Lok Sabha Question No. 973 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-25
Subject: Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Arvind Dharmapuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 973

ANSWERED ON - 25/07/2025

## PRAVASI BHARATIYA SEVA KENDRAS

## 973. SHRI ARVIND DHARMAPURI

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:-

- (a)   the   total   number   of   functional   Pravasi   Bharatiya   Sahayata   Kendras (PBSKs) nation-wise;
- (b)   the   amount   of   fund   allocated   and   utilized   to   PBSKs,   nation-wise alongwith steps taken to sensitise workers on rights and safety before emigration especially to Gulf countries; and
- (c) whether the Government maintains a database of the total number of indians stranded abroad and subsequently repatriated, if so, the details thereof along with the reasons of repatriation, State/UT-wise?

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

## (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) & (b)  There are four functional Pravasi Bharatiya Seva Kendras (PBSKs) abroad - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). Apart from overseas PBSKs, there is a PBSK in Delhi and six Kshetriya Pravasi Bharatiya Seva Kendras (KPBSKs) in Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Patna and Chandigarh.

Expenditure   on   services/assistance   rendered   under   PBSKs   abroad   is incurred   from   the   Indian   Community   Welfare   Fund   (ICWF)   and   are   on means-tested basis adhering to the guidelines of utilisation of ICWF.  No specific budget or funds are allocated towards PBSKs abroad.

In case of PBSK and KPBSKs in India, the amount of  fund allocation and utilization in the last year is given below:

| Financial year   | Allocated funds (in INR) Expenditure incurred (in INR)   |             |
|------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|-------------|
| 2024-25          | 2.19 crores                                              | 2.11 crores |

## Nation-wise details of services provided PBSKs abroad are given below:

|   Sl. No. | PBSK                    | Core Services                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|-----------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) | • Resolution of Indian workers' complaints • Consular assistance to Indian detainees • Death compensation • Assistance in medical cases • Assistance to distressed women • Financial assistance • Regularisation of over stayed Indians |
|         2 | Dubai (UAE)             | • Support related to verification of job offer letter, employment contract and visa • Sensitization about financial fraud • Grievance redressal mechanism through 24*7 helpline                                                         |
|         3 | Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)   | • 24*7 help desk services for offering assistance, guidance and counseling • Collecting and processing of all documents with regard to final exit, death cases and compensation cases                                                   |

|    |                       | etc. • It assists Indian workers in filling up different forms and applications                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|----|-----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  4 | Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) | • 24*7 help desk services for offering assistance, guidance and counseling • Collecting and processing of all documents with regard to final exit, death cases and compensation cases etc. • It assists Indian workers in filling up different forms and applications |

The Government of India accords highest priority to the safety, protection and well-being of Indian workers intending to work abroad.  The process of their   recruitment   is   conducted   through   a   web-based   application   i.e. eMigrate   portal.   The   web-based   application   makes   the   process   of emigration   fully   digital,   transparent,   safe,   legal,   humane,   efficient, convenient, and faster. It seamlessly brings all stakeholders, including Foreign   Employers   (FEs),   registered   Recruiting   Agents   (RAs)   and   the

prospective emigrants on a common platform and enables the Ministry of External   Affairs   to   capture   comprehensive   and   online   database.   A dedicated helpline and support system is also available to assist emigrants and other stakeholders to address any query/issue. The advisories/alerts on fake   job   offers   and   fraudulent/unregistered   recruitment   agencies   are hosted on the portal.

Further,   the   Government   has   taken   several   initiatives   such   as   Pravasi Bhartiya   Bima   Yojna   (PBBY)   and   Pre-Departure   Orientation   &   Training (PDOT) in ensuring that Indian migrant workers undertake safe migration, have decent working and living conditions in destination countries, are aware of their rights and have access to various welfare schemes of the Government. PDOT is aimed at enhancing the soft skills of Indian emigrant workers,   in   terms   of   culture,   language,   tradition   and   local   rules   and regulations of the destination country.

Further,   as   additional   safeguard   for   protection   and   safety   of   the   ECR Category Female workers (including domestic sector workers) who are often in the most vulnerable category, Government has authorized only State run Recruiting Agencies (RAs) to recruit Indian female ECR category workers   for   overseas   employment   in   Gulf   and   other   ECR   Category

Countries through the e-Migrate Portal. Moreover, there is a minimum age criteria of 30 years for female workers holding ECR category passport and traveling   overseas   for   employment   purposes,   in   order   to   protect   them against exploitation.

(c)  There are various reasons for repatriation which   are attributed to inadequate basic amenities, non-payment of salary, denial of emergency leave by the employer, forceful retention of passports by the employer, long working  hours,   violation   of   visa   norms   etc.  Whenever   Indian   Missions abroad receive information regarding stranded Indian nationals due to various reasons efforts are made to repatriate such individuals to India with coordination of the local authorities. Indian Missions abroad facilitate the return of such Indian nationals by issuing Emergency Certificates (ECs) to them on a gratis basis. Data of   evacuated Indian nationals under various Government of  India operations in the last five years is given in Annexure A.

