New Delhi: Indian embassies and consulates should be very proactive in reaching out to Indian students in their respective countries to make them feel that Indian missions are really a ‘home away from home’, a parliamentary panel said on Monday.
The Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs also noted that the profile and geographical distribution of the Indian diaspora presents a great opportunity to promote the country’s soft power and cultural diplomacy abroad.
“The committee also recommends that the ministry should prepare a policy framework in this regard and work out an action plan to implement the same in a time-bound manner,” the panel said in the report that was tabled in Lok Sabha.
The report said the ministry told the committee that it is exploring the possibility of creating a facility for compulsory online registration of all emigrants who are proceeding abroad for employment through various airports and check posts in India.
The committee desired that “Indian embassies/consulates should be very proactive in reaching out to our students in their universities/institutes so that they are made to feel that our Missions/Posts are really a ‘home away from home’”.
Referring to return to the country by Indians from the Gulf following job losses in view of the pandemic, the panel said a rehabilitation scheme should be initiated to ensure livelihood security for them.