Indian women deserted by their husbands in foreign countries will now have help at hand, with the Centre deciding on a scheme to provide them with free counselling and legal services.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has finalised the scheme wherein counselling and legal aid would be provided to distressed women by a panel of community advocates through credible Indian associations and women's organisations empanelled with the country's issions, sources said.
To begin with, the service will be provided in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and the Gulf where majority of the Indian expatriate community lives, they said.
Under the scheme, finalised at a high-level meeting in the ministry recently, organisations and NGOs will enlist Indian community advocates to do voluntary work and provide legal assistance and counselling services.
The scheme would cover women deserted in India or overseas within one year of the marriage and divorce proceedings initiated by the spouse within one year of the marriage.
Legal aid will also be provided if there is an ex-parte decree of divorce or annulment of the marriage is obtained by the spouse and a case of maintenance or alimony is required to be filed.
An amount of up to $1,000 would be paid to the concerned NGO or organisation to undertake the initial work or documentation required for the legal proceedings on the woman's behalf.
The scheme will be circulated among Indian community associations by the Missions concerned for information and publicity and sent to the women's groups and NGOs inviting them to apply for empanelment under the scheme.
The applications received from women seeking assistance will be examined by a committee in the Ministry.
Based on this scrutiny and approval of the Ministry, the cases will be recommended to the Missions for giving assistance to the women in distress.
The government's decision to put in place the assistance mechanism comes in the wake of increasing number of complaints of Indian women who go in for NRI marriages being abandoned by their husbands.
