THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to Norka's data, 1.67 lakh expats that returned after losing their jobs in the Middle East are unemployed in Kerala.

Though the government announced loan schemes under the Dream Kerala scheme for the returnees to start businesses, the response wasn't good. 40 percent of the returnees are skilled workers. Others belong to the unskilled workforce in the unorganized work sector. The government's main challenge is providing jobs to these peoples.

There is a strong presence of migrant labourers in Kerala which are over 20 lakhs in number. They dominate basic facility development and contract labour sectors. Low wages and the willingness to work for 10 to 16 hours continuously are the specialties of such migrant laborers.

Labour department's Skill Registry App and Norka's Thozhil App wasn't that successful. The government is also trying to resolve the issue through the cooperation of panchayats. In the Dream Kerala website, there is an announcement to inform about new ways until October 31. Based on that, a hackathon will be held and solution schemes will be announced on November 15.

Government schemes

• The government also provided financial aid up to Rs 20,000 for one lakh foreign returnees.
• 'Pravasi Store' scheme with the cooperation of Supplyco.
• Entrepreneur loan scheme with the involvement of Travancore Pravasi Development Cooperative Society.
• A loan scheme corroborating with KFC.
• A self-employment scheme with the cooperation of Meat Products Corporation.