India to change recruitment rules to protect Gulf NRIs

Holding the nexus between agents responsible for exploitation of Indian workers in Gulf countries, New Delhi today said it would tighten rules for recruitment.

India, which has over 400,000 workers in the Gulf countries, is keen to protect them from dishonest agents as well as other problems, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said yesterday.

"We have to tighten rules for recruitment of workers in India," he said on a visit to three Gulf countries to study the condition of Indian workers, adding that many fraudulent agents in India exploit workers.

The minister said he was aware of how unskilled and semi-skilled Indian labourers were being duped by dishonest agents.

"My priority is to break this racket. This can be achieved if governments of various countries work in close cooperation," he said, adding that he was in contact with various state governments to check the problem.

The government will take every measure to stop the exploitation. The Gulf region is important for the Indian overseas ministry since it has one of the largest concentrations of Indian workers, Ravi said.

His tour includes visits to Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia. While visiting the premises of the Indian consulate in Dubai, Ravi got the impression that people were happy with the services being offered.

Later, he told an Indian-community meeting that the consulate was run in an efficient manner and praised the work of Indian Consul-General Yash Sinha.

The Dubai consulate is one of the busiest among Indian missions in the world, with over 2,500 transactions every day. "For a passport to be issued, it takes around a month in India, but just four days here," Ravi said.

A four-page memorandum outlining issues like the need for identity-cards for Gulf non-resident Indians (NRIs), return air tickets for stranded and destitute NRIs, against the deposit given to the immigration department in India and the need to launch a self-employment scheme for Gulf returnees was also presented to the minister.

"I have received feedback on issues faced by Indian nationals by missions overseas," he said. On Indian labourers going on the rampage, he said, "violence of any sort is not welcome. The Indian workforce enjoys a reputation of being peace-loving."

As regards grant of voting rights to non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the Gulf, Ravi said the bill granting voting rights has been already introduced in Parliament.