THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Centre's 'Swades Skill Card' initiative, which was established to help Indian Diasporas return to the nation, on Friday, saying it had had no influence on the community even two years after it was announced.
Vijayan charged the BJP-led central government with rejecting his government's demand for a Rs 2,000 crore payout for Diasporas who had returned to the southern state after losing their jobs owing to the COVID outbreak. During his speech at the third edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha, a two-day conference launched by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan here on Thursday, he said the Centre had not bothered to react to the state's request.
Industries Minister P Rajeev read out Vijayan's address during the occasion, which was attended by visitors, as doctors urged him to rest owing to ill health. He said that the Centre's only programme to assist returning Diasporas was SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support). "However, even two years after its announcement, it appears that the programme has failed to make any significant impact," the chief minister said.\
The CM, on the other hand, stated that his government has always recognised the importance of the expatriate population and views them as an integral element of the state's social life.
Overall 351 delegates, consisting of more than 180 representatives from 65 foreign countries, are taking part in the 3rd edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha, an ambitious initiative of the Pinarayi's govt envisaged as a convention of non-resident Keralites.
