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Woes of Migrants Amid Covid-19

Why in News The Covid-19 pandemic and the imposition of lockdown in order to curb it has brought the perils of migrant workers into the...

22 Apr 2020 Employment
EPFO Disbursed Claims

Why in News The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has processed nearly 1.37 lakh claims and disbursed an amount of Rs 279.65 crore...

10 Apr 2020 Employment
Year End Review- 2019: Ministry of Labour and Employment

The Ministry of Labour & Employment has taken initiatives which includes governance reforms through use of e-governance measures and legislative...

08 Apr 2020 Employment
Demand for MGNREGA Work Increased

Why in News The demand for work by households under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme surged to a...

03 Apr 2020 Employment
Engaging Rural Youth

This article is based on “Engaging Rural Youth Gainfully” which was published in Economic and Political Weekly on 14/03/2020. It talks...

26 Mar 2020 Employment
COVID-19 and Work from Home in India

Why in News The rising wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in India has forced the corporate world in the country to opt for ‘work from home’...

23 Mar 2020 Employment
IUSSTF

India-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) was established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America...

20 Mar 2020 Employment
KIRAN Scheme

Why in News The Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) Scheme is one of the several pioneering initiatives started...

09 Mar 2020 Employment
Conference on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2020

Why in News The Conference on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2020 has been inaugurated on the occasion of the International Women’s Day (8th...

09 Mar 2020 Employment
Solar Charkha Mission

Why In News Recently, the Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises gave information about the Solar Charkha Mission in Lok...

06 Mar 2020 Employment
Santusht Portal

Why in News? The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched ‘Santusht portal’ to monitor the implementation of labour laws at the...

04 Feb 2020 Employment
Misery Index

Why in News Recently, there has been a demand to measure Indian economy on ‘Misery Index’. The first misery index was created by...

31 Jan 2020 Employment
Fund Crunch in MGNREGA

Why in News According to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme’s financial statement as on 26th January,...

27 Jan 2020 Employment
World Employment and Social Outlook -Trends 2020:ILO

Why in News Recently, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020 (WESO)...

22 Jan 2020 Employment
MGNREGA Trends

Why in News After July 2019, the number of jobs generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has gone down...

28 Dec 2019 Employment
Code on wages

This article is based on “The broken promise of decent and fair wages” which was published in The Hindu on 25/11/2019. It talks about...

25 Nov 2019 Employment
Labour Rights & Tea Estates of Assam

A report titled ‘Addressing the Human Cost of Assam Tea’ by Oxfam has flagged violation of labour rights in the tea estates of...

11 Oct 2019 Employment
Consumption Conundrum of Indian Economy

This article is based on “The link between jobs, farming and climate” that was published in The Hindu on 01/10/2019. It talks about the...

01 Oct 2019 Employment
Focus on Small Towns to Generate Rural Jobs

The article is based on Focus on small towns to generate rural jobs that was published in ORF on 9th september. It talks about the role of small...

10 Sep 2019 Employment
Kaushalacharya Awards

Recently, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has launched Kaushalacharya Awards at Kaushalacharya Samadar...

