The highest number of such distressed victims is in Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh followed by almost all across the country comprising women from all communities in the country. In view of huge costs involved, the victim Indian women are not able to take legal recourse and left in lurch to suffer in silence.

To get over the growing menace of fraudulent NRI/PIO marriages, the UPA Government has set in motion a process of multi-pronged measures to tackle such problems effectively. Accordingly, following a recent judgement of the Supreme Court in Seema Vs Ashwini Kumar, the apex court has directed the Union of India and States to register all marriages compulsorily for all citizens of India . Enactment of such laws and monitoring of marriages so registered will help the Government in tracking NRI marriages considerably. Besides, an Inter Ministerial Sub Committee is working out clauses that could be inserted in the bi-lateral agreements between India and the foreign countries to protect the interests of victims of failed and fraudulent NRI/PIO marriages. Added to this, a special task force consisting of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Justice is studying the problems of such failed and fraudulent marriages to work out meaningful steps to mitigate the menace. The Indian Passport Act, 1967 is under review to make it more effective by including, among others, photograph of spouse in the passport.

The Government has brought out a multi-lingual guidance booklet on ' Marriages to Overseas Indians ' for the benefit of prospective brides and their families. It contains information on safeguards available to women deserted by NRI spouses, legal remedies available, authorities that could be approached for redressal of grievances and non governmental organisations that provide assistance in such cases. The guidance booklet has been circulated to all concerned including States and Union Territories and Indian Missions abroad especially in the countries with high concentration of Indian diaspora for wide dissemination of information among the concerned people.

Creation of a dedicated Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in September 2004 has been instrumental to provision of focused attention to fraudulent NRI marriages where Indian women are lured away by the hallucination of leading a life of comforts and luxury in western countries that end up mostly in all types of tortures, desertion, divorce and disillusionment.

The Government has also launched recently a scheme to provide legal aid and counseling services to the needy women facing tortures, desertion and divorce proceedings in courts overseas through Indian Missions abroad. Under the scheme, funds have been placed at the disposal of Indian Missions in the USA, UK, Canada , Australia, New Zealand and countries in the Gulf to be released to Indian Women's Associations and NGOs empanelled with the Missions for legal and counseling assistance to Indian women victims of NRI marriages. In many countries, courts offer services of attorneys free of charge and there are social organisations providing free legal aid and counseling to victims of fraudulent marriages.

In this regard, a list of such attorneys and organisations is under preparation to work pro bono. That list will ultimately be put on the website of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Indian Missions abroad for guidance of victim women for free legal aid and counseling.

In addition, the Government has launched awareness campaign to educate prospective brides and their families. This includes pre-verification of antecedents and other details of the prospective NRI/PIO grooms before solemnizing marriages. In this connection, information pamphlets in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Malyalam and Telugu have been brought out to make Indian women aware of their rights and responsibilities, to take necessary precautions before entering into marital alliance with overseas Indians. These pamphlets have been sent to the concerned State Governments for distribution through village panchayts, Anganwadis, Railway Stations, Airports, Hospitals, Dispensaries, NGOs and Self Help Groups. The Government has also launched publicity campaign through electronic scrolls on regional TV networks primarily aimed at the endemic States of Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.

Some other measures under active consideration of the Government relate to amendment of the marriage laws providing jurisdiction of divorce proceedings to be instituted only in the courts in whose jurisdiction marriage was solemnized and registered, making bride groom to give an affidavit that he is not married and such affidavit must be notarized by the Indian embassy or consulate.

Measures put in place by the Government so far are precautionary and protective. It is intended to safeguard the interests of prospective Indian brides and those distressed by fraudulent NRI/PIO marriages. With such steps afoot, one hopes that the menace of fraudulent marriages will reduce over a period of time!