Women in the Workforce
Mission Steering Group of NHM gave nod to enhance ASHA workers’ incentives: Nadda in RS
New Delhi-- The Mission Steering Group of the National Health Mission has decided to raise the incentives of ASHA workers, and the government will go ahead with it, Union Health Minister J P Nadda informed the Rajya Sabha this week amid demands for enhancing the remuneration of such workers from some states. Meanwhile, MPs of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala held a protest in Parliament, demanding that the honorarium of ASHA workers be raised to Rs 21,000 and they should receive Rs 5 lakh as retirement benefits.
ASHA workers are still not ‘workers’. This is the problem
At a time when political parties are competing to recognise women’s contribution to housework, recognising scheme workers as workers with the right to fair wages, proper working conditions and social security can go a long way in changing the societal approach to women. The assumption that women are secondary earners and they would be available for voluntary work underlines their visible presence as scheme workers. Notably, the affective labour at the community level, provided by these women, is seen as an extension of care work that they undertake at homes.
Warriors of hope: On India’s ASHA’s, inadequate compensation
In 2005, the Centre launched the National Rural Health Mission, and nominated ASHAs to be the link between the community and the public health-care delivery system. Today, there are over a million ASHAs across the country, and each one is firmly ensconced as the fulcrum of public health care in their area of operation in rural India. They now perform a full complement of functions ranging from disease interventions, monitoring, and data keeping. Because they were designated as volunteers their wages are meagre, they can make anything from Rs 5000 to Rs 15000 a month.
Migrant Realities
Migrants…don’t lose that number
Kushalgarh in Rajasthan, India, is a hub for distress migration, where wages are often settled unfairly. But a labour helpline spells hope. Rajasthan is a net out-migration state – more people leave than enter as migrants; only Uttar Pradesh and Bihar see greater numbers leaving for wage work. “Not only is agriculture the only option, but it also is only one-time – after the rains,” points out V.S. Rathod, an official in the Kushalgarh tehsil office.
Exporting Workers
283 Indians trapped in illegal jobs in Myanmar rescued, brought back
An Indian Air Force aircraft on Monday (March 10, 2025) evacuated 283 Indian nationals who had fallen prey to fake job offers in Southeast Asian countries. They were forced to work in fraudulent call centres operating in regions along Myanmar-Thailand border and were subsequently made to indulge in cybercrime and other fraudulent activities.
Employment News
Women’s employment in India up, yet 89 mn urban women remain out of work
New Delhi: India’s urban employment landscape has witnessed significant shifts in the past six years, with a 10 percent rise in women’s employment and reaching 28 percent among working-age women in 2023-24, says a latest report. And yet, 89 million-plus urban women remained out of the labour market that year, higher than the population of Germany, France, or the UK, and triple that of Australia. Major factors hindering women’s employment in urban areas include spousal violence, residence relocation after marriage, and lower access to convenient modes of transport. A report by Chennai’s Great Lakes Institute of Management analyses data from Labour Surveys, National Family Health Surveys, and Time Use Survey.
Farm News
Parliamentary panel recommends MSP for organic produce
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing, headed by Charanjit Singh Channi, former Punjab CM and MP from Jalandhar, presented its report on the ‘Demands for Grants (2025-26)’ to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. One of the key recommendations of the committee was a minimum support price (MSP) for organic produce, in addition to the MSP declared for traditional crops, to promote sustainable farming and ensuring fair compensation to organic farmers. To address the issue of stubble burning and reduce environmental damage, the committee has proposed a financial assistance of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy to farmers as compensation for collecting and managing crop residue. Additionally, a market mechanism for crop residue should be created to compensate farmers for additional costs.
Layoffs and Hirings
JioStar Employees with Rs 1 Crore+ Salaries Seek Jobs Amid Massive Layoffs
JioStar is laying off more than 1,100 employees to eliminate overlapping job positions following the merger between Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company’s India division, according to a report by LiveMint. The layoff drive includes job losses for entry-level employees, senior managers, directors, and even those at the assistant vice president level. However, the laid-off employees will receive a severance package from JioStar, which is a silver lining: affected workers will receive six to twelve months’ salary as part of the payout plan.
Providing Jobs
UP hires 60,244 cops in country’s biggest job drive
LUCKNOW: In the largest recruitment drive by any state police force, Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) declared the results for 60,244 constable posts on the eve of Holi. Of the successful candidates 12,048 are women 12,937 from general category, 32,052 from OBC, 14,026 from SC, and 1,229 from ST category.
Rajasthan CM announces recruitment to 26,000 posts, poverty-free village, and employment schemes
Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Wednesday (March 12, 2025) announced recruitment to 26,000 posts in the State government next year and the initiation of a youth employment promotion scheme as well as a poverty-free village scheme to resolve the issues of unemployment and destitution. Mr. Sharma made the announcements in the Assembly while replying to the debate on the 2025-26 State Budget.
