Expect many Indians to be back at jobs in Singapore when situation eases: Indian envoy
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf remained hopeful that many Indians, who would be returning to India, could return to their jobs in Singapore on the other side of this pandemic.
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Geeta Mohan New DelhiMay 8, 2020UPDATED: May 8, 2020 21:50 IST
Indian nationals, who were stranded in Singapore, prepare to leave in buses after they were brought back to India via special flights. (Photo: PTI)
As the biggest repatriation program of the Indian government is being implemented across twelve countries in its first phase, there are many who are returning jobless.
This has been one of the greatest worries for the Modi government as the world stares into an economic slowdown. But, in all this, there is some glimmer of hope coming in from Singapore.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf remained hopeful that many Indians, who would be returning to India, could return to their jobs in Singapore on the other side of this pandemic.
While there can be no guarantee of job security, Jawed Ashraf said, "They can't guarantee that everyone will be retained. There will be companies that will collapse. There will be jobs that will suffer a mortal blow. That's inevitable. I mean, they are expecting four per cent contraction in the economy, but, they expect that a lot of them will be back in their jobs when the situation eases."
Indians make up a large number of the labour workforce of Singapore that drives their economy, and, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is quite aware of their strength. The total foreign workforce in Singapore as of December 2019 stands at 14,27,500.
The Singaporean prime minister has publicly said on a number of occasions that Singapore will treat its foreign workers as it would treat its own citizens during this time of crisis.
The government followed through by providing food, medical supplies, ensuring salaries are paid to the workers during the lockdown period and ensuring internet facilities to stay connected with family and friends.
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'Vande Bharat Mission' is by far the largest operation in terms of scale. The first flight that would leave Singapore for India is on is in the morning on May 8. It will carry 244 passengers in an Air India Dreamliner.
"About 4,200 people have registered with us. A lot of these registrations were initially for assistance and help, but, obviously, the underlying premise was that they also wanted to go back home. Currently, at least 3,500 have definitely registered. The remaining 700 I am including because their visas are going to expire and they will soon join the ranks of those who have a compelling reason to return to India", High Commissioner Ashraf said.
"Emails went out to all the prospective passengers on the first list from Air India and from us. We've also made calls individually to all those passengers who are going to be on the flight tomorrow, and, so is Air India doing that", he added.
While payments and cost of tickets might not be an issue at present, the mission will have more clarity once the process begins in Singapore.
Spelling out the details, High Commissioner Ashraf said, "We are one of the first countries from where the repatriation process has begun. Our first flight will take off tomorrow at 8:35 am for Delhi. In the first wave, we have one more flight to Delhi, one to Bengaluru and one to Mumbai over the next five days."
Appreciating the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, the India envoy called the project a "metric structure" in management terms.
"This is something which may be unparalleled as far as the world is concerned.
"MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] has set up a really remarkable institutional structure. In management terms, you could call it a 'metric structure' that is very project-specific and it is extremely well-coordinated, with the states, the missions and within the central government," he said.
However, he did caution the travellers and families going back home to be patient in case any process in the entire project develops hiccups, saying it is a learning curve for everybody.
"However streamlined we and the ministry might try and make it, this is a very big and a very complex exercise. There will be some lessons we will learn along the way as the first set of flights land in India from different sources. There may be some unforeseen, unanticipated developments or difficulties, but by and large, I'd say that the government is doing all it can visualise and imagine and think of in terms of making this exercise smooth, efficient and comfortable for those returning," he said.
As the laid out 'Standard Operating Protocol' suggests, only those who have not tested positive or are not showing symptoms for Covid-19 would be allowed to board the flights.
As of May 4, the total number of Indians who are affected and have tested positive for Covid-19 in Singapore stands at 6,400. Most of them are workers who live in purpose-built dormitories which are specially designed units for foreign workers.
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"As of May 4, the figure is 6,400. That might well be the largest number of infected cases for Indians residing abroad. That actually makes up for 31 per cent of the total cases in Singapore, which tells you that more than 85 per cent of all cases in Singapore are really in the dormitories", the Indian envoy said.
"There is, of course, a pretty sharp spread of infection among foreign workers who live in purpose-built dormitories. In Singapore, that's about more than 90 per cent of the cases. In the larger community, the spread is somewhat slower somewhat limited. And in the course of the past two weeks, all the trends are showing a declining slope," he said.
Singapore has been late in placing strict restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, but, by the end of March, when it saw a steep increase in numbers, restrictions were placed
"So, the circuit breaker in many ways is like a lockdown. But, they've kept essential services going, they've kept public transportation working," the envoy said.
"They have defined what those essential services are, including the global supply chain, which they serve so well. They have also made sure that restaurants, office centres and food courts remain open, but, only for takeaways. That has enabled that sector to continue to remain in business," he said.
"So, it is a lockdown... They have extended it till June 1 now, but, they're expecting to loosen it a bit from May 12 in response to a decline in trend in the number of cases", Jawed Ashraf informed.
Amid growing concerns regarding data privacy in Covid tracing/tracking apps and devices, the Indian envoy said that the Singaporean government also has an app but it is not mandatory to download it.
"In terms of the app that you're talking about, it is not like everyone has downloaded it, it is a voluntary measure. But, a huge number of people have downloaded it, and the government is encouraging them to do it", he said.
He further added that there are concerns that have been raised regarding data privacy, but, the government has assured the public that it is not for "surveillance" purpose.
"They have also taken certain privacy-related measures in terms of the nature of data that will be available and to whom and for how long. These issues have been addressed but there are countervailing concerns as well, just as is in every society and in every country about whether this becomes an instrument of surveillance... It has built-in restrictions on the time that the data is available for, to whom it is available for, and for what purpose it is available", he added.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf remained hopeful that many Indians, who would be returning to India, could return to their jobs in Singapore on the other side of this pandemic.
