UK-India Young Professionals Scheme

November 18, 2022

UK-India Young Professionals Scheme was announced British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the G20 Summit that was held in Bali, Indonesia.

What are the key features of the scheme?

The UK-India Young Professionals Scheme will provide Indians places to work in the United Kingdom for up to two years.
It will benefit 3,000 degree-holding Indians aged 18 to 30 years.
This scheme will be implemented from the early 2023 on a reciprocal basis.
The initiative will strengthen the Mobility Partnership and Migration between the countries as agreed in 2021.
This scheme makes India the first visa-national country to benefit from the scheme.
It was launched by the United Kingdom amid the huge labor shortages in the country.

Why is this scheme significant?

The United Kingdom is currently experiencing labor shortages in industries like hospitality, manufacturing, construction etc. A new study revealed that a three-quarters of the UK businesses were impacted by the labour shortages in the country. The BREXIT was blamed for the exacerbation of the labour shortage concerns. Labour force shortages were especially seen in sectors that heavily depended on the EU countries before the pandemic hit. The new scheme will address the labour shortages in the country.

The new scheme will also reinforce the cultural and economic ties between the United Kingdom and India. A quarter of international students in the United Kingdom are from India. This shows the strong bilateral ties between the two countries. India’s investment in the UK is directly supporting some 95,000 jobs across the country.

The scheme will also improve the United Kingdom’s ties with the Indo-Pacific region. The UK had taken several measures to boost its relations with the countries in the region, especially in the security aspects.

What are the challenges of this scheme?

Currently, millions of Indians are eligible for the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme. Therefore, it will create the problem of over-subscription of visas. There are also concerns regarding the monopolization 0f the scheme.

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