Skilling
The Illusion of Skill Development in India: Decoding the Sudden Increase in the ‘Vocationally Trained’
The BJP govt began 3 flagship schemes to promote skilling but despite ambitious targets and substantial public investment, India’s skill development landscape, in the last decade, has remained mired in quantity-driven metrics and dubious success stories… In 2017-18, 29% of vocational trainees undertook courses lasting over two years, which halved in a matter of six years. By 2023-24, this figure plummeted to just 14.29%. Meanwhile, the share of trainees attending courses shorter than six months sky rocketed from 22% to 44%. This shift reflects a systemic preference for quick certifications over substantive skill development.
Skill upgradation programme held for street food vendors with emphasis on public health
The government is conducting skill upgradation programmes for street food vendors, with an emphasis on public health. A one-day training programme was held in Tirupati. Of the 100 street food hubs planned across India, four will be established in Andhra Pradesh: Tirupati, Kadapa, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam. Union Minister of State Prataprao Jadhav encouraged small-time food vendors to register online to get support under the Atmanirbhar Bharat project and take the self-employment route to development.
Migrant Realities
Study finds high TB rate among migrants in TN
Chennai: At least 37% of migrants across four districts in Tamil Nadu were diagnosed with tuberculosis, as per a study jointly conducted by REACH and StopTB Partnership. The study was carried out in 30 hospitals, including 24 govt hospitals, across Chennai Kancheepuram, Vellore and Coimbatore between July 2023 and Dec 2024.
Building a system that sees the migrant worker
Due to distress-driven high mobility, they face disenfranchisement, trafficking, lack of unionisation and poor access to public services, and are in urgent need of social protection. However, the e-Shram portal has merely been a ‘registration drive’ for workers — silent on their inclusion in social security
Reports
400 million dreams!
This EAC-PM working paper on domestic migration uses three high frequency and granular datasets—the Indian Railway Unreserved Ticketing System data on passenger volumes, mobile telephone subscribers’ roaming data from TRAI, and district level banking data—to understand the likely impact of migration at the places of origin. Its findings indicate that overall domestic migration in India appears to be slowing and has reduced across the country by 11.8 per cent. The paper hypothesizes that this is on account of improved conditions and opportunities at the places of origin.
Tailpiece
'You get loan waivers, have Fortuners, we don't': Lady shopkeeper's faceoff with protesting farmers during Punjab bandh goes viral
A viral video captures a woman's confrontation with farmers' protesters during the Punjab Bandh, highlighting the disruption to small businesses. The bandh, led by farmer unions demanding reforms, caused widespread disruption, with roads and railways blocked and middle-class citizens voicing their concerns. In the video, the woman is seen challenging the protestors: “Where will we go after closing our shops? How will we earn? You have SUVs, Fortuners. Are you farmers?”
The Gig Economy
India’s Gig Workers Are Riding into an Uncertain Future
Twenty-eight-year-old Gautam works two jobs, both in India’s booming gig economy. Mornings, he spends delivering food. Evenings, he turns his bike into a bike-taxi and takes irate passengers returning from work back home through the capital’s congested streets. All this effort earns him around Rs 22,000 a month, after accounting for fuel costs. He moved from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh to Delhi two years ago. He is among the millions on whom it depends if India will ever realise its demographic dividend. But he is tired, anxious, unhappy and craves a semblance of financial and social security.
Widening the security net: Framework for gig workers set for June launch
To provide a welfare and social security net to millions of gig and platform workers, the labour ministry is considering launching a “framework for social security coverage” by June this year, senior government officials told Business Standard. Labour lawyer B C Prabhakar said that since the new labour codes are not yet implemented, it is pertinent that the government come up with a holistic framework for welfare of this bulging workforce.
After Ola, Kunal Kamra takes aim at Blinkit CEO over delivery partner wages on New Year eve
On New Year's Eve, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa’s post about record-breaking orders from the platform sparked a response from comedian Kunal Kamra, who raised concerns over the wages paid to Blinkit’s delivery partners. Kamra criticised the gig economy, accusing platform owners of exploiting workers while reaping vast profits. The debate has intensified on social media, with many users questioning the fairness of gig work compensation and calling for regulation to protect workers' rights.
