Emerging cases, LABOR mobility cooperation and implications for enhanced regional cooperation

By Pooran Chandra Pandey

Labor mobility broadly refers to the ease with which labor force are able to move around within an economy and between different nations. It is an important factor in the study of economics because it looks at how labor, one of the major factors of production, affects growth and production in lead up to–diversity of the labor pool. This in turn has implications on decreased wages thus leading to a competitive economy and less inflation prone ecosystem alongside ready reserve of workforce to be deployed as and when situation may so demand. 

There are primarily two types of labour mobility: 

1. Geographic and 
2. Occupational 

Geographic mobility refers to a worker’s ability to work in a particular physical location, while occupational mobility refers to a worker’s ability to change job types. A worker moving from India to Taiwan would be described as geographic mobility while on the other hand, an automobile mechanic changing his job to become an airline pilot would reflect the notion of occupational mobility.

Policymaker’s View 

From a policymaker’s perspective, geographic mobility can have important implications on the economy of a particular country as easing immigration requirements can do several things, among others:

• Increased supply of labor: As more workers enter the economy, the general labor supply increases. An increase in labor supply accompanied by a static labor demand can decrease minimum wage rates.
• Increased unemployment: Unless employers demand more workers, an increase in labor supply could lead to a glut in labor, leading to higher unemployment. This means there are more workers than available jobs. 
• Increased productivity: Not all laborers added to the labor supply will be unskilled. An influx in laborers can increase productivity if they bring specialized skills to the workplace, and they might push out existing employees who are less productive.

Obtaining geographic mobility is not a purely economic matter. It can also be an issue of state sovereignty and government control. After all, governments are concerned with security, and completely open borders mean governments are unsure who or what is coming into their countries.

Moreover, while increased geographic mobility generally has a positive impact on the economy, it is also one of the first targets at which the wrath of both citizens and their representatives is aimed. Immigration is a hot-button topic, internationally, needing carefully crafted measures and pathways by those nations pursuing the labor mobility policies.  

“India’s next big export might be very different in content and size. It could most likely be its people – part of a new, structured wave of what economists call ‘labor mobility,’ a movement that could reshape a nation’s economy and its place under the sun.” 

Pooran chandra Pandey, MOFA Taiwan Fellow 2025

India’s global labor-centered labor policies and pacts 

India’s next big export might be very different in content and size. It could most likely be its people – part of a new, structured wave of what economists call “labor mobility,” a movement that could reshape a nation’s economy and its place under the sun.

Idea is simple: connect India’s young workers with companies in countries where ageing populations (accompanied by dipping birth rates) and worker shortages are holding back growth. It’s a practical response to a global imbalance but also a politically charged one. Opposition to immigration is growing across nations combined with elements of populism, even as their economies depend on migrant labour.

That’s the challenge for India and its partners in host nations: how to move Indian workers swiftly and safely across borders, ensuring they have clear and secure paths home.

Notions into policy pivots 

The Indian government has now decided to turn this concept into policy. Lately,  the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) introduced Overseas Mobility (Facilitation and Welfare) Bill, 2025 — a transformative reform aimed at replacing a 40-year-old Emigration Act of 1983, pivoted to create a modern system for regulating overseas employment.

With focus primarily on safety, transparency, and accountability — crucial in a time when irregular emigration and deportations (especially from the United States) are on upswing, the bill proposes to help Indian citizens connect with  “global workplace,” while ensuring their “safe and orderly return, their reintegration upon return to home country”. 

For India, it’s not just about jobs abroad. It’s more about building a stronger, and more resilient economy – powered by foreign remittances, global skills, and a workforce that leverages opportunity beyond borders.

Opportunities fueling growth & mobility 

India’s labour market has been known to be stable with talents. Every year, tens of millions of educated and semi-skilled young people enter the workforce — far more than the domestic economy can conveniently absorb.

At the same time, developed economies like Germany and Japan are facing the exact opposite problem: ageing populations, dipping birth rates, shrinking work forces, and sluggish productivity, among others.

That’s where India’s opportunity presents itself. According to The New York Times, New Delhi has signed 20 labor mobility agreements over the past six years with countries across Europe, the Gulf, and East Asia. Most of these nations have advanced economies but little past experience hiring Indian workers.

The idea is to create formal, government-backed pathways for Indians to take up temporary jobs abroad, reducing risks and exploitation often tied to unregulated migration.