06 Sep 2019 Employment

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		'article_id' => (int) 5105,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Woes of Migrants Amid Covid-19',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Covid-19</strong></a> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/covid-19-now-pandemic-who" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pandemic</a> and the imposition of<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/21-days-lockdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> lockdown</strong></a> in order to curb it has brought the <strong>perils of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/arrest-the-exodus-in-gujarat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migrant workers</a></strong> into the light.</p>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Most of the migrant workers are <strong>not routed through licensed contractors</strong> so a huge number is excluded from getting any benefit out of the <strong>Inter-State Migrant Workmen (ISMW) Act, 1979.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to ISMW Act, an<strong> inter-State migrant worker is any person who is recruited by or through a licensed contractor.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The ISMW Act was drawn up after <strong>repealing the Orissa Dadan Labour Act, 1975.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Act is <strong>only applicable</strong> to any <strong>establishment which has five or more inter-State migrant workers as employees</strong> which again leaves a significant number of workers.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In reality, a<strong> small proportion</strong> of migrant workmen are <strong>placed under such establishments.</strong></li>
<li>Migrants from establishments with less than five migrant employees also cease to be migrants, legally.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The ISMW Act is also<strong> not legally enforceable.</strong></li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/novel-strain-of-coronavirus" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Coronavirus</strong></a> crisis has exposed the <strong>inadequacy of the ISMW Act</strong> highlighting needs for legal safeguards and welfare measures for migrants.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Suggestions</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Repealing of the ISMW Act, 1979 and replacing</strong> it with a new Act, or by <strong>enlarging the scope</strong> of<strong> Unorganised Workers&rsquo; Social Security (UWSS) Act, 2008</strong> to include legal entitlements, to define the migrant workman as a subset, to provide for contingencies of livelihood loss and to make the Act legally enforceable.</li>
<li><strong>Universalisation of registration</strong> and issuance<strong> of Aadhaar-based Unique Worker&rsquo;s Identification Number (UWIN).</strong></li>
<li>Schemes like <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/demand-for-mgnrega-work-increased" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>MGNREGA</strong></a>, <strong><a href="/to-the-points/paper3/public-distribution-system-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Public Distribution Scheme</a> (PDS)</strong> <strong>and <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-18th-december-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ujjwala</a></strong> need to be <strong>made portable and extensive.</strong></li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/covid-19-quarantine-alert-system-cqas" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Geofencing</strong></a> of different benefits enabling a migrant worker to choose location-wise benefits.</li>
<li>Preparing a<strong> comprehensive database of the migrant workers&rsquo;</strong> source and destination, demography, employment patterns and skill sets.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It will help in skill development, providing social security benefits, planning for mass transit of migrant labour and preparing for any contingency plan in emergency situations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Empowering the <a href="/summary-of-important-reports/capacity-building-for-conflict-resolution-2nd-arc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inter-State Council</a></strong>, set up under<strong> Article 263 of the Constitution</strong> to effectively and comprehensively deal with larger issues related to migrant workers.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Migrant worker issues have <strong>complex Centre-State and inter-State dimensions.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Steps Taken by Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The UWSS Act, 2008:</strong> It provides for <strong>social security and welfare of unorganised workers.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The UWSS Act defines <strong>unorganised workers as home-based worker, self-employed worker or wage worker in the unorganised sector.</strong></li>
<li>It has <strong>two features:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Registration of unorganised workers.</li>
<li>Portable smart I-card with a<strong> UWIN.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-shram-yogi-maan-dhan-pm-sym" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojana:</strong> </a>To ensure <strong>old age protection</strong> for unorganised workers.</li>
<li><strong>Atal Pension Yojana:</strong> It is a <strong>social security scheme</strong> launched under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/streamlining-of-national-pension-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Pension System</strong></a> (NPS) and <strong>aims at providing a steady stream of income</strong> after the <strong>age of 60</strong> to all citizens of India including the migrants and labourers.</li>
