NRKs urged to apply for Norka ID cards

Noyal Thomas: Norka CEO

More than 140,000 Non-Resident Keralites, mostly those in GCC states, have received the identity card issued by the Department of Non-Resident Keralites (Norka), said CEO of Norka Roots Noyal Thomas at a gathering of representatives of  Keralite organisations in Qatar held at the Indian Cultural Center (ICC) yesterday.
He said the number constituted only a small section of Keralites spread across the world. “Hence, Norka requests Keralites residing in the region to apply for the Norka ID card without any further delay.” He said possession of the Norka ID card would go a long way in meeting some of the immediate requirements of NRKs while they are in Kerala.
The official said recent studies by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) put the number of Keralite emigrants at around 2.5mn and an overwhelming percentage of the population is based in the six GCC states.
According to the list prepared by the department more than 1.14mn Keralites have returned home after stints abroad.
Thomas said the latest findings of the department found that even though remittances from Keralites is showing an increase every year, its share is falling sharply. This is perhaps because other Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are seeing migration of unskilled workers to the GCC states in large numbers. “The share of those sections requiring emigration clearance (ECR) from amongst Keralites is falling considerably,” he said. The official put the ECR group from Kerala in the first 10 years of the millennium at close to 100,000. 
The Norka CEO put the remittances from Keralites to their home state close to Rs 500bn last year, which he said was almost one-third of the state’s budget.
Thomas also said more than 40,000 NRKs avail of the attestation services provided by Norka in its three centres in Kerala. “The average number of requests attended to daily is between 150 and 200,” he said.
Indian embassy charge de affaires M R Qureshi chaired the meet. Second secretary Anil Nautiyal was also present.
Senior Indian Cultural and Arts Society (Incas) official K K Usman welcomed the gathering and Girish Kumar introduced the guest.
Usman said if Norka permits, Doha would host the first ever summit of Keralite organisations from across the world in February next year.
He said Incas patron Padma Sri C K Menon has already expressed his desire to host the meeting and permission for the event is expected to come through.