NEW DELHI: The government has decided to stop Chinese welders, plumbers and other semi-skilled workers from working in India in a move that is aimed at opening up more jobs for Indians but may end up delaying several key power projects using Chinese equipment.

���We have decided that for jobs where labour is available locally like welders, plumbers and fabricators, we will not allow Chinese companies working in various projects in India to get people from their country,��� an external ministry official told ET.

The government has also asked about 25,000 Chinese, who have been working in India on business visas, to apply for work visas, said the official who wished not to be named.

This will cause an exodus as most of these business visa employees are semi-skilled people working in power, telecom and oil & gas sectors that have seen the influx of Chinese skilled and semi-skilled workers in recent years.

A few thousand Chinese workers have been helping lay the pipeline between Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh and Hazira in Gujarat for Reliance Industries.

Similarly, in the power sector, most Chinese manufacturers bring in their own manpower to set up power plants for Indian utilities that source equipment from China

���Chinese bring with themselves the entire set of workers who are acquainted with the equipment and the manual and so are more efficient as a team. But removal of semi-skilled workers will create a gap that would require training of Indian workers to replace them,��� said an executive of a power company that is using Chinese equipment.

As many as 30 power projects being implemented by companies including Reliance Power, Essar Power, Adani Power, Tata Power and Lanco Infratech are sourcing equipment from Chinese suppliers.

As per government estimates, about 20% of the 80,610 MW new capacity under construction in the Eleventh Plan (2007-12) is using Chinese equipment. Further, 31% of Twelfth Plan projects under construction now have ordered Chinese equipment.

The decision to shut doors on semi-skilled Chinese workers, taken jointly by the ministries of labour and home, has already been put into effect with the government refusing to clear at least 800 applications for work visas over the past couple of months, said the external ministry official.

As for the business visa workers, the government set a September 30 deadline to obtain employment visa. They are now offered a week���s extension. India has promised to process new applications and decide on extending work visa within 45 days, the official said.

As per government figures, 69,084 Chinese were issued business visas in 2008 against 58,406 in 2007. About 32,700 Chinese have already been issued business visas this year till June.

The reluctance of Indian government to issue work visa to Chinese workers has been a matter of media debate for some time.

At the peak of economic boom in late 2007, the country���s largest property firm DLF planned to bring masons, electricians and carpenters from China to overcome a labour shortage, but failed to convince the government.

S Jaishankar, India���s ambassador to China, recently told a gathering of Chinese and Indian businessmen in Beijing that Indian companies sourcing equipment and services from China should work with the sellers to reduce their dependence on Chinese workers.

This has now become a necessity as the door is now firmly shut on Chinese workers in semi-skilled areas.