<li><strong>Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana</strong> and<strong> Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana</strong> (under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/government-deploys-800-ias-officers-for-village-outreach" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Gram Swaraj Abhiyan</strong></a>): Both of the schemes provide for<strong> life insurance</strong> and <strong>accident insurance respectively</strong> to the migrants and labourers.</li>
<li><strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/ayushmanbharat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana</a> (Ayushman Bharat)</strong>: It aims at <strong>providing health</strong> cover to protect the migrants among others against the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/the-nowhere-people-of-covid-19-need-better-legal-safeguards/article31400344.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4970,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'EPFO Disbursed Claims',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)</strong> has processed nearly <strong>1.37 lakh claims</strong> and <strong>disbursed an amount of Rs 279.65 </strong>crore <strong>since the launch of the online facility allowing advance withdrawal on March 29, 2020.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/withdrawal-from-epf-accounts" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>scheme allowing advance withdrawal from EPF accounts</strong></a> was notified in the wake of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronaviruses" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>coronavirus pandemic.</strong></a></li>
<li>It <strong>allows withdrawal not exceeding the basic wages and dearness allowances for three months </strong>or<strong> up to 75% of the PF balance</strong>, whichever is less.</li>
<li>The Finance Minister &mdash; as part of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/covid-19-economic-relief-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana</strong></a> &mdash;had said that the government will bear the <strong>cost of the provident fund contributions, both of the employer and employees&mdash;12% each&mdash;for the three months (April - June)</strong> for those establishments which have up to <strong>100 employees </strong>and <strong>90% of whom are earning less than ₹15,000 per month as salary.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The government also relaxed withdrawal conditions from EPF accounts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>government organization</strong> that manages<strong> provident fund and pension accounts for</strong> the<strong> workforce engaged in the organized sector</strong> in India.</li>
<li>It <strong>implements the Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Employees&rsquo; Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 provides for the institution of provident funds for employees in factories and other establishments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is <strong>administered by the Ministry of Labour &amp; Employment,</strong> Government of India.</li>
<li>It is <strong>one of the World's largest Social Security Organisations</strong> in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/business/epfo-processes-nearly-1-37-lakh-claims-disburses-rs-279-65-crore-through-online-facility-6355490/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4953,
		'category_id' => (int) 27,
		'title' => 'Year End Review- 2019: Ministry of Labour and Employment',
		'description' => '<p>The Ministry of Labour &amp; Employment has taken initiatives which includes governance reforms through use of e-governance measures and legislative reforms by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalizing the existing labour laws into 4 labour codes.</p>
<h3>Legislative Initiatives: Labour Law Reforms</h3>
<p>The Ministry has been working on to simplify, amalgamate &amp; rationalize the provisions of the existing Central labour laws into <a href="/current-affairs-news-analysis-editorials/news-editorials/29-07-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>4 Labour Codes</strong></a>. The four labour codes - on <strong>Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security and Occupational Safety, and Health and Working Conditions -</strong> intend to provide workers with wage security, social security, safety, health and grievance redress mechanisms.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Labour Code on Wages</strong>: The Code on Wages, 2019 subsumes 4 existing Laws, viz. the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965; and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. <strong>It has been passed by the Parliament.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Labour Code on Industrial Relations:</strong> The draft Labour Code on Industrial Relations subsumes the existing Laws viz. The Trade Union Act, 1926; The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. </li>
