Indian expats in Middle East worried about passport reform

News Network
January 18, 2018

The Indian government’s decision to do away with the address page in the Indian passport has received mixed reaction from social workers and expatriates in the Middle Eastern countries.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of government of India recently announced its decision to do away with the last page of the passport and other travel. The last page contains information such the name of parents, spouse, address, Emigration Check Required (ECR) and old passport number with date and place of issue of the holder of the passport.

Late last year, the Indian government also announced that NRIs are not eligible to apply for Aadhar - India's biometric identity card - nor are they required to link their Aadhar details to PAN cards or register it with their SIM cards. The decision to do-away with the address page on the passport raises questions as to what NRIs must do to avail services such as apply for SIM cards or open bank accounts in India.

Indian missions in the United Arab Emirates have stated that they are yet to receive official instruction from the Ministry in New Delhi before new passports can be issued. Pavan K. Rai, first secretary, consular affairs at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said: "We are yet to receive official instructions from New Delhi with this regard, and cannot comment on the decision's effects on NRI's in UAE. Once we get clear guidelines from the ministry, we can clarify processes for residents."

Orange is the new blue?

Furthermore, the proposal to issue 'an orange coloured' passport for Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of people was met with ire, as social workers stated that it is discriminatory to segregate citizens who have not passed Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations.

The 'ECR' stamp in the current passport ensures the safety of uneducated and unskilled Indian workers, from the deprived socio-economic conditions, against prevailing legal conditions in foreign countries.

KV Shamsudheen, founder and chairman of Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, has written a letter to the Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj requesting her to retract this decision as it would cause severe difficulty for NRI's.

He said: "It is not fair to segregate citizens who in the ECR category with and orange passport. The government is claiming the orange passport will save workers from exploitation. But that is not the case, they will be subject to discrimination, especially at immigration lines at international airports."

Social worker Girish Pant said that the decision has its pros and cons. "If workers are easily identified with the different coloured passport, they can avail services that would protect them against unscrupulous agents and job frauds. However, removal of the address could indeed cause increased paper work for NRIs, especially when it comes to getting their paperwork attested by various authorities."

Many countries demand parents' information for resident and visit visa purposes, said Shamsudheen, adding, "If the new passport is implemented, NRIs have to get a certificate showing parents' names' (birth certificate) from their home cities, that requires attestation by the Indian ministry of foreign affairs, embassies of the home country, and attestation by respective country's foreign ministry. It will be very cumbersome to NRIs. Applying for visas to foreign countries will be a technical nightmare," he said.

Another social worker in Dubai Kusum Dutta said: "When Aadhar was implemented, my family and I got it made. I feel proud to have an Aadhar with me, because it gives me a sense of identity. Though I am very happy that the government has taken such a bold step, I am a bit unsure if we're equipped electronically to handle this shift given our population. Both in India and abroad."

Comments

Muhammed Ali Uchil
 - 
Monday, 22 Jan 2018

Now, passport holders with ECR status would be issued a passport with orange color passport jacket

Treating India's migrant workers like second class citizens is completely unacceptable. This action demonstrates govt.'s discriminatory mindset. However well-intentioned the move to create different coloured passports for different kinds of travellers, it is wrong and must be reconsidered. Already officials treat citizens differently based on their class...different passport colors will worsen it.
While Indian passports have a blue cover, diplomatic and official passports have white and red jackets, respectively. Currently, barring diplomatic and official passports, all Indian passports have blue cover.So,let it be like that!

abbu
 - 
Sunday, 21 Jan 2018

AT THE END OF THE DAY MODI GOVT. SHOULD SHOW THE WORK.. THTS THE REASON HE IS DOING ALL THESE THINGS... THIS IS NOT A PRIMARY REQUIREMENT TO CHANGE THE PASSPORT COLOURS. THERE ARE SOO SOO MANY THINGS TO BE DONE WHICH MODI GOVT. PROMISED AND STILL IN PAGES....... WAKE UP GUYS WAKE UP... IF NOT NOW THEN WE ARE THE ONE WHO IS SUFFREING FROM THIS AND NOT THE MP'S OR MLA'S OR MINISTERS

Parson
 - 
Friday, 19 Jan 2018

Y this degradation for un-educated workers? Already big blunder is been created by MODI Govt by doing De-Monitization. All the black money was made white. No Black money came into govt's Hand. The poeple who will suffer wil be common man. PM, please stop this blunders what are u planing to create. Which fool gives you these idea, he shud be killed. Wasting Tax payers money for silly nonsense. Wake up Guys......Let BLUE b the BLUE.......

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News Network
May 24,2020

Bengaluru, May 24: A couple got married in Bengaluru today, even as Karnataka government has announced a complete lockdown on Sundays, as part of the fourth phase of COVID-19 shutdown till the end of this month.

The marriage ceremony on this Sunday was possible thanks to a clarification given by the state government for marriages, which has been already scheduled for May 24 and May 31 to be exempted from the Sunday complete lockdown.

At today's wedding, the rituals were performed with compliance of all guidelines including ensuring social distancing and capping the number of guests at 50.

Satish, the groom said, "Government has allowed weddings with up to 50 people in attendance but we decided to invite only 25 people to the ceremony".

Meanwhile, in the Honnali Honnali area of Davanagere, BJP MLA MP Renukacharya distributed masks to three newly-wed couples.

As per an earlier advisory issued by the State government more than 50 guests, no air conditioning, and the consumption of liquor and paan are among the guidelines to be followed for holding weddings in the state. Also, people aged above 65 and below 10 as well as pregnant women have been barred from participating in the event.

According to the advisory, sanitisers should be provided at the entry and other appropriate places at the venue. Also, thermal screening of all persons shall be conducted at the entry of the venue. The scanner should be held 3-15 cms away from a person's forehead.

Apart from this, the venue shall be "clean and hygienic," and a "nodal person shall be identified for overseeing the arrangements and coordination at the venue." Also, a list of attendees with contact details has to be maintained and all guests should have downloaded Aarogya Setu app.

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News Network
February 12,2020

Belagavi, 12: Even though the investigation into the four abandoned country pistols that were recovered by the Karnataka police on the outskirts of Waghawade village in Belagavi taluk last weekend did not make any headway, the police are verifying if the weapons had been used by the assassin of Gauri Lankesh for training.

Four country pistols were found abandoned on the outskirts of Waghawade on Sunday. Locals informed that the police had taken the weapons for inspection.

Prima facie it appeared that the weapons were rusted and had not been used for long. Cases had been registered against unidentified persons and investigations were in progress.

After reports that the weapons could have been used for training by the assassin of Gauri Lankesh in the forests in Khanapur, a few kilometres away from the spot wherein they were found, police have been looking into this angle too.

Sources said the condition of the weapons indicated that they have not been used for decades but to allay doubt all aspects were being looked into.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 13,2020

Mangaluru, May 13: Kinz Foundation started distributing around 1500 food packets daily for migrant workers migrating in different parts of Dakshina Kannada district amidst coastal coronavirus lockdown.

"We are distributing daily 1,500 food packets both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The number will be increased to 5,000," said businessman Althaf Hussain who arranged food packets on May 13.

"These are trying times. The poor migrants who are being denied of their bread due to the lockdown deserve help and we are trying to bring them food which is most basic needs.” he added.

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