Welfare fund for overseas Indians in the pipeline

Abu Dhabi/Dubai: India is working on different options for setting up a welfare fund for its nationals working overseas that will sustain it, said a senior official from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) in New Delhi.

The issue of setting up a welfare fund for overseas Indians especially for those working in the Gulf countries has gained momentum after insurance schemes set up for the welfare of workers proved unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, various Indian organisations said that a welfare fund for needy Indian workers in Gulf countries is much awaited as they are often confronted with lack of funds to deal with cases like repatriation of bodies, funds for medical assistance and purchasing air tickets. The idea of a welfare fund was first thrown up in 2001.

Clearance

Among the many suggestions mooted, one was to charge Indians a higher fee when they go for a No-Objection stamp on their Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) passports. Currently a fee of Indian Rs200 (Dh17.13) is charged.

Emigration clearance for Indians is required in 17 countries of which 12 are in the Middle East - UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon.

An MOIA official was quoted as saying that if the plan on charging more for ECR-required passports goes ahead it will gradually be expanded to cover workers in ECNR (Emigration Clearance Not Required) countries as well.

Talmiz Ahmad, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News that Indian missions in Gulf countries had already submitted their proposals to the Government of India to set up a welfare fund for expatriates.

He said that Indian missions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Indian Consulate in Dubai already have their own welfare funds.

"The involvement of Indian government will institutionalise the setting up, the mechanism of maintaining the fund and its scrutiny. Funds can be utilised to dispatch indigent or ailing Indians or dead bodies back home, and for legal assistance to the needy," said Ahmad.

Helping the needy

"A lot of Indians in distress don't have relatives or friends here but voluntary organisations take the initiative to help them," said Gangadharan T.P. , Vice-president of Kala (Kerala Arts Lovers Association) that repatriated 50 Indians.

"An official mechanism is essential to help needy Indians. If the media did not report about Lamba Reddy, an Indian who was in a coma for the past three months, we would not have been able to repatriate him", he pointed out.

"We struggled hard to trace his family in India; otherwise he would have died in hospital. The body might be kept at the morgue for long to be buried here later," said T.P.

C.P. Mathew a volunteer from the Valley of Love said the Indian missions are doing their best to help Indians in distress there is an enormous strain due to cases involving labourers.