## ANNEXURE A

## Operation-wise details of evacuation of stranded Indian nationals

|   Year | Country & Name of the Operation   | Total number of people evacuated (including foreign nationals)                                                       |
|--------|-----------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   2021 | Afghanistan Operation Devi Shakti | 669 (including 15 other foreign nationals and 206 Afghans, which includes members of the Afghan Hindu/Sikh minority) |
|   2022 | Ukraine Operation Ganga           | 18,282                                                                                                               |
|   2023 | Sudan Operation Kaveri            | 4,097 (including 136 foreign nationals)                                                                              |

| 2023   | Israel Operation Ajay   | 1,343 (including 14 OCI card holders and 20 foreign nationals)   |
|--------|-------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        | Haiti 17                | 2024                                                             |
| 2024   | Syria 77                |                                                                  |
| 2025   | Operation Sindhu        | 3597                                                             |
| 2025   | Israel Operation Sindhu | 818                                                              |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated under Operation Ganga

|   Sl. No. | State / Union Territory   |   Number |
|-----------|---------------------------|----------|
|         1 | Andaman & Nicobar         |        4 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh            |      682 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh         |        1 |
|         4 | Assam                     |       53 |
|         5 | Bihar                     |     1003 |

|   6 | Chandigarh           |   52 |
|-----|----------------------|------|
|   7 | Chhattisgarh         |  210 |
|   8 | Dadar & Nagar Haveli |    5 |
|   9 | Daman & Diu          |    5 |
|  10 | Delhi                |  681 |
|  11 | Goa                  |   18 |
|  12 | Gujarat              | 1020 |
|  13 | Haryana              | 1436 |
|  14 | Himachal Pradesh     |  289 |
|  15 | Jammu & Kashmir      |  128 |
|  16 | Jharkhand            |  158 |
|  17 | Karnataka            |  615 |
|  18 | Kerala               | 3343 |
|  19 | Lakshadweep          |    4 |
|  20 | Madhya Pradesh       |  412 |
|  21 | Maharashtra          | 1025 |

| 22   | Manipur                  |    23 |
|------|--------------------------|-------|
| 23   | Meghalaya                |    40 |
| 24   | Mizoram                  |     1 |
| 25   | Nagaland                 |     4 |
| 26   | Odisha                   |   397 |
| 27   | Puducherry               |    28 |
| 28   | Punjab                   |   609 |
| 29   | Rajasthan                |   934 |
| 30   | Sikkim                   |    26 |
| 31   | Tamil Nadu               |  1479 |
| 32   | Telangana                |   667 |
| 33   | Tripura                  |    32 |
| 34   | Uttar Pradesh            |  1917 |
| 35   | Uttarakhand              |   257 |
| 36   | West Bengal              |   343 |
| 37   | State Name not available |   272 |
|      | TOTAL                    | 18282 |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated under Operation Kaveri

|   Sl.No. | State / Union Territory   |   Number |
|----------|---------------------------|----------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh            |      106 |
|        2 | Assam                     |       13 |
|        3 | Bihar                     |      370 |
|        4 | Chandigarh                |        1 |
|        5 | Chhattisgarh              |        3 |
|        6 | Delhi                     |       27 |
|        7 | Gujarat                   |      492 |
|        8 | Haryana                   |       39 |
|        9 | Himachal Pradesh          |       25 |
|       10 | Jammu and Kashmir         |        1 |
|       11 | Jharkhand                 |       62 |
|       12 | Karnataka                 |      418 |
|       13 | Kerala                    |      172 |
|       14 | Madhya Pradesh            |       20 |

|   15. | Maharashtra                                                  |   337 |
|-------|--------------------------------------------------------------|-------|
|    16 | Manipur                                                      |     1 |
|    17 | Nagaland                                                     |     3 |
|    18 | Odisha                                                       |    86 |
|    19 | Punjab                                                       |    62 |
|    20 | Puducherry                                                   |     7 |
|    21 | Rajasthan                                                    |    87 |
|    22 | Tamil Nadu                                                   |   244 |
|    23 | Telangana                                                    |   129 |
|    24 | Uttar Pradesh                                                |   800 |
|    25 | Uttarakhand                                                  |    24 |
|    26 | West Bengal                                                  |    52 |
|    27 | State Name not available                                     |   380 |
|    28 | Total Indian Citizens                                        |  3961 |
|    29 | Foreign Nationals (British- 3 + Sudanese-124 + Nepalese - 9) |   136 |

