Parliament Question: Exploitation of Indian Migrant Workers Abroad

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 1027 ANSWERED ON- 05/12/2025 EXPLOITATION OF INDIAN MIGRANT WORKERS ABROAD 1027. MS. SAYANI GHOSH Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :- (a) whether the Government is aware of incidents of Indian migrant workers being stranded/trapped in foreign countries after being duped by unscrupulous recruiting agents/contractors, if so, the details thereof; (b) the number of such cases reported since 2014, country-wise, and the steps taken by Indian embassies to secure their release or repatriation; (c) whether the Government has identified illegal recruiting agents operating within India, if so, the details thereof alongwith the number of such agents prosecuted and penalties imposed on them; 1(d) whether the Government has any bilateral mechanisms/agreements with destination countries to ensure protection/grievance redressal/legal assistance for Indian workers facing exploitation/contract violations, if so, the details thereof; (e) the preventive measures being implemented to verify the credentials of foreign employers and Indian recruitment contractors before granting emigration clearance; and (f) whether the Government proposes to establish an early warning system to detect fraudulent recruitment practices of Indian migrants abroad? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a to c) It has come to the notice of the Government instances of dubious entities involved in fake recruitment job offers having lured Indian nationals including youth mostly through social media channels for overseas employment to various countries. 2Ministry comes to know about such fraudulent activities of illegal/unscrupulous recruitment agents/agencies in the country as and when a complaint is filed by aggrieved emigrants or their relatives/friends/family members, who have been cheated by their employers, as these Indian nationals proceed abroad on their own volition through fraudulent/unscrupulous recruitment agents/agencies and through illegal channels. Government accords highest priority to the safety, security and well-being of Indian nationals proceeding for employment abroad. As per Section 10 of the Emigration Act, 1983, no person/agency can function as Recruiting Agent (RA) without a valid Registration Certificate (RC) issued by the Registering Authority, i.e., Protector General of Emigrants (PGE). As and when complaints of illegal migration/human trafficking are received, such matters are referred to the State police for investigation and prosecution under the relevant legal provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and other legislation in place. In the cyber domain, action is also taken 3against illegal recruiting agents in association with MHA and State Police authorities. Requests to take down social media posts of illegal recruiting agencies from all over India including Punjab have been regularly shared with MHA. Ministry issues advisories through eMigrate portal, social media handles, and other modes of publicity about the perils of fake job rackets and ways to prevent the same. Till June 2025, a total of 3,505 illegal agents in the country have been notified on the eMigrate portal. The awareness campaign on safe and legal migration through eMigrate portal has been carried out by the Ministry across the country by conducting workshops, trainings, information sessions, digital campaigns for media groups, police officials and law enforcement agencies, local administration, aspiring recruiting agents, entrepreneurs and general public. During these sessions awareness on emigration regulations, schemes beneficial for emigrants like Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY), Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT), eMigrate portal and 4various advisories issued by Indian Embassies are brought to the notice of all stakeholders. Ministry regularly coordinates with the State Governments regarding issues of illegal recruiting agencies and the ways to address challenges related to enforcement of emigration rules and regulations. Videsh Sampark Programme is organized in collaboration with State Governments from time to time. The Ministry regularly organises such outreach programs to sensitise various stakeholders about the benefits of safe and legal migration and suggests ways to prevent illegal migration through fake/unregistered recruitment agencies. In addition to the regular information sharing on unregistered recruiting agencies, regular meetings with the State level Nodal Officer are held. Further, workshops & training sessions are held by the Ministry for the law enforcement agencies of the State Governments in which information on the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) of the Ministry, detection of unlawful content on social media, and case studies of Cyber Scamming is shared with the participants. 5(d) The Government of India has established several bilateral mechanisms and agreements with key destination countries, including those in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to safeguard Indian workers and ensure timely grievance redressal. These include Labour and Manpower Cooperation Agreements/MoUs, Agreements/Protocol on Domestic Workers, and Joint Working Groups/Joint Committee Meetings that oversee implementation of worker-protection provisions, streamline recruitment processes, facilitate resolution of complaints, and strengthen legal assistance frameworks. Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreements signed with countries also contain provisions for holding regular Joint Working Group meetings under which such issues pertaining to students, professionals, and reseachers are highlighted. These arrangements along with dedicated mechanisms in the Indian Missions abroad such as helpdesks, shelter facilities, online grievance portals, and coordinated interventions with local authorities ensure support for Indian workers facing exploitation or contract violations. 6(e & f) The eMigrate portal facilitates emigration process of Indian nationals holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports and emigrating to any of the 19 notified ECR countries for employment purpose. The web-based application makes the process of emigration fully digital, transparent, safe, legal, humane, efficient, convenient, and faster. It seamlessly brings all stakeholders, including Foreign Employers (FEs), registered Recruiting Agents (RAs) and the prospective emigrants on a common platform and enables MEA to capture comprehensive and online database. A dedicated helpline and support system is also available to assist emigrants and other stakeholders to address any query/issue. The advisories/alerts on fake job offers and fraudulent/illegal recruitment agencies are also hosted on the portal. ***** 7