Jaishankar at GATI Launch Seeks Change in Emigration Act
EAM S Jaishankar at GATI Foundation Launch (Image credit X.com)
India Launches GATI Foundation to Harness Global Demand for Its Talent
By S Jha
NEW DELHI, May 6, 2025 — In a bid to position India as a global hub for skilled labour, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday inaugurated the Global Access to Talent from India (GATI) Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at creating ethical and scalable pathways for Indian workers to meet international demand.
Speaking at the launch in New Delhi, Jaishankar emphasized the pivotal role of India’s talent in shaping its global brand. He underscored the need to nurture and deploy human resources both at home and abroad.
“There is a demand in the world, an availability in India, and the basic groundwork to enable Indian talent to gain global access is there,” Jaishankar said. The audience included diplomats, industry leaders, and policymakers.
“The need for talent abroad is a situation that is actually upon us today,” he said.
The GATI Foundation, incubated by The Convergence Foundation, Manish Sabharwal, and the Godrej Foundation, comes at a time when high-income economies face a projected shortfall of 45 to 50 million skilled and semi-skilled workers by 2030.
Jaishankar highlighted the global workplace’s evolution, driven by demographic shifts, technological advancements, and a premium on trust and resilience, as a key opportunity for India’s workforce.
Jaishankar noted that India’s historical underutilization of its human resources and its unique developmental path distinguish it from other Asian economies.
“The drivers of our growth are different, as is indeed the landscape and the strategy,” he said, linking the initiative to the government’s vision of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India).
Over the past decade, India has rolled out programs targeting socio-economic welfare, from child health and education to infrastructure and skill development, creating a “cycle of sustainable talent creation on a major scale.”
The minister cited concrete examples of global demand, pointing to Japan’s push for a predictable flow of Indian skills, Israel’s recruitment in various sectors, and Germany’s plan to quadruple employment visas for Indians.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said, urging stakeholders to prepare for broader opportunities. With 34 million Indians and people of Indian origin living abroad—half in the Gulf and others in developed economies—Jaishankar sees potential for significant expansion.
The foundation will focus on sectors like green and brown economies (infrastructure and energy), white and silver economies (healthcare), and digitized industries, where shortages are acute.
Jaishankar stressed the importance of legal mobility, proposing amendments to the Emigration Act of 1983, which he described as outdated for today’s globalized era.
“We need to be more pro and aware of new possibilities, even while taking care of the vulnerable,” he said.
Jaishankar also addressed the government’s commitment to supporting Indians abroad, citing evacuation operations over the past decade and routine assistance like grievance portals and welfare funds. “It is only then that they will have the confidence to fully explore the global workplace,” he said.
Manish Sabharwal of TeamLease Services called GATI “an idea whose time has come,” emphasizing that legal migration could address global labour shortages while boosting India’s remittances to $300 billion annually.
As India aims to become the world’s third-largest economy, Jaishankar framed talent as central to its global identity. “Our talents and skills will not only be a resource but will be very much part of our branding and reputation,” he said, urging collaboration to seize the moment.
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