Indian missions filed 182 mercy pleas in 12 countries: Govt

Indian diplomatic missions have filed 182 mercy petitions in 12 countries, including the UAE and Oman, on behalf of Indians in foreign jails in the last three years, Lok Sabha was informed today.
Maximum number of petitions have been filed in the UAE (74), followed by Oman (57), Bahrain (14), Myanmar (12) and the US (5), Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V K Singh said in written reply to a question.
To another question, he said that since inception of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme in December 2005, 23,60,626 Persons of Indian Origin have been issued OCI cards till December 6, 2016.

Replying to yet another question, Singh said the External Affairs Ministry is implementing a Productivity Linked Incentive Scheme (PLIS) to enhance the efficiency in the functioning of the Passport office in the country.