Khobragade fallout: Past experience to determine the way forward with US says India

Meanwhile, drawing lessons from the Khobragade episode, MEA has also decided to “vigorously” pursue its proposal with finance ministry to make “significant” changes in the status of domestic assistants like maids helping Indian diplomats in the US and the Europe.

Noting that the proposal was in “gestation” from more than an year with finance ministry, the Spokesperson said the ministry hopes to pursue vigorously the proposal, which has legal, financial and visa status implications.

With nearly three cases involving senior Indian diplomats and their Indian-Based Domestic Assistants (IBDA) occurring in last three years in the US, the government had initiated the process of reviewing the policy dealing with the issue.  

Under the MEA proposal, the IBDAs, who are entitled to boarding and lodging, return passage and holiday passage and same medical care as their bosses apart from cash payments, can be taken as contractual employees of government.