Expatriate workers buoy economies of five Indian states. Politicians must stop ignoring them
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India is in election mode. In several states, manifestos have been released, rallies are drawing large crowds and candidates are making promises on healthcare, infrastructure, employment, and education. The democratic machinery is working exactly as it should.
Yet not a single major party manifesto in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, or Maharashtra contains a serious plan for the 18 million Indians working abroad. These are the workers whose remittances quietly underwrite state economies, fund household consumption and keep regional banks liquid.
In every practical economic sense, they are among the most consequential constituents any state government has. Because they cannot vote from abroad, they have been written out of the political conversation entirely.
For years this exclusion has been an inconvenient oversight. Now it is becoming a liability.
The Gulf is not stable
Iran and Israel have moved beyond proxy conflict and are exchanging ballistic missiles and drones directly. The situation remains unresolved. The Strait of Hormuz through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil and 30% of its liquefied natural gas passes is a live flashpoint.
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