Lok Sabha Question No. 935 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-08
Subject: Registration of migrants
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: B. SREERAMULU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.935 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2017

## REGISTRATION OF MIGRANTS

## 935.  SHRI B. SRIRAMULU:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has strengthened its online mechanism for registration of migrants especially women and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  launched  'e-Migrate  Project'  to automate the current emigration processes and eco-system and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the list of top ten countries where migrant workers are employed from India;
- (d) the list of Indian States which showed upward trend in emigration clearances with the number of registered recruiting agencies; and
- (e) the steps taken by the Government for the welfare and safety of Indian migrant workers abroad during the year 2016?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) & (b) The Government has strengthened its online mechanism for registration  of  all  Emigration  Check  Required  (ECR)  passport  holders, including  women  through  the  introduction  of  eMigrate  system.    The project  helps  in  making  the  recruitment  of  workers  a  transparent, accountable and smooth process and curtails malpractices by different stake holders. Constant technical support is available to various users of eMigrate through a 24x7 dedicated helpdesk. The performance of the eMigrate  system  is  closely  monitored,  in  consultation  with  the  stake holders  concerned,  to  make  the  system  more  efficient  and  improved from time to time.

- (c) & (d) Statements  are  attached  at  Annexure-I  and  Annexure-II respectively.

(e) In  view  of  the  complaints  of  exploitation  and  harassment  of  the domestic sector workers by unscrupulous agents and employers in the Gulf  countries,  the  Government  has  taken  additional  measures  during 2016,  to  safeguard  the  interests  of  Indian  workers,  especially  female workers migrating to ECR  countries. Their online emigration for overseas  employment  is  permitted  only  through  the  six  designated state-run  recruitment  agencies  or  directly  by  the  Foreign  Employer registered on e-Migrate system. In case of direct recruitment by Foreign Employer,  attestation  of  visa  by  the  Indian  Mission  in  the  destination country and submission of a bank guarantee of US $ 2500 is mandatory before the emigration clearance is granted on-line by the Office of the Protectors of Emigrants.

Government of India has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia in April,  2016  for  welfare  and  protection  of  General  Category  Workers  in addition to the already existing agreement on Domestic Sector Workers. Similar MoUs already exist with 6 Gulf countries, Jordan and Malaysia. These  MOUs  are  renewed  /  signed  afresh,  from  time  to  time,  during which process any modifications are duly considered for inclusion.

In addition, the Government has several safeguards and initiatives in place to protect the interests of Indian nationals. The  Indian Community  Welfare  Fund  (ICWF),  aimed  at  assisting  Overseas  Indian nationals  abroad  in  times  of  distress  on  a  means  tested  basis  in  the most deserving cases, has already been extended to all Indian Missions and Posts abroad. The Indian Worker Resource Centre (IWRC) have also been  setup  that  provide  guidance  and  counselling  on  all  matters pertaining to overseas Indian workers. IWRC, Dubai is already functional and four more IWRCs have been approved in Sharjah (UAE), Riyadh and Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Shelter homes  for  distressed  Indian  nationals  have  been  setup  in  Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Malaysia. Missions in Gulf  countries  also  conduct  Open  Houses  on  a  regular  basis  where workers can convey their grievances. Some Missions have established 24x7 helplines and Toll Free helplines.

The MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers and their family members to register their  grievances online  and  track  their  redressal. The  multi-lingual  24X7  Helpline  of  Overseas  Workers  Resource  Centre (OWRC) in Gurugram, Haryana provides information and guidance on all matters  and  problems  pertaining  to  overseas  employment  of  Indian nationals.  Migrant  Resource  Centres  have  also  been  setup  in  Kochi, Hyderabad Gurugram, Chennai and Lucknow.

