Lok Sabha Question No. 1119 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-27
Subject: Indian and Foreign Workers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: AJAY NISHAD

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1119

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 TH  JULY, 2015

## INDIAN AND FOREIGN WORKERS

## 1119. SHRI AJAY NISHAD:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  number  of  Indian  and  foreign  workers  in  the  country  at  present separately, State-wise;
- (b)   the number of foreign workers working in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, Statewise;
- (c) whether  these  foreign  workers  have  adversely  affected  the  rights  and opportunities of domestic workers in the country;
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to safeguard the interests of Indian Workers;
- (e)   whether the Government is contemplating to ban the foreign workers; and
- (f)  if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT (SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)

- (a)  to  (f):  The  state-wise  number  of  Indian  and  foreign  workers  is  not maintained centrally. However, reliable estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through labour force surveys on employment and unemployment conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSS), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The state wise workforce participation rates from the last three surveys are at Annex.

The  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  has  issued  guidelines  regarding  conditions  for grant  of  employment  visa  to  foreign  nationals  which  inter  alia  includes  the following amongst other conditions:

- I. The applicant should be a highly skilled and/or qualified professional, who is being engaged or appointed by a company/ organization/ industry/undertaking in India on contract or employment basis.
- II. Employment Visa shall not be granted for jobs for which qualified Indians are available. Employment Visa shall also not be granted for routine, ordinary or secretarial/clerical jobs.
- III. The  foreign  national  should  be  seeking  to  visit  India  for  employment  in  a company/ firm/organization registered in India or for employment in a foreign company/ firm/organization engaged for execution of some project in India.
- IV. The foreign national being sponsored for an employment visa in any sector should  draw  a  salary  in  excess  of  US$  25,000  per  annum.  However,  this condition of annual floor limit on income will not apply to (a) Ethnic cooks, (b) Language teachers ( other than English language teachers) / translators, (c) Staff working for the concerned Embassy/ High Commission in India and (d) Foreigners, eligible for 'E' visa for honorary work with the NGOs registered in the  country  without  salary.  The  application  for  Employment  Visa  may  be rejected by the Indian Mission /Post concerned in case the minimum annual income benchmark of US$25,000 is not met, except in the case of the four categories mentioned above.
- V. The foreign national must hold a valid passport, and a re-entry permit if that is required under the law of the country of nationality of the applicant.
- VI. The foreign national must comply with all legal requirements like payment of tax liabilities etc.
- VII. The foreign national must submit proof of his/her employment or contract or engagement by the company/firm/organization in India.
- VIII. The  foreign  national  must  submit  documentary  proof  of  his  educational qualifications and professional expertise.
- IX. The  documents/  papers  pertaining  to  the  proposed  employment,  like  the registration of the company under the Companies Act, proof of registration of the firm in the State Industries Department or the Export Promotion Council concerned, or any recognized promotional body in the field of industry and trade etc. will be thoroughly checked to decide the category of visa that may be issued to the foreigner.
- X. The  name  of  the  sponsoring  employer  /  organization  shall  be  clearly stipulated in the visa sticker.

*****

Annex-I referred to in reply to parts (a) to (f) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1119 due for reply on 27.07.2015

State-wise employment rate in Rural and Urban areas on usual status basis during 200405, 2009-10 and 2011-12(in percentage)

