat human trafficking, workers’ rights education campaigns, and greater ability to leave employers. However, they have not implemented other worker protections against withheld wages, recruitment fees, and passport confiscation, making it difficult to leave abusive employers.
Indian Migrant Workers Exploited and Enslaved in Arab Countries (Asianews.It)
Bahrain: Abuse of Migrant Workers Despite Reforms (Human Rights Watch)
"Bad Dreams:" Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Workers in Saudi Arabia (Human Rights Watch)
Government-Owned Air India Fails Indian Workers in the Gulf
Indian workers have complained repeatedly about issues with government-owned Air India. The airline cancelled numerous flights between the Gulf region and India (1.2 million Indians work in the United Arab Emirates alone, majority from the Indian state Kerala). For instance flights to Kerala were cancelled nearly 200 times in four months. The Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi (and former Aviation Minister) essentially gave up, saying that he has tried working it out with the Ministry of Aviation and there is nothing more he can do.
UAE Indian Expat Alert: NRI Minister 'Kills' Air India, 'Opens' Sharjah Cemetery (by Joseph George, Emirates 24/7)
Air India Gives Gulf-Bound Passengers a 'Harrowing' Time (by Press Trust of India, NDTV)
Launching Air Kerala
Background
Initially proposed in 2005 by Kerala’s Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, the project was revived in 2011 due to frequent flight cancellations and high airfares between the Gulf nations and Kerala. Chandy wants Air Kerala to be operational by April 13, 2013. One major obstacle is the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5-year domestic service rule before allowing an airline an international route. Chandy has been lobbying for a waiver. Another concern is government ownership. The Kerala government and Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will hold a 26% stake, the remaining 74% from private investors (public-private participation).
Pro-Exemption of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5-year Domestic Rule
Daily Air India Express Gulf routes have dropped from about 200 in May to 145 in September. Fares have risen sharply (In August, Kochi-Dubai return tickets were Rs 70,000 ($1287.91 USD). Allowing Air Kerala to bypass the 5-year domestic flight rule will help the estimated 2.5 million Keralites in the Gulf region and attract major NRI investors, who are unwilling to invest in a domestic-only operation. The Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi, is in favor of the waiver on the condition that Air Kerala operate domestically for shorter period of time.
Anti-Exemption of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s 5- year Domestic Rule
Allowing Air Kerala to begin service with international routes will set a precedent for other proposed regional airlines.
Pro-Kerala State Government Ownership
Kerala started the first PPP-ownership (public-private participation) airport Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) in 1999 and is profitable, earning Rs 100 crore ($18.33 million USD) in 2011. Architect of CIAL and current managing director, VJ Kurian, would be heading Air Kerala. With the proposed airline based on the PPP model, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is confident it will work.
Anti-Kerala State Government Ownership
Capt G R Gopinath, founder of Air Deccan, thinks that governments should create favorable business environments instead of entering the aviation industry. Additionally, it is a conflict of interest since CIAL is an airport operator. There’s the possibility that Air Kerala would receive favorable business terms and tax incentives.
Kerala Govt Revives Airline Plans, To Cannibalise AI Express Business (by Aneesh Phadnis & Reghu Balakrishnan, Business Standard)
Air Kerala Grounded Before Take-Off? Major Gulf Nris Not Keen To Invest (by VM Sathish, Emirates 24/7)
'Many Challenges Before Chandy's Air Kerala Project' (The Sunday Indian)
Air Kerala: Vishu-ful Planning! (by AK Ramdas, MoneyLife)
Kerala Planning to Start Its Own Airline (by Shobha John, The Economic Times)
Waiting in the Wings (by K.R. Balasubramanyam, Business Today)
Suicide Prevention
Indians are one of the largest expat communities in the UAE. As of November 2012, 91 Indian expats committed suicide in the Emirates. Although down from 97 in 2011, the rate is still alarmingly high. Indians account for 70% of suicides in Dubai. Reasons range from financial troubles, social isolation and psychological factors such as the pressure of high expectations and certain standard of living back in India to maintain. While there are local campaigns such as UAE Exchange’s Mission Zero Suicide and Suicide in the Middle East: prevalent but preventable, community leaders are calling for better promotion of the Ministry’s Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC). The IWRC offers free financial, legal and psychological counseling.
UAE Initiative Aims to Cut Suicide Rate Among Blue-Collar Workers (by Preeti Kanan, The National)
Two Indians a Week Take Their Own Lives (by Preeti Kanan, The National)
Pratibha Launches Indian Workers Resource Centre (by Smita Gupta, The Hindu)
Indian Ends Life a Day before Leaving for Home (by VM Sathish, Emirates 24/7)
Indians Top Suicide Cases in Dubai (The Indian Express)
Immigration Reform
To protect unskilled and semi-skilled workers (particularly in the Gulf and South East Asian nations), the ministry drafted a new bill to replace the Emigration Act, 1983 to provide greater transparency and better regulation of the emigration process. All information related to recruiting agencies, employers and workers would be available online to emigration authorities and Indian missions abroad. As of January 2, 2013, the revised bill was still in the inter-ministry consultation process.
2012 Saw New Schemes for Overseas Indian Workers (Press Trust of India, The Economic Times)
New Emigration Act to End Problems of Unskilled Workers Overseas (The Hindu)
New Immigration Bill to Address Issues of Indians in Gulf (by Mohammed Saifuddin, Times of India)
Jagdish Tytler
Jagdish Tytler served as Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs from May 2004 to October 2005. Born on January 11, 1944 as Jagdish Kapoor, Tytler is a former member of Parliament and a controversial figure. He was forced to resign his post as head of the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs after a government inquiry said Tytler may have incited and led mob attacks in 1984 against the Sikh community in Delhi. He denied the accusation.
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