On the Overseas Demand for Indian Labour

Source: This post on the Overseas Demand for Indian Labour has been created based on the article “Developed nations look to India amid labour crunch” published in “Business Standard” on 26^th December 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 Indian Economy – Issues relating to employment.

News: The article discusses the recent developments regarding the rising demand of Indian labour and the steps taken by the government in this regard.

After focusing on migration and mobility pacts, the government is now increasingly eyeing agreements with developed nations to send skilled workers in the construction, farm, and manufacturing sectors.

What are the recent developments regarding the rising demand of Indian labour?

Developed countries are facing a major shortage of workers due to rising labour costs and increasing inflation. India (especially states with a history of international migration such as Haryana, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu) has stepped in to fill that demand from various countries. These include:

1. Greece has approached India for sending up to 10,000 seasonal agricultural workers.
   It is facing an acute shortage of at least 70,00 workers in Greece for domestic production of vegetables, fruit, olive oil and milk.
2. Italy has sought workers to staff municipal bodies in its emptying towns.
3. A labour agreement signed with Israel in May, to send 42,000 Indian workers may be expanded further. Israel is looking to bring in foreign workers to fill up nearly 90,000 jobs which had been held by Palestinians before the recent Gaza conflict.
4. Recently, India signed a Migration and Mobility Partnership with Italy. There are 1,57,000 NRIs in Italy, the majority of whom work in the farm and dairy sectors. A similar agreement was signed with France in 2018.

What steps have been taken by the government in this regard?

1. Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY): It is a skill development initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. It is aimed at training and certification of Indian workforce keen on overseas employment, in line with international standards.
2. Skill India International Centres (SIICS): Govt had announced setting up of 30 SIICS in the 2023-24 Budget. They aim to provide destination-based skilling, re-skilling, immigration assistance and post placement support. They provide both domain skills training on international standards and pre-departure orientation training (PDOT) to candidates.
3. Labour Agreements: India has signed 17 agreements with various countries between 2015 and 2023 to facilitate movement of labour.

Question for practice:

India stands to gain due to labour shortages in the developed world. Discuss. What steps should be taken to make use of this opportunity?