MUMBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the leading destination for Indians migrating to the Gulf in search of work, as per immigration clearance data for the first six months of 2017. Bihar contributed 35,807 (or 19.5%) of the total migrants to the Gulf. The pan-India figure of migrants to Saudi Arabia dipped to 1.65 lakh in 2016 of which 36% were from UP.Between January to June, only 1,179 workers from UP obtained immigration clearance for Saudi Arabia. S Irudaya Rajan, professor at the Centre for Development Studies (CDS), who spearheads the annual Kerala Migration Survey, says: “Historically, Kerala was the leading source state for migrants going to the Gulf countries. One out of every five migrants who left India in 2008 was a Keralite.

Source: Economic Times September 01, 2017 20:07 UTC