THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when overseas job prospects are shrinking and cheating in the overseas recruitment sector is quite rampant, the Centre has launched a new scheme to allow new recruiting agencies with a reduced bank guarantee of Rs. 8 lakh against the normal rate of Rs. 50 lakh. The external affairs ministry has launched the new scheme with the objective of expanding the network of recruiting agencies so as to cover rural areas and thereby curb the illegal activities prevailing in the sector. The scheme also aims at offering a self-employment opportunity to graduates.
But the applicant for the scheme should have a certified financial net worth of Rs 5 lakh. According to ministry sources, at present most of the recruiting agencies are located in major cities and towns. Hence overseas job aspirants hailing from rural areas depend on illegal agents and often become victims of cheating. This prompted the ministry to launch a scheme to expand the network of authorised recruiting agencies.
Anyone with a graduation or equivalent qualification could avail the scheme. While reducing the bank guarantee to Rs. 8 lakh for the registration of five years, the number of recruitments that could be made would be restricted to 100. There is also a provision to enhance the number of recruitments by multiples of 100 by giving additional bank guarantee. Ministry sources said that those who were now working as agents of recruiting agencies or middleman could also make use of this scheme.
Ranking system to check credibility
The ministry of external affairs is preparing a ranking of the recruiting agencies in the country based on their performance and credibility. According to ministry sources, the ranking is being made taking into account parameters like number of emigrations made and number of complaints. The ranking would be published on a yearly basis and this would help the public to verify the credibility of recruiting agencies.
Ten parameters have been prescribed for the ranking, which is done through the eMigrate portal of the ministry. Among the parameters are: the time being taken to address grievances, filing of monthly returns, providing information transparently to the customers and updating information to websites. Foreign exchange earned by the agencies would be also considered for ranking. Ministry sources said that since all the recruiting activities were now being done online through the eMigrate portal, no manipulation in the ranking would be possible.
