In the backdrop of the US deporting Indians in mass numbers, the void of increasing unemployment in India could quickly be lapped up by Russia as its labour shortfall widens and requirement of skilled workforce increases.
Speaking with Russian state news agency, TASS, India’s Ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, said that Russian companies may be witnessing a gap in labour force of almost 3.1 million by 2030, as per the Russian Ministry of Labour.
"At a broader level, there is manpower requirement in Russia and India has a skilled manpower. So at present, within the Russian regulations, framework of Russian regulations, laws and quotas, the companies are hiring Indians," Kumar said, adding that the Russian Labour Ministry wants to increase the quota for qualified foreign workers in 2025 by 1.5 times to 0.23 million people.
In fact, there will also be seen an expansion in the sectors that seek workers from India, with the machinery and electronics fields requiring skilled Indian professionals in their ambit besides the traditional construction and textiles areas.
Also Read: India hit with new 25 percent US tariffs from August 27
Russia is facing a major labour shortage in its industrial hubs and plans to bring in up to one million foreign workers by the end of this year, including Indians, Kumar noted.
Andrey Besedin, head of the Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry, seemed to second Kumar’s evaluation, saying, “As far as I know, by the end of the year, 1 million specialists from India will come to Russia, including the Sverdlovsk region. A new Consulate General is opening in Yekaterinburg, which will deal with these issues”.
The envoy is said to have told RosBusinessConsulting (RBC) that industrial enterprises in the Sverdlovsk region urgently needed to expand production but lacked qualified personnel. "Some workers are deployed in the military operation in Ukraine, and young people do not go to factories," he said.
The Sverdlovsk region, with Yekaterinburg as its capital, sits in the Ural Mountains and is regarded as the backbone of Russian heavy industry and its military-industrial complex. It is home to iconic enterprises, including Uralmash and UralVagonZavod, the manufacturer of the T-90 series battle tanks.
With rising migration, workload for consular services will also increase, said Kumar.
"When people come and leave, they need consular services to extend passport, childbirth, say for example, and loss of passport and those kinds, basically consular services," the envoy noted.
Follow us
