Bengaluru: Germany increased the number of annual visas for skilled Indian workers to 90,000 from the existing quota of 20,000 as the two nations sought to deepen ties in economic and professional spaces. This was announced during the recent visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this on the 18th Asia Pacific Conference of German Business. He has said that this will hugely boost Germany’s growth and present a new scope for Indian professionals.
“Today Indians are the largest group of foreign students at our universities. Last year alone, the number of Indians working in Germany grew by 23,000. That talent is a welcome addition to our labour market,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said while addressing the event. Scholz also said that that the European country is working on improving visa procedures with the help of digitisation, faster processing and user-friendly initiatives.
Germany has shown rising interest in India’s skilled workforce as a result of the new visa policy. This is likely to create more opportunities for Indian professionals in the areas of IT, engineering, and health care among others.
Germany is seeking more qualified professionals to feed into the economy and arrest the labour shortages.
However, the European nation is aiming to reduce irregular migration. “At the same time, we are reducing irregular migration and facilitating returns of those who have no right to be in our country. The message is that Germany is open for skilled workers but then we can decide who comes,” Scholz has said.
Meanwhile, PM Modi also announced an MoU between IIT Chennai and Dresden University. “People-to-people connections are an important pillar of our relationship. Today, we have decided to work together in skills development and vocational education. An agreement has also been signed between IIT Chennai and Dresden University, which will allow our students to take advantage of a Dual Degree program,” Modi said.