“The idea is to create formal, government-backed pathways for Indians to take up temporary jobs abroad, reducing risks and exploitation often tied to unregulated migration.”

Pooran chandra Pandey, MOFA Taiwan Fellow 2025

Global demographics  

The downside to this global labor experiment is the inability to convince host countries that migration is indeed temporary. Politically, it’s a sensitive issue, as few leaders want to appear as though they’re replacing native workers with foreigners.

The concept of “return and reintegration,” where migrants go back home after end of their employment contracts is largely untested. Many young workers who move abroad, build careers, or start families often prefer to stay on.

Still, the demographic realities of developed economies make the case hard to ignore. Populations are shrinking, retirees are living longer, and deaths now outnumber births in nations from Italy to Russia to South Korea to Japan to Taiwan, among others. The old fear of overpopulation is being replaced by something new: a shortage of people to keep these economies running.
Now it’s basically about how economics functions over politics and populism with evidence.

Remittances powerhouse 

The date in regard to remittances is unequivocal and economics of remittances are at the heart of the issue. India’s global workforce isn’t just reshaping labour markets abroad, it’s also quietly powering the country’s finances. Indians living overseas sent a record $135.46 billion in foreign remittances last fiscal, a 14 per cent jump from the previous year, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), making India the world’s largest recipient of diaspora remittances for over a decade and counting much ahead of China.

Remittances now account for more than 10 percent of India’s total current account inflows – over $1 trillion in FY25 – and have more than doubled since fiscal 2017, when they stood at $61 billion. As RBI analysis points out, “India’s remittance receipts have generally remained higher than India’s gross inward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, thus establishing their importance as a stable source of external financing.”

These inflows have become a crucial buffer for the economy, helping offset India’s $287 billion trade deficit in fiscal 2025. Remittances alone covered nearly half – about 47 percent – of that shortfall. They also help steady the rupee, fuel consumption in rural areas, and bring in foreign currency without the turbulence of short-term capital flows.

These destinations now account for 45 percent of total remittances, while the Gulf, once the backbone of India’s overseas workforce, is slowly losing its share.

A new architecture on anvil

The proposed ‘Overseas Mobility Bill’ is designed to make this global movement more systematic. Architecture of the Bill is simple as it provides for a Director General of Overseas Mobility, regional officers, and an Overseas Mobility and Welfare Council chaired by MEA [Ministry of External Affairs] Secretary. Together, they’ll maintain a central registry of emigrants, foreign employers, and placement agencies, while conducting periodic studies on labor market trends abroad.

The Bill also calls for an Integrated Information System to track workers across countries, accreditation rules for recruiting agencies, and penalties of up to USD 20,551 (₹20 lakh) for violations. It even envisions Mobility Resource Centres within and outside India to assist workers and reintegrate returnees.

To guard against trafficking and illegal migration, the procedure will promote mutual recognition of qualifications, universal insurance for workers, and international agreements on safe migration.

With India making Passport Seva 2.0 operational and idea of digital passports coming into effect, a seamless end to end check and balance will be embedded into the operational architecture making it easier to prevent any unfair practices, biases or irregularities on the part of workers and other stakeholders. 

Fueling domestic growth 

If the plan works as intended, most of these workers will go abroad for three- to five-year stints, send remittances home, and eventually return with savings and new skills. This is how India’s remittance engine could evolve into a cycle of capital, knowledge, and mobility fueling domestic growth.

It’s also how India could turn migration into strategy, transforming its people into global assets rather than economic refugees. Unlike the US H-1B system which has grown increasingly restrictive while the new model alternatively focuses on temporary, mutually beneficial work arrangements.

The inflow of remittances is not just money; it’s stability. It supports rural households, funds education and housing, and keeps consumption buoyant even when exports dip. Combined with India’s booming software and business services income (both crossing $100 billion last fiscal year), these inflows form core of the country’s external resilience.

“The inflow of remittances is not just money; it’s stability. It supports rural households, funds education and housing, and keeps consumption buoyant even when exports dip.”

Pooran chandra Pandey, MOFA Taiwan Fellow 2025

Anti-immigration politics

Challenges however abound in wake of anti-immigration politics rising in Europe, Japan, and the US, among others. Temporary migration schemes require tight management to ensure they remain temporary. While reintegrating returnees, helping them find jobs, start businesses, and transfer their skills will test India’s domestic systems.

