MADAD portal for students, Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras, Kshetriya Pravasi Sahayata Kendras
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement informed that a total of 12.5 million Indians are residing in various parts of the world. Out of which almost 8.8 million live in the Gulf countries.
According to MHA, nearly 1.9 million students are pursuing their education across the world.
The ministry further said that although the migrants are advised to register with the concerned Indian mission abroad, very few register themselves making it difficult to maintain state-wise or profession-wise data for all the non-resident Indians (NRIs).
In answer to a question about efforts being made to help the Indian individuals overseas, especially in the Gulf countries, the MHA asserted that the government holds utmost priority to the safety, protection and well-being of Indians in foreign countries. The government has taken various measures to boost up the grievance redressal mechanism and other steps to ensure the quick solution of labour conflicts in various countries of the globe, encompassing the Gulf countries. Some of these include:
MADAD portal
The on-line MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers and their family members to register their consular grievances on-line and track their redressal.
Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSK):
Overseas PBSKs have been set up at Dubai (UAE), Riyadh, Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) to provide advice and counselling on all issues relating to overseas Indian workers.
Kshetriya Pravasi Sahayata Kendras (KPSK) :
KPSKs have been established in Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow and Delhi to assist migrants or their relatives to help out with their problems/ complaints regarding overseas employment.
Multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline:
A multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline of Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) in New Delhi is in place which provides information, advice and complaint redressal on all issues and problems of overseas employment of Indian nationals.
Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs:
Many memoranda of understanding (MoU) are in place with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that contribute to the institutional framework to thoroughly discuss and review labour-related issues. Following the Labour and Manpower Agreement, Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings are held regularly to discuss various labour-related issues.
Social media:
The ministry is always keen on helping out residents in distress. Even grievances brought to the notice through social media, including Twitter, are promptly addressed by the ministry and the mission abroad.
The MHA further informed that the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) has been set up. This fund is utilised to provide aid in times of distress and community welfare and improvement in consular services.
