India's holistic approach to emigration backed by digital innovation: Kirti Vardhan Singh

UNITED NATIONS: India’s holistic approach to emigration is backed by digital innovation to cover all aspects of employment abroad, from hiring, preparation for departure, proper employment and return, according to Kirti Vardhan Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs.

India’s eMigrate platform shows how “digital technologies are no longer just enablers, they are reshaping governance itself", he said on Thursday at an event organised by India’s mission.

Held on the sidelines of the Second International Migration Review Forum, the event on “Leveraging Digital Innovation in Migration Governance” showcased India’s eMigrate system.

India’s holistic approach, he said, “recognises that migration is not merely a movement of people, but a continuum that spans pre-departure preparation, safe transit, dignified employment, and eventual return and reintegration”.

Singh said that eMigrate starts with vetting employers and recruiters, bringing transparency to the process of hiring by allowing prospective employees to verify them and avoid fraud.

“Currently, we have around 2,98,000 registered foreign employers and 2,457 active recruiting agents registered on the eMigrate portal”, he said. They can also recruit through the portal.

The platform serves workers by also integrating with platforms for skilling, employment, documentation, service delivery, multilingual interfaces, as well as online grievance redressal and payment transfer at no cost.

India’s Permanent Representative P. Harish said that India was making available to everyone the digital tools it has developed, like eMigrate, because of the nation's commitment to South-South cooperation.