Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

A recent study undertaken by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) has revealed that India is facing an acute shortage of skilled manpower, necessitating the drafting of skilled persons from foreign countries in future. However, due to the existing stringent work laws for expatriates in India, the procedure to secure the work permit has become extremely complicated. The report also suggests that the economic boom has resulted in India becoming a new hub for the jobs market, generating approximately 11.3 million net new jobs in an year. As per a NASSCOM report, the number of technology jobs is slated to reach 1.7 million in India by end of the year 2010. IACC president Deepak Pahwa said, "The time is ripe for India to admit that it is moving towards a major crunch in the manpower supply. The West provides a huge pool of resources that India can easily tap into. More and more foreigners are also looking for jobs in the Asian continent on account of the jobs cuts, outsourcing

Dubai: South Asian workers coming to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will now be able to complete their visa formalities in their own countries. UAE’s labour ministry will soon set up offices in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to complete work permit formalities like medical tests, signing of e-contracts as well as for providing working mission visas instead of visit visas. The new initiative will virtually curb the practice of visit visas and will ensure all rights to the workers such as medical care, accommodation, and the right to complain at the ministry, the Khaleej Times reported. “The working mission visa will be valid for six months and will be renewable for another six months to ensure that the worker can change job if he desires,” a spokesperson of the labour ministry said. Last month, during the visit of UAE’s labour minister Dr Ali Bin Abdulla AlKa’abi, India and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to safeguard the interests of the Indian workers in