Pension for non-resident Keralites soon

Financially constrained expatriates from the South Indian state of Kerala will soon be able to avail pension after the completion of 60 years.

Announcing the decision to implement the scheme, the Chief Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy said the funds will be generated through the Pravasi Welfare Fund.

The welfare fund was set up through the Non-Resident Keralites Welfare Fund Act -2008, which currently has more than 50,000 members. Apart from the pension scheme the members will also be able to avail other benefits such as family pension schemes, medical aid, death assistance, etc.

The government also announced the setting up of a special cell to provide legal assistance to Non-resident Keralites who are fighting legal battles abroad, especially those who have committed offences due to ignorance of law.

It has also decided to excert pressure on the Central Government in India to appoint more Malayalam-speaking officers in embassies and consulates in the Gulf countries.

Registered members of the Pravasi Welfare Fund has to pay a premium of Rs300per month while he continues to work abroad, and Rs100 when he returns from the Gulf.

Expatriates from Kerala living in the UAE, meanwhile, have welcomed the announcement. “It was long overdue. The decision was supposed to be announced almost a decade earlier. At least they did it now,” said Binsal Ahmad who has been living in the UAE since 1999.

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