UPSIDA’s efforts translate into Rs 3k cr investment & 10k jobs
Under super mega, mega, and large categories, 296 acres of land was allocated to various investors, reinforcing Uttar Pradesh's position as an emerging industrial hub," an official spokesman said. This has attracted an investment of over Rs 3,000 crore in the financial year 2024-25, he added.
AI and Jobs
Over 2 million AI jobs in India with a 1 million talent gap: Bain & Company
India’s AI sector is expected to offer over 2.3 million job openings by 2027, while the AI talent pool in the country will be only 1.2 million, creating a major opportunity to reskill over 1 million workers to meet demand, according to global research by Bain & Company. Even in 2026 India will have an overall talent pool of 1.08 million but peak demand is expected to be twice that.
GenAI boom drives demand for specialist engineers in India's IT sector
Cybersecurity, a sector with approximately 10K-15K job openings in India, is witnessing growing demand for roles such as network security engineers, penetration testers, cloud security specialists. The entry-level engineering landscape in India’s IT services industry is undergoing a seismic shift. While the core role of a software developer remains, the industry is increasingly seeking specialists in cybersecurity, cloud security, and data analytics, domains that are commanding higher salaries and stronger demand.
BPOs to reduce hiring as automation and AI take over routine tasks
With AI and generative AI (GenAI) becoming mainstream, businesses are restructuring operations, reducing the need for human intervention in basic processes. Industry executives, associations and even venture capital (VC) firms are yet to determine how much those numbers will come down as companies adopt a wait-and-watch approach and the impact of AI and Gen AI unravels over time.
Pending Wages
Manager leaves garden, tea workers unpaid, surprise leads to agitation and protests
Workers of the Nagaisuree tea estate in Matiali block, Jalpaiguri, were in for a surprise on Monday morning, wage day. The estate manager, Sunil Panowar, was not in the garden. The manager did not serve any notice but left the garden, workers said. There are around 1,200 workers in the garden. Their wages remained unpaid. “The employees present in the garden have no inkling as to when their February wages would be paid. We are in a fix and want the management to pay our dues,” he added.
Salary Growth
Income levels of salaried class in India have stagnated in recent years
Real wages for salaried jobs were 1.7% lower in the June quarter in 2024 compared to the June 2019 quarter Last week, Niti Aayog member Arvind Virmani said in an interview that while employment is increasing, real wages for regular salaried jobs have not kept up with inflation over the last seven years. Real wages refer to the income a worker earns that is adjusted for inflation. They reflect actual purchasing power. An analysis of the earnings data for salaried workers, casual labourers, and self-employed persons from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports shows that when adjusted for inflation, wages for salaried workers in India have stagnated since 2019.
Dying at Work
Maya and Murphy, 2 Kerala police dogs, are last resort to find bodies of Telangana tunnel workers
The dog squad asked for digging equipment, including drills, which helped them cut through the debris. Then, Maya was brought in on March 7 to assess the landscape. The dogs, both five-and-a-half years old, were instrumental in the discovery of one body – that of Gurpreet Singh from Tarn Taran in Punjab – on Sunday evening, their handlers say. The search is ongoing.
Honouring Workers
Sanitation workers to get additional bonus of Rs 10,000: Yogi
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appreciated the sanitation and health workers serving at the Maha Kumbh 2025, which concluded on Wednesday. He presented them with gifts and insurance certificates under the Swachh Kumbh Fund. In a significant announcement, the chief minister declared that every sanitation and health worker involved in the Maha Kumbh would receive an additional bonus of Rs 10,000 from the state government.
Furthermore, he revealed that starting in April, the state government will establish a dedicated corporation to ensure fair wages. Through this initiative, every sanitation and health worker, as well as those previously deprived of minimum wages, will receive a monthly remuneration of Rs 16,000 directly in their bank accounts via DBT.
Climate Change and Workers
Rural Women Bearing The Brunt Of Climate Change
India’s tryst with heatwaves in 2025 has begun earlier than usual, with the Konkan region in Maharashtra experiencing particularly severe conditions from mid-February. Lack of winter rains has adversely affected the wheat and barley crops. The large number of women farmers who work here in small farm holdings are already apprehensive about this unseasonal weather. They complain about how extreme weather events wreaked havoc on their lives in 2024 when temperatures across the state rose to unprecedented levels, leaving them totally ill-prepared to handle extreme climate change impacts. A database managed by Down To Earth showed that India experienced extreme weather events on 318 days of the 365 days, and, in 2024, the number of days had only increased.
India’s Working Week
Nine hours/day, five day work week: Capgemini CEO joins work-life balance debate
Capgemini India's chief executive Ashwin Yardi advocates for a 47.5 hours working week. Joining the debate on working hours, he advocated 47.5 hours work per week, and was against sending e-mails to employees on weekends.
Large number of employees experience burnout due to poor work-life balance: Survey
About 52 per cent of employees experience burnout due to poor work-life balance, showed a survey conducted in five states in India by New York-based business process management player Vertex Group. The insights uncover what workers desire from their workspace, highlighting a growing demand for flexible working hours and a healthier balance between personal and professional duties