Help is now a phone call away for Indian expatriate workers who face distress in the UAE, as a 24-hour toll-free multilingual helpline will provide them counseling in financial, legal and psychological matters - the first of its kind for migrants by any country in the world.

The helpline is a toll-free telephone line 800 46342 which can be availed from anywhere in the United Arab Emirates, home to 1.75 million Indians, the largest expatriate community in this oil-rich country.

With an estimated 65 per cent of them being skilled and unskilled workers, making operational a grievance redressal centre was the need of the hour.

Officials said the helpline was started in this country as the demand here was the "highest". Dubai was chosen for the launch of the project since it has the highest number of Indian expatriates in the UAE.

Depending on the success of the initiative here, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs plans to launch similar centres in other countries which have a big presence of Indian workers.

Last year, 800 Indian workers who were in distress were sent home from here, officials said.

President Pratibha Patil launched the Indian Workers Resources Center at a function at the India Club here last night, which apart from assistance would provide counseling, in financial, legal and psychological matters.

It will also manage a shelter home for runaway housemaids and deserted housewives.

Besides registering and monitoring the grievance petitions, the Center will also conduct awareness classes and counseling sessions for the needy Indians.

One-to-one counselling will be given by a panel of 14 experts from the centre. To facilitate easier interaction, seven different languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Hindi and English could be used by the caller to talk to the counselors at the centre.

In addition to the toll free number, the centre will have a walk-in counter here and in Abu Dhabi to receive petitions directly from Indian workers.

In order to minimise chances of exploitation by unscrupulous recruitment agents over terms and conditions of work, India and UAE have started an online attestation service for workers.

As Indian Ambassador here M K Lokesh put it "the project was thought of as not every worker who comes to this land of dreams has a fairy tale to tell and those in distress need help".

Secretary of the Union Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Didar Singh, said such helplines are being planned in countries where majority of semi-skilled and low skilled workers go.