India: Visa Norms relaxed for IT Industry
Description
On 23 may 2010, India relaxed the visa norms for hiring by Indian IT companies. The IT industry can now hire foreign professionals 'as per requirement' instead of the earlier cap of '20 employees per project'. The Ministry of External Affairs has circulated new guidelines to all missions abroad informing them of the relaxation in procedures for information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) companies.
However, in view of the fact that there were a large influx of low-skilled workers in the sector from the neighbouring countries, the government has stipulated that the foreign worker being sponsored will have to give a declaration to the effect that his annual salary is in excess of USD 25,000 per annum. This condition has been introduced to ensure the entry of only high-skilled foreign professionals into the industry.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered: 01/06/2010
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 23 May 2010
GTA Evaluation: Amber
Source:
Govt relaxes visa norms for IT sector, http://www.financialexpress.com/news/govt-relaxes-visa-norms-for-it-sect...
Govt relaxes work visa norms for IT cos, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5966389.cms
NASSCOM, India
Government Response:
- 566 reads
