Taking serious view of a 29-year old Kerala woman landing in a prostitution racket in Oman after being lured with a housemaid job, India has asked its mission in Muscat to take up the case with the Omanese Government and seek action against her sponsors. Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi on Monday said that stringent action would also be taken if any agent was involved in the racket.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, who was injured in a car accident in Liberia, was on Thursday airlifted to Cote d'Ivoire for further treatment.
In the wake of the recent instance of Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Babubhai Katara attempting to smuggle a woman out of the country posing as his wife, the government is planning to make laws more stringent
All efforts are being made to bring home the bodies of the 21 Indians, who were killed in the boat mishap off the Bahrain coast, as early as possible to their respective home states, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said.
Expressing his opposition to a legislation for allowing non-Hindus to worship in temples in the state, Ravi said his case was entirely different as he is a Hindu and his son was also brought up as a Hindu.
Vayalar Ravi, who is also the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, was at the terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport to receive the Indians evacuated from the Libyan capital Tripoli.
Global financial markets plunged late last month after Dubai World, the government investment firm burdened with $59 billion liabilities, requested for deferment of the debt.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi stated that the focus areas of the PBD in Mauritius would be to deliberate ways and means of further strengthening economic engagement, role of youth in maintaining the vital PIO links and cultural heritage as well as look at mutual areas of exploration where Mauritius could serve as a gateway for doing business with Africa.
The helpline, Open 24x7, could be used by NRIs in distress to address their problems to the concerned officials in the ministry.
An estimated 1.5 lakh Indian workers have come back home from the United Arab Emirates due to economic crisis and recession, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
In his inaugural speech, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi invited the 25-million strong diaspora to be part of the 'India growth story' and take the country forward in diverse sectors.
In a bid to promote two-way engagement and build better understanding with the Overseas Indian community, a unique institution - 'Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra' - will come up in New Delhi by next year.
Ravi said he proposes to introduce a bill to this effect in the next parliament session.
India can diplomatically 'do something' in the alleged child abuse case involving an Indian couple in Norway, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said on Monday.
The issue figured prominently during talks Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi held here with visiting British Immigration Minister Damian Green. Ravi told Green about the 'historical ties' between the two countries and requested him to ensure that Indian students and professionals do not suffer because of the changes in the immigration norms.
India and Kuwait have signed a landmark labour agreement, incorporating steps for job protection, checking exploitation of Indian workers and ensuring payment of salaries and other benefits promised at the time of recruitment.
The tsunami of recession that originated in the Wall Street and spread to Europe did not affect India because our banks are conservative, said Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi while addressing a seminar at the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in Jaipur on Sunday.
Don't marry Indians in America, including Canada,' Vayalar Ravi, India's minister for Overseas Indian Affairs often tells people back home.
Union Minister Vayalar Ravi on Sunday slammed his colleague and Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on the Mullaperiyar Dam, calling them as "unfortunate" and said they only showed his "political immaturity".
Millions of NRIs wishing to get voting rights may have to wait a little longer to see their names in electoral rolls as differences between the government and the Election Commission have resulted in a delay in finalising the modalities for enrolment.Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi on Tuesday said two rounds of discussions have already been held between the Election Commission, the external affairs ministry and his ministry to finalise the modalities.
The UAE and India have agreed to get rid of recruitment agencies by opening labour offices in India, Indian Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi said after a meeting with UAE Minister for Labour Ali bin Abdullah Al Kaabi. The offices will also educate overseas workers about UAE's labour laws and customs before they travel to the country.
After the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Priyanka asks Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vyalar Ravi the tough questions about voting rights, investments, and other issues faced by Non-resident Indians.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said in New York on Friday that New Delhi is trying to negotiate for an agreement with the Bush Administration under which temporary Indian workers in the US would not have to pay social security taxes.
Agreement paves the way for increased air connectivity between both countries and has the potential to spur trade investment, tourism and strengthening the cultural exchange between India and Brazil.
As the tragic death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in Ireland continues to evoke outrage world wide, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Sunday said the inquiry ordered by the Irish government should be 'transparent and fair'.
The decision to go for such a pact was taken at a meeting between European Union Foreign Affairs Minister Baroness Catherine Asthon and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi.
Saving the lives of Indians held hostage by Somali pirates would be the prime concern of the government when it decides on taking appropriate action, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said on Monday.
Blaming anti-social elements for the attacks on Indian students in Australia, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi today said Canberra was taking strict action to prevent such incidents after the Centre's intervention.
The government has suspended the licence of Dewan Consultants and Mansur & Co, Mumbai and blacklisted the foreign employer -- Global Resources -- in connection with the 'sub-human conditions' of more than 100 Indian workers in Mississippi, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Noting that it was responsibility of the state governments to prosecute unscrupulous recruiting agents, he said proper enforcement of the relevant law will help in controlling illegal migration from the country.
India said it will seek a report from its US mission into the arrest of an Indian documentary film maker at the Houston airport for allegedly carrying suspicious Islamic jihad literature, brass knuckles and $10,000 in cash.
The idea is "not easy to implement since there are many stakeholders, though the government has been able to fix a minimum wage structure for maids," Vayalar Ravi, the minister of overseas Indian affairs, told PTI. There are nearly five million Indian working in the Gulf countries, but rising inflation in the region has made the condition of the blue-collar workers difficult since they are unable to save money locally or remit them back to India.
The proposals were discussed at a recent meeting between Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury, an official said.
The economy is scheduled to dominate the seventh annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai, January 7-9. Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi told Rediff India Abroad that the ongoing economic meltdown has affected the Diaspora and could even impact on the numbers participating in the PBD, but said such impact could be marginal. "We are not getting any alarming report, so far," the minister said, adding that at least 1,200 prominent NRIs are expected to attend.
Vayalar Ravi, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, announced that the 8th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held at Vigyan Bhavan from January 7 to 9 would focus on empowerment of rural women.
Already reeling under huge losses and facing a liquidity crunch, Air India has suffered a loss of Rs 3,450 crore (Rs 34.5 billion) in the first half of the current fiscal.
The Indian government plans to make a database of its nationals imprisoned in various Gulf countries with a view to help them.
M S Gill, V Narayanasami, Jitin Prasada, Raghunath Jha, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Santosh Bagrodia and Rameshwar Oraon were on Sunday inducted into the Union Council of Ministers. Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that she had wanted her son and All-Indian Congress Committee general secretary to become a minister, but he refused.
