New Delhi, Nov 13 The Government’s proposed Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2025 holds the potential for getting a better deal for India’s talented skilled workers and professionals and also ensuring that they return home to their country of birth after finishing their work stints abroad. This would strengthen the acceptance of Indian workers overseas amid the growing backlash against immigration in advanced countries such as the US.
According to an article in The Diplomat, “The new Bill represents India’s attempt to reimagine labour mobility as a cornerstone of economic diplomacy.”
“The new Bill signals a paradigm shift. Rather than passively watching its workforce scatter, India is now actively negotiating the terms of their mobility. Since 2014, New Delhi has signed labour mobility agreements with at least 20 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Persian Gulf.
"The proposed legislation would replace the outdated Emigration Act of 1983 with a comprehensive framework that doesn’t just facilitate overseas employment – it ensures workers’ safe and orderly return, and reintegration of returnees,” the article states.
"This is a recognition of a hard truth that while developed economies have shrinking populations and few workers, countries like India have stable populations but few jobs. Migration, which seems like an optimal solution, cannot work anymore due to the political cost of the backlash to immigration. India’s solution is exporting labour with an expiration date," the article further states.
While India’s greatest asset is over 600 million people below the age of 25, developed countries face an acute labour shortage with ageing populations. A Boston Consulting Group study estimated a global shortfall of 45-50 million workers by 2030, up from just 5 million in 2023, the article points out.
It also cites the examples of Germany and Japan actively seeking Indian workers.
The article further highlights that the Indian government is actively pursuing agreements with host nations to maximise national benefits. The India-U.K. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) exempts Indian workers temporarily posted in the United Kingdom from paying British social security contributions for up to three years, which will bring an estimated savings of Rs 4,000 crore annually for Indian firms.
The new Bill can further create convergence between different governments, create mechanisms to oversee international migration agreements, and develop data-driven policy management. Most importantly, it focusses on creating frameworks for incentivising the protection and promotion of emigrants’ welfare, it added.
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