*****

## List of top ten ECR countries where migrant workers are employed from India:

|   Sl. No. | Name of Countries   |
|-----------|---------------------|
|         1 | Saudi Arabia        |
|         2 | U. A. E.            |
|         3 | Kuwait              |
|         4 | Qatar               |
|         5 | Oman                |
|         6 | Malaysia            |
|         7 | Bahrain             |
|         8 | Jordan              |
|         9 | Lebanon             |
|        10 | Sudan               |

Source: e-Migrate portal.

*****

ANNEXURE -II Statement showing state-wise Emigration Clearances granted during the years 2014,

## 2015 and 2016, and state-wise number of Recruiting Agents

| S.No.   | State               |   2014 |   2015 |   2016 |   No. of registered Recruiting Agents |
|---------|---------------------|--------|--------|--------|---------------------------------------|
| 1       | Andaman &Nicobar    |     84 |     29 |     17 |                                    00 |
| 2       | Andhra Pradesh      |  53101 |  45232 |  27005 |                                    13 |
| 3       | Arunachal Pradesh   |     69 |     15 |      3 |                                    00 |
| 4       | Assam               |   4069 |   4287 |   3876 |                                    00 |
| 5       | Bihar               |  98733 | 107285 |  76384 |                                    01 |
| 6       | Chandigarh          |   1328 |    453 |    218 |                                    16 |
| 7       | Chhattisgarh        |    202 |    242 |    187 |                                    00 |
| 8       | Dadar &Nagar Haveli |     15 |     10 |      8 |                                    00 |
| 9       | Daman &Diu          |     23 |     13 |     32 |                                    00 |
| 10      | Delhi               |   2641 |   2497 |   1783 |                                   199 |
| 11      | Goa                 |   1775 |   1182 |    834 |                                    08 |
| 12      | Gujarat             |   7893 |   6859 |   4559 |                                    12 |
| 13      | Haryana             |   2178 |   2683 |   1978 |                                    08 |
| 14      | Himachal Pradesh    |   1288 |   1180 |    774 |                                    00 |
| 15      | Jammu &Kashmir      |   4441 |   4732 |   4364 |                                    02 |
| 16      | Jharkhand           |   7838 |   7612 |   4924 |                                    01 |
| 17      | Karnataka           |  15053 |  11921 |   6472 |                                    15 |
| 18      | Kerala              |  66050 |  43133 |  25166 |                                   204 |
| 19      | Lakshadweep         |     15 |      4 |      4 |                                    00 |
| 20      | Madhya Pradesh      |   1681 |   2029 |   1334 |                                    00 |
| 21      | Maharashtra         |  19108 |  15262 |  10445 |                                   709 |
| 22      | Manipur             |     10 |     28 |     16 |                                    00 |
| 23      | Meghalaya           |      7 |     11 |      9 |                                    00 |
| 24      | Mizoram             |      1 |      2 |      1 |                                    00 |
| 25      | Nagaland            |      9 |     14 |      1 |                                    00 |
| 26      | Odisha              |  13049 |  15257 |  12320 |                                    02 |
| 27      | Pondicherry         |    427 |    516 |    302 |                                    00 |
| 28      | Punjab              |  48432 |  46491 |  31861 |                                    49 |
| 29      | Rajasthan           |  48128 |  45998 |  35172 |                                    32 |
| 30      | Sikkim              |     16 |     12 |     15 |                                    00 |
| 31      | Tamil Nadu          |  83201 |  73016 |  42541 |                                   153 |
| 32      | Telangana           |  38518 |  36312 |  25079 |                                    41 |
| 33      | Tripura             |    965 |   2243 |   2905 |                                    00 |
| 34      | Uttar Pradesh       | 229436 | 236495 | 143737 |                                    23 |
| 35      | Uttarakhand         |   3510 |   4823 |   3286 |                                    01 |
| 36      | West Bengal         |  51568 |  64205 |  53348 |                                    20 |
|         | Total               | 804862 | 782083 | 520960 |                                  1509 |

Source: eMigrate Portal