But the long-term arithmetic appears to be in India’s favour. As populations decline across the developed world with automation still struggling to fill care and service jobs, human capital will likely be the most valuable asset for export.

History of Indian labour mobility and migration   

International migration, or the movement of people across borders, has been an enduring phenomenon of human history, including India’s, shaping its interactions with the world at large with meaningful long term implications. The history of migration from India started with the ancient trade routes and cultural exchanges while culminating with large-scale movement of labourers under colonial rule to reach the now large Indian diaspora globally.

Over the last century, particularly, Indians have extensively ventured out in search of education, employment, and entrepreneurship across regions, countries, and continents, establishing vibrant communities contributing to socio-economic developments, and cultural landscapes of their host countries. 

Based on evidence, there appears to be predominantly three broad patterns of Indian migration over long periods prominently divided into indentured labour, overseas migration in pursuit of skilled and semi-skilled jobs, education and business ventures and later in form of labour mobility pacts leading up to the bilateral cooperation frameworks and arrangements offering different avenues to migrants enabling them to showcase their lasting impact on their host as well as country of origin. 

Indian labour mobility over a period of time has largely been a successful case as Indian migrants pursued successful careers abroad, contributed to the socio-economic development of host countries, and shaping a powerful diaspora population, among others spanning almost all continents including the Pacific and Caribbean, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Middle East (principally UAE, GCC countries and Saudi Arabia), among others including lately potent and emerging migrant entry points such as Japan, South Korea, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Hong Kong, and now Taiwan. 

A peek into Indian migration journey: Examples that offer interesting lessons and take away 

While building sustainable pathways involving Indian migration, it will be helpful to lay out a few cases and Indian migration patterns and their contributions in migration sequencing grid including successful social assimilation and bonhomie with the local residents, putting limits on cultural nationalism and avoid ghettoization of migrants yet making diversity, localization and assimilation for successful integration of migrants into host societies and their cultural milieu for successful on boarding.   

Age old Indian migration to Caribbean and South Africa: One of the earliest and powerful cases

Indian migration to the Caribbean and South Africa began in C. 17th century with slaves, but the majority arrived from 1860 onwards as indentured laborers for plantations, followed by “passenger” migrants who were primarily traders and merchants (business community). This led to the development of a large Indian diaspora, concentrated heavily in Durban, one of the largest ethnically Indian cities outside of India. 

Indentured and passenger migration (19th and 20th centuries) 

• Indentured laborers: The first major wave of migrants was from 1860 onwards, with Indians brought from British India to work on sugar plantations in Natal.
  • They came from ports like Madras and Calcutta and were brought under “indenture,” a system described by some as slavery by contract.
  • After their contracts ended, many stayed and became market gardeners and hawkers.
• Passenger migrants: Starting from the 1870s, free migrants who paid their own way arrived, primarily from Gujarat and other Indian business communities.
  • These were mostly traders and merchants who established businesses and competed with established shopkeepers.
• The railway expansion in the interior facilitated trade, leading to economic growth and further migration for Indian communities. 

South Africa and Caribbean nations remain one of the most successful stories of Indian migrants that over the centuries have assimilated with the local communities, developed bonhomie, became a part of social and cultural milieu contributing to almost all facets of its social, economic, business, political, educational and cultural pathways in local societies. Given a fairly longish longevity of Indian – South African thriving together with their contribution to local growth and development, Indian migrants today are looked as if they are the one and the same part of local social-economic and cultural ethos, celebrating festivals, eating food and savoring local festivals, dresses, religious partaking in each other’s cultural and religious festivities, and business and political leadership, among others. 

Currently, there are c. 3 million Indian diaspora with about 1.7 million Indian migrants live in South Africa contributing to raising per capita by 5 per cent due to efficiency gains and higher educational attainment of foreign born workers.  

“Currently, there are c. 3 million Indian diaspora with about 1.7 million Indian migrants live in South Africa contributing to raising per capita by 5 per cent.”

Pooran chandra Pandey, MOFA Taiwan Fellow 2025

Indian migration to the USA and Canada: A growth story of educated India and their contribution to American tech sector Indian immigration to the United States and Canada started in the early 19th century when Indian immigrants began settling in hope of better education and employment. Originally arriving in small numbers, new opportunities arose in the middle of the 20th century, and their population grew larger in the decades that followed. 

