(a) whether the Government has any proposal to transport/ bring the mortal remains of Non-Resident Indians to India free of cost or at a minimum charge;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government so far in this regard?
(a) whether the Government has any proposal to transport/ bring the mortal remains of Non-Resident Indians to India free of cost or at a minimum charge;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government so far in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
(DR. SUBRAHMANYAM JAISHANKAR)
(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (C) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*194 REGARDING TRANSPORTATION OF MORTAL REMAINS OF NRIs TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.03.2020
Government of India attaches high priority to addressing and resolving the issue pertaining to transportation of mortal remains of Indian nationals who die abroad. Indian Missions/ Posts abroad extend all possible help in transportation of mortal remains of Indians to India.
There have been some requests regarding the high and variable cost of transportation of dead bodies of Indian nationals from Gulf countries to India. The matter was taken up with Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India and based on the discussions, Air India implemented a flat rate for transfer of mortal remains of Indian nationals from Gulf countries to various destinations in India. The flat rate implemented by Air India amounts to average reduction of fares of up to 30-35% to some of the major destinations in India from Gulf countries.
In addition, our Missions and Posts abroad continue to provide assistance for free of cost transfer of mortal remains to India under this Ministry’s Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) in deserving cases on a means-tested basis.
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