Job loss and row over ease of doing business put NRIs from Kerala in catch-22 situation

The ongoing row in Kerala over ease of doing business seems to have triggered concerns among the scores of NRIs from the state who lost their jobs owing to Covid and were exploring self-employment options.

Among the 15 lakh NRIs from Kerala who returned after the pandemic started, 10.73 lakh had mentioned job loss as the reason for returning. Apart from this, scores of NRIs who came down on leave are now unable to return owing to the entry restrictions imposed by many countries.

The Kerala government has been wooing the skilled returnees to invest in Kerala. However, the ongoing row over ease of doing business in the state, which was triggered by an announcement of Kitex Garments chairman Sabu M Jacob to backtrack from a Rs 3,500 crore investment proposal in Kerala, has reportedly led to concerns among many NRIs who were planning investments in Kerala. This was reflected at a webinar on 'Industrial friendly Kerala' organised by the Central Travancore Chamber of Commerce (CTCC) on Saturday.

CTCC president Fr Abraham Mulamoottil told DH that many NRIs who already returned or who were planning to return attended the webinar. Many of them were expressing serious concerns over investing in Kerala, especially in the backdrop of the recent row over the allegations raised by Kitex Garments regarding the ease of doing business here.

"Majority of the NRIs who lost jobs were middle aged or above. Hence the chances of getting fresh jobs for them is very bleak, and many were planning some investments in Kerala. But owing to the concerns over ease of doing business, many are now exploring the option of getting any sorts of job or some small-scale investment," he said.

The job loss of NRIs from Kerala is also a major cause for concern for the state's economy as NRI deposits of the state come to around Rs 2.3 lakh crore. Though there was a slight dip in the NRI deposits to Kerala during the onset of the pandemic, the annual figures of 2020 had show a 14 per cent increase.

However, the state's economy already started feeling the pinch of the crisis among the NRIs as the real estate and construction sectors, which were the areas were NRIs used to make maximum investment, is already witnessing a fall in the investments. Thiruvananthapuram Chamber of Commerce and Industry president S Raghuchandran Nair said that the state's real estate and construction sector is in deep crisis as major chunk of the customers were NRIs.