India is negotiating mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with various countries to ensure easy access for professionals like paramedics and engineers, though it takes "unbelievable time" to sign such pacts, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today.
The Commerce and Industry Minister said even though the process is time consuming, her ministry is "still negotiating with different countries which require these services".
"That is a big hurdle that we are trying to cross," she said at a function here.
MRAs pave the way for recognition of professional bodies of one country by the other. Regulatory bodies of various professional services like engineering, accountancy and architecture are encouraged to enter into these pacts.
These agreements are part of free trade pacts that India has signed with several countries, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Asean nations.
"From commerce ministry, we are pushing ahead when we negotiate with countries to have MRAs done. A number of professionals, whether they are paramedics, dentists or in engineering, when they seek a job, the first thing that deters them is whether that country recognises your degree, whether that country treats your degree at par with the degree there," she said.
The minister said these MRAs will have to be signed with many countries.
Explaining the process, she said some countries are apprehensive about the huge number of graduates which India produces as "calculations of these countries are that what will happen to the employment in their own country".
So the whole process of signing MRAs takes too much time, Sitharaman said, adding "just unbelievable time is taken to convince a country to come do all the tests that they require to do...".
Further, she said the government is focusing a lot on imparting skills to youngsters so that can get employment.
Government is looking at every opportunity to create jobs in the country, she said, adding whenever a department approaches the Cabinet with a proposal, the Prime Minister always asks about its impact on job creation.
The minister was speaking at the launch of the book '101 Entry Level Jobs', authored by T Muralidharan.
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