Diaspora Policies, Consular Services and Social Protection for Indian Citizens Abroad

Abstract

As the country with the world’s largest emigrant population and a long history of international mobility, India has adopted a multi-faceted institutional and policy framework to govern migration and diaspora engagement. This chapter provides a broad overview of initiatives on social protection for Indians abroad, shedding light on specific policy designs to include and exclude different populations in India and abroad. In addition to programmes by the national government, the chapter discusses initiatives at the sub-national level. The chapter shows that India has established a set of policies for various diaspora populations that are largely separate from the rules and policies adopted for nationals at home. Diaspora engagement policies, and especially policies aimed at fostering social protection of Indians abroad, are generally not integrated into national social protection policies. There is a clear distinction between policies that are geared towards the engagement of ethnic Indian populations whose forefathers have left Indian shores many generations ago, Indian communities in OECD countries – mostly US, Canada, Europe and Australia – and migrant workers going on temporary assignments to countries in the Persian Gulf. The chapter offers a discussion of the key differences, drivers, and limitations of existing policies.