As of 2023, about 3 million Indian immigrants resided in the United States, accounting for 6 per cent of the U.S. foreign-born population, the second-largest immigrant group, after Mexicans ahead of immigrants from China and Philippines.

Indian immigrants initially began working in agriculture, lumber, and railroad industries. 1980 to 2019 on, Indian immigrant population in United States increased and is now the second most popular destination, after United Arab Emirates (3.4 million), Saudi Arabia (2.4 million), Pakistan (1.6 million), Oman (1.3 million), and Kuwait (1.1 million) as per mid-2019 United Nations Population Division estimates.

Indian immigrants are Canada’s largest source of new permanent residents and immigrants, making up the country’s largest non-European ethnic group with a population of over 1.85 million as of the 2021 census. This immigration is driven by Canada’s economic opportunities in sectors like IT and health, its stable political climate, and a points-based system that favors individuals with high education and work experience, often from India. Major immigrant destinations include the Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary areas. 

Thus, over years and decades, Indian migrants both in the US and Canada have made a visible mark of their living there while contributing to socio-economic, cultural, political and business growth and progress of their host countries. In the US and Canada both, Indian migrants have done (and doing) well across the board in academics, medicine, journalism, IT industry, legal professions and politics among others. 

Indian migrants in Australia

In addition to Indian population of more than 1 million mid-2025 in Australia, currently Indian labor mobility to Australia is primarily facilitated through a scheme known as Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Schemes (MATES) meant for population between 18 to 30 years of age holding a bachelor’s degree from designated university and successfully register for the program through a ballot. 

Currently, Indian migrants in Australia are the second-largest migrant group in the country. They have a significant presence in sectors such as IT, medicine, and academia, significantly contributing to the economy and culture. 

Indian migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries 

The Indian labour mobility to Middle East represents one of the largest and most significant expatriate communities globally. With historical ties dating back centuries, the contemporary presence of Indians in this region has profound economic, cultural, and social implications. Today, millions of Indians reside across the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, contributing to sectors such as construction, healthcare, finance, and information technology. 

India’s connections with the Middle East trace back to ancient times through trade routes over land and sea. The historical maritime routes of Indian Ocean fostered deep economic and cultural exchanges between Indian and Middle Eastern kingdoms as early as the 1st century CE. 

Historically, during the medieval period, the Mughal and Ottoman Empires maintained ties, facilitating movement of scholars, traders, and craftsmen between India and Middle East. Arabic and Persian languages had a strong impact on Indian linguistic and literary traditions, while Indian mathematicians and astronomers contributed to Middle Eastern scientific advancements. 

The 20th century witnessed a significant shift with the discovery of oil in the Gulf region. The ensuing economic boom created a massive demand for labour, attracting a substantial number of Indian workers. This migration intensified during the 1970s and 1980s, marking the beginning of large-scale labour migration from India to the GCC countries. This influx was also fuelled by India’s economic policies, encouraging overseas employment as a means to bolster foreign exchange reserves through migrant remittances.

It has also been evidenced that the labour mobility pacts over time give rise to trusted relationships among governments, enhanced cooperation and increased business and education exchanges in addition to such pathways leading to the Free and comprehensive Trade Agreements.

In a rare gesture, Saudi Arabia has repealed its 50 year old regressive law allowing Indians freedom from job mobility and limited labour rights’ restrictions including right to own property in the Kingdom through removal of the Kafala system. This is now being implemented across GCC countries.   

Indians in the UK

The case of Indians in the UK is nothing less than a storied story of carving their entrenched place in British society, politics, academia, culture and more importantly in the local economy. Estimated to be over 2 million Indians in UK, India and UK have had centuries old connection and people to people connect first through British colonial rule in India.

Subsequently with Indians going to occupy highest positions across British society including economy, politics, academia and culture assimilated very well across the British social and cultural milieu and now seen as part and parcel of modern British society. Indians presence in UK is synonymous to Indians presence in Caribbean, South Africa, and US by their dint of hard work, education and accomplishments. 

In the UK, Indian businesses are not only houseful names in the UK but employ millions of local residents and contribute to the British economy. There are over 1000 Indian owned companies, some of the household names including Tata, Reliance, Hinduja, Essar, ArcelorMittal, Dr. Reddy, among others employing over 126,000 staff in the UK.