ADVERTISEMENT
Geeta Mohan New DelhiMay 8, 2020UPDATED: May 8, 2020 21:50 IST
Indian nationals, who were stranded in Singapore, prepare to leave in buses after they were brought back to India via special flights. (Photo: PTI)
As the biggest repatriation program of the Indian government is being implemented across twelve countries in its first phase, there are many who are returning jobless.
This has been one of the greatest worries for the Modi government as the world stares into an economic slowdown. But, in all this, there is some glimmer of hope coming in from Singapore.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, India's High Commissioner to Singapore Jawed Ashraf remained hopeful that many Indians, who would be returning to India, could return to their jobs in Singapore on the other side of this pandemic.
While there can be no guarantee of job security, Jawed Ashraf said, "They can't guarantee that everyone will be retained. There will be companies that will collapse. There will be jobs that will suffer a mortal blow. That's inevitable. I mean, they are expecting four per cent contraction in the economy, but, they expect that a lot of them will be back in their jobs when the situation eases."
Indians make up a large number of the labour workforce of Singapore that drives their economy, and, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is quite aware of their strength. The total foreign workforce in Singapore as of December 2019 stands at 14,27,500.
The Singaporean prime minister has publicly said on a number of occasions that Singapore will treat its foreign workers as it would treat its own citizens during this time of crisis.
The government followed through by providing food, medical supplies, ensuring salaries are paid to the workers during the lockdown period and ensuring internet facilities to stay connected with family and friends.
ADVERTISEMENT
'Vande Bharat Mission' is by far the largest operation in terms of scale. The first flight that would leave Singapore for India is on is in the morning on May 8. It will carry 244 passengers in an Air India Dreamliner.
"About 4,200 people have registered with us. A lot of these registrations were initially for assistance and help, but, obviously, the underlying premise was that they also wanted to go back home. Currently, at least 3,500 have definitely registered. The remaining 700 I am including because their visas are going to expire and they will soon join the ranks of those who have a compelling reason to return to India", High Commissioner Ashraf said.
"Emails went out to all the prospective passengers on the first list from Air India and from us. We've also made calls individually to all those passengers who are going to be on the flight tomorrow, and, so is Air India doing that", he added.
While payments and cost of tickets might not be an issue at present, the mission will have more clarity once the process begins in Singapore.
Spelling out the details, High Commissioner Ashraf said, "We are one of the first countries from where the repatriation process has begun. Our first flight will take off tomorrow at 8:35 am for Delhi. In the first wave, we have one more flight to Delhi, one to Bengaluru and one to Mumbai over the next five days."
Appreciating the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs, the India envoy called the project a "metric structure" in management terms.
"This is something which may be unparalleled as far as the world is concerned.
"MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] has set up a really remarkable institutional structure. In management terms, you could call it a 'metric structure' that is very project-specific and it is extremely well-coordinated, with the states, the missions and within the central government," he said.
However, he did caution the travellers and families going back home to be patient in case any process in the entire project develops hiccups, saying it is a learning curve for everybody.
"However streamlined we and the ministry might try and make it, this is a very big and a very complex exercise. There will be some lessons we will learn along the way as the first set of flights land in India from different sources. There may be some unforeseen, unanticipated developments or difficulties, but by and large, I'd say that the government is doing all it can visualise and imagine and think of in terms of making this exercise smooth, efficient and comfortable for those returning," he said.
As the laid out 'Standard Operating Protocol' suggests, only those who have not tested positive or are not showing symptoms for Covid-19 would be allowed to board the flights.
As of May 4, the total number of Indians who are affected and have tested positive for Covid-19 in Singapore stands at 6,400. Most of them are workers who live in purpose-built dormitories which are specially designed units for foreign workers.
ADVERTISEMENT
"As of May 4, the figure is 6,400. That might well be the largest number of infected cases for Indians residing abroad. That actually makes up for 31 per cent of the total cases in Singapore, which tells you that more than 85 per cent of all cases in Singapore are really in the dormitories", the Indian envoy said.
"There is, of course, a pretty sharp spread of infection among foreign workers who live in purpose-built dormitories. In Singapore, that's about more than 90 per cent of the cases. In the larger community, the spread is somewhat slower somewhat limited. And in the course of the past two weeks, all the trends are showing a declining slope," he said.
Singapore has been late in placing strict restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, but, by the end of March, when it saw a steep increase in numbers, restrictions were placed
"So, the circuit breaker in many ways is like a lockdown. But, they've kept essential services going, they've kept public transportation working," the envoy said.
"They have defined what those essential services are, including the global supply chain, which they serve so well. They have also made sure that restaurants, office centres and food courts remain open, but, only for takeaways. That has enabled that sector to continue to remain in business," he said.
"So, it is a lockdown... They have extended it till June 1 now, but, they're expecting to loosen it a bit from May 12 in response to a decline in trend in the number of cases", Jawed Ashraf informed.
Amid growing concerns regarding data privacy in Covid tracing/tracking apps and devices, the Indian envoy said that the Singaporean government also has an app but it is not mandatory to download it.
"In terms of the app that you're talking about, it is not like everyone has downloaded it, it is a voluntary measure. But, a huge number of people have downloaded it, and the government is encouraging them to do it", he said.
He further added that there are concerns that have been raised regarding data privacy, but, the government has assured the public that it is not for "surveillance" purpose.
"They have also taken certain privacy-related measures in terms of the nature of data that will be available and to whom and for how long. These issues have been addressed but there are countervailing concerns as well, just as is in every society and in every country about whether this becomes an instrument of surveillance... It has built-in restrictions on the time that the data is available for, to whom it is available for, and for what purpose it is available", he added.
