New Delhi: India is pushing to include a social security agreement (SSA) in the bilateral trade pact with the United States currently under negotiation, as well as in the trade deals with nearly a dozen other countries, including in Europe, which are in various stages of negotiation, sources in the Union Ministry of Labour Wednesday said.
Inclusion of a social security agreement in the trade deal with the US as also in the deals with other countries will ensure that professionals, who go from India to those countries for short-term work assignments of up to three years, as well as their employers, don’t have to pay double social security contributions in their home country and in the country they have gone to work.
Despite currently paying double contributions, such professionals do not obtain any benefits from these contributions once they return to India.
On Tuesday, Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to discuss the issue, according to the sources.
“We are requesting the commerce minister to ensure that Indian professionals working overseas for a short period are exempted from paying social security contributions there,” Mandaviya told reporters when asked about the issue.
Labour ministry sources also said the US had sought detailed data on India’s social security schemes, which India submitted to them. Sources added that the latest International Labour Organisation (ILO) data showed that India’s social security coverage had increased from 19 percent in 2015 to 64 percent in 2025.
“Acknowledgement from an international organisation like the ILO is proof that our social security coverage has improved. It will help us negotiate with countries to include SSA in trade deals,” one of the sources said.
Currently, India has social security agreements with 22 countries, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland, among others.
In May, India and the United Kingdom signed a free trade agreement deal. Alongside the trade pact, India and UK also concluded negotiations on a social security agreement. Called the Double Contribution Convention Agreement (DCCA), it exempts short-term professionals from India who go to the UK for work for three years, as well as their employers, from paying double contributions.
The pact allows such professionals to pay social security contributions in India, including in government-backed schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund.
According to a 2021 data, earlier, Indian professionals including those who were on short-term visas to the UK had to mandatorily contribute 500 British pounds per employee per year to the National Insurance.
“We are trying to get it included in the bilateral agreement under negotiation with the US. We don’t know, though, if the US will accept it. Not just the US, we are pushing for its inclusion in all the free trade pacts,” the labour ministry source said.
A second source added: “Our professionals, especially from the IT sector, go overseas to work in large numbers. However, despite contributing a hefty amount, they currently do not get the benefits if they return after a short period of three years. We want to ensure that this does not happen. That is why we are pushing to include social security agreements in all FTA negotiations.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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