Labour Demands
Announce 8th Pay Commission soon, trade unions tell Finance Minister
Ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs) in the Opposition camp and the Sangh Parivar-backed Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh have demanded the Centre constitute the eighth Pay Commission immediately. The trade unions made this demand at a pre-Budget discussion with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here on Monday.
Benefits for Workers
Corporate firms devise policies to help employees with familial responsibilities.
From on-site child and elderly care facilities to remote work options, scattered working hours, paid caregiver leaves, increased insurance coverage, counselling services and much more are included in the caregiver policies
Karnataka government set to give lump sum amount as retirement benefit to midday meal workers
The Karnataka government has decided to provide a lump sum amount of ₹40,000 to mid-day meal workers across the State who retire at 60, having worked for a minimum of 15 years. The sum will be ₹30,000 for those who have worked for more than five years but less than 15 years. Midday meal workers in government and aided schools have for long been demanding retirement benefits.
Meagre Wages
Why UP School Teachers On Contract Drive Rickshaws, Tailor Clothes Despite BJP Promises, Winning Court Cases
More than 24,000 ‘instructors’—teachers on contract—are paid Rs 7,000 per month to teach classes one to eight in Uttar Pradesh, making up 4% of government school teachers. In 2017 and 2022, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promised salary hikes and permanent jobs. That never happened, even though the teachers won legal battles in the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. Many now moonlight as salesmen, tailors, rickshaw drivers and workers in a state with India’s fifth lowest literacy rate.
Employment News
Modi regime has created five time more employment than UPA regime: Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya
The government has significantly boosted employment in the past decade, creating nearly five times more jobs than during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) era from 2004 to 2014, says Union Labour and Employment Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya citing data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
Labour Minister’s employment numbers do not tell the whole story
The dip and recovery in employment rate does not follow the neat political divide of NDA and UPA government terms. Most notably, the recent improvement in India’s labour statistics hides the poor quality of the new jobs being created in the economy.
Over 15K youths get jobs at ‘rozgar mela’ in Kashi
Clinton Geo Engineering Private Limited gave employment to 220 candidates and Rastant Lucknow to 144, becoming the top employers at the fair. HDFC Bank and Saundarya Beauty Studio, Varanasi offered the highest package of Rs 4.2 lakh per annum (Rs 35K a month).
Work demand under NREGS inches up again in December
Work demand under India's MGNREGS rural employment programme increased for the second consecutive month in December due to an unfavorable base effect and the return of farm laborers post-Kharif harvest. About 25.8 million individuals sought work, marking a 7.4% rise from the previous year.
Can Budget 2025 address India's unemployment woes?
India’s economic growth faces a major challenge with rising joblessness, threatening the nation's demographic dividend. Economists urge the government to focus on labour-intensive industries, vocational training, and MSME support in the upcoming budget to create jobs and sustain growth.
Emerging tech to drive India's job market with 20% growth in 2025: Report
Looking back at 2024, it said the Indian IT and tech ecosystem witnessed a 17 per cent surge in new employment opportunities, driven by rapid digital transformation and the concurrent rising demand for emerging tech niche job profiles. Such as application developers, software engineers, DevOps engineers, AI, ML, and Cyber Security, FirstMeridian Business Services CEO, IT Staffing, Sunil Nehra said.
Sanitation Workers
Five years after Modi washed their feet, Kumbh sanitation workers’ fight for dignity continues
Modi washed feet of 5 sanitation workers at 2019 Kumbh Mela. Three of them now back on duty at Maha Kumbh say they still face caste discrimination, demand better pay, permanent jobs.
NHRC concerned at death of sanitation workers despite steps to eradicate manual scavenging
The chairperson pointed out that manual scavenging is the one area that is being tackled legislatively, managed executively and supervised judicially to eradicate it, but death of sanitation workers is rampant…The rights panel asks government to ponder over using technology/robots for cleaning sewer lines and septic tanks