The Hindu Business Line : e-Smart cards launch in May for overseas job aspirants

E-SMART cards, providing personal and passport details of Indian workers planning to go abroad for jobs, will be launched by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in early May. Heavy penalties including jail terms and blacklisting are also in the offing for recruiting agents found guilty of exploiting poor workers and young women, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Mr Jagdish Tytler, said in Abu Dhabi recently.

Mr Tytler told a press conference that the planned launch of e-Smart cards has been slated for May 1, and will be in operation latest by May 15.

"It will initially cover blue collar workers. But my intention is to have everyone working abroad covered under the scheme. Every new immigrant will have to apply for the e-card, which will have his/or her complete details as in their passports as well as details like addresses, family etc. It will also include automatic insurance cover. "We believe the card will ensure less harassment and also make it easy to deliver compensation when necessary to the immediate family members," he said.

A proposal to include a verification clause of all education-related documents in the e-card is also being considered, as it will solve the problems faced by job seekers looking to attest certificates back home. Mr Tytler said that workers who are already abroad will also be supplied the e-cards through the local Indian embassies and consulates. He said that the entire process could take a couple of years to complete.

He also referred to plans to introduce an Act that will ensure heavy penalties for exploitative Indian recruiting agents and indulging in unethical practices related to young women looking for jobs overseas. Stricter screening measures will be introduced to regulate and monitor agents and job seekers, he said. Among other measures is the launch of short training courses for job seekers, which will enable them to be better equipped to deal with the kind of jobs they are likely to handle abroad, the regulations in the country they are going for work and the nature of the contracts and what it entails, he said. The first of such courses was launched in Kochi recently, he said.

In the Gulf, the Ministry is also in the process of hiring the services of a team of national lawyers who in co-ordination with the welfare officers in Indian missions, will handle and defend labour dispute cases concerning Indian workers, the Minister said.

"Following our insurance scheme launched at the Pravasi Divas, the Ministry also plans to widen the scope of the coverage to include more aspects including rehabilitation of returnees," he said.

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