Third Annual Conference of Protectors Of Emigrants
On 15th June 2020 3rd Annual Conference of Protectors of Emigrants was held at 11 am in New Delhi. It was the first digital conference held due to COVID-19. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Secretory (CPV & OIA) Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Protector General of Emigrants Amrit Lugun, Protector General Designate Yogeshwar Sangwan were present during the conference.
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar addressed the Inaugural session of the conference “The focus of the Conference is, of course, to review our policies and practices pertaining to all aspects of migration. This was always an important responsibility and one that has acquired even greater significance in the light of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Protectors of Emigrants are entitled to granting emigration clearance to the intending emigrants as per the procedure prescribed under the Emigration Act, 1983.”
The Emigration Act, 1983 in order to safeguard the interests of Indian nationals working abroad, the Emigration Act, 1983 requires all workers seeking contractual employment abroad to obtain emigration clearance from any of the ten offices of the Protectors of Emigrants (POE’s). The Act also mandates that no agency/establishment can undertake recruitment of Indians for employment abroad without obtaining registration from the Protector General of Emigrants, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said “India is today a critical source of trusted talent and competitive skills for the global economy. Your focus, as Protectors of Emigrants, is therefore on particular geographies and those of our citizens abroad who are in greater need of support from the Government. In fact, as you all know, your role starts much earlier in the process of this emigration. You are regulators, enablers, monitors and support systems, all at the same time. It is this chain that we meet today to discuss and review, assessing our own performance while preparing for future challenges.”
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar mentioned How the government is focussing in providing better opportunities and welfare measures for the migrants and is engaged in negotiations with Foreign Governments to provide ease of travel and opportunity through Migration and Mobility agreements and protection.
External Affairs Ministers Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shared a ‘strong message’ shared by UAE’s Minister of Human Resources & Emiratisation, Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli “The UAE official has assured every support to the India diaspora during these times of crisis
He further added “The ministry still continues to receive complaints in increasing numbers regarding illegal emigration, cheating and human trafficking. Modern technology, such as social media are being used for unscrupulous activities. Awareness programmes and activities need to be deepened.”
External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also mentioned that they are finalising the new Emigration Management Bill while the Ministry, and OIA Division, in particular, are putting a lot of emphasis on the Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDoT), it is ultimately you – all 13 PoEs, who can push all RAs to provide this training in soft skills to all their workers before departure as per jobs available abroad.
He ended the session by adding “Hope today’s deliberations on the various aspects concerning emigration management would be fruitful and contribute towards adopting policies which would lay the foundation for safe emigration as per the present environment.”
