KOCHI: For the first time, Kerala is officially preparing a data bank of Keralites, a move that will help the state find the number of Malayalis working abroad, especially in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
The last 10-15 years have seen more people from the state going to western countries such as the US, Canada, UK and Australia and New Zealand, many shifting bases from West Asian countries such as the UAE. “We are preparing the data bank of all NRIs from Kerala, studying, working and residing overseas with Indian passports,” said Norka-Roots CEO K Harikrishnan Namboothiri.
The Kerala budget earlier this month said the state would soon establish a data bank of Malayali students studying abroad through the Norka department. Namboothiri clarified that those Keralites with Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) status would not be covered under this new move.
Over the years, the Kerala government has been dependent on the study conducted by S Irudaya Rajan, former professor of the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), for the data of migration of Keralites to other countries. As per the CDS study in 2018, the number of NRIs from Kerala abroad is about 22 lakh, which is down from 24 lakh in 2014.
K V Joseph, a director of Thiruvananthapuram-based International Institute of Migration and Development (IIMD), however, reckoned there would be at least 40 lakh Keralites abroad. “There would be around six lakh Malayalis in the US alone,” he said, adding that the trend of more people from the state moving to western countries has not be clearly reflected in any studies.
While the CDS study, released in 2018, claimed that nearly 90% of the Malayalis outside India are in West Asia, Joseph reckoned at least 20% or even higher number of Keralites are now settled in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
According to the World Bank, India received $87 billion in remittances in 2021, an increase of 4.6% from the previous year. As per the RBI, Kerala gets about 19% of the total remittances coming to India while Punjab’s share is just a minuscule 1.7%.
The RBI study said 58.7% of total remittances were received by four states -- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Joseph of IIMD said the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK would account for more than 20-22% of the remittances to Kerala.
“The remittances from the Western countries to Kerala would keep growing in coming years even as the money from the West Asian countries decline. That’s why it’s important to have an official data bank of the presence of Keralites in these developed Western countries. This would help the state government to frame policies in a better way in the future,” he said.
Quick take
Remittances to India in 2021 $87 billion
Share of Kerala in remittances 19%
CDS data on NRI Malayalis 21 lakh
Unofficial numbers: 40 lakh
58.7% of total remittances were received by four states -- Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, according to the RBI study. K V Joseph, director of International Institute of Migration and Development, said the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK would account for more than 20-22% of the remittances to Kerala