<li><strong>Labour Code on Social Security &amp; Welfare:</strong> The draft Code on Social Security subsumes 09 Labour Acts like: The Employees&rsquo; Compensation Act, 1923, The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, The Unorganized Workers&rsquo; Social Security Act, 2008 etc. </li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-occupational-safety-health-and-working-conditions-code-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health &amp; Working Conditions</strong></a>: The Occupational Safety, Health &amp; Working Conditions Code, 2019 subsumes the 13 Labour Acts like: The Factories Act, 1948, The Plantation Labour Act, 1951, The Mines Act, 1952, The Building and Other Constructions Workers&rsquo; (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Governance Reforms Through Technology</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Shram Suvidha Portal:</strong> The Ministry of Labour &amp; Employment has developed a unified Web Portal &lsquo;Shram Suvidha Portal&rsquo;, to bring transparency and accountability in enforcement of labour laws and ease complexity of compliance. There are 4 main features of this Portal:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Unique labour identification number (LIN)</strong> will be allotted to Units to facilitate online registration.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Filing of self-certified and <strong>simplified Single Online Return</strong> by the industry instead of filing separate Returns. </li>
<li><strong>Computerized inspection Reports</strong> within 72 hours by the Labour inspectors.</li>
<li>Timely and effective redressal of grievance. </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Integrating Shram Suvidha Portal with States:</strong> Integration of States with Shram Suvidha Portal is under way. Data is being shared and LIN is being allotted to the establishments covered by the state labour enforcement agencies. </li>
<li><strong>Start Up India:</strong> Facility for exemption from Labour Inspections under six (6) Central Labour Acts is being provided to the Start-ups which submit self certified declarations through Shram Suvidha Portal.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Social Security Schemes</h3>
<p>Government of India has launched two pension schemes for old age protection and social security of Unorganised Workers in 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-shram-yogi-maan-dhan-pm-sym" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM)</strong></a>: It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the benefit of unorganized workers. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is a <strong>central sector scheme</strong> open to unorganised workers, whose monthly income is Rs.15000/- or below and who has an Aadhar number as well as savings bank/ jan-dhan account. </li>
<li>The minimum age for joining the scheme is 18 years and the maximum is 40 years. Under the scheme, minimum assured monthly pension of Rs.3000/- will be provided to the beneficiaries from the age of 60 years onwards.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pension-scheme-for-traders" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Pension Scheme for Traders, Shopkeepers and Self-Employed Persons:</strong></a> It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme. Enrolment to the Scheme is done through the Common Service Centres. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The traders in the age group of 18-40 years with an annual turnover, not exceeding Rs.1.5 crore and who are not members of EPFO/ESIC/NPS/PM-SYM or an income tax payer can join the scheme. </li>
<li>Under the scheme, 50% monthly contribution is payable by the beneficiary and equal matching contribution is paid by the Central Government. Subscribers, after attaining the age of 60 years, are eligible for a monthly minimum assured pension of Rs.3,000.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pension Week</strong> was celebrated in all the States/UTs from 30th November to 06th December, 2019 in coordination with Common Service Centres, to increase the enrolments under both the Schemes, i.e. PM-SYM and NPS-Traders.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Major Steps Taken By EPFO</h3>
<p>Three important digital initiatives of EPFO are as under:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Online Facility for UAN generation by worker.</li>
<li>EPS Pensioner&rsquo;s PPO in DigiLocker website/Application (APP).</li>
<li>e-Inspections: Digital interface of EPFO with employers. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Major Steps Taken By ESIC</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Rate reduction in ESI Contribution:</strong> This reduction of contribution rates, will ensures financial relief to employers and employees.</li>
<li><strong>ESIC &ndash; Chinta Se Mukti app launched -</strong> The Corporation has also launched the ESIC &ldquo;Chinta Se Mukti&rdquo; app available on the <strong>UMANG platform</strong> to facilitate stakeholders to view contribution details, eligibility for benefits, claim status, etc. in their Mobile Handset.</li>
<li><strong>National Career Service Project-(NCS):</strong> This project is being implemented by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour &amp; Employment. National Career Service (NCS) is a one-stop solution that provides a wide array of employment and career related services to the citizens of India. It works towards bridging the gap between jobseekers and employers, candidates seeking training and career guidance, agencies providing training and career counselling.</li>
<li>Various National Career Service Centres for <strong>Differently Abled (NCSC-Das)</strong> and <strong>SC/STs</strong> are in operation. </li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-18th-january-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)</strong></a> - Under the scheme, Government of India is paying Employer&rsquo;s full contribution i.e. 12% towards EPF and EPS both (as admissible from time to time) for a period of three years to the new employees through EPFO. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This scheme has a dual benefit, where, on the one hand, the employer is incentivised for increasing the employment base of workers in the establishment, and on the other hand, a large number of workers will find jobs in such establishments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4898,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Demand for MGNREGA Work Increased',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The demand for work by households under the <strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act</strong> (MGNREGA) programme surged to a nine-year high in 2019-20.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the MGNREGA official portal, 5.47 crore households sought MGNREGA works, <strong>the highest since 2010-11,</strong> when the number was 5.5 crore.</li>
