The Indian government may be relaxing the rules that prevent business visa holders from working in India, according to The Economic Times. For instance, the government is identifying activities within the IT industry for which companies may employ—for limited periods—foreign nationals who do not hold work permits. Although the IT industry, which pushed for relaxation of the rules, applauded the move, it continues to press India to discard rules that limit the number of business visas available and restrict allocation of employment visas to 1% of a project’s total number of workers.

The contested rules, which were only recently enacted, were intended to increase local employment. The government had discovered that numerous in-country projects were staffed by foreigners, particularly low-skilled workers. Since the rules took effect, the number of Chinese workers in India has decreased from 42,000 to 3,000.

Currently, with India’s foreign consulates lacking the discretion to issue additional visas, a company’s only avenue for employing foreign nationals beyond the prescribed limits is to petition the government and demonstrate the need for additional work visas.