Database of Indian expatriates in UAE planned
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Conference brings together missions community associations and state governments in India Abu Dhabi — Indian missions in the UAE are working on a mechanism to compile the database of Indian expatriates in the UAE senior officials of the Indian missions said at the Indian States’ Conference on Saturday.
The conference a first of its kind platform organised by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi was aimed at enabling the Indian missions and community associations in the UAE and state governments in India to work together to improve the welfare of Indian expatriates here.
“We are now working on a new system which will allow us to get comprehensive data from various expatriate communities. We hope to unveil it in a few weeks’ time” said Anurag Bhushan Consul General of India in Dubai at the one-day conference held at the India Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi. At a glance
Problems/Grievances of NRIs received by the Indian missions in 2013 No of labour/employment related cases: 1104
Housemaid related cases: 99
Problems faced in India: 159
Marital disputes: 24
Mercy petitions: 24
Visit to hospitals: 576 patients He said the missions will seek the help of all the community associations private companies employing Indians and recruitment agencies to popularise the new system. “I understand that until we have completed the registration we cannot really reach out to all of you.”
Counsellor Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy Anand Bardhan said the missions here have failed to get registrations done by the Indian expatriates living and arriving in the UAE though they had been encouraging online system for registration for years. “The new mechanism will hopefully help us solve it” he said without providing more details.
The announcement followed debates by the audience at the conference where Rani George secretary to Kerala’s Norka Department quoted a 2011 study which estimated the number of Keralites in the UAE to be at .6million (600000). Some members of the audience questioned this since the missions here suggest that the majority of the over two million Indian expatriates here are from Kerala.
In response to this George said the government of India should collect proper statistics on migrant population and provide it to the respective state governments.
Francis D’Souza deputy chief minister of Goa stated that about 25 million Indians are believed to be living overseas.
While the representative of the Tamil Nadu government said the state will also conduct a comprehensive migration survey his counterpart from Rajasthan said his state will launch a helpline to address grievances of NRIs at a single point.
George said the Kerala government has plans to increase the subsidy provided for capital investment to support self employment schemes of migrant returnees.
D’Souza urged the Indian missions here to consider placing on their websites the entitlement of a worker if he dies in service or gets invalidated on medical grounds or is faced with retrenchment or termination of services since neither the family nor the state government would be aware of the dues the family of the victim would be entitled to.
In his presentation Bardhan said the Indian missions here recorded 1385 deaths in 2013. The total diya money sent to deserving legal heirs of the deceased through the missions amounted to Rs18.5 million whereas another Rs17.5 million was sent to the deserving legal heirs as compensation or end of service benefits.
Demands of associations
Representatives of various Indian associations raised several demands and recommendations to improve the welfare of the Indian expatriates in the UAE. Their demands ranged from introducing online voting rights to NRIs reducing the ticket fare of Air India flights and increasing the age limit for NRI pension scheme to increasing the free allowance of gold that can be carried by passengers to India.
They also sought the help of the missions to get legal recognition of the local governments for their operations.
While the Indian Ambassador to the UAE T.P. Seetharam and the Consul General appreciated the role of associations in community welfare and assured that the missions would voice their concerns to the relevant authorities they reminded them that all expatriates and their organisations are bound to abide by the local government’s regulations.
The ambassador also assured that the valid suggestions and recommendations raised at the conference would be channeled to the right entities who could take policy decisions based on them.
He also urged Kerala’s Norka department not to duplicate the funds for the repatriation of the deceased workers and for the air tickets of the needy workers since the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) under the embassy is already utilised for such purposes. He suggested that such funds be channeled towards other benefits of the migrant workers such as their resettlement after they return to the state. sajilakhaleejtimes.com Booklet on guidelines
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has issued a booklet Guidelines for Indians which include financial and general dos and don’ts and information on other rules and regulations governing different sectors in the UAE and welfare schemes of India.
The Indian Ambassador to the UAE T.P. Seetharam released the booklet by handing over the first copy to prominent Indian businessman M.A. Yousuffali MD of EMKE Group at the States’ Conference.
“These guidelines will be revised and printed in different Indian languages once the embassy gets feedback and suggestions from you” the Ambassador told representatives of the Indian community associations across the country who were given a copy of the first edition of the booklet at the conference.
“We hope these guidelines will help people understand various rules that are important for them” he said.
After a brief introduction of the UAE the booklet carries FAQs on employment in the UAE and the local labour and immigration rules to be followed post arrival here.
The section on dos and don’ts include those related to the general conduct in the country.
Financial dos and don’ts highlighted are largely related to the use of credit cards apparently considering the fact that many Indians in the UAE have faced huge financial problems due to mismanagement of their credit card services. Indians are also reminded to keep copies of their passport visa and employment contract.
Checklists before taking an accommodation on rent and requirements for driving a vehicle in the UAE are given separate sessions.
Comprehensive details on the services offered by the Indian missions in the UAE and the private service providers through which their services are outsourced are also explained in the booklet.
Step-by-step explanation of the registration of death in the UAE and guidelines on the import of drugs and medicines to the country are also covered. Dh755000 donated
Two prominent Abu Dhabi-based Indian businessmen have announced a donation of Dh755000 to the Indian prime minister’s relief fund for the purpose of supporting the flood-hit citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
A donation of about Dh604000 million from M.A. Yousuffali MD of EMKE Group.
MD of LLH Healthcare Group in Abu Dhabi Dr. Shamsheer V.P announced a donation of Rs2.5 million to the prime minister’s fund for the same purpose.
