Videsh Bhawan to come up in Bhubaneswar

Odisha would get one Videsh Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. It is an initiative of the Union Government.

With large numbers of people from Odisha moving out to different countries for jobs, the Union Government has shown interest to set up the Videsh Bhawan in the State for better coordination.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Minister External Affairs Sushma Swaraj have friendly relations and Swaraj has all along been supportive of Odisha, said sources.

External Affairs (MEA) Secretary Dnyaneshwar M Mulay has written to the State Government urging to allocate a suitable land for setting up such an institution in the State capital.

Union Secretary Mulay has said that over last three years, the MEA has launched several initiatives aimed at welfare and protection of the overseas Indian community and strengthening the engagement with the Indian Diaspora worldwide.

With a citizen centric approach, the MEA has adopted practices of e-Governance, streamlined emigration to Emigration Check Required (ECR) countries, set up online grievance redressal mechanism and focussed on efficient delivery of consular and passport services, informed Mulay.

As per the Emigration Act, 1983, Emigration Check Required (ECR) categories of Indian Passport holders, require to obtain "Emigration Clearance" from the office of Protector of Emigrants (POE), Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), for going to following 18 countries.

They are the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand, Iraq (emigration banned).

With the objective to strengthen tie- up with the States, the MEA has launched State outreach programmes on consular passport and Diaspora issues.

Odisha is included in the outreach programme and there is a proposal to set up the Videsh Bhawan in major State capitals of the country so as to strengthen MEA interface with the State Governments.

An outreach event will be organised in Odisha, where both the MEA and the State Government will join hands for such an event in August/September, where Union Minister of State General Dr VK Singh will lead the Team MEA.

So, the MEA has sought the support of the Government of Odisha in this regard, said sources.

While the outreach event will strengthen tie-up with the State Government, setting up of the Videsh Bhawan will help in integrating the MEA’s various offices with the State Government, pointed out an official.

Partnership with the State Government will help in discussing crucial issues of the Government of India, sharing policies and programmes in a better way, discuss ways and means for strengthening partnership between both the State and the Centre, said Mulay.