India's Labour Economy
Welfare scheme benefits causing labour shortages in construction: L&T MD
Larsen & Toubro’s Chairman and Managing Director SN Subrahmanyan has said that increasing labour shortages in the construction sector is because of the benefits provided by various welfare schemes. Subrahmanyan pointed out that while many countries deal with high immigration rates, India faces a unique challenge — many workers are unwilling to relocate for employment. He also spoke about the difficulties in "mobilising labour."
Blaming welfare schemes for labour woes ignores real economic shifts
For India Inc, like big business everywhere, the standard response is to view welfarism as an impediment to business plans.
Employment News
Labour Ministry inks initial pact with FoundIt, to bring 10 lakh more jobs on NCS portal annually
The Labour ministry signed an MoU with FoundIt to enhance job creation, adding 10 lakh opportunities annually on the National Career Service portal. The pact will offer Indian jobseekers access to both domestic and international vacancies, including 1.25 lakhs international and 10 lakhs domestic jobs yearly. The collaboration aims to boost career prospects for the Indian youth across various sectors.
Several lakh appointment letters for govt jobs issued during 2022, 2023: Centre in Rajya Sabha
Several lakh appointment letters were issued by central government ministries and departments between 2022 and 2023, as part of the Rozgar Mela launched by PM Modi. Fourteen melas in 45-50 cities facilitated recruitment in various central government sectors to fill up existing vacancies.
Work demand under rural job scheme rises for third month
Demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme increased for the third month in January. 27.12 million people sought work, up 13.5% from a year ago. This rise is attributed to the return of farm laborers post-harvest and growing female participation. Rural demand remains resilient amid urban slowdown.
Govt. to study decline in MGNREGS participation in Kerala: Minister
The government has decided to examine the decline in worker participation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Minister for Local Self-government M.B. Rajesh has said.
In the Courts
Disabled During Service, Employee Entitled To Continued Salary, Benefits & Supernumerary Post, Along With Interests : Punjab & Haryana High Court
The Punjab & Haryana High Court bench comprising of Justice Aman Chaudhary held that employees who acquire disability during service are entitled to continued salary, benefits, and a supernumerary post along with interest on withheld dues.
Because Of Freebies, People Aren't Willing To Work : Supreme Court Judge
During the hearing of a PIL seeking shelter for the urban homeless in Delhi, Supreme Court judge - Justice BR Gavai - deprecated today the distribution of freebies ahead of elections and remarked that it would be better if the homeless are sought to be integrated into mainstream society so that they can contribute to the nation.
Women in the Workforce
Why India fails to protect its domestic workers despite decades of abuse
Smitha's story is one among hundreds of thousands of accounts of mistreatment, abuse and sexual assault reported by India's domestic workers. Most are women and many are migrants within the country, belonging to castes that are looked down upon. Last month, India's Supreme Court raised concerns over their exploitation and asked the federal government to look into creating a law to protect them from abuse.
Where Are the Women? Exploring the Decline of Female Engineers and IT Professionals
Mumbai: Despite steady growth in women’s enrolment in higher education in India, a disparity persists between engineering and technology-related courses and other disciplines. Between 2013-14 and 2021-22, female enrolment in undergraduate courses has increased by 46%, and by 55.5% in postgraduate courses but enrolment in Engineering degrees has fallen 1.35% for undergraduate courses and by 43% for postgraduate courses, government data show.
The indefatigable ASHA worker, central to India’s healthcare system, seeks proportionate compensation
ASHA workers are said to be volunteers and therefore, their core salary per month stands at a meagre ₹3,000, excluding the seemingly toxic point-based incentive system.
Policy Changes
India to start monthly release of unemployment figures in April, govt official says
NEW DELHI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Indian government will begin publishing monthly unemployment figures from April, a senior official said on Friday, in a move aiming to provide more frequent data to policymakers. Until now, the government released only quarterly unemployment figures for urban areas and combined annual data for urban and rural areas. A Mumbai-based private think tank, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, releases monthly estimates for the country.
Labour min formulating transaction-based pension policy for gig workers
In an attempt to address the employability issues of gig workers who shuttle between multiple platforms, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is working on a transaction-based pension policy to offer social security benefits to nearly 1 crore platform workers in the country, a source said on Thursday.