India and UK have also signed Free Trade Agreement paving a pathway for a two way trade and commerce at the enhanced level making labour mobility as a part of the agreement within bilateral trade agreement framework. 

A general trend in Indian labor mobility across the global and a record thereof in terms of the contribution made by Indian diaspora at multiple levels and layers–it would be worth noting as to how the Indian labor mobility and its diaspora’s role has played  closer home in context of some of the prosperous, smaller, yet in search of Indian workers in South East Asia grappling with fast ageing population coupled with dipping birth rates, with younger generation either not interested in labor intensive sectors of the local economy or more keen to exploring greener pastures abroad through higher education and employment opportunities.

Singapore and Indian Migrants 

Singapore in the region has been one the most progressive nations that has built itself based on the advantages of having expatriates, educated people and business to business connects by embedding fiscal incentives, fair and transparent visa regimes and comparable payouts to attract the talents. Indians have been a beneficiary of such a system, currently constituting 7.6 per cent of the total population in the country. The nation currently has around 800,000 Indians living in Singapore comprising students, permanent residents and other non-residents. 

The sectors of the economy that the resident Indians in Singapore work include It and technology, finance and sales, banking, hospitality and food service, general and skilled trade, customer service and education, among others. 

Touted as one of the liberal economies built on the strength of education, expatriates’ expertise and diversified workforce, Singapore continues to serve as a model of a diversified workforce which have assimilated well within the local communities like sugar and milk. Also known for a cosmopolitan city, the place has emerged as a preferred destination for professionals due to ease of work, quality of life and a fair and transparent system, among others.

Labor Mobility Pacts in the Offing 

 India–Japan Talent Partnership

In a major step toward deeper economic collaboration, India and Japan have announced a new Human Resource Exchange & Cooperation Action Plan that targets over 500,000 people exchanges in the next five years.

Some of the key highlights include 50,000 skilled and semi-skilled Indian professionals are expected to move to Japan across sectors such as IT, digital transformation, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, mobility, research and innovation.

The initiative aims to address Japan’s evolving talent needs while empowering India’s globally skilled workforce with international career pathways.

Key focus areas of cooperation between the two sides would include: skilled workforce mobility & recruitment, Industry–academia collaboration, language & cultural training programs and Innovation, digital economy & sustainability partnerships

The move reflects a rapidly strengthening India–Japan strategic and economic relationship, aligned with future workforce and technology needs.       

India-South Korea Mobility Pact 

India and South Korea are in talks to sign a migration agreement to allow easier mobility for professionals of the two countries. The deal could lead to increased collaboration between the two high-tech ecosystems in India and South Korea. 

The arrangement is expected to be concluded under the government’s established mechanism on migration. This will make it different from the more comprehensive migration pacts India has entered into with the UK, Germany and Australia. Migration agreements make it easier to control illegal immigration. It also aids Indian professionals to work in foreign countries across a range of areas including technology and automobiles.

South Korea’s high-quality education system has made it an attractive choice for immigration. Around 12,000 Indians live in the country, including around 300 individuals of Indian origin, as per data from the External Affairs Ministry. A large number of Indian students are pursuing post-graduate and doctorate degrees in South Korea, mostly in pure sciences. Many professionals in the information technology, shipping and automobile sectors have immigrated to the country.

Not just South Korea, India is also looking to forge a migration agreement with Taiwan and other nations. India already has an agreement with Japan on similar lines. The Specified Skilled Workers (SSW) scheme with the country allows workers in 14 fields, including fisheries, automobile maintenance and construction, to migrate.

India Russia pact on labour mobility

India and Russia are expected to conclude a pact on mobility at the annual summit scheduled in New Delhi in December during President Putin’s official visit to New Delhi for protecting the rights of the growing number of Indian workers in Russia. The pact would also help increase the number of Indians in Russia in coming years.

Facing a declining population, Russia is keen to increase the number of Indians in their workforce. Indian workers are finding jobs in sectors like construction and textiles but there is a growing demand for skilled workers in machinery and electronics sectors in Russia.

A little more than 70,000 Indians will be employed in Russia by the end of 2025 as per a quota fixed by the Russian labour ministry. India’s labour ministry and its Russian counterpart have been discussing the matter with a view to arrive at a formal mobility pact soon. 