| 30.   | GRAND TOTAL (3961 + 136)   | 4097   |
|-------|----------------------------|--------|

## State-wise list of Indian      citizens evacuated under Operation Ajay

|   Sl. No. | State            |   Number |
|-----------|------------------|----------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh   |       45 |
|         2 | Assam            |       20 |
|         3 | Bihar            |       29 |
|         4 | Chattisgarh      |        6 |
|         5 | Delhi            |       36 |
|         6 | Goa              |        3 |
|         7 | Gujarat          |       34 |
|         8 | Haryana          |       28 |
|         9 | Himachal Pradesh |       18 |
|        10 | Jammu & Kashmir  |        9 |
|        11 | Jharkhand        |       13 |
|        12 | Karnataka        |       39 |
|        13 | Kerala           |      121 |

| 14.   | Madhya Pradesh        |   14 |
|-------|-----------------------|------|
| 15.   | Maharashtra           |  108 |
| 16.   | Manipur               |   23 |
| 17.   | Meghalaya             |    2 |
| 18.   | Mizoram               |    1 |
| 19.   | Nagaland              |    2 |
| 20.   | Odisha                |   20 |
| 21.   | Punjab                |    9 |
| 22.   | Rajasthan             |   33 |
| 23.   | Sikkim                |   11 |
| 24.   | Tamil Nadu            |  131 |
| 25.   | Telangana             |   70 |
| 26.   | Uttar Pradesh         |  145 |
| 27.   | Uttarakhand           |   14 |
| 28.   | West Bengal           |  248 |
| 29.   | States not mentioned  |   77 |
|       | TOTAL INDIAN CITIZENS | 1309 |

| OCI Card holders (14) & Nepalese (20)   | 34                           |
|-----------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| GRAND TOTAL (1309 + 34) 1343            | GRAND TOTAL (1309 + 34) 1343 |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated under Operation Indravati

| Sl. No.   | State            | Number   |
|-----------|------------------|----------|
| 1         | Madhya Pradesh 1 |          |
| 2         | Gujarat 1        |          |
| 3         | Maharashtra 1    |          |
| 4         | Karnataka 2      |          |
| 5         | Tamil Nadu 3     |          |
| 6         | Uttar Pradesh 1  |          |
| 7         | Telangana 1      |          |
| 8         | New Delhi 1      |          |
| 9         | Kerala 1         |          |
| 10        | Odisha 1         |          |
| 11        | Unregistered     | 4        |
|           | Total            | 17       |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated from Syria

| Sl No.   | State/ UT       |   Number of Evacuees |
|----------|-----------------|----------------------|
| 01       | J & K           |                   45 |
| 02       | Bihar           |                   08 |
| 03       | Uttar Pradesh   |                   06 |
| 04       | Andhra Pradesh  |                   05 |
| 05       | Tamil Nadu      |                   05 |
| 06       | Odisha          |                   01 |
| 07       | Rajasthan       |                   01 |
| 08       | Assam           |                   01 |
| 09       | Haryana         |                   01 |
| 10       | Punjab          |                   01 |
| 11       | West Begal      |                   01 |
| 12       | Kerala          |                   01 |
| 13       | Puducherry (UT) |                   01 |
| TOTAL    | TOTAL           |                   77 |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated from IRAN under Operation

## Sindhu

| State/UT       |   Number of Citizens |
|----------------|----------------------|
| Uttar Pradesh  |                 1198 |
| J&K            |                 1521 |
| Laddakh        |                  223 |
| Karnataka      |                  135 |
| Delhi          |                  114 |
| Maharashtra    |                   89 |
| Tamil Nadu     |                   71 |
| Gujarat        |                   56 |
| Bihar          |                   50 |
| Telangana      |                   31 |
| Kerala         |                   21 |
| Andhra Pradesh |                   26 |
| Madhya Pradesh |                   15 |
| West Bengal    |                   13 |
| Haryana        |                    8 |
| Rajasthan      |                    6 |

| Uttrakhand   |    4 |
|--------------|------|
| Jharkhand    |    3 |
| Punjab       |   10 |
| Chattisgarh  |    2 |
| Odisha       |    1 |
| TOTAL        | 3597 |

## State-wise list of Indian citizens evacuated from ISRAEL under Operation

## Sindhu

| State / UT        |   No. of Citizens |
|-------------------|-------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |                50 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                 1 |
| Assam             |                 3 |
| Bihar             |                30 |
| Chandigarh        |                 1 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                 2 |
| Delhi             |                39 |
| Goa               |                 2 |

| Gujarat          |   32 |
|------------------|------|
| Haryana          |   21 |
| Himachal Pradesh |    7 |
| Jammu & Kashmir  |    6 |
| Jharkhand        |    7 |
| Karnataka        |   32 |
| Kerala           |   62 |
| Madhya Pradesh   |    4 |
| Maharashtra      |   93 |
| Manipur          |    2 |
| Odisha           |   16 |
| Puducherry       |    5 |
| Punjab           |    8 |
| Rajasthan        |   25 |
| Ranchi           |    2 |
| Sikkim           |    2 |
| Tamil Nadu       |   74 |
| Telangana        |   37 |

| Uttar Pradesh   |   92 |
|-----------------|------|
| Uttarakhand     |   12 |
| West Bengal     |  151 |
| TOTAL           |  818 |

*****