Cabinet approves Agreement on Social Security between India and Brazil

News:The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing the Agreement on Social Security between India and Brazil.

Facts:

About Social Security agreement:

• Social Security agreement allows exemption from double contribution to the social security system in both the countries.
• This means that the workers of both the countries are exempted from making social security contributions in either countries so long as they were making such contributions in their respective countries.
• This will protect the interests of Indian professionals / skilled workers working abroad for short durations and will also enhance the competitiveness of Indian companies.

Benefits of Social Security agreement:

• It will avoid making of double social security contributions by the workers (detachment);
• Easy remittance of benefits (Exportability); 
• The agreement will also provide for disability insurance benefits to the Indian nationals working abroad.

Countries with which India has signed SSA:

• Currently,India has signed and operationalized Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with 18 countries. 
• They are Australia, Belgium, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and South Korea.