Mumbai: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is now more people-oriented and gives priority to rescuing Indian citizens stranded abroad, which was not the case earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday after inaugurating the country’s first Videsh Bhavan here. Located in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Videsh Bhavan integrates all offices under the MEA in the State.
The Bhavan will house four major MEA offices: Regional Passport Office, Protector of Emigrants Office, Branch Secretariat and the Regional Office of Indian Council of Cultural Relations. An MEA communication said the Bhavan will cater to the geographical area of Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, apart from 12 Maharashtra districts. The Protection of Emigration Office will play a crucial role as 70% of the country’s emigration applications come from Mumbai alone, it said.
As many as 80,000 Indians stuck abroad due to various reasons have been rescued since the BJP government came to power at the Centre in 2014, she said. “We have increased the speed of processing of documents, have made our ministry’s face more humane, and efficiency of services has improved significantly.”
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“In Mumbai, there are many private companies and offices who give false information to poor students or labourers, and send them to countries in West Asia or the countries having emigration check point. If their documents are faulty, these people get stuck there for a long time. We are also thinking about starting something for them,” she added.