Dubai | Finance Minister KN Balagopal presented in the Assembly yesterday the complete budget did not include important new expatriate projects. The budget allocates `147.51 crore to the Department of Overseas Indian Affairs for the financial year 2022-23,` 50 crore to the newly formed Pravasi Coordinating and Rehabilitation Scheme and `9 crore to the NRI Welfare Fund Board.
It is proposed to set up a special cell at NORKA to study and intervene in the problems of Malayalee students studying abroad, to set up a data bank and to allot `10 crore for this. According to the budget document, `33 crore has been sanctioned for the current year for the relief scheme for expatriates returning after working abroad for two or more years.
Expatriates are a significant contributor to the Kerala economy. According to government records, 1.5 million expatriates have returned to Kerala in the wake of the Kovid crisis. Though it was thought that their rehabilitation plan would be taken seriously, it did not happen. There was also no mention of relief funding for those who died in the Gulf because of Kovid.
The Chief Minister and other ministers who visited the UAE last month had made it clear that the government would extend good support to expatriates and those who return home and start new ventures. The NORKA Department Project for Returned Emigrants is a project to assist expatriates returning home after expatriate life to start a business. Out of this, assistance is provided for projects with an investment of up to `30 lakh. Of this, NORKA had said yesterday that it had provided Rs 15.57 crore for starting new ventures in the financial year 2021-2022.
Many who return after living abroad do not have a clear understanding of the possibilities at home. Intensive efforts should be made to provide clear guidance to such persons and to implement new schemes under the supervision of well-experienced expatriates. What is needed in Kerala is a concerted effort to create new generation ventures involving expatriates in the agricultural, service, manufacturing, business, IT and start-up sectors.
At the same time, there are those who make it clear that the budget is full of realistic and practical approaches instead of big announcements.