Lok Sabha Question No. 1853 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-03
Subject: Indians Working Abroad
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Harish Dwivedi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1853 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.07.2019

## INDIANS WORKING ABROAD

## † 1853. SHRI HARISH DWIVEDI:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of Indians working abroad as on date, country-wise;
- (b) whether   there   is   any   mechanism   for   monitoring   their   working conditions ; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) Information in respect of the number of Indians working abroad is not   available.   Many   countries   do   not   share   data   on   expatriates   or foreigners working in their country citing privacy laws, etc. Registration of our nationals abroad in Indian Missions/Posts is voluntary. However, the data   of   Indian   nationals   holding   Emigration   Check   Required   (ECR) category passports and emigrating for employment purpose to any of the 18 ECR countries is captured in the e-Migrate system that provides the Government a comprehensive and online database of Emigrant workers, Missions, Recruiting Agents, Foreign Employers, and Insurance Agencies. The number of ECR passport holding Indian workers, who proceeded after obtaining Emigration Clearance (EC) for overseas employment in ECR countries, during the last three years is annexed.

(b) & (c) The Government attaches foremost priority to ensuring the well being and welfare of Indians working abroad. Major mechanisms that have been put in place in this regard include the following:

- (i) The   on-line   MADAD   and   e-Migrate   portals   enable   the   emigrant workers and their family members to register their grievances online and track their redressal.
- (ii) A multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline of Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) in New Delhi and other PBSKs in Dubai (UAE), Sharjah (UAE), Riyadh,   Jeddah   (Kingdom   of   Saudi   Arabia)   and   Kuala   Lumpur (Malaysia), provides information, guidance and grievance redressal on all issues and problems pertaining to overseas employment of Indian nationals. The PBSKs further send these grievances to e-

Migrate and MADAD portals which is accessible to all Protector of Emigrants (PoEs) and Indian Missions.

- (iii) Grievances brought to the notice of the Ministry  through  social media, including twitter, are also promptly addressed.
- (iv) Labour and Manpower Cooperation MoUs/Agreements are in place with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that provide the institutional framework to comprehensively discuss and review labour related issues.  In accordance with the Labour and Manpower Cooperation/Agreement, Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings are held   on   regular   basis   to   discuss   various   labour   related   issues, including   the   working   conditions   of   Indian   workers   in   these countries.
- (v) Missions in ECR countries conduct Open Houses on a regular basis where workers can speak on their working conditions and seek redressal of their grievances.

***

## 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   |   2016 |   2017 |   2018 |
|-----------|---------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1         | Afghanistan         |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 2         | Bahrain             |  11964 |  11516 |   9142 |
| 3         | Indonesia           |     01 |     10 |     10 |
| 4         | Iraq                |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 5         | Jordan              |   2742 |   2341 |   1941 |
| 6         | Kuwait              |  72384 |  56380 |  57613 |
| 7         | Lebanon             |    316 |    110 |    109 |
| 8         | Libya               |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 9         | Malaysia            |  10604 |  14002 |  16370 |
| 10        | Oman                |  63236 |  53332 |  36037 |
| 11        | Qatar               |  30619 |  24759 |  34471 |
| 12        | S. Arabia           | 165355 |  78611 |  72399 |
| 13        | Sudan               |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| 14        | South Sudan         |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 15        | Syria               |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| 16        | Thailand            |     01 |      0 |      6 |
| 17        | U. A. E.            | 163716 | 149962 | 112059 |
| 18        | Yemen               |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| TOTAL     | TOTAL               | 520938 | 391024 | 340157 |

Source : e-Migrate portal.