RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION DIARY NO-592
ANSWERED ON- 24/07/2025
IMMIGRATION RACKETS IN THE COUNTRY
592. SHRI RAJEEV SHUKLA
Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-
(a) whether Government has taken cognizance of the illegal immigration rackets operating in the country that fraudulently send Indians abroad causing loss of money and national reputation;
(b) if so, the details of measures taken/being taken in this respect by Government to crack down on the same;
(c) the progress made in this regard so far; and
(d) the proposed measures to be taken in this regard hereon?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (d) As per Section 10 of the Emigration Act, 1983, no person/agency can function as Recruiting Agent (RA) without a valid Registration Certificate (RC) issued by the Registering Authority, i.e., Protector General of Emigrants (PGE). As and when complaints of illegal migration/human trafficking are received, such matters are referred to the State police for investigation and prosecution under the relevant legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other legislation in place. In the cyber domain, action is also taken against illegal recruiting agents in association with MHA and State Police authorities. Requests to take down social media posts of illegal recruiting agencies from all over India including Punjab have been regularly shared with MHA.
Ministry issues advisories through eMigrate portal, social media handles, and other modes of publicity about the perils of fake job rackets and ways to prevent the same. Till June 2025, a total of 3,505 illegal agents in the country have been notified on the eMigrate portal. The awareness campaign on safe and legal migration through eMigrate portal has been carried out by the Ministry across the country by conducting workshops, trainings, information sessions, digital campaigns for media groups, police officials and law enforcement agencies, local administration, aspiring recruiting agents, entrepreneurs and general public. During these sessions awareness on emigration regulations, schemes beneficial for emigrants like Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT), eMigrate portal and various advisories issued by Indian Embassies are brought to the notice of all stakeholders.
Ministry regularly coordinates with the State Governments regarding issues of illegal recruiting agencies and the ways to address challenges related to enforcement of emigration rules and regulations. Videsh Sampark Programme is organized in collaboration with State Governments from time to time. The Ministry regularly organises such outreach programs to sensitise various stakeholders about the benefits of safe and legal migration and suggests ways to prevent illegal migration through fake/unregistered recruitment agencies. In addition to the regular information sharing on unregistered recruiting agencies, regular meetings with the State level Nodal Officer are held. Further, workshops & training sessions are held by the Ministry for the law enforcement agencies of the State Governments in which information on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Ministry, detection of unlawful content on social media, and case studies of Cyber Scamming is shared with the participants.