Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:
(a) whether the recently established four Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) have been successful in providing specialized assistance to migrants for speedy, organised and legal migration;
(b) if so, the details thereof including the number of complaints received and the number of grievances addressed so far in each of the four MRCs;
(c) whether the Government will consider establishing MRCs in other cities including Thiruvananthapuram;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) if not, the reasons therefor? |
| ANSWER |
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(SHRI M. J. AKBAR)
(a) & (b) The Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) act as facilitation centres for registering, responding to and monitoring grievances; walk-in counselling centres for emigrants; providing information and assistance to intending migrants and overseas workers relating to all aspects of emigration and overseas employment; and handling complaints on recruitment and employment contracts.
This also includes providing advice on the authenticity of recruiting agents; pre-departure and post-departure guidelines; visa status; address of Indian Mission concerned for checking the details of employer and visa; guidance on passport issuance/renewal; authenticity of the foreign employer; guidance on emigration clearance; information on Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojna; information about the restriction/advisory for any specific country, etc.
The year-wise number of calls and walk-in enquiries received and addressed so far in each of the MRCs is as under:
S.
No. MRC Service 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
1. Hyderabad Calls 2167 1948 1091 721 1601
Walk-ins 1401 753 259 318 909
2. Kochi Calls 3583 2158 1884 1861 2519
Walk-ins 818 775 932 721 586
3. Chennai * Calls - - - - 122
Walk-ins - - - - 49
4. Lucknow * Calls - - - - 61
Walk-ins - - - - 11
5. Gurgaon * Calls - - - - -
Walk-ins - - - - 207
(* Set up only in 2015)
Out of these, 752 refer to complaints. These complaints are forwarded to the Ministry and our Missions/Posts abroad and are in various stages of resolution.
(c) to (e) Currently, there is no such proposal under consideration. There is an Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) in Gurgaon and an Indian Workers Resource Centre (IWRC) in Dubai. In addition, the Ministry has also approved setting up four new IWRCs in Riyadh, Jeddah, Sharjah and Kuala Lumpur. |
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