A blinkered understanding of migration
Mains Paper 2: Indian Diaspora
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Issues of the draft emigration Bill
• The draft emigration Bill is more about managing the export of human
resources than being a humanitarian framework.
Benefits of emigration
• A large emigrant population has many benefits for India:
• The much-discussed international remittances (which touched $80 billion in
• A positive impact on foreign direct investments, trade and foreign
relations. The Indian diaspora also provides much needed philanthropic
activities in health and education to help achieve the Sustainable Development
• There is another side to the Indian emigration story, which is
characterised by information and power asymmetries in the global labour markets
to include exploitation, inhuman living conditions, violence and human rights
• Since Independence, a steadily increasing number of low-skilled emigrants
moved to destinations in West Asia. In order to safeguard their rights and
welfare, the government enacted the Emigration Act, 1983.
• So, in an effort to update and upgrade this framework, a draft Emigration
Bill, 2019 was released.
Abolishment of two different types of passport
• What is most positive about the draft Bill is the inclusion of all students
and migrant workers within its purview and the abolishment of the two passports
(emigration clearance required and emigration clearance not required, or ECR and
ECNR) regime based on a person’s educational qualifications.
• This will significantly improve the collection of migration flow data when
compared to the current system, which excludes most migrants leaving India.
Key highlights of the crucial exclusions
• For instance, Indians reuniting with family members abroad .
• These “dependent migrants” have increasingly little economic or political
freedom at their destinations, an example being the recent attempt by the Trump
administration in the U.S. to repeal the employment eligibility of spouses of
high-skilled H1B immigrants (a majority are from India).
• Also alarming are numerous instances of Indian spouses being ‘lured’ abroad
in marriage and then stranded or exploited.
• Between January 2015 and November 2017, the government received 3,328 such
• The perception is that undocumented migrants are those persons who leave
India through informal channels, but most migrants become irregular on account
of expired visas/permits.
• In West Asia, when migrant workers flee their employers to escape
exploitation, a single police complaint can make them ‘undocumented’ for no
fault of theirs.
• The intermediaries play an instrumental role in minimising information
asymmetries and migration costs.
• Thus, any regulatory framework needs to balance strong disincentives for
migrant welfare-destroying practices with the efficient supply of affordable
intermediary services for prospective workersand students.
• To effectively ensure their welfare, any emigration policy framework needs
to be considerate of the complete migration cycle: the pre-departure, journey,
destination and return.
• The 2019 draft Bill addresses only the first three parts of the cycle while
completely ignoring return migration.
• Globally, one in four migrants today is a return migrant.
Other issues with emigrants
• There is no complete database number of Indian migrants abroad.
• There is also an erroneous assumption that Indian migrants in a developed
destination country have sufficient protection and welfare.
• The draft Bill personifies the government’s primary view of emigration
policy as a means for managing the export of human resources rather than a
humanitarian framework to safeguard Indian migrants overseas.
• Without drastic changes to the draft Bill’s approach, we will miss the
opportunity to fulfil the hard-fought shared objectives of the Global Compact
for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Q.1) With reference to a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) report on
Digital transactions in India, consider the following statements:
1. Digital transactions in India are set to rise four times by 2021.
2. Total digital transactions in volume terms recorded a growth rate of 58.8 %
during 2018-19, on top of a growth of 50.4 % during 2017-18.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q.1) The draft emigration Bill is more about managing the export of human
resources than being a humanitarian framework. Explain.