Indians in ECR countries to benefit from pension-insurance sch

Indian workers residing in Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries will soon be able to avail life insurance and pension benefits under a government scheme.
"Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Suraksha Yojana (MGPSY) has been launched in UAE. The scheme will soon be launched in other Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries," Overseas Indian Affairs minister Vayalar Ravi today said addressing a conference of Indian Heads of Missions in ECR countries.
More than 50 lakh Indians work in the ECR countries on temporary employment or contract visas predominantly in the construction, healthcare and household services sectors.
Ravi asked the Heads of Missions to proactively work on the implementation of MGPSY and said that this would greatly benefit the workers in these countries.

"It provides the overseas Indian workers a pension, a sum for return and resettlement and life insurance during the period of five years," the minister said.
Ravi also said more than 30,000 emigrants have benefited from Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) which has been established in all Missions to help overseas Indians in distress.

He said that his ministry has undertaken e-Migrate Project at a cost of Rs 90 crore. "The Ministry is targeting to roll out e-migrate in March 2014," the minister said.
The project would result in significant improvement in the quality of services to workers since it would simplify different processes in the emigration cycle and improve effectiveness, officials said.

The ECR countries are United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, Iraq (emigration banned).
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is primarily responsible for taking welfare measures for protection and welfare of Overseas Indian Workers.
India and Saudi Arabia has recently signed a "landmark" agreement to protect the rights of Indian workers there and also agreed to form a joint committee to overcome obstacles in its implementation.