Indian expats in UAE asked to register on online database

,ubai |16 December 2014: The link to the registration form is available on the CGI website, and also on that of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. On Monday afternoon, the Consul-General of India, Dubai Anurag Bhushan presided over an informal talk with the media at the auditorium of the Indian Consulate in Bur Dubai. Addressing the Press, the Consul-General announced the launch of a database to register online all the 2.2- 2.3 million Indians in the UAE. “All Indians should avail and register with the website,” he said. In the case of labourers who may themselves not be able to register, the labour companies will provide the required details. The link to the registration form is available on the CGI website, and also on that of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The website says: ‘The Embassy of India Abu Dhabi has designed a comprehensive NRI Registration module. All Indians resident in UAE are advised to register themselves with the embassy by filling in the requested details. Upon submission, a system generated user ID and password will be sent to the email of the individual. With this user ID and password, one will be able to edit his/her details as and when required’. The website further states: ‘The embassy does not entail any special benefits but is primarily for building a comprehensive database of Indians working and residing in UAE which may prove to be valuable in improving services and rendering requisite assistance in situations arising from unforeseen contingencies’. Keen to interact more frequently with the media, Bhushan took questions on why Minister of External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj didn’t interact with the media when she was in Dubai on state visit. Even though he could only say, “we don’t deal directly with the minsitry from here; we only facilitate orders.” Bhushan touched upon the developments and improvements during his tenure. Initiatives regarding visas and passport were touched upon – tatkal passport within three days, and normal issue within 7 days, unless it’s an India-issued passport, in which case the date is determined by whether the documents are in order and verified. Jail conditions were spoken of, and the CG said: “Number of prisoners has gone down considerably since I came..” he said, referencing the 690 prisoners in his jurisdiction, down from a figure of about 760 last year. In unfortunate circumstances when people die here and their bodies have to be transported back to India, the CG said they’ve worked on expediting the process to minimise the stresses on survivors and family members here. Besides these topics, he spoke of the electronic visa on arrival for tourists from 43 countries visiting India that can be granted a maximum of twice a year. - Khaleejtimes.com