Telangana delegation in Kuwait, eyes partnerships on manpower

KUWAIT: Telangana Home and Labor Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy (center) addresses the press conference. Indian Ambassador Sunil Jain (second left) and Principal Secretary Dr Rajat Kumar (second right), TOMCOM GM K Bhavani (right) and Managing Director K Y Naik (left) are also present. — Photo by Sajeev K Peter

KUWAIT: A four-member delegation from Telangana state of India headed by Home and Labor Minister Naini Narsimha Reddy has arrived in Kuwait yesterday as part of a GCC-level visit. The delegation will explore the possibility of supplying manpower from the Telangana state to various sectors in Kuwait.

"We are here primarily to interact with the Telangana community and to study the possibility of supplying quality manpower from our state to the State of Kuwait," Reddy told a press conference at the Indian Embassy here yesterday. The minister said that the state government has established a government company called Telangana Overseas Manpower Company (TOMCOM) under official license in order to conduct legalized overseas recruitment and to prevent exploitation of job-seekers by unscrupulous and unauthorized private placement agencies.

The minister said that around 30,000 people including domestic laborers, skilled and semiskilled workers are currently in Kuwait from the youngest Indian state of Telangana. Indian Ambassador Sunil Jain also spoke during the meeting.  Other members of the delegation include Principal Secretary Dr Rajat Kumar, TOMCOM General Manager K Bhavani and Managing Director K Y Naik.

"The delegation will interact with the community members and will meet with various stake holders, employers, the labor  community and government bodies in Kuwait and most importantly the Indian embassy here to understand how we can develop mutually beneficial partnerships in Kuwait, especially in the area of manpower supply. The presence of the minister, who heads the delegation shows our deep interest in developing partnerships here and providing quality manpower to various sectors Kuwait," said Dr Kumar.

Bhavani, with the help of a PowerPoint presentation, gave an overview of Telangana and its capability to provide technically skilled manpower to the states in the Gulf. "Initially, we will focus on three major sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure and construction and hospitality," she said. There are around 100 nursing colleges and 244 engineering colleges in addition to hundreds of other specialized institutions in the state that produce trained workforce every year, she added. The delegation visited Qatar before arriving in Kuwait. It will leave for the UAE today.

By Sajeev K Peter