Media Center

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 871
ANSWERED ON- 07/02/2025

WELFARE OF INDIAN WORKERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

871. Shri Appalanaidu Kalisetti

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) The number of individuals from Andhra Pradesh who have repatriated from the Middle East during the last three years along with the measures undertaken to rehabilitate them, year-wise;

(b) The details of helplines and grievance redressal mechanisms available for Indian workers in the Middle East including the number of cases registered and resolved during the last three years, year-wise;

(c) The total allocation and utilization of the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) during the last five years, with a specific breakdown of the amount utilized for the welfare of workers from Andhra Pradesh in the Middle East along with the details of welfare measures provided, year-wise; and

(d) The details of skill development or pre-departure orientation programmes conducted for workers seeking employment in the Middle East, including the number of beneficiaries thereof, State-wise?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) State wise breakdown of the number of Indians repatriated from the Middle East in the last three years is not available with the Ministry.

(b) The Government has established various mechanisms to enable Indian workers abroad to reach out in case they need any assistance. The workers can contact the Missions/Posts through various channels like walk-in, email, multilingual 24x7 emergency numbers, grievance redressal portals like MADAD, CPGRAMS, eMigrate and social media etc.

Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSK) have been set up in New Delhi and at Dubai (UAE), Riyadh & Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to provide assistance, guidance and counselling to Indian workers in distress.

Indian Missions/Posts abroad have also established 24X7 Helplines including Toll Free Helplines, whatsapp numbers and have launched mobile Apps to enable Indian nationals contact respective Indian Missions/Posts when in distress or in emergency situation. Missions in Gulf countries also have dedicated labour wings which ensure redressal of labor grievances.

Data on Indians who were provided assistance under various categories, is given at Annexure ‘B’.

(c) No budgetary allocation is provided for ICWF. Source of ICWF is fees levied on consular services in Missions abroad. State-wise breakdown of the beneficiaries of ICWF is not available with the Ministry, however, the details of utilization of ICWF during the last five years in the Middle East is given below:

Table Title

Year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total utilization of ICWF in INR	8,58,90,543	7,13,63,876	7,46,93,666	8,33,51,742	12,44,41,156

(d) The Pre-Departure Orientation Training Programme was launched by the Ministry of External Affairs in January, 2018 under the Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) with an aim of enhancing soft skills of Indian emigrant workers, going abroad specially to Gulf and other ECR countries. Under this programme, the emigrant workers are given one day free of cost orientation training aiming to help them to understand local rules and regulations of the destination country and their culture, tradition, language etc. The training also provide an opportunity to sensitise the emigrant workers about the pathways to safe and legal migration and to brief them about various welfare schemes and initiatives of the Government of India for their welfare and protection such as ICWF, MADAD, PBBY etc.

Since the inception of the PDOT programme in 2018, a total of 1,72,220 emigrant workers have been imparted orientation training till 31st December 2024. The Centre-wise list of beneficiaries of PDOT is attached at Annexure A.