Over 8 lakh Indians risk being forced out of Kuwait; here's why
The current population of Kuwait is 43 lakh million, with Kuwaitis making up 13 lakh of the population, and expats accounting for 30 lakh. Nearly 28,000 Indians are employed by the Kuwaiti government in several jobs such as nurses, engineers and a few as scientists
- Jul 6, 2020,
- Updated Jul 6, 2020 4:49 PM IST
The legal and legislative committee of Kuwait's National Assembly has approved a draft expat quota bill which will displace lakhs of Indians from the country. According to the bill, the population of Indians in Kuwait should not exceed 15 per cent. Therefore, if the bill gets enacted into law, then more than 8 lakh Indians will be told to leave Kuwait.The bill is to be transferred to a committee so that a comprehensive plan is created, according to the Gulf News. The National Assembly's legal and legislative committee has determined that the draft expat quota bill is constitutional. In Kuwait, the Indian community constitutes the largest expat community, totaling 14.5 lakh.Gulf News added that, since the coronavirus pandemic in the country, there's been a spike in anti-expat rhetoric among government officials and lawmakers. Last month, Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, proposed decreasing the number of expats from 70 per cent to 30 per cent of the population.The current population of Kuwait is 43 lakh million, with Kuwaitis making up 13 lakh of the population, and expats accounting for 30 lakh. Nearly 28,000 Indians are employed by the Kuwaiti government in several jobs such as nurses, engineers and a few as scientists. The majority of or 5.23 lakh work in private sectors. Also, there are about 1.16 lakh dependents. Of these, there are about 60,000 Indian students studying in 23 Indian schools in the country.Similar quotas have also been proposed for other nationalities. The bill will now be transferred to the respective committee so that a comprehensive plan is created. Kuwait is one of the biggest sources of remittances for India. In 2018, India received nearly $4.8 billion from Kuwait in the form of remittances. Meanwhile, as per the Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has recorded 49,941 coronavirus cases as on July 6, and foreigners incidentally have accounted for a majority of these cases. Also read: HDFC Bank, ICICI, Axis Bank create capital buffers; to raise over Rs 1 lakh crore Also read: Coronavirus impact: India's GDP likely to contract 4.5% in FY21, says govt
The legal and legislative committee of Kuwait's National Assembly has approved a draft expat quota bill which will displace lakhs of Indians from the country. According to the bill, the population of Indians in Kuwait should not exceed 15 per cent. Therefore, if the bill gets enacted into law, then more than 8 lakh Indians will be told to leave Kuwait.The bill is to be transferred to a committee so that a comprehensive plan is created, according to the Gulf News. The National Assembly's legal and legislative committee has determined that the draft expat quota bill is constitutional. In Kuwait, the Indian community constitutes the largest expat community, totaling 14.5 lakh.Gulf News added that, since the coronavirus pandemic in the country, there's been a spike in anti-expat rhetoric among government officials and lawmakers. Last month, Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, proposed decreasing the number of expats from 70 per cent to 30 per cent of the population.The current population of Kuwait is 43 lakh million, with Kuwaitis making up 13 lakh of the population, and expats accounting for 30 lakh. Nearly 28,000 Indians are employed by the Kuwaiti government in several jobs such as nurses, engineers and a few as scientists. The majority of or 5.23 lakh work in private sectors. Also, there are about 1.16 lakh dependents. Of these, there are about 60,000 Indian students studying in 23 Indian schools in the country.Similar quotas have also been proposed for other nationalities. The bill will now be transferred to the respective committee so that a comprehensive plan is created. Kuwait is one of the biggest sources of remittances for India. In 2018, India received nearly $4.8 billion from Kuwait in the form of remittances. Meanwhile, as per the Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has recorded 49,941 coronavirus cases as on July 6, and foreigners incidentally have accounted for a majority of these cases. Also read: HDFC Bank, ICICI, Axis Bank create capital buffers; to raise over Rs 1 lakh crore Also read: Coronavirus impact: India's GDP likely to contract 4.5% in FY21, says govt