| Sl. No.   | State/Union Territory   | Rural Persons   | Urban Persons   | Rural Persons   | Urban Persons   | Rural Persons   | Urban Persons   |
|-----------|-------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
|           |                         | 2004-2005       | 2004-2005       | 2009-2010       | 2009-2010       | 2011-12         | 2011-12         |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh          | 54.4            | 39.2            | 52.1            | 36.4            | 52.2            | 36.4            |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh       | 45.8            | 31.9            | 40.4            | 30.2            | 38.3            | 30.3            |
| 3         | Assam                   | 39.1            | 33.6            | 36.8            | 32.2            | 34.3            | 32.9            |
| 4         | Bihar                   | 31.6            | 27.2            | 28.3            | 25.2            | 27.5            | 25.3            |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh            | 50.9            | 36.4            | 44.2            | 31.3            | 48.6            | 37.6            |
| 6         | Delhi                   | 31.1            | 33.4            | 30.1            | 33.3            | 34.2            | 33.7            |
| 7         | Goa                     | 34.2            | 36.3            | 33.9            | 33.2            | 37.8            | 33.7            |
| 8         | Gujarat                 | 51.3            | 37.7            | 45.9            | 37.0            | 44.7            | 38.4            |
| 9         | Haryana                 | 42.4            | 33.9            | 39.6            | 36.1            | 35.6            | 31.8            |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh        | 53.0            | 45.6            | 51.2            | 35.9            | 53.3            | 41.6            |
| 11        | Jammu & Kashmir         | 41.6            | 33.1            | 43.1            | 34.7            | 40.5            | 33.7            |
| 12        | Jharkhand               | 42.7            | 31.1            | 33.3            | 29.4            | 37.0            | 28.4            |
| 13        | Karnataka               | 54.2            | 38.6            | 49.7            | 38.2            | 45.0            | 37.6            |
| 14        | Kerala                  | 40.0            | 37.1            | 38.3            | 36.3            | 38.2            | 36.3            |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh          | 45.9            | 34.7            | 42.6            | 32.6            | 40.5            | 32.5            |
| 16        | Maharashtra             | 52.1            | 38.4            | 48.8            | 38.0            | 48.6            | 36.5            |
| 17        | Manipur                 | 44.0            | 33.8            | 36.1            | 31.5            | 38.9            | 32.2            |
| 18        | Meghalaya               | 52.5            | 37.3            | 48.0            | 33.3            | 45.9            | 34.0            |
| 19        | Mizoram                 | 52.1            | 38.3            | 50.6            | 40.3            | 49.6            | 36.7            |
| 20        | Nagaland                | 52.7            | 36.4            | 41.1            | 29.3            | 41.0            | 28.7            |
| 21        | Orissa                  | 45.2            | 33.4            | 41.0            | 35.0            | 41.7            | 38.1            |
| 22        | Punjab                  | 44.0            | 36.5            | 39.1            | 36.5            | 40.6            | 36.8            |
| 23        | Rajasthan               | 45.9            | 34.9            | 43.6            | 32.3            | 42.4            | 32.6            |
| 24        | Sikkim                  | 44.3            | 36.9            | 44.2            | 39.8            | 53.4            | 45.2            |
| 25        | Tamil Nadu              | 52.8            | 41.8            | 50.1            | 38.3            | 48.5            | 39.2            |
| 26        | Tripura                 | 32.3            | 29.8            | 39.0            | 32.7            | 40.2            | 31.9            |
| 27        | Uttarakhand             | 47.4            | 33.2            | 43.1            | 33.6            | 38.1            | 30.5            |
| 28        | Uttar Pradesh           | 37.1            | 33.1            | 34.4            | 30.0            | 33.8            | 31.7            |
| 29        | West Bengal             | 37.9            | 38.4            | 39.2            | 37.0            | 39.0            | 40.0            |
| 30        | A& N Islands            | 44.2            | 37.9            | 40.4            | 39.2            | 43.2            | 39.9            |
| 31        | Chandigarh              | 38.8            | 34.3            | 30.1            | 35.2            | 34.9            | 35.4            |
| 32        | Dadra & Nagar           | 51.6            | 45.2            | 31.1            | 33.9            | 32.5            | 36.7            |
| 33        | Daman & Diu             | 40.2            | 41.5            | 41.6            | 34.4            | 42.5            | 35.5            |
| 34        | Lakshadweep             | 37.9            | 27.4            | 45.6            |                 |                 | 34.7            |
|           | All India               | 43.9            | 36.5            | 40.8            | 37.8 35.0       | 32.2 39.9       | 35.5            |
| 35        | Puducherry              | 46.1            | 34.3            | 48.1            | 38.1            | 36.3            | 35.0            |

Source: NSSO Reports, 2004-05, 2009-10& 2011-12.