New Delhi: The government is mulling radical changes in the Emigration Act to plug loopholes to make recruiting agents accountable while protecting workers from exploitation. "The aim is to make recruiting agents accountable for the fulfilment of contracts in the host country and to eliminate touts in overseas recruitments," Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) Vayalar Ravi said.

"This is a major amendment and it will help regulate legal migration. The draft is ready and awaiting cabinet approval," said Ravi. There are many cases of exploitation and harassment of Indian workers abroad, particularly in the Gulf. The number of cases was 762 in 2004 and it rose to 1,152 in 2005. It was 1,013 in 2006. The number of complaints against recruiting agents has shot up from 41 in 2005 to 167 in 2006. Last year, 6.3 lakh Indians went to the Gulf for employment.

"There are many going on visiting visas also. But they are facing problems. They are exploited by the recruitment agents. Their passports are taken away by these unscrupulous agents. There is a nexus between some Indian recruiting agents and overseas agents," Ravi said. "Stringent penal provisions have been proposed in the proposed act to deal with the unholy nexus," Ravi said. There is also a proposal to empower Indian missions abroad with legal powers to deal with such cases more effectively.