BILATERAL LABOUR COOPERATION

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Deputy Prime Minister of Oman, Mr. Sayyid Fahd Mahmoud Al Said, witnessing the signing of agreement between Indo-Oman on Joint Investment Fund, in Muscat on November 08, 2008.

Protection of emigrants against exploitation and abuse is not possible in the absence of explicit commitment of the Government of the host country. To secure such commitment, India has signed labour agreements with Jordan and Qatar.  Labour MOUs have recently been signed with the UAE, Kuwait and Oman.  Negotiations have been completed with Bahrain and Malaysia also.  MOUs with them will be signed within next 1-2 months.  Efforts are being made to negotiate similar MOUs with other major destination countries.  The Ministry proposes to sign Labour Mobility Partnership Agreements with important labour receiving countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Asia to forge bilateral partnerships to expand the overseas employment market for Indian workers particularly for the skilled category.  An MOU in this behalf has been recently negotiated with Denmark. 

BILATERAL SOCIAL SECURITY COOPERATION
The Ministry has already signed a bilateral social security agreement with Belgium, France and Germany.  Negotiations have been completed with Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.  Negotiations are underway with Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Switzerland and are about to commence with several other countries.  Exploratory talks have been held with USA and Australia too. Bilateral social security agreements protect the interests of expatriate workers on a reciprocal basis by providing for exemption from social security contribution in case of short-term contracts (provided the worker is covered under the home country’s social security system), exportability of pension in case of relocation to the home country or any third country and totalization of the contribution periods pertaining to both countries. Such agreements also make respective companies more competitive in each other’s territory since exemption from social security contribution in respect of their employees substantially reduces costs.

ESTABLISHING A PIO UNIVERSITY
The High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora, appointed by the Government in 2000 had visited various countries with large concentration of Indian Diaspora and had recommended, among other things, the setting up of new Universities and professional institutions offering courses of international standards in Management, Information Technology, Media, Agricultural Research, Medicine, Food processing, etc.  The Government has decided to establish  PIO/NRI University at Bangalore by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education Trust, Manipal  The University will have the status of “Deemed University” under Section 3 of the UGC Act. It will have 50% seats earmarked for PIOs/NRIs and the remaining 50% for resident Indian students. The Project report from the Manipal Trust is under consideration.

OVERSEAS WORKERS RESOURCE CENTRE (OWRC)
MOIA has undertaken a Multimedia Awareness Campaign for educating intending emigrants, particularly the vulnerable category, about the risks involved in irregular migration and the precautions to be taken while seeking overseas employment.  The Prime Minister officially launched an Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) on 8th January, 2008 during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.  The Centre provides need based information and assistance to emigrants. It operates a toll free helpline for the purpose.   The functions of the OWRC will be expanded in future so as to convert this into a one-stop shop for emigrants.

COUNCIL FOR PROMOTION OF OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT (CPOE)
MOIA has formed a Council for Promotion of Overseas Employment (CPOE). The Council  - a strategic think tank, will conduct market research, identify employment opportunities in the international labour market,  disseminate market information to stakeholders, do skill profiling to identify skill gaps and plan appropriate interventions for addressing such gaps, devise strategies to respond to the market dynamics and enable intending emigrants to reap the demographic dividends of globalization. An important segment of the Overseas Indian community is the Overseas Indian workers. Estimated at over 5 million living and working mostly in the Gulf and South East Asia, these workers remit nearly 40% of the total remittances received by the country and estimated at about USD 26 billion in 2006.

OVERSEAS INDIAN FACILITATION CENTRE (OIFC)
Indian has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. India’s growth process creates enormous opportunities for providing cross-border flows of trade, capital and technology. An Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre – a Not for Profit Trust – has been  set up to serve as a single window to promote Overseas Indian Investment in India as well as to provide a variety of business advisory services to Overseas Indians.

3.5 LAKH REGISTERED AS OVERSEAS CITIZENS
In response to a long and persistent demand for “dual citizenship” particularly from overseas Indians in North America and the western world and in view of the Government’s deep commitment towards fulfilling the

aspirations and expectations of Overseas Indians, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had announced at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2005 held in Mumbai the grant of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) to all Persons of Indian Origin where local laws permit “dual citizenship” in some form or the other except Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The scheme has been in operation from December 2, 2005. OCI  to facilitate life-long visa-free travel to India and certain economic, educational and cultural benefits. This is not to be construed as ‘dual citizenship’ since it does not confer political rights. Any Overseas Indian applicant who is comfortable with his present citizenship status in the country of his residence can apply for OCI. Around 3.50 lakh persons of Indian origin have been registered as OCIs as on 17th December, 2008.

KNOW INDIA PROGRAMME 2008

The Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi witnessing the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Know India Programme, in New Delhi on August 13, 2007.

The Ministry organizes three-week internship programmes for diaspora youth to promote awareness about India, its socio-cultural diversities, its emergence as an economic powerhouse, a centre of higher education and the ongoing developments in the infrastructure, technology & other sectors. The ‘Know India Programme’ (KIP), is implemented in partnership with a State Government and the logistics support of the Nehru Yuvak Kendra and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In 2008, three KIPs were organised. The 9th KIP was held from 7th to 28th September 2008 in partnership with the States of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The programme was attended by 33 participants from 10 countries.   

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR DIASPORA CHILDREN
A record number of over 400 applications have been received from Overseas Indian students this year for availing Government’s Scholarships for pursuing under graduate courses in India under the Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children. The Majority of these applications are from the Gulf region as during the previous years. The scheme seeks to make higher education in India accessible to the children of overseas Indians and promote India as an education hub.  Under the scheme, the Ministry provides 100 scholarships for undergraduate course in Engineering, Technology, Humanities/Liberal Arts, Commerce, Management, Journalism, Hotel Management, Agriculture, Animal. Husbandry etc. (except medical courses) to partially fund the tuition and hostel fees each year.  Children from developing countries with inadequate educational facilities, lesser opportunities for higher studies and where there is a significant concentration of the diaspora population have been targeted.  

PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

A group photographs of the NRI delegates with the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh at the inaugural ceremony of the 6th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2008, in New Delhi on January 08, 2008.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) (including the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman) continues to be the flagship event of the Ministry.  It was held in New Delhi from 7-9 January 2008. 1500 delegates from over 50 countries took part and several key decisions were taken. The Programme aims at bringing the expertise and knowledge of the overseas Indians on a common platform and integrating it with the country’s development process.

MINI PBD AT SINGAPORE
The second mini-PBD Convention titled ‘PBD Singapore’ aimed at reaching out to the Indian Diaspora in the East Asia and Asia-Pacific region was held in Singapore from 9-11 October, 2008. It was jointly organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) with the support of the Government of Singapore. More than 700 delegates from 20 countries attended the conference.