<li><strong>More individuals too worked under MGNREGA in 2019-20,</strong> with 7.86 crore employed at various sites across the country. This is the highest since 2012-13, when 7.97 crore individuals worked under this programme.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>disruption caused by the coronavirus lockdown,</strong> however, may impact the final figure of the person days generated in March 2020.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>gram panchayats not recording any MGNREGA expenditure has also declined.</strong> This shows that more and more panchayats are using MGNREGA to provide unskilled work to the unemployed.</li>
<li>These new <strong>MGNREGA figures coincide with the sharp fall in GDP growth rate</strong> to 5% in 2019-20, the lowest in a decade.</li>
<li>The <strong>demand for works under MGNREGA is surging despite the fact that wages have been flattening</strong> in recent years.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In 2019-20, average MGNREGA wage per day per person was Rs 182.09, barely Rs 3 higher than Rs 179.13 in 2018-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The data also showed that <strong>263.73 crore person days</strong> were generated during 2019-20, slightly lower than 267.96 crore in 2018-19 but significantly higher than the total person days generated during each financial year from 2012-13 to 2017-18.</li>
<li>During 2019-20, the Centre released Rs 72,162.13 crore for the MGNREGA, the <strong>highest ever amount,</strong> and substantially higher than the Rs 62,125.07 crore released in 2018-19.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Act <strong>aims at enhancing the livelihood security </strong>of people<strong> in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household</strong> whose <strong>adult members</strong> (at least 18 years of age) volunteer to do unskilled work.</li>
<li>The <strong>central government bears the full cost of unskilled labour,</strong> and 75% of the cost of material (the rest is borne by the states).</li>
<li>It is a demand-driven, social security and labour law that aims to enforce the<strong> &lsquo;right to work&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>Ministry of Rural Development (MRD),</strong> Government of India in association with state governments, <strong>monitors the implementation of the scheme.</strong></li>
<li>Agriculture and allied activities constitute more than 65% of the works taken up under the programme.</li>
<li>Social inclusion, gender parity, social security and equitable growth are the founding pillars of MGNREGA.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/as-growth-slows-demand-for-work-under-mnrega-shoots-to-9-yr-high-6344865/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
		'posturl' => 'demand-for-mgnrega-work-increased',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4821,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Engaging Rural Youth',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>This article is based on <a href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/11/commentary/engaging-rural-youth-gainfully.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;Engaging Rural Youth Gainfully&rdquo;</a></strong> which was published in Economic and Political Weekly on 14/03/2020. It talks about the steps to be taken to reap the benefits of <a href="/to-the-points/paper1/india-s-demographic-dividend" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>demographic dividend</strong></a> emanating from rural youth In India.</p>
</div>
<p>According to the report "Youth in India 2017" (released by the Central Statistics Office), India is one of the youngest countries in the world. Moreover, the proportion of rural youth population forms the majority share in India's youth population.</p>
<p>Although agriculture and allied activities constitute the bulk of the rural economy, its dominance has been dwindling over the years. Engaging rural youth in productive agricultural activities will help India to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<p>In the conventional sense, the youth population is understood as those persons belonging to the age group of adolescence to middle age.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The United Nations (UN) referred to them as those in the age group of 15 to 24 years.</li>
<li>The National Youth Policy (NYP) 2014 defined youth as those in the age group of 15&ndash;29 years.</li>
<li>However, the report Youth in India 2017, defined the age group of 15&ndash;34 years as the youth.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Developing Opportunities for Rural Youth</h3>
<p>In order to leverage this demographic dividend, there is a need to have a systematic approach to creating a suitable environment to develop opportunities for gainful employment of the rural youth. The approach includes three important steps:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Development of Modern Technologies:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Although agriculture is not seen as a remunerative occupation, through advances in innovation, capacity-building, partnership and participatory approaches, better market linkages and, most importantly, by developing a synergy with other sectors of the economy, many employment and entrepreneurial opportunities can be created.</li>
