The most unprecedented crisis in almost a century like coronavirus pandemic has come with a variety of implications. The shutdown has now become a new global phenomenon.
Kuwait which depends largely on oil is witnessing the worst financial crunch due to low demand for petroleum. Prices have recently crashed. Now, the unemployment in the country is on a surge and the government is gearing up to provide job opportunities to its local population.
To deal with possible unemployment among the local population, Kuwait is in the process of enacting a law that might force up to 8 lakh Indians to leave the country. Indians form the largest community of expatriates in Kuwait.
Kuwait has a population of 48 lakh of its own. Indian expatriates in Kuwait are over 14 lakh. Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah has reportedly said the country is bringing a law to cap the share of expatriates at 30 percent. Currently, outsiders are 70 percent of Kuwait's population.
The draft law proposes that Indians should not number more than 15 percent of Kuwait's population. This means if the bill is passed, up to 8 lakh Indians will have to leave the country.
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This bill has been called for a discussion by five parliamentarians.
It has been approved by the legal and legislative committee of the national assembly of Kuwait.
The bill now will be considered by a standing committee, which will finalize the draft for fixing the quota system of expatriates. If passed in the current form, around 25 lakh foreign workers will have to leave Kuwait.