The government has made it easier for foreigners to hire Indian women in jobs such as housemaids in their countries, a measure aimed at combating shrinking offshore jobs and growing illegal recruitment rackets.
Prospective employers from 18 ‘ECR’ countries, which includes those in the Gulf region, Indonesia and Malaysia, will no longer need to deposit a $2,500 bank guarantee if they wanted to hire an Indian woman through the government-run agencies in six states.
The bank guarantee was introduced two years ago to protect against exploitation of Indians who migrate with non-skilled jobs.
“Government of India has decided that deposit of Bank Guarantee of US $ 2500 or equivalent is henceforth not required for recruiting female ECR passport holders for overseas employment in any of the 18 ECR countries, when they are recruited through any of the… six State Government Recruiting Agencies”, said an official missive sent out early this month.