Lok Sabha Question No. 573 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-04
Subject: Fake Travelling Agencies
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Chandra Prakash Choudhary, Rahul Kaswan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.573

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2022

## FAKE TRAVELLING AGENCIES

## 573.    SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH CHOUDHARY:

SHRI RAHUL KASWAN:

Will the Minister of External Affairs be pleased to state :

- (a) whether various fake agencies are luring people in the name of facilitating   study   or   job   opportunities   abroad   and   charging exorbitantly high fees from such students/job applicants;
- (b) if so, the details of agencies/companies booked under the relevant law during the last four years and the details of action taken/being taken by the Government to contain such activities;
- (c) whether the Government has received any SOS call from labours of Jharkhand trapped in Mali, if so, the action being taken in this regard;
- (d) whether the Government has initiated any steps to provide relief to trapped students/job seekers in the country and abroad; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

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

## [SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN]

(a) & (b) Complaints are received from time to time by the Ministry of External   Affairs   from   and/or   on   behalf   of   Indian   students   and   job applicants or their relatives, who are dispatched for study or overseas employment   fraudulently   by   illegal   agents/fake   agencies   or   fake institutions. They are also victims of being charged exorbitantly high fees or denial of jobs, poor working conditions etc.

The   Ministry   of   External   Affairs   (MEA)   has   a   robust   grievance redressal   mechanism,   which   include   registering   complaints   through MADAD and e-Migrate as well as e-mails, complaint through social media accounts, Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSKs) and even walk in complaint at Mission/Consulate and PBSKs abroad.

Wherever   required,   complaints   are   referred   to   Missions/Posts abroad for providing relief/rescue of emigrants in distress and for early redressal of grievance with employer/sponsor and/or local authorities. In India the complaints, with details of illegal agents and fake agencies, are forwarded to the concerned State/UT Government and Police authorities urging them to apprehend illegal agents and prosecute them as per law.

Prosecution Sanction are issued expeditiously by MEA, enabling the State Government/Police authorities to initiate legal action against the accused.

Government of India issued Standard  Operating  Procedure   in 2016, to be followed by State Governments, on receipt of complaints against   fake   agencies   or   fake   institutions.   Visual   and   print   media awareness campaign encouraging emigrants to utilize the services of the registered Recruitment Agents and not to go through illegal/fake agents are   organized   regularly.   The   State   Governments   have   also   been requested to launch similar campaigns to create awareness amongst the people in regional languages. The aspect of safe and legal migration is also included in various State Outreach Programmes conducted in States from time to time.

As per data available, the number of complaints against unregistered agents received and referred to the State Government/Police during the period to 2017-2021 is as under:-

|   Year |   No. Complaints received |   of Cases referred State for action |   to Government Prosecution Sanction sought |   Prosecution Sanction issued |
|--------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|   2017 |                       446 |                                  446 |                                          30 |                            30 |
|   2018 |                       350 |                                  350 |                                          15 |                            15 |
|   2019 |                       769 |                                  769 |                                          35 |                            35 |
|   2020 |                       166 |                                  166 |                                          07 |                            07 |
|   2021 |                       139 |                                  139 |                                          07 |                            07 |

(c) Upon hearing the information, Embassy of India, Mali (Bamako) proactively engaged with the said migrant workers and the employer. With Mission's intervention, the employer has made payment towards salaries of the workers and initiated process to repatriate them.

(d)   &   (e)   The   Government   has   taken   several   steps   including   online mechanism to protect/safeguard   the   interests   of   Indian   emigrants/job seekers including students, from fraud by fake agencies and institutions, and   also   exploitation   and   harassment   by   foreign   employers.   These include:

(i) The  e-Migrate   portal   which   lists   the   details   of   illegal/registered recruiting   agencies,   and   also   the   list   of   illegal/   fake   agencies   & institutions, which is updated regularly. Further, grievances can be lodged on this portal.

(ii) The on-line MADAD portal enables the emigrant workers/students and their family members to register their consular grievances on-line and track their redressal.

(iii)   Grievances related to Overseas Employment in notified Emigration Check   Required   (ECR)   countries   can   also   be   lodged   directly   by emigrants/relatives or through the Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK) on e-Migrate portal.

(iv) Indian Missions/Posts conduct Open Houses on a regular basis where Indians   can   seek   redressal   of   their   grievances.   Missions   have   also

established   24x7   Helplines   and   T oll   Free   Helplines   for   the   benefit   of

(v) A multi-lingual 24X7 Helpline Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendra (PBSK)   in   New   Delhi   provides   information,   guidance   and   grievance redressal on all issues and problems pertaining to overseas employment

(vi) Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSKs) have been set up at Dubai (UAE), Riyadh, Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), to provide guidance and counseling on all matters pertaining

(vii) Kshetriya Pravasi Sahayata Kendras (KPSKs) have been setup in Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow and Delhi to assist emigrants or their relatives   to   redress   their   problems/complaints   regarding   overseas

(viii) Grievances   brought   to   the   notice   of   the   Ministry   and   the Missions/Posts   through   social   media,   including   twitter,   are   promptly

(ix) The   Missions/Posts   utilise   the   Indian   Community   Welfare   Fund (ICWF) to provide assistance to overseas Indian nationals in times of

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