The growing Indian diaspora could become a pillar of India-Russia partnership in the coming years while boosting economic cooperation, India has imported a record volume of diamonds and gold from Russia this year. 

Russia’s diamond exports to India surged to $31.3 million in August, more than double the $13.4 million recorded in August 2024. However, the total volume of Russian diamond supplies to India decreased by nearly 40% in the first eight months of this year, reaching $342.1 million.

Russia is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds and has historically been one of the key suppliers for India’s giant cutting and polishing industries. However, western sanctions against Russia’s diamond trade and its biggest mining company, Alrosa, have affected Indian industry.

In addition, the Indian diamond industry is facing challenges from a 50% tariff imposed by the US on cut and polished diamonds. This tariff includes a 25% punitive tariff for the country’s Russian oil purchases. 

Labour Mobility Pathways between Delhi and Taipei 

Driven by Taiwan’s twin factors of fast ageing population and dipping birth rates, Taipei and New Delhi are willing to ink a Labor Mobility Pact to address the shortage of the workforce in identified areas to be filled in with Indian workers in Taiwan. Preparations for this have begun with the signing of a necessary MoU and this will be followed through with necessary clearances, setting up of processes through a formal ratification including legislative approvals. 

In order to move further, Taiwan and India have been discussing the issues removing encumbrances, if any, for smooth sailing the understanding on the labour mobility pact and its implementation on the ground.  It may be noted that in this regard, Taiwan and India have already concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on February 16, 2024 to facilitate employment of Indian workers in Taiwan.

The pact was signed by representatives of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India, and director general of the India-Taipei Association, Taipei. The two sides are in the process of determining and discussing the details of the pact including potential number of workers and the industry sectors Indian workers could be needed for, among other key issues. 

Taiwan and India have been expanding cooperation in recent years in areas such as culture and education, investment and trade, science and technology, and medicine and public health. In further deepening the partnership, the labour mobility pact will further help mitigate the impact of Taiwan’s aging population and declining birth rate on the country’s workforce.

The Ministry of Labour (MOL) welcomes the MOU, stating that the move is in response to increasing labour shortages in Taiwan’s agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors, as well as in the care sector.

The MOL also acknowledges Indian workers’ participation in the labour force in many European, Middle Eastern and Asian countries, while Japan and South Korea are also planning to invite an Indian workforce to their countries.

As a part of the arrangement, the ministry is mandated to conduct thorough assessments to ascertain individuals with a set level of education and good command of English, and will first conduct a small-scale trial and evaluate results before recruiting further workers from the South Asian country.

Taiwan currently has over 5000 Indians most of whom numbering approximately 3000 are students pursuing their academic programs and the rest as business owners, while coloured workers, think tankers and academic including IT and software professionals. Given that India and Taiwan are pursing culture and education, trade and investment cooperation in semi con and IT sectors and growing industry to industry cooperation and partnerships between academic institutions, the number of Indians choosing Taiwan as a preferred choice of education, work and IT and software and medicine is potentially likely to grow.

Taiwan’s South Bound Policy has seen uptick in number of Indian students coming to study and the pace will only gather steam once labour mobility pact is signed as an overall part of comprehensive arrangement like what many other nations and India have already done riding on enhanced trade, commerce, investments, tourism, liberal visa regimes and scholarships, among others. 

It is also expected that going forward, both India and Taiwan would be signing Free Trade Agreement taking the labor mobility pact as a part of such a comprehensive arrangement of cooperation and partnership. Both India and Taiwan have much more to gain from through their bilateral cooperation and agreements embedding labor mobility pact as a vehicle for Indians to migrate to Taiwan with ease and overarching pact. 

“It is also expected that going forward, both India and Taiwan would be signing Free Trade Agreement taking the labor mobility pact as a part of such a comprehensive arrangement of cooperation and partnership.”

Pooran chandra Pandey, MOFA Taiwan Fellow 2025

The global demand and India’s labor supply chain:  As the world braces for a massive worker shortage, developed economies are scrambling to fill jobs. A Boston Consulting Group study estimates a global shortfall of 45–50 million workers by 2030, compared with just five million in 2023.

That’s where India steps up. It is also realistically believed that India could double its annual export of workers — from current 700,000 to 1.5 million by 2030.

