Vayalar Ravi, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister on Wednesday said there is a large demand for Indian workers with different skills such as housemaids and home nurses in Gulf countries, Malaysia, Singapore and in some European nations.

Answering to a question in Lok Sabha, the Minister said, under the Emigration Act, 1983, the recruitment of home nurses with educational qualification above class 10 and those migrating to Emiragation Clearance Not Required (ECNR) countries are not regulated.

He said,  "As such, no data is available in this regard with the ministry."

He also stated that the government policy was to facilitate orderly and legal emigration of Indian workers including women, discourage illegal and irregular migration, and ensure the protection and welfare of emigrants in accordance with the Emigration Act and rules made for Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) passport-holders' emigration to 17 ECR-notified countries.

The government has laid down a minimum age restriction of 30 years for eligibility to migrate and made it mandatory for the employment contract to be pre-attested by the Indian Mission, he said.
The employer is also required to provide a prepaid mobile phone and make a deposit of a security deposit of $2,500 with the Indian Mission.

To lay down the framework for bilateral cooperation for the protection and welfare of workers, the Minister has clarified in the parliament that the government has signed memorandum of understanding on labor with seven countries, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Malaysia.

He reiterated that the government has also signed social security agreements to safeguard the social security concerns of Indians employed abroad with eight countries - Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, the Netherlands and South Korea.