8.43 lakh people from abroad return to Kerala amid Corona crisis; 5.52 lakh jobs lost

Harleen Kaur Grewal

Cochin, January 7, 2021: The Department of Immigrant Affairs of the Kerala State Government has collected data in this regard. According to them, from the first week of May 2020 to January 4, 2021, a total of 8.43 lakh people have returned to Kerala from foreign countries due to the Covid-19 crisis. Of these, about 5.52 lakh people have lost their jobs. Out of the total number of people going to the job, 1.40 lakh people have lost their jobs in a month.

1.40 lakh jobs added in a month

According to a report in the Indian Express, a large number of those returning to Kerala are also those who have stated the reason for their return to be their employment visa. Nearly 2.08 lakh people have stated this as their reason for their repatriation, the termination of job/visa etc. Apart from this, those returning include family members, children or senior citizens.

Economy will be affected

Government data shows that if the employment crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic continues, it will have a long-term impact on the economy of Kerala. A large part of Kerala’s economy is capital sent by working people in West Asia.

However, experts say that now some people will also go to new places in search of work. Apart from this, according to experts, the chances of reduction in remittance from abroad are also less, but they estimate that in 2020 it will increase to Rs one lakh crore, which was Rs 85,000 crore in 2018.