The Forum for protection of rights and welfare of NRIs has urged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to take initiative for constitution of Indian Overseas Welfare Board in the interests of over 25 lakh Indian origin people working in different countries across the world.
The Board should be formed on the lines of the National Construction Workers Welfare Board so that financial security of the people working abroad could be protected even after their return to India. Around 25 lakh people of Indian origin, including migrants to the Gulf, were working abroad and a majority of those employed in the Gulf were construction workers, shepherds and domestic helps who were facing several problems there.
There was no coordination mechanism for protecting them and the NRIs were looking forward for a policy governing their interests, Forum chairman K. Narasimham Naidu said in a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister. Accordingly, steps should be taken to create an NRI cell in the Government supervised by a Minister as also a 25-member NRI Welfare Board with representation from those working in different countries.
The Board should be entrusted with responsibilities of providing insurance coverage to migrant workers with policy designed on the lines of Rythu Bima assuring ₹5 lakh coverage each to the migrants. Steps should be taken for effective implementation of Pravasi Bima Yojana of the Central Government wherein migrants are provided ₹10 lakh coverage and the insurance cover could be renewed online every year.
In addition, an NRI welfare fund could be created mobilising the corpus from the contributions of the migrants which could be repaid to them on their return. The Forum made several other requests, including mandatory training and registration to those aspiring to go abroad, setting up a helpline for migrants and appointment of Telugu officers in every country to monitor the welfare activities of NRIs.
