Remittances greater than FDI, India bats for legal migration

India’s stance of advocating greater legal migration and maintaining a clear position on accepting deported nationals, as elucidated by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the US on Wednesday, stems from the global leverage New Delhi seeks for its vast pool of skilled and semi-skilled professionals.

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The other significant factor is the influence and leverage of the 3.5-crore-strong Indian diaspora across the world. Information on the World Bank website mentions that India received a substantial $125 billion in remittances (money sent by workers abroad to their families back home) in 2023. The amount far exceeded the $71.92 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) India attracted in 2023-24. The primary sources of remittances to India include the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK.

During a press briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday night, Jaishankar clarified India's stance, saying New Delhi was open to the “return of Indian nationals living illegally abroad, including in the US”. He said India's stance had been “consistent and principled” and he conveyed it to the new US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. He said India was “firmly opposed to illegal migration as it was associated with unlawful activities, which harmed any nation’s reputation”.

The US has provided India with a list of 18,000 Indians facing deportation. India, said Jaishankar, supported legal mobility as it believed in a global workplace. “We want Indian talent and skills to gain maximum global exposure," he said.

Confident & upbeat admn: EAM on Trump 2.0

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who spent four days in the US capital as Trump 2.0 took over the reigns of power, left for New Delhi on Wednesday after witnessing what he termed a “very confident and upbeat administration”. “I mean that feeling that look, ‘we need to get things done’,” Jaishankar told a group of Indian reporters as he concluded his official visit to the city.

Also, the minister raised the issue of delayed visas with Rubio. “Delays impact business, tourism and overall relationship… If it takes 400-odd days to get a visa, I don't think the relationship is well served by this,” he said.

Indian immigrants have made contributions across various sectors and leading Fortune 500 companies have India-origin CEOs. Among them are Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, who head two of the largest corporations globally, Alphabet and Microsoft. Besides, Ajay Banga and Gita Gopinath are seated on prominent positions in the financial world. Usha Vance, the wife of new US Vice-President JD Vance, traces her roots to Andhra Pradesh.

Wanting to push for legal migration, India has signed migration and labour agreements with several countries over the past few years. One such category is the Labour Manpower Agreements inked with the Gulf countries and Jordan.

There also are Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreements (MMPAs), which are comprehensive in nature and cover short-stay visas, mobility of students, researchers, professionals for economic reasons and preventing and combating irregular migration and trafficking in human beings. India has signed these with France, UK and Germany.

Also, there are agreements with Japan on “specified skilled workers” and with Portugal on the recruitment of Indian workers. India is also discussing MMPAs with Denmark, Finland, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Germany Austria and Australia, among others.