State failed to utilise skills of gulf returnees

Arjun Raghunath
The New Indian Express
18 Apr 2011

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Kerala has failed to properly utilise the skills of the scores of people who have returned from abroad, especially the Gulf countries, says a study conducted by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), here .
The study also highlights the need for initiating predeparture counselling for emigrants as well as measures to minimise the cost of emigration.
Titled 'From Kerala to Kerala via the Gulf Emigration experiences of the return emigrants', the study has been carried out by CDS honorary fellow K C Zachariah and prof S Irudaya Rajan, based on the experience of the returned emigrants.
"The return emigrant's contribution to the development of the state has fallen below expectations, considering the resources at their disposal. With the financial resources at their disposal, the skills and disciplined work culture they had acquired, and the contacts they had established, it is expected that emigrants could make a more significant contribution to the state's development. However, they have not risen to the challenge or risen to the occasion and this is mainly due to the absence of toplevel entrepreneurial skills among the return emigrants," the study says suggesting that the government should make good use of the returnees for the development of the state.
Either the government or business leaders could take the leadership and give directions to the returnees or the entrepreneurs. They should be persuaded with adequate incentives to establish development projects within the state by utilising the resources brought in by them and other returned emigrants, the CDS study suggests.
The total number of returnees in the state is estimated to be around 13 lakh and it is projected to reach 15.8 lakh by 2015.
According to the Kerala Migration Study of 2008, the number of returnees was 11.5 lakh, compared to 7.4 lakh in 1998. Another recent study by CDS had pointed out that recessionrelated return emigration of Keralites was not as extensive as was often reported to be. Although about 1.7 lakh persons returned during the recession period, those returned owing to recessionrelated reasons were around 60,000 only.
The CDS study moots the need to introduce a comprehensive preemigration counselling and skills upgradation programme so that the emigrants do not face socioeconomic problems abroad. The counselling should include familiarising the prospective emigrants with living and working conditions abroad, acquainting them with the problems that they are likely to face abroad and the ways and means of dealing with such issues.
"Return emigrants of the state today would have been a much happier lot, had they been given proper counselling about life after emigration. Counselling on financial management with a longterm perspective could have been very useful for them when they face the prospect of their long life as a return emigrant without a regular monthly income.
Prevention is better than cure. Problem preventing measures aimed at future emigrants would work better than problem solving measures aimed at return emigrants," says the CDS study, which was financed by the NonResident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) Department and supported by the Overseas Indian Affairs Department.
The increased cost of emigration from Kerala is pointed out as one reason for the economic instability of the emigrants. The average cost of emigration from Kerala is estimated around Rs 57,000 where as the average income of an emigrant is around Rs 10,000. Most of the emigrants raise the emigration cost by way of loans and hence it would take months for the emigrant to meet the emigration expense.
"The government should intervene wherever possible to check the increase in the cost of emigration and take measures to prevent recruiting agents and other intermediaries from exploiting the poorly educated and financially deprived prospective emigrants of Kerala," the study says.