UAE-Now SOS app for Indian workers in distress

Date

10/3/2015 5:04:14 AM

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Indian labourers in Dubai and Northern Emirates now have help on their finger tips thanks to a new app with an SOS button launched by the Consulate General of India (CGI).

Named CGI Dubai the app's launch was announced on Thursday on the eve of the 146th Gandhi Jayanthi the birth anniversary of India's father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. The app has been developed in line with the Digital India project of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Consul-General of India in Dubai and Northern Emirates Anurag Bhushan said at a Press conference.

"It will carry information about all the activities and services that we do.whether it is consular passport visa cultural or even business and commercial aspects" he said.

"It is targeted at all sections of the community but I'm particularly concerned about the blue-collar workers because of the particular circumstances they live in ... So we have this functionality of an SOS button that will allow every member of the Indian community in particularly the blue-collar workers 24x7 access to the consulate through a free call when they have any problems."

Clicking on the SOS button makes a direct call to the 24X7 toll free number of the Indian Workers' Resource Centre (IWRC) which is in charge of helping Indian citizens in distress in the UAE. IWRC forwards workers' issues to the missions.

"We also have a message-enabled access to us. If a worker wants he can send messages via the app. His application will be registered and a unique ID number will be generated for tracking it" said Bhushan.

Asked about the feasibility of the workers in accessing the app on smart phones he said: "As the mobile phone usage among the expatriate community is quite wide including blue-collar workers it is felt that the app would enable the consulate to disseminate useful information to the Indian citizens and guide them in case of distress.We will use the awareness camps by IWRC to popularise the app among the workers."

When Khaleej Times found that the SOS button was not functioning on iOS Rahul Srivastav consul (visa and commerce) said the company that has developed the app will fine tune the iOS version and upgrade it after fixing the teething problems by October 10. Another issue with downloading the forms for various services is also being sorted out by providing the direct link to the forms he said.

"The updated version of the app is now available for Android users only" he said.

The app guides users in case of exigency like a death case or any legal case in the UAE. It also offers features that help Indians moving to the UAE for employment of business opportunities with local information. The app also has links to various platforms floated by Indian government like PMO website e-Migrate and Madad. More Indian language options starting with Hindi are expected to be added to the app in the coming months.

Sajila Saseendran

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