Indians pink-slipped in the Gulf region following the Dubai debt crisis may look for some breather on their return to India with the Centre deciding to soon announce a special fund to rehabilitate overseas returnees who have lost jobs due to economic downturn.
A top official of the ministry of overseas Indian affairs said the government has already decided to announce a comprehensive package to rehabilitate the Indian workers who have returned to the country following job losses due to the economic recession.
"The fund will primarily help those Indians who have lost their jobs abroad and came back to the country," secretary in the ministry of overseas Indian affairs K Mohandas told PTI. He said Government was framing the modalities of the 'Return and Resettlement Fund that will primarily be used to rehabilitate the mid-level workers who have lost their livelihood in the Gulf region.
Sources in the ministry said the decision to set up the fund was taken a couple of months back but Dubai debt crisis has triggered a sense of urgency in the Government to make it functional as soon as possible. They said the fund may come into force within next one month.
"Large number of Indians staying in Dubai has been engaged in the realty sector which has been hit hardest by the crisis. So we cannot rule out surge in number of returnees to India from Dubai," they said adding that the ministry was also in touch with several state governments for working out a plan to rehabilitate Indian job losers on their return from abroad.
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