Labour in Parliament
Chidambaram query to Modi government over target to create 78.5 lakh jobs a year till 2030
Speaking during the debate on the Union budget in the Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram pointed to flaws in the unemployment data in the government’s Periodic Labour Force Survey. The PLFS said that the unemployment rate (UR) among those aged 15 and above had improved year on year since 2017-18 from 6 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2023-24. “The most grave challenge facing India is unemployment. The PLFS concluded that the UR is 3.2 per cent. Any UR less than 5 per cent equals full employment. If the UR has fallen to 3.2 per cent, why should we worry?”
Opposition targets govt over rising inequality, inflation, lack of jobs
Participating in the discussion on Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the Union Budget shows the government's priorities and intent.
Centre owes 1570 crore to Bihar under MGNREGS, minister tells Rajya Sabha
On a day when National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs from Bihar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament to express gratitude for the recent budget announcements for their State, the Union Ministry of Rural Development informed the Rajya Sabha that the Centre owed ₹1,570 crore funds to the State under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Migrant Realities
Why are Gujarati Migrants Fleeing the Model State?
It has been in the news lately that Gujarati migrants make up a huge portion of those who have been deported by the Trump administration to India. In fact, it is understood that Gujaratis are overrepresented among illegal Indian migrants in the US at large. In 2023, out of 67,391 Indian illegal migrants in the US, Gujaratis were 41,330. The explanation is rather simple: there are very rich people in Gujarat, but many more very poor people, because the state has not been creating good jobs for years.
Reports
NITI Aayog says lack of English proficiency key barrier to state university graduates getting jobs
The NITI Aayog report, titled ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education Through States and State Public Universities’ and released Monday, made several recommendations to enhance state public universities (SPUs), noting that they serve over 80 percent of the total student population in higher education and are therefore crucial to achieving the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
News from States
Unions, Opposition in Bengal resist new policy of diverting tea garden land for tourism
The Paschim Banga Cha Majoor Samity, a union of tea garden workers has demanded immediate withdrawal of the Land Diversion Policy that allows 30% of tea plantation land to be used on a freehold basis for tourism and other industries.
9.13 lakh hired, close to fulfilling promise of giving 12 lakh jobs: Bihar government
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said his government is taking the State forward with help from the Centre; he took a dig at the RJD by saying that before 2005, the situation in Bihar was ‘very pathetic’.
8 lakh employees in Bihar unpaid for 2 months due to tech glitch
Bihar is facing a major salary crisis, leaving around 8 lakh government employees without pay for two months. Even chief minister Nitish Kumar and state legislators are affected. Among them are 5 lakh teachers, 3 lakh regional staff, and 50,000 contract workers. The delay stems from a technical glitch in the new financial software, CFMS 2.0.
Working hours for labourers revised as temperature rises
Thiruvananthapuram: The Labour Commissioner has issued an order rescheduling the work hours of labourers who work in the sun in the wake of a rise in maximum daytime temperature in the State. Workers in Kerala will get a mid-day break from 12 noon to 3 p.m. till May 10 to prevent the possibility of sunstroke, the order issued on Tuesday (February 11, 2025) said.
Farm News
New setting, old demands: Centre, farmers to reboot talks after hitting refresh
A few days from now, the central government will resume stalled talks with farmer groups who are demanding a legal guarantee on minimum support price for crops. The resumption of dialogue between the Centre and farmers — a significant section of whom belong to Punjab, a state governed by the Aam Aadmi Party — will come just days after the party’s crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections.
Tailpiece
Andhra government planning ‘work from home’ for women, says CM Chandrababu Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that his government is planning to implement “work from home” policies for women in the state in “a big way” under the Information Technology (IT) and Global Capability Centers (GCCs) policy 4.0.
Layoffs and Hirings
Infosys Layoffs: 400 Freshers Fired Overnight in Mysuru
VIDEO: In a shocking move, IT giant Infosys has reportedly laid off 400 freshers from its Mysuru training campus on February 7, 2025. Many of these employees had waited over two years to join the company, only to be fired just six months after onboarding.
Why Infosys "Forcibly" Laid Off a Batch of Recruits from Its Mysore Campus
Infosys said that these freshers were given "three attempts" to clear an assessment, failing which they were terminated. While firing freshers for not clearing internal assessments is not new, the scale at which it is happening now is being questioned. According to a Moneycontrol report, earlier termination rates were under 10%, but they have now risen to 30-40%.