India – Foreign Trade and Remittance

December 3, 2022

India – Foreign Trade and Remittance

Padmini Arhant

The incumbent administration in New Delhi at the center deploying the civil service cadre might produce statistics to counteract ground reality related to economic situation reflected in India’s global hunger index ranked at 107 among 121 nations besides other crucial economic activities largely placing India as not the beneficiary in contrast to government propaganda.

Factual vs. Fictitious Data

For example :

According to Indian Government instructed Indian civil service data on foreign remittance is as follows.

Juxtaposed to Indian data, the economy of Singapore features GDP and foreign reserves details.

Economy of Singapore – the South East Asia neighbor to South Asia India. 

Economy of Singapore

Singapore Official Foreign Currency Assets per Monetary Authority of Singapore  – mas.gov.sg

As of October 2022 – $399.4 billion 

 

Statistics
Population 5,770,040 (2020) – 5.7 million 
GDP $379.071 billion (nominal, 2022 est.)$617.987 billion (PPP, 2022 est.)
GDP growth 3.4% (2018) 0.7% (2019) −3.5% (2020e) 5.5% (2021e)

Regarding Indian Data – Assuming the above data are current and legitimate considering revelations on incumbent Indian government published figures on foreign reserves, unemployment, GDP, inflation and other key economic activities…that are routinely challenged within by government appointed heads of institutions ranging from former RBI governor viz. ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on demonetization debacle to labor department and national statistical commission experts resignation on government demand to collude in reporting fictitious data on unemployment status and the list is fairly extensive raising credibility issue on government’s  economic report with no external independent oversight.

Indian news media reports on unemployment figures controversy.

“Resignation of NSC members exposes government’s unwillingness to tackle unemployment.

Statistical Commission Experts Resign in Protest Over Jobs Data and Govt Attitude.

P.C. Mohanan and J.V. Meenakshi – the only two non-government members of the commission – tendered their resignations because of the body’s ineffectiveness.

New Delhi: The only two non-government members of India’s National Statistical Commission have resigned, leaving just chief statistician Pravin Srivastava and NITI Aayog’s Amitabh Kant at the head of a body that is the apex advisory organisation for all of the country’s core statistical activities.”

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Nonetheless, the important factor in India’s foreign remittance $100 billion asserted by Indian government is predominantly if not exclusively from Indian labor in foreign nations sending money back home to families and dependents in foreign currency.

Among the Indian labor force exported overseas, the significant Indian manual / physical labor is concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. The other skilled Indian labor from tech industry is largely employed in western shores such as the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and western europe.

Again the remittances received from the high tech high paying jobs are the second category in Indian labor monetary transactions credited in foreign currency to India’s ex-Chequers foreign reserves account.

This aspect of foreign remittance is showcased by Indian government as unprecedented in Indian economic trend.

Not to mention the Indian labor force working overseas are entirely due to individual and non-governmental efforts and diligence with little or no major government involvement in seeking employment and travel to foreign countries in search of employment and business opportunity.

In other words, not much help or assistance provided by Indian government in terms of foreign currency withdrawal and other relevant resources during travel i.e. export of skilled labor offshore.

The drastic impact of skilled labor exodus from India at highly technical and professional expertise is the well known brain drain from India and the other adverse effect in the domestic front is described in the words of India’s one of prominent long time consumer goods manufacturer Godrej as below.

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Help wanted – India’s ‘Make in India’ drive lacks skilled labour

“I always say that there is no unemployment in India. It’s only unemployability,” said Adi Godrej, whose businesses range from consumer goods to …

India has too few skilled labourers thanks to decades of neglect in training and it desperately needs electricians, bricklayers and plumbers.”
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It is noteworthy that Indian workers’ foreign remittance from abroad $100 billion is directly absorbed by China in trade surplus with India.

As per the reports on India trade imbalance with China;

The trade gap has particularly widened in the past decade. In 2021, annual two-way trade crossed $100 billion for the first time, reaching $125.6 billion, with India’s imports accounting for $97.5 billion, pegging the imbalance at close to $70 billion.

“China’s trade with India is lopsided and in this period China had a favorable balance of trade that has crossed $1.2 trillion,” said Srikanth Kondapalli,who is Professor in Chinese Studies and Dean of the School of International Studies at Jawarharlal Nehru University. “That is, in pure statistics, Chinese businesses earned that much money [from India].” 

Moreover, Chinese commitments to India to import substantially more Indian goods, particularly pharmaceuticals, have not materialised,

These surpluses are consistent, and not addressed over a period of time this leads to the problem of a current account deficit for India,” he said.”

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What this means for common man and woman i.e. the ordinary average citizens in India is the brain drain via professionals and highly skilled immigration from India to overseas.

Notwithstanding this is a major disadvantage for India. The skilled workforce on the other hand as blue collar workers migration to the Middle East and other parts of the world essentially depriving Indian economy the skills and innovation with the current Indian government favoring and urging western nations to expedite visa processing primarily for earnings from Indian workers‘ foreign remittance.

India is bereaved of manufacturing, innovative and skilled economy to China enjoying trade surplus with India.

Meanwhile the expatriation of skilled and professional members to western nations and destinations in the hope of foreign remittance for government which in return is paid to China via massive economic imports into India.

The BJP government at the center in New Delhi headed by current Prime Minister is depleting Indian economy of foreign reserves and foreign remittance in trade deficit and trade imbalance with China, Russia and more.

In conclusion, the Indian prime minister’s Make in India and $5 Trillion Indian economy… as the New Delhi central government’s home minister Amit Shah coined it – are nothing more than Jhumla – political shenanigans.  They otherwise serve well on the campaign trail to lure gullible voters willing to be deceived many times over by such politics.

The other beneficiary is China achieving multi-trillion dollar economy status with India as the leading importer at Indian economy and educated skilled unemployed youth expense.

The end-result China’s middle class exponentially rise in contradiction to India’s overwhelming majority sliding downward to mere bottom in the global hunger index and other international economic census.

Politically, the RSS run BJP government and Modi-Shah’s campaign on Hindu Rashtra and Hindutva agenda would dissolve with Hindus leaving India for better economic prospects.

The status quo would by default return India to secular statehood in accordance with Indian constitution. 

Padmini Arhant

Author & Presenter 

PadminiArhant.com

Prakrithi.PadminiArhsnt.com 

Written by Padmini Arhant · Filed Under Economy, Featured, Indian Sub-Continent 

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