Their contributions followed calls from Indian missions in the UAE to Indians here to channelise their donation through the prime minister’s national relief fund. The missions had urged expatriates not to send relief materials in kind to avoid logistical disaster which may result in their efforts going to waste.
sajilakhaleejtimes.com
The conference a first of its kind platform organised by the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi was aimed at enabling the Indian missions and community associations in the UAE and state governments in India to work together to improve the welfare of Indian expatriates here.
“We are now working on a new system which will allow us to get comprehensive data from various expatriate communities. We hope to unveil it in a few weeks’ time” said Anurag Bhushan Consul General of India in Dubai at the one-day conference held at the India Social and Cultural Centre in Abu Dhabi. At a glance
Problems/Grievances of NRIs received by the Indian missions in 2013 No of labour/employment related cases: 1104
Housemaid related cases: 99
Problems faced in India: 159
Marital disputes: 24
Mercy petitions: 24
Visit to hospitals: 576 patients He said the missions will seek the help of all the community associations private companies employing Indians and recruitment agencies to popularise the new system. “I understand that until we have completed the registration we cannot really reach out to all of you.”
Counsellor Community Affairs at the Indian Embassy Anand Bardhan said the missions here have failed to get registrations done by the Indian expatriates living and arriving in the UAE though they had been encouraging online system for registration for years. “The new mechanism will hopefully help us solve it” he said without providing more details.
The announcement followed debates by the audience at the conference where Rani George secretary to Kerala’s Norka Department quoted a 2011 study which estimated the number of Keralites in the UAE to be at .6million (600000). Some members of the audience questioned this since the missions here suggest that the majority of the over two million Indian expatriates here are from Kerala.
In response to this George said the government of India should collect proper statistics on migrant population and provide it to the respective state governments.
Francis D’Souza deputy chief minister of Goa stated that about 25 million Indians are believed to be living overseas.
While the representative of the Tamil Nadu government said the state will also conduct a comprehensive migration survey his counterpart from Rajasthan said his state will launch a helpline to address grievances of NRIs at a single point.
George said the Kerala government has plans to increase the subsidy provided for capital investment to support self employment schemes of migrant returnees.
D’Souza urged the Indian missions here to consider placing on their websites the entitlement of a worker if he dies in service or gets invalidated on medical grounds or is faced with retrenchment or termination of services since neither the family nor the state government would be aware of the dues the family of the victim would be entitled to.
In his presentation Bardhan said the Indian missions here recorded 1385 deaths in 2013. The total diya money sent to deserving legal heirs of the deceased through the missions amounted to Rs18.5 million whereas another Rs17.5 million was sent to the deserving legal heirs as compensation or end of service benefits.
Demands of associations
Representatives of various Indian associations raised several demands and recommendations to improve the welfare of the Indian expatriates in the UAE. Their demands ranged from introducing online voting rights to NRIs reducing the ticket fare of Air India flights and increasing the age limit for NRI pension scheme to increasing the free allowance of gold that can be carried by passengers to India.
They also sought the help of the missions to get legal recognition of the local governments for their operations.
While the Indian Ambassador to the UAE T.P. Seetharam and the Consul General appreciated the role of associations in community welfare and assured that the missions would voice their concerns to the relevant authorities they reminded them that all expatriates and their organisations are bound to abide by the local government’s regulations.
The ambassador also assured that the valid suggestions and recommendations raised at the conference would be channeled to the right entities who could take policy decisions based on them.
He also urged Kerala’s Norka department not to duplicate the funds for the repatriation of the deceased workers and for the air tickets of the needy workers since the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) under the embassy is already utilised for such purposes. He suggested that such funds be channeled towards other benefits of the migrant workers such as their resettlement after they return to the state. sajilakhaleejtimes.com Booklet on guidelines
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi has issued a booklet Guidelines for Indians which include financial and general dos and don’ts and information on other rules and regulations governing different sectors in the UAE and welfare schemes of India.
The Indian Ambassador to the UAE T.P. Seetharam released the booklet by handing over the first copy to prominent Indian businessman M.A. Yousuffali MD of EMKE Group at the States’ Conference.
“These guidelines will be revised and printed in different Indian languages once the embassy gets feedback and suggestions from you” the Ambassador told representatives of the Indian community associations across the country who were given a copy of the first edition of the booklet at the conference.
“We hope these guidelines will help people understand various rules that are important for them” he said.
After a brief introduction of the UAE the booklet carries FAQs on employment in the UAE and the local labour and immigration rules to be followed post arrival here.
The section on dos and don’ts include those related to the general conduct in the country.
Financial dos and don’ts highlighted are largely related to the use of credit cards apparently considering the fact that many Indians in the UAE have faced huge financial problems due to mismanagement of their credit card services. Indians are also reminded to keep copies of their passport visa and employment contract.
Checklists before taking an accommodation on rent and requirements for driving a vehicle in the UAE are given separate sessions.
Comprehensive details on the services offered by the Indian missions in the UAE and the private service providers through which their services are outsourced are also explained in the booklet.
Step-by-step explanation of the registration of death in the UAE and guidelines on the import of drugs and medicines to the country are also covered. Dh755000 donated
Two prominent Abu Dhabi-based Indian businessmen have announced a donation of Dh755000 to the Indian prime minister’s relief fund for the purpose of supporting the flood-hit citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
A donation of about Dh604000 million from M.A. Yousuffali MD of EMKE Group.
MD of LLH Healthcare Group in Abu Dhabi Dr. Shamsheer V.P announced a donation of Rs2.5 million to the prime minister’s fund for the same purpose.
Their contributions followed calls from Indian missions in the UAE to Indians here to channelise their donation through the prime minister’s national relief fund. The missions had urged expatriates not to send relief materials in kind to avoid logistical disaster which may result in their efforts going to waste.
sajilakhaleejtimes.com
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