Pension scheme for returning NRIs

Indian Minister of Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi promised to deploy more officials and support staff at the Indian diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia to help irregular workers and relaunch a pension program for returning Indian expatriates. Ravi made the announcement yesterday while wrapping up his four-day visit to Saudi Arabia. He also talked about India’s new policy to “transform brain-drain into brain-gain” and to provide incentives to nonresident Indian investors.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Ravi said the government would look into the problems faced by the Indian diplomatic missions with a view to making them more efficient in terms of handling the growing volume of work. “I will exert all efforts to make sure that the diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states provide timely and effective services to the diaspora,” he added.
The minister said he would recommend the recruitment of an adequate number of staff members to be deployed to the Indian missions in the region.
According to the latest statistics, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates host the largest number of Indian workers in the Gulf. According to Ravi, a total of two million Indians currently work in Saudi Arabia and about 1.8 million are in the UAE. A small number of 200 staffers including diplomats are currently posted at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, while the Jeddah-based consulate is grossly understaffed and unable to cope with the growing workload.
Asked about the launch of the pension scheme for overseas workers, the minister said this novel pension plan was launched last year. But the scheme called the Pension and Life Insurance Fund (Plif) will be relaunched in the Gulf countries because a large number of Indian workers are not aware of the scheme. Under the pension plan, the Indian government contributes almost 50 percent of what the NRIs contribute toward their pension fund in case of men and almost double the amount for female members.
This new pension and life insurance fund will enable the Indian workers to voluntarily save for their return and resettlement. “This pension scheme will protect the workers and it is also in the interest of the Indian government,” said Ravi. He pointed out that all nonresident Indians including those working in the Gulf are eligible for pension after the age of 55 and after they return back to India.
Asked about the new policy, which calls on affluent nonresident Indians to invest in India and to explain the policy of “transforming brain-drain into brain-gain, Ravi explained that the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs encourages “Indians to partner with the government and the corporations in its development agenda by offering special status and incentives.”
Today, an estimated 25 million people of Indian origin live overseas. “But could the tide be turning,” asked Ravi, adding that overseas Indians constitute a significant and successful economic, social and cultural force in the world. The Indian minister, who visited Riyadh and Jeddah on a goodwill mission, said he is grateful for the Saudi government’s positive response.
“The one advantage we have is that our country has excellent relations with the Saudi government. The new labor rules decreed by the Saudi government is their state of affairs. All we can do is to request they deal with the problem in a humanitarian way,” said Ravi.