PROVIDE INCOME SUPPORT, RESTORE JOBS
Why in news? States such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujrat have scrapped Labour laws as a move to bring about reforms to attract new investors who are looking to exit from China. Employers’ associations have urged the central government to do away with most labour rights to address temporary labour shortages. The abrogation […]
WHY LABOUR LAW REJIG IS NO REFORM?
Concerns with the existing Labour Laws in India The Labour law in India is rigid, and restricts mobility. The list of laws that govern India’s workforce is itself formidably large—at least 40 central laws and more than a 100 state-level acts and regulations. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 goes to the extent of […]
GETTING CASH TRANSFERS OUT OF A JAM
Introduction The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (sometimes referred to as: JAM trinity) has been propounded as a dream cash-transfer infrastructure for India. It was born in chapter 3 of the Economic Survey 2015, titled “Wiping every tear from every eye: The JAM number trinity solution”. An illusion and its fading The original formulation, in 2015, mentioned two […]
RIDING ROUGHSHOD OVER STATE GOVERNMENTS
Introduction During the lockdowns the Centre has issued guidelines from time to time, ostensibly under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, containing varying restrictions on public activity and commerce which the States are expected to enforce. The Centre directs the State governments to scrupulously enforce every new set of guidelines, with the States ONLY being […]
REDUCE THE COUNTRY’S PREFERENCE FOR CASH
Why in news? The first two weeks of March 2020 saw a jump of about ₹53,000 crore in cash available with the public, a spike over the fortnightly average of ₹8,435 crore over the previous 12 months. The surge continued into lockdown, in spite of apprehensions that RBI notes could act as carriers of coronavirus. […]
THE NEED FOR A SECOND CHAMBER: BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE
Introduction The Rajya Sabha came into being on April 3, 1952, and had undergone severe prenatal scrutiny in the Constituent Assembly. History of Formation of Bicameral Structure in India The central legislature that came into being under the Government of India Act, 1919 was bicameral with a Council of States and a Legislative Assembly. The membership and […]
PLAYING OUT LIVE, A NARRATIVE OF DISCRIMINATION
Key insights into migration The government gave a tentative estimate of there being 10 crore migrant workers in India but admitted to many being largely undocumented and unregistered as workers. The last National Sample Survey Office migration survey, which was published more than 20 years ago, showed that between 1992-93 to 2007–08, the proportion of migrant households […]
EQUAL FREEDOM AND FORCED LABOUR
Introduction Quote B.R. Ambedkar therefore argued that fundamental rights must also “eliminate the possibility of the more powerful having the power to impose arbitrary restraints on the less powerful by withdrawing from the control he has over the economic life of the people”. Labour rights The 1931 Karachi Declaration and Bill of Rights expressly placed labour […]
NOW OR NEVER: STATES ARE DRIVING BOLD REFORMS
Why in news? Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have ushered in radical labour market reforms by freezing a vast number of acts and giving industries flexibility. MP has initiated a series of ease-of-doing-business process reforms: A single form for registration. Valid licences for the life of a project with no annual renewal. Shops can […]
WHAT LABOUR LAW CHANGES MEAN?
What are Indian labour laws? In India there are over 200 state laws and close to 50 central laws, yet there is no set definition of “labour laws” in the country. Broadly speaking, they can be divided into four categories – Factories Act are to ensure safety measures on factory premises, and promote health and […]