The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has decided to amend the 1983 law to regulate emigration and rein in unscrupulous recruiting agents.
NEW DELHI: Concerned by continued human trafficking and illegal recruitment, the government has initiated a move to amend the Emigration Act to curb such practices by giving more teeth to the law.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has decided to amend the 1983 law to regulate emigration and rein in unscrupulous recruiting agents. A bill to amend the Act is being drafted by the law ministry, sources within the ministry have said.
However, the bill is unlikely to be introduced in Parliament in the second part of the budget session, beginning April 26, as it will have to be taken to the Cabinet first. Confirming the move, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said the bill was in the final stages of preparations.
The amendment will provide harsher punishment for human trafficking, including an increase in the minimum prison term to five years from the current term of six months. The fine is also proposed to be increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000.
The bill further provides a regulatory framework with respect to emigration of Indian workers with the aim of safeguarding their interests and ensuring their welfare. The intention is to make agents responsible for the recruitment of every person sent abroad, the sources said.
The agents will have to give reports to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs every year, which will then form the basis for renewal of their licences, sources added.
Workers going abroad for jobs include skilled and unskilled persons and remittances by them added up to over Rs 52,000 crore in 2005-06.
The amended Act is aimed at addressing an increasing number of complaints about harassment and ill-treatment of Indian workers abroad. The complaints include denial of food, promised wages and lodging in inhuman conditions. Passports of employees are also seized by their employers as soon as they land in a particular country, leaving them at the mercy of the employer, sources said.
Besides amending the Act, the central government also plans to launch a training programme by this year-end for workers going abroad to make them aware of their rights.
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