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PMvisit:GovttopushfortotalisationpactwithUS|TheIndianExpress

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PM visit: Govt to push for

totalisation pact withUS
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WrittenbySurabhi|NewDelhi|Publishedon:September27,20141:16am

With an annual $1 billion deposited by Indian workers to

the United States social security system, India is set to push
for a totalisation agreement with the country during Prime
Minister Narendra Modis ongoing US visit.
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According
to sources, the ministry of commerce that is

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has also begun discussions on an early finalisation of the

totalisation agreement between the two countries. The
negotiations on the totalisation agreement have been
linked to discussions on other issues of common interest,
said a senior government official.
The Prime Minister has also been briefed on the issue
while the external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who is
accompanying him on the trip will also take up the matter
with the US government, he added, pointing out that the
US is one of the main destinations where Indians are
working.
A similar agreement has also been negotiated with
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3/8/2015

PMvisit:GovttopushfortotalisationpactwithUS|TheIndianExpress

Australia another top destination for Indian citizens, and

is likely to be signed by the year end.
With over 5 lakh Indians working in the US on nonimmigration visas, India has been pressing for a
totalisation agreement with the country that would allow
repatriation of their social security contributions to India
on their return home.
Typically, such workers stay in the US for a period of three
to seven years and contribute about 15 per cent of their
salary to the US social security system. With no totalisation
pact in place, these workers lose the entire social security
contributions unless they complete 10 years of mandatory
contributions.
US workers in India face the same problem but since their
numbers are few, it is not a pressing matter for the US. On
the other hand, with no such agreement in place, it actually
ends up gaining over $ 1 billion annually through
contributions by Indian workers, said the official.
India has been trying since 2007 to address this anomaly
and had initiated discussions with the US Social Security
Administration in December 2007. However, the US had
argued that their social security system was not compatible
with that of Indian, which is social security system,
administered by the Employees Provident Fund
Organisation.
India contends that both countries have signed such pacts
with 17 countries in common and so there is some
compatibility in their social security systems. Further,
India has also launched the National Pension System,
which is on the lines of social security schemes run in
many countries.
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