Lok Sabha Question No. 2560 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-01-03
Subject: Indian Nationals Working Abroad
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2560

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.01.2018

## INDIAN NATIONALS WORKING ABROAD

## † 2560. SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Indian nationals working abroad, country-wise;
- (b) the total foreign exchange remitted by them to the country during the last three years, country and year-wise;
- (c) whether Indian nationals are ill-treated in several countries;
- (d) if so the details thereof; and
- (e) the step taken or proposed to be taken to ensure the safety of Indian working abroad?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) The Government maintains the data in respect of Emigration Check Required (ECR) passport holding Indian workers, emigrating legally to any of   the   18   ECR   countries   for   overseas   employment.   Country-wise Emigration Clearances Granted to such workers during the last three years is at Annexure-I .
- (b) As per the details provided by the Reserve Bank of India, year-wise inward remittances inflows to India from Indians working across the world are US $ Billion 70.40, 68.90 and 62.70 in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Country-wise details are not available.
- (c) & (d) Indian Missions/Posts in the Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries, from time to time, report about complaints received from Indian workers, regarding non-payment of salaries and denial of legitimate labour rights and benefits such as non-issuance/renewal of residence permits, non-payment/grant   of   overtime   allowance,   weekly   holidays,   longer working hours, refusal to grant exit/re-entry permits for visit to India, refusal to allow the worker on final exit visa after completion of their contracts   and   non-provision   of   medical   and   insurance   facilities   etc. Occasional   incidents   of   confinement,   abandoning   of   domestic   sector workers by their sponsors have also been reported.
- (e) Immediately on receipt of such complaints, the same are addressed by  the   Indian   Missions   by   taking   them   up   with   the   concerned   local government authorities for immediate resolution. The Government has

taken several steps to safeguard the interests of Indian emigrants to the Gulf countries, these are:

- (i) The on-line MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers and their family members to register their consular grievances online and track their redressal.
- (ii) Grievances related  to Overseas Employment in notified Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries including gulf countries, can also be   logged   in   directly   by   emigrants/relatives   or   through   the Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) on eMigrate portal. These grievances are settled by respective jurisdictional Protectors of Emigrants (PoEs) as per laid down procedures.
- (iii) Missions in Gulf countries also conduct Open Houses on a regular basis where workers can seek redressal of their grievances.
- (iv) A multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline of Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC)   in   New   Delhi   provides   information,   guidance   and grievance   redressal   on   all   issues   and   problems   pertaining   to overseas employment of Indian nationals.
- (v) Missions in Gulf countries have also established 24x7 helplines and Toll Free help lines for the benefit of Indian workers to seek help.
- (vi) An Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) has been set up at Dubai (UAE) and four more IWRCs have been set up in Sharjah (UAE), Riyadh and Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), to provide guidance and counselling on all matters pertaining to overseas Indian workers.
- (vii) Migrant   Resource   Centres   have   also   been   setup   in   Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow to assist emigrants or their relatives to redress their problems/complaints regarding overseas employment.
- (viii) The Missions utilise the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to provide   assistance   to   overseas   Indian   nationals   in   times   of distress.
- (ix) Suitable accommodation to temporarily house distressed Indian nationals has been setup in Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Malaysia.
- (x) Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs/Agreements are already in place with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that provide the institutional   framework   to   comprehensively   discuss and review labour related issues.

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## ANNEXURE-I

## NUMBER OF EMIGRATION CLEARANCES GRANTED TO ECR PASSPORT HOLDING INDIAN WORKERS, COUNTRY WISE, DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS

| Sl. No.   | Name of Countries   |   2014 |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 (As on 30-11-2017) |
|-----------|---------------------|--------|--------|--------|---------------------------|
| 1         | Afghanistan         |    127 |     70 |      0 |                         0 |
| 2         | Bahrain             |  14207 |  15623 |  11964 |                     10461 |
| 3         | Indonesia           |     29 |     06 |     01 |                        10 |
| 4         | Iraq                |   3054 |     01 |      0 |                         0 |
| 5         | Jordan              |   2133 |   2047 |   2742 |                      2122 |
| 6         | Kuwait              |  80420 |  66579 |  72384 |                     51342 |
| 7         | Lebanon             |    313 |    341 |    316 |                       105 |
| 8         | Libya               |    122 |      0 |      0 |                         0 |
| 9         | Malaysia            |  22927 |  20908 |  10604 |                     12731 |
| 10        | Oman                |  51319 |  85054 |  63236 |                     49336 |
| 11        | Qatar               |  75997 |  59384 |  30619 |                     21660 |
| 12        | S. Arabia           | 330002 | 308380 | 165355 |                     72646 |
| 13        | Sudan               |    255 |     29 |      0 |                        01 |
| 14        | South Sudan         |      0 |      0 |      0 |                         0 |
| 15        | Syria               |      0 |     01 |      0 |                         0 |
| 16        | Thailand            |     53 |     10 |     01 |                         0 |
| 17        | U. A. E.            | 224043 | 225718 | 163716 |                    140862 |
| 18        | Yemen               |      4 |     01 |      0 |                         0 |
| TOTAL     | TOTAL               | 805005 | 784152 | 520938 |                    361276 |

Source : e-Migrate portal. *****