India launches online system for foreign employers

India has launched an online registration system for foreign employers who seek to recruit Indian workers, including nurses.

According to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi, all the foreign employers need to register in the eMigrate system.

The system makes it mandatory for the employer to fill in a registration application which will then be vetted by the Indian mission.

Following this, the employer can raise the demand for Indian workers in the eMigrate system and seek a permit to recruit either directly or through recruiting agents online.

The foreign employer will be required to declare the terms and conditions of employment of each category of the job at the time of applying for demand registration, said Deputy Chief of Mission & Head of Chancery Neeta Bhushan.

According to the embassy officials, the system will be implemented in different phases.

Foreign employers recruiting more than 150 Indian workers are required to register online with immediate effect in order to raise demand and seek a permit to recruit directly or select recruiting agents.

Those recruiting between 20-50 Indian workers are required to register online before the end of this month.

A provision for applying for permit from Registering Authority in Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is available online for those who wish to recruit workers from India directly.

The embassy also said that foreign employers who seek to recruit Indian nurses need to register in the eMigrate system.

According to the embassy, the recruitment of nurses for overseas employment will have to be through three state-run recruiting agencies - Non-Resident Keralites's Affairs Department (NORKA-ROOTS) Thiruvananthapuram, Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPC) Thiruvananthapuram and Overseas Manpower Corporation Limited (OMCL) Chennai.

The emigration of nurses for overseas employment will also require prior emigration clearance from Protector of Emigrants' offices in India.

Indian expatriate community is reportedly the largest ethnic community in the UAE, constituting about 30 per cent of the country's population.