By TCN News,
New Delhi: The Government of India provides legal assistance to Indians in distress in foreign countries through Indian Missions abroad. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs provides legal and financial assistance to Indian women who are victims of fraudulent marriages and deserted by their overseas Indian husbands or are facing divorce proceedings in a foreign country through Indian Missions in US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Gulf.
This information was given by Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on 9th March.
The funds are placed at the disposal of the Indian Missions/Posts. This scheme, introduced in 2006, provides assistance limited to US$ 1,500 per case for meeting the legal costs and incidental charges for documentation and filing of the case by the Indian women’s organization/NGOs empanelled with the Indian Missions/Posts.
The Minister informed that Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) has been set up at Indian Missions in 42 countries to meet contingency expenditure incurred by the Indian Missions for carrying out onsite welfare measures for overseas Indian workers in distress including initial legal assistance in deserving cases.
An Indian Workers’ Resource Centre (IWRC) has also been set up in the Indian Mission in Dubai, UAE which provides 24x7assistance to the Indian workers in that country. One of the objectives of IWRC is to extend legal, financial and medical counselling to the workers, he said.