(a) whether the Union Government has set up facility centres in various States, particularly Maharashtra for the assistance of Non-Resident Indians;
(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise; and
(c) the major functions and duties of these facility centres?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS GENERAL V.K. SINGH (RETD.)
(a) to (c): The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs established Overseas Workers Resource Centre (OWRC) in 2008 as an institutional arrangement to provide information to intending migrants and overseas Indian workers relating to all aspects of overseas employment.
The activities undertaken by the OWRC are as under:
(i) Documentation and information dissemination (ii) Management of complaints/ grievances (iii) Telephonic / email Counselling (iv) Coordination and Feedback (v) Coordination with State Migrant Resource Centers (MRCs) (vi) Reporting to MOIA
OWRC operates round the clock (24x7x365) to provide need based information in 11 languages (English, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia) through the toll free number 1800113090 in India and +91-124-2341002 for Indian emigrants working overseas. It also acts as a single point source for registering, responding to and monitoring complaints.
Emigrants overseas can call OWRC for any information required. They can also register complaints against Foreign Employers through telephone or log their grievances through the web application.
OWRC is linked to the Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) in Kochi, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. MRCs provide information to prospective migrants who visit them about procedure for legal migration and precautions to be taken while migrating, dissemination of status of Recruiting Agents and other service providers. They also take feedback on services provided and take up awareness campaigns in a manner advised by Ministry.