Germany and Japan are at the forefront of this shift, actively courting Indian talent. According to NYT, Germany and Japan are drawing the most attention within India, Germany as a gateway to Europe, and Japan as an entry point to East Asia. Finland and Taiwan have also signed mobility MoUs with New Delhi and the discussions to formalize them are ongoing.

By contrast, English-speaking countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia already have established channels for skilled Indian workers and don’t rely on government-backed arrangements. 

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar has placed these partnerships front and centre of India’s diplomacy and soft power. At the India-Japan Forum last December, he ranked “labour-mobility exchanges” above even defence cooperation and semiconductor supply chains. By August, the two countries had rolled out a programme to send 50,000 Indian workers to Japan each year.

The urgency is clear at home. Despite rapid economic growth — India’s GDP is now on par with Germany’s and Japan’s — job creation hasn’t kept pace.
Since the pandemic, around 50 million Indians who once worked in manufacturing or services have been pushed back into agriculture — a regression for those aspiring to join the skilled global workforce.

Time for Taiwan and India to tango 

As Taiwan and India are pacing their efforts at institutional level, both the sides can be realistic around the move and find pathways to not only benefit from Indian labor force, a workforce that has over decades proved their value and worth across major economies but has also been a source of foreign remittances in addition to turning themselves as a soft power asset and making the host nation a truly diverse destinations. Such efforts have also culminated in Free Trade Agreements and enhanced and strategic partnerships between the nations. 

Such a Pact though may not come easy and challenges would need to be surmounted due to the regional equations, countervailing forces, methodology, structure, mutual trust and a fast tracked time frame. Better still, it’s done at the highest political levels with corresponding bilateral liberal visa regimes, study programs embedded and progressive pathways for educated Indians to be able to look at Taiwan both as a place of choice for education and later for employment at a time when other nations such as Russia, Japan, South Korea, among others are actively looking to sign up labor pacts with Indian government. There may be a plausible time when a liberal labor pact regime in India may be made stricter or paused for adjustments.  

Evidence suggests that such journeys have been driven by reciprocal trust and understanding over time across the nations worldwide which can only be learnt and adjusted to the contemporary context by New Delhi and Taipei. These pacts are simply not labour pacts but a strong corner stone of enhanced understanding and long term goodwill with far reaching advantages for both the sides.

At a time when Taiwanese population is ageing fast and has dipping birth rates whereas India has skilled and educated labour force which it can offer, it’s a win-win deal for both the nations to make the best out of the opportunity availability and close the loop of the larger cooperation and partnership not just in Asia region but across the Indo-Pacific for enhanced regional cooperation, which Taiwan’s Southbound adequately reflects and provides for. 

India on the hand finds a neighbour next door which can supplement and complement its rise on semicon, business and investment side and technology including cooperation in textiles, sports goods, mineral processing and bi-cycles’ manufacturing leading to a robust two way track on the labour mobility pact and its resultant advantages.

The future ahead

If India’s labour mobility framework delivers goods as planned, the workers under mobility pact may take up three- to five-year stints abroad without changing citizenship. The goal is not permanent migration but circulation — bringing back capital, global exposure, and technical know-how that could, in time, reshape India’s domestic economy.

20th century clearly belonged to oil, in an equal parallel, 21st is potentially likely to belong to workers, and India appears to have more of them than anyone else. It is a clear edge offering a variety of positive advantages right from shaping India’s soft power prowess through a robust India diaspora across G-7, G20 and Indo-Pacific in addition to enduring economic contribution through foreign remittances. 

At its heart lies a simple logic: India has an abundant young workforce, while much of the developed world is running out of workers due to their young labor force deficits due to ageing population and dipping birth rates. If these two facets of demand and supply can be logically linked responsibly, both the sides favorably win.

Pooran Chandra Pandey is attached to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Government of Taiwan (R.O.C) and is based in Taipei. He has been on a mission working on Labor Mobility Pact between Taipei and New Delhi and Diplomatic Soft Power for Regional Cooperation. Under the Pact, Taiwan has agreed to take 100,000 Indians over time at the peak to work in identified areas of sectors followed by skills training provided by the Indian Government. He’s working on the issue to strengthen bilateral relations between Taipei and New Delhi leading to improved relations and enhanced regional cooperation.

Views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication, The Indo-Pacific Politics.