Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a postage stamp dedicated to the safe and legal migration of our pravasis on the occasion of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas on January 9.
The release of the commemorative postage stamp aims to give further impetus to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s ‘Surakshit Jayen Prashikshit Jayen’ – ‘Go Safe, Go Trained’ – campaign.
The goal of this campaign is to raise public awareness about the importance of using safe and legal channels while travelling for overseas employment so that well-informed migrants are able to seamlessly integrate and have a safe and productive stay abroad.
The MEA is concerned about the fraudulent and illegal recruitment of vulnerable sections of migrant workers, who constitute a major Indian workforce, primarily in Gulf countries. It includes labourers, domestic sector workers, construction workers, drivers, restaurant workers and other blue-collar job categories whose recruitment is regulated as per the provisions of the Emigration Act of 1983.
The MEA stated that, keeping in view the welfare of emigrant workers, the e-Migrate system was introduced in 2015. All Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) migrants are advised to migrate abroad only through statutory channels, i.e., the e-Migrate portal. Being an emigrant-centric project, the e-Migrate project is undertaken to assist mainly the workers going to ECR countries.
The project was conceptualised to address issues faced by migrant workers by making the e-migration process online and bringing all the stakeholders, including foreign employers, onto one common platform.
The portal has more than 200,000 foreign employers and more than 2,500 registered recruitment agents. The portal also contains a list of registered and unregistered recruitment agencies.
The Ministry has also been coordinating with a number of state governments and relevant stakeholders to disseminate information on the benefits of safe and legal channels and overseas employment opportunities.
Indian Missions abroad also play a crucial role in proactively sensitising Indian job seekers through advisories about fake job offers through fraudulent and illegal channels.