Continued appreciation of rupee against US dollar coupled with rising inflation in Gulf countries has adversely hit nearly five million Indians working in the region, with their salaries and savings taking a dip.
Weakness of the dollar has dragged the value of Gulf currencies to which it is pegged. As a result, Indian workers' salaries are nearly 30 per cent less in terms of rupee than a year ago.
Last year, each UAE dirham was worth Rs 12.70, but today the rate has slumped to below Rs 11.
Early in 2006, Indian workers were flooding into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to cash in on a construction boom driven by soaring oil prices.
With a weak US dollar and inflation in the region, the salaries of Indians working in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and other Gulf countries have come down nearly by 30 per cent, the 'Arab News' reported.
In the Gulf region alone, the plunge has been as steep as 15 per cent in the value of dollar-pegged currencies against the rupee.
With another 15 per cent dent due to high livings costs, the salary of an average Indian in the Gulf remains the least attractive among the Asians.
The Gulf currencies have substantially declined to such an extent that many in India feel that it makes no sense to relocate to the Gulf countries to make money, the report said.
The decline in the Gulf currencies has been so sharp that one Saudi riyal which fetched Rs 12.50 in 2006, now returns only Rs 10.70.
Besides the plunge in their rupee savings, Indians have also been hit by rising living expenses in all major cities.
Housing rates have gone up by 30 per cent in Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Doha, while Dubai has seen an unprecedented 50 per cent rise as demand for housing has been growing by leaps and bounds.
The food items too saw unexpected rise in the past one year and with the exception of Saudi Arabia, there has been hike in transportation cost.
Indian expatriates working in Bahrain are sending up to 40 per cent less money home to their families because of increasing living costs.
K V Shamsudheen , chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust (PBWT) said this was combined with the stagnant salary scales and the increasing value of the Indian rupee, which meant reduced savings.
He warned the situation would put more pressure on low and middle income Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and said many, who have worked abroad for decades, were returning home with no resources to look after their families.
