Parliament Question: Indian Migrant Workers in Gulf Countries

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 982 ANSWERED ON- 05/12/2025 INDIAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN GULF COUNTRIES

982. SHRI UMMEDA RAM BENIWAL SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ SHRI GODAM NAGESH SMT. SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH CHOUDHARY SHRI MADHAVANENI RAGHUNANDAN RAO MS. IQRA CHOUDHARY

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

(a) the total number of Indian Migrants Worldwide along with the number and percentage of migrants from various States in each Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country since 2022, State/year-wise;

1(b) whether the emigrants from various States including Telangana are registering with the Government before traveling to GCC countries, if so, the details of the process for registration;

(c) the number of migrants covered under the Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana coverage, State-wise;

(d) the number of grievances such as wage exploitation, passport confiscation or lack of consular support received from migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in the GCC countries, along with the action taken by the Government thereon, year-wise;

(e) whether India is the largest migrant-sending and remittance- receiving country across the globe, if so, the details thereof;

(f) whether any instances of migrant workers being cheated by agents have been reported, if so, the measures being taken to address this issue; and

(g) the measures taken by the Government to ensure the safety of Indian Migrants in Gulf Countries? 2ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a to c) As per available data, there are around 15 million Indian nationals abroad including unskilled workers, skilled workers and professionals. A large number of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers from India are employed in various sectors in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries. As per the latest information available with our Missions/Posts in the GCC countries, the estimated number of Indians residing in these countries is as

follows:

S. No. Country Estimated Number of Indians 1 Oman 676,781 2 Qatar 830,491 3 Kuwait 10,36,389 4 Saudi Arabia 27,47,551 5 Bahrain 3,17,564 6 UAE 43,26,248 3The process of overseas employment of Indian nationals holding Emigration Check Required (ECR) passports, including those from Telangana, and emigrating to any of the 19 notified ECR countries is done through e-Migrate portal. 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.

The Government of India accords highest priority to the safety, protection and wellbeing of Indian migrant workers in Gulf countries, including the workers from Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. The Government has taken several initiatives such as Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojna (PBBY) and Pre-Departure Orientation & Training (PDOT) in ensuring that Indian migrant workers undertake safe migration, have decent working and living conditions in destination countries, are aware of their rights and have access to various welfare schemes of the Government. From 2006-07 to June, 2025 a total number of 83,88,143 Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojna (PBBY) policies 4have been issued. State-wise details, which are available for policies issued through eMigrate portal, are given at Annexure-I.

(d to g) The total number of grievances received by the Indian Missions in the Gulf countries during the last three years is 1,38,213.

There are established channels to enable Indian migrant workers to reach out to the Embassy/Consulate in case they need any assistance. They can contact the Embassy/Consulate through walk- in, email, multilingual 24x7 emergency numbers, Whatsapp number, grievance redressal portal like MADAD/CPGRAMS/eMigrate, and social media etc. There are dedicated Labour Wings for handling such matters. Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras have been set up in key locations such as New Delhi, Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah to provide guidance and counselling to the Indian workers.

On receipt of any complaint or grievance from Indian migrant workers, the Indian Embassy/Consulate abroad pro-actively takes it up with the concerned Foreign Employer (FE) and, if needed, the work place of the aggrieved worker is also visited. The issues are also taken up with the local Labour Department and other concerned authorities of the host country for redressal. Indian Missions/Posts in Gulf countries regularly organize Open Houses and Consular Camps 5in remote areas to get feedback from Indian workers residing in such areas and to address their grievances, if any.

Further, as additional safeguard for protection and safety of the Female workers (including domestic sector workers), Government has authorized only State run Recruiting Agencies (RAs) to recruit Indian female workers holding ECR category passports for overseas employment in Gulf and other notified ECR Countries through the e- Migrate Portal. Moreover, there is a minimum age criteria of 30 years for female workers holding ECR category passport for overseas employment to protect them against exploitation.

The Indian Embassy/Consulate abroad also utilizes the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) from time to time to provide financial and legal assistance to Indian nationals in distress on a means-tested basis. Under ICWF, the major assistance includes Boarding & Lodging, Air Passage to India, Legal Assistance, Emergency Medical Care, Transportation of Mortal Remains to India, and Payment of Small Fines and Penalties.

The Indian diaspora is one of the largest migrant communities in the world. According to World Bank data, India was the top recipient of remittances in the world for the year 2024.

6ANNEXURE-I Number of PBBY policy is- sued through eMigrate State/UT Name portal till 29.11.2025 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 150 ANDHRA PRADESH 231786 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 52 ASSAM 31877 BIHAR 752692 CHANDIGARH 2350 CHHATTISGARH 1515 DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI 62 DAMAN & DIU 271 DELHI 17550 GOA 7087 GUJARAT 46766 HARYANA 17259 HIMACHAL PRADESH 6288 JAMMU & KASHMIR 42445 JHARKHAND 49286 KARNATAKA 67835 KERALA 229348 7LADAKH 8 LAKSHADWEEP 28 MADHYA PRADESH 13162 MAHARASHTRA 91882 MANIPUR 266 MEGHALAYA 102 MIZORAM 14 NAGALAND 51 ODISHA 95430 PUDUCHERRY 3674 PUNJAB 229758 RAJASTHAN 328521 SIKKIM 97 TAMIL NADU 359692 TELANGANA 172179 TRIPURA 15844 UTTAR PRADESH 1415861 UTTARAKHAND 34614 WEST BENGAL 381235 ***** 8