New Delhi: In accordance to new data, the Gulf Cooperation Council is home to nearly 9 million Indian expats, making the region their top destination and the India-Gulf migration corridor one of the busiest in the world.
During British colonial rule, there was a sizable influx of Indian workers into the Gulf, and after the oil boom of the 1970s, this influx significantly increased. Over the years, as Gulf nations opened their labour markets to immigrants, the number of newcomers increased.
8.8 million, or more than 66 percent, of non-resident Indians, who are citizens with Indian passports but live outside of India, according to recent estimates from the Ministry of External Affairs.
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Following a request from a citizen of Nagpur who sought the information under the Right to Information Act of 2005, which requires the government to respond to citizen inquiries, the figures became widely known and were covered by local media.
According to the ministry's response to the RTI, there are approximately 10.34 million NRIs worldwide, with 3.41 million of them living in the United Arab Emirates, 2.59 million in Saudi Arabia, 1.02 million in Kuwait, 740,000 in Qatar, 700,000 in Oman, and 320,000 in Bahrain. Outside of the Gulf region, the US and the UK both had the highest concentrations of NRIs at 1.28 million and 350,000, respectively.
"Indians have been attracted to the employment opportunities in the Gulf market, initially due to the booming oil industry, and of late because of the economic diversification wherein skilled workers and professionals from across India find employment in different sectors including IT, health and medical care, engineering, real estate and construction, retail, etc.," said Muddassir Quamar, Middle East expert and associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
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The India-Gulf migration corridor is now one of the busiest in the world, in part due to the expanding economic ties between India and the Gulf nations.
The primary factors luring Indian expats to the Middle East were pay and proximity, making it a convenient location for them. Despite ongoing market changes in the Gulf due to economic diversification and the nationalisation of jobs, this factor is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Indian workers are preferred by Gulf employers in large part due to their discipline, commitment, and professional skill, according to Quamar.
Both the need for these workers in the Gulf market and the flow of Indians to Gulf nations will continue unabated.
According to Professor Sujata Ashwarya of Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, historical labour relations between India and the Middle East have demonstrated that the latter prefers the professionalism of Indian workers.
And Indians work there because the wages are competitive with those in their home nation. These components have remained constant over time. This equation has worked because there is a complementarity of interests, she said.
The distribution of Indian expats across GCC nations and the level of their skills are two factors that could change the dynamics of labour migration. More opportunities for professionals are expected to arise, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which is currently second to the UAE in terms of the number of Indians it employs.
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"Compared to earlier times, Saudi Arabia is much richer. The top talent in India will have opportunities as two cities are being built. According to Sanjay Kapoor, chief editor of the political magazine Hard News and an analyst, "the quality of workers from India will change dramatically now.
"For aspirant Indians, the Gulf region is very important. It offers decent living conditions, salaries that are higher than those received at home, and respect for diversity. In the Gulf, none of Indian society's drawbacks exist.