Mumbai: Private placement agencies in Maharashtra are set to come under regulation, with the state government making it mandatory for them to maintain detailed records of all placements and share information with authorities on a regular basis.
The state government has issued draft rules—Maharashtra Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Rules, 2025—in an effort to curb fraudulent recruitment practices and protect the interests of job seekers who are being cheated with false promises of employment, particularly in foreign countries.
The draft rules, issued by Maharashtra’s skills, employment, entrepreneurship and innovation department, are set to be implemented in the next 15 days, officials said.
“Every private placement agency shall maintain a register of placement of job seekers containing their names, sex, permanent addresses, and addresses for correspondence, photos, nature of work, educational details and details of employers…,” stated the notification issued on October 28.
Once implemented, all private placement agencies will be required to share details of placements with a registering authority established by the state government within 60 days of the placement date, regardless of whether the job is in Maharashtra, elsewhere in India, or overseas, the notification added.
The details can be submitted either through registered post or via Mahaswayam, the state’s online portal that connects job seekers, employers, training institutes, and entrepreneurs.
In addition, placement agencies must publicly declare and display their service charges outside their offices and on their official websites.
“The move will help in protecting the rights of the unemployed who are seeking jobs. It will also ensure accountability by placement agencies as they will have to operate within a regulatory framework,” said a senior official from the skills, employment, entrepreneurship and innovation department.
The draft rules were framed for the effective implementation of the Maharashtra Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2025, which was passed by the state legislature in March. The Act aims to regulate the increasing number of placement agencies across the state and to prevent employment-related fraud.
The law also includes provisions for suspending or cancelling the registration of any placement agency found guilty of misinformation, fraudulent documentation, deception, misuse of personal data, failure to provide promised jobs, or misusing the government’s name.
The state government has also decided to handle appeals against suspension or cancellation orders. The appeal can be filed against the registration authority within 60 days.
The placement agency can file another appeal with a second appellate authority against the order of the first appellate authority within 60 days if it is not satisfied with the outcome. “The order of the second appellate authority shall be final and binding on the parties concerned,” underlined one of the provisions of the rules.