Smart cards soon for NRI workers

NEW DELHI, April 28 2006

The Overseas Indians Affairs Ministry has set a September 30 deadline for rolling out smart cards to Indian workers abroad. The card, which contains all the relevant information, will save workers from carrying their passports always with them.

The Ministry has already sent two teams to Malaysia and the Gulf to have talks with overseas employers and other stake-holders in this regard. The card will have the personal details that the passport has, plus the skills of the worker.

There have been many complaints about the passports of overseas workers being taken away by employers once they reach the foreign countries and their subsequently getting into trouble for being unable to produce the passports on demand by the authorities.

The card being developed by the National Institute of Smart Government will cost about Rs 600 and the Ministry is yet to decide who will foot the bill for the cards.

“Such details will be worked out soon. The cards will help a great deal in addressing the complaints of workers' passports being taken away by employers, besides cutting the red tape,” Vyalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indians Affairs, told this website's newspaper.

The master server at the Ministry's office in New Delhi will have the details of all the cards issued and the same information will be available with the embassies concerned.

To begin with, cards will be issued to workers going to the Gulf and South-Eastern countries.

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