Parliament Question: Indian women rescued and repatriated.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2319 ANSWERED ON 12/03/2026 INDIAN WOMEN RESCUED AND REPATRIATED

2319. SHRI SANT BALBIR SINGH

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the details of Indian women who were allegedly trapped, trafficked or stranded in Arab/Gulf countries, if so;

(b) the number of women safely rescued and repatriated to India during the last five years, year-wise and country-wise, particularly from Oman and other Gulf countries;

(c) the number of Indian women currently stranded or awaiting repatriation from Gulf countries specially in Oman, along with details of assistance being extended to them; and

(d) whether Government has conducted any assessment or study regarding the scale of such incidents and the profile of victims? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (c) Government of India monitors and records reported cases of distressed Indian women who are trafficked and stranded in Gulf/Arab countries. It extends all possible assistance to such distressed Indian women in Arab/Gulf countries since safety and security of the Indian diaspora is one of the foremost priorities of the Government of India. Whenever any case of stranded Indian national, including Indian women, in a foreign land, is reported to Indian Missions/Posts abroad, the same is taken up by the latter with the concerned local Government agencies of the host country for prompt redressal. Government of India also raises these issues at the political level with the host Governments from time to time. The year- wise and country-wise number of distressed Indian women who have been rescued from the Gulf countries, especially Oman, and repatriated to India, since 2021 is at Annexure-I.

Indian Missions/Posts abroad encourage and advise the Indian diaspora in their jurisdictions to register with them, join WhatsApp Group created for the Indian community and also to lodge their grievances on the MADAD Portal and CPGRAMS of this Ministry. The grievances of the Indian diaspora members are responded to almost on a real time basis through telephone calls, walk-ins, emails, social media, 24x7 emergency helplines, Consular Camps, Open Houses, the MADAD Portal and CPGRAMS.

Indian Missions/Posts abroad also proactively reach out to distressed Indian nationals, including Indian women, either directly or through the local Indian Diaspora Associations within their jurisdictions and provide them all possible consular services, including legal assistance, emergency medical care and boarding/ lodging, whenever required. Pravasi Bharatiya Sahayata Kendras (PBSK) have also been set up in New Delhi and at Dubai (UAE), Riyadh & Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Kuala Lumpur

(Malaysia) to extend assistance, guidance, and counselling to Indian nationals, including women, in distress.

1Labor and Manpower Cooperation MOUs/Agreements that provide the overarching framework for cooperation on labour and manpower related issues have also been established with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) and Jordan. Further, to safeguard the specific interests of domestic workers, including Indian women in GCC Countries, agreements on Labor Cooperation for Domestic Sector have been signed with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.

The Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) has also been set up in Indian Missions/ Posts abroad for assisting overseas Indian nationals, including Indian women, in distress. Under the ICWF, distressed Indian diaspora is extended counselling and other forms of assistance on a means tested basis.

It is also extended for transportation of mortal remains of Indian diaspora overseas to India. Indian Missions and Posts abroad, particularly in countries where there is political instability or economic crisis, remain vigilant and closely monitor any development that may adversely affect the Indian diaspora in such regions. From time to time, they issue advisories as required by developments in their respective countries of jurisdiction to caution Indian nationals to avoid unnecessary travel, remain in touch with them through published helpline numbers and follow safety guidelines and protocols issued by local authorities. During emergencies or crisis situations in countries affected by political instability or economic crisis, Indian Missions/Posts help distressed/stranded Indians by providing them food, shelter, medicines and evacuate them to India, if necessary.

Since 2025 Government of India has initiated the process of establishing One Stop Centres in several Gulf countries, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, to extend assistance to Indian women in distress in these countries.

As regards number of Indian women currently reported to be stranded or awaiting repatriation in Gulf countries, 88 stranded women Indian workers in Oman who are awaiting repatriation to India have been lodged at the One Stop Centre in Muscat. In the UAE, one Indian woman is awaiting repatriation to India as the Indian Mission in Abu Dhabi is processing her exit formalities in coordination with the concerned local authorities.

(d) Government of India is currently establishing One Stop Centres in Indian Missions/Posts in the Gulf region at Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait, and Bahrain, to assist distressed Indian women. The progress on the same is being continuously monitored to make the OSCs more effective, efficient and meaningful to address their objectives.

2Annexure-I No. of Indian Women safely rescued and repatriated to India during the last five years, particularly from Gulf countries Years Name of Name of Indian Remarks S.No. 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 the country Mission/Post 1 Iraq EoI, Baghdad 0 0 0 1 0 1 Figures indicate total number of woman safely rescued and repatriated to India CGI, Erbil 0 0 0 0 3 - Figures indicate total number of woman safely rescued and repatriated to India 2 Kuwait EoI, Kuwait 919 1548 1636 661 828 - Figures indicates number of resolved complaints received from Indian women, residing in Kuwait 3 Bahrain EoI, Bahrain 4 9 1 0 0 - Figures indicate trafficking/trapped issues reported to the Embassy 4 UAE EoI, Abu Dhabi 147 128 102 30 22 - Figures indicate total number of woman safely rescued and repatriated to India 5 Qatar EoI, Doha 0 170 137 180 181 35 Figures indicate total number of woman who have approached Embassy and been safely repatriated to India 6 Saudi EoI, Riyadh 0 42 50 23 20 02 Figures indicate total number of woman safely Arabia rescued and repatriated to India 7 Oman EoI, Muscat 134 479 1064 1044 926 - Figures indicate total number of woman safely repatriated to India ***** 3