by Moiz Mannan
The setting up of an independent department for its diaspora soon will make Uttar Pradesh the fourth Indian state to do so. But more than that the move is likely to signal the launch of a renewed initiative to deepen the diaspora’s involvement in the state’s development.
On the side, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav might also be looking for closer political involvement of Uttar Pradesh’s non-resident Indians (NRIs).
Media reports from Lucknow say Yadav is all set to approve the new NRI Affairs Department in the state government. As of now, only Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat have such departments at the state level. Surely, Yadav has observed the rich political and economic dividends that ties with NRIs have yielded for political leaders like Oommen Chandy, Prakash Singh Badal and Narendra Modi.
Statistics compiled by the central Ministry of Overseas Indians Affairs over the past few years have revealed a sharp rise in the number of people from UP moving out of the country.
According to official statistics, the number of workers given emigration clearance from Uttar Pradesh has gone up from just over 66,000 in 2006 to more than 200,000 now. For the same period, the numbers for Kerala have climbed down from over 1,20,000 to around 85,000 and those for Tamil Nadu from a little over 155,000 to just about 65,000.
It was in 2009 that Uttar Pradesh overtook Kerala as the Indian state sending the maximum number of people abroad for work. It sent 1,25,000 people abroad for work in 2009 as against 1,19,000 who took flights out of Kerala, according to the ministry of overseas Indian affairs. The trend has continued at least in terms of data pertaining to the emigration clearance required (ECR) category that comprises manual labourers. The ministry does not tabulate information on salaried professionals. About 80 percent of emigrants from India fall under the ECR category and they mostly work as construction workers, mechanics, masons, carpenters and drivers.
According to the 2011 census data, UP is India’s most populous state, with 199.58 million inhabitants, while Kerala comes much lower down the order with 33.3 million people. The literacy rate in UP, though, is abysmal when compared to that of Kerala.
So, the demographics point out that the bulk of emigrants from UP are unskilled or semi-skilled workers going to lowly-paid jobs abroad. Much of UP’s manpower flow is towards West Asia – the GCC countries in particular.
One indication of this is the fact that during the recent crisis for Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, sparked by reports of strict implementation of the Nitaqat law, the highest number of distressed workers were from UP. At a time when around 75,000 Indians were registered with the Indian embassy in Riyadh to return to India, 3,610 were from Kerala and 21,000 from Uttar Pradesh.
These statistics make it a social and political necessity for the UP government to take steps to protect the migrants. Earlier this year, the Indian government set up UP’s first Protector of Emigrants office in Rae Bareli. This is the 10th office of the Protector of Emigrants in India. The others are in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin and Jaipur.
Another development was a move by the State Bank of India to open UP’s first specialised NRI Branch in Lucknow in August 2011. The NRI branch offers an array of services to foreign Indian residents, including financial planning and advisory services, international debit cards, NRI credit cards, account operation through letter of authority, loans, investment in mutual funds, SBI Life products, and remittance and money transfer.
It was a little less than a year ago that the UP government decided to set up an NRI cell for people from the state to track their growth and safety and also look into issues such as their health. The focus was on the diaspora in the Gulf. Instructions had also been issued to all district magistrates in the state to collect data on the number of people from each district who live abroad.
Fresh reports from UP, quoting government sources, say that the process of setting up the department has begun. While the chief minister is expected to hold roadshows in different countries to promote the department and its services, the Samajwadi Party government is likely to issue a unique ID number and UP NRI Cards to all NRIs who register with the state government.
Initially, the new department’s services are likely to include a 24-hour call centre and a dedicated website to address any queries and grievances, legal support for NRIs wherever necessary, investment counselling as well as information on all projects or services in which NRIs may invest, verification services wherein the state government will run background security checks to ensure ‘safe’ investments and additional security cover to NRIs.
Already, to woo its wealthier diaspora comprising descendents of the earlier wave of migrants, mostly indentured labour, the UP tourism department has launched a ‘Discover your Roots’ programme. It targets those descended from 18th and 19th century migrants to places such as Mauritius, South Africa, Fiji and Trinidad and Tobago who have now made it big.
Such initiatives are aimed at engaging NRIs eager to rebuild their relations with their homeland and contribute to building schools and hospitals in the memory of their parents. The government will help these NRIs get land and the necessary clearances.
