Dehradun: Expressing gratitude to Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for organizing Foreign Contact-State Outreach Conference in Dehradun, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said that this initiative will inform the senior officers and stakeholders of the state government about the efforts being made by the Central Government in the interest of migrants. This effort will also help in solving various problems of migrants of Uttarakhand living in different countries.
CS Raturi said that Uttarakhand Migrant Cell has been formed by the state government for the convenience of migrants of Uttarakhand. On the instructions of Hon’ble Chief Minister, a Migrant Board is being formed to resolve the complaints of the natives of Uttarakhand living abroad and to protect their interests. He said that in the context of the state of Uttarakhand, the processes for students going abroad for education, sensitization of placement agencies, safe and legal migration, marital disputes, information about the processes of return of the remains of the deceased, data sharing regarding migrants are of special importance. It is also important for us to know the best practices being adopted by other states for the convenience and welfare of their migrants. It is also necessary to know the processes of registration of students and workers. Cyber crime is also a big challenge before us.
In the conference, Secretary (CPV & OIA) from the Ministry of External Affairs Arun Kumar Chatterjee said that the Videsh Sampark Program is a major initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs, which aims to deepen relations with the NRIs and partner with the state governments to resolve issues related to them. From the year 2017 till now, outreach programs have been organized with the state governments of Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.
Joint Secretary (DE) MEA, Ankan Banerjee discussed issues such as engagement with the overseas Indian community, issues related to Indian women abroad, issues related to Indian students, rights and legal issues of NRIs/PIOs, NRI institutions in the states, MEA schemes for overseas Indians and collection of data.
Joint Secretary (CPV) MEA, Binoy George discussed issues such as transportation of mortal remains of Indian nationals who died abroad, consular grievance redressal portal, process of consular access at state level in Uttarakhand, nationality verification, consular access to foreigners and transfer of convicted persons.
Under Secretary (ED) MEA, Rachel Garg discussed business and investment opportunities and challenges.
Through the Videsh Sampark-State Outreach Conference held in Dehradun on Friday, MEA apprised the stakeholders and officials of the Uttarakhand government about the programmes, schemes and initiatives taken by the Ministry for consular and passport services to promote relations with overseas Indians and for their welfare and protection. In the program, the Uttarakhand government and the Ministry of External Affairs brainstormed on strengthening mutual cooperation to resolve issues and problems related to migrants.
Uttarakhand Women Commission Chairperson Kusum Kandwal, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, all departmental secretaries, District Magistrates of all districts, Senior Superintendents of Police and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs were present in the meeting.