<li>Besides, there exists a huge opportunity in rural areas for the growth of off-farm sector activities (For example, the dairy sector).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Skilling of Rural Youth:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to NSSO data, the percentage of rural youth, who did not receive vocational training of any sort stood at 93.7% in 2017&ndash;18.</li>
<li>This skill shortage not only reduces the employability of youth but is also detrimental to technology adoption.</li>
<li>Furthermore, a lot of the rural youth lack &ldquo;soft skills,&rdquo; such as the ability to experiment with new ideas, spot business opportunities, sales and marketing skills, and so on, which could make them more productive and employable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Creating an Ecosystem for Entrepreneurship:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The skills acquired by the youth need to be linked to their engagement in some livelihood option. This would require a responsive entrepreneurial ecosystem that identifies their talent and absorbs them in economic activity.</li>
<li>Today, the entrepreneurial ecosystem in rural areas of India is better than before. India is the third country having the largest number of start-ups. There are about 450 agri-start-ups.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Steps to be taken</h3>
<p><strong>Promoting Technologies: That have a huge potential for job creation.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Emerging fields like agri-tech, agri-based e-commerce, information technology (IT)-linked agri-extension, seed technology, biotechnology, farm monitoring, Agri/rural fin-tech.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Horticultural, dairy production and food processing (related to these sectors) offer much more opportunities for employment generation in rural areas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The idea of <strong>harvesting solar energy as the third crop</strong> on the farmer&rsquo;s field is also gaining ground. This can help in increasing employability and profits for them.</li>
<li>Efforts are also needed in finding innovation/technology-based solutions to some of the basic problems relating to agriculture, namely:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Development of smart agricultural machinery.</li>
<li>Developing apparatus to encourage precision agriculture.</li>
<li>Finding solutions to the overuse of water.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There is a need to facilitate the<strong> integration of agricultural research, industrial research and biotechnological research</strong> so that many new products can be developed from the by-products/agri-wastes.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Bridging the Skill Deficit:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The quality of training at <strong>industrial training institutes</strong> (ITIs)/polytechnics needs to be strengthened by redesigning the curriculum and upgrading them through appropriate budgetary allocations under the <strong>National Skill Development Fund.</strong></li>
<li>It is equally important to strengthen the institute&ndash;industry interface.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In a way, the <strong>Apprentices Act of 1961</strong> helps to improve the nexus between the institute and industry as it facilitates apprenticeship training to students in different trades.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Additionally, rural youth should be trained to acquire different soft skills.</li>
<li>Skill development initiatives need to be compatible with programmes and policies directed towards making a <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-digital-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Digital India.</strong></a></li>
<li>The thrust on the skill development of rural youth should be capability-based, and the focus should go beyond agricultural occupations and traditional courses, such as in the areas like data analysis, paramedical fields, and so on.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Establishing Rural Enterprises:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>An important aspect of enterprise creation is funding support, which is critical to ensure the success of any enterprise, especially for a start-up.</li>
<li>While many avenues (MUDRA loans) have been created in the recent past to make credit available to these firms, there is a need to diversify by making seed funding available to angel investors. In this context, provision can be made to encourage deployment of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/national-corporate-social-responsibility-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>corporate social responsibi&shy;lity</strong> </a>(CSR) funds as seed funds for these ventures.</li>
<li>The possibility to make the <strong>Krishi Vigyan Kendras</strong> (KVKs) or Common Services Centers(CSC) a hub of all the technology solutions developed by different missions, should be explored.</li>
<li><strong>Agriculture graduates</strong> from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) system or state agricultural universities may be engaged in agri-related rural entrepreneurship.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>India has a high proportion of youth in its population, especially that of rural youth. Harnessing their potential to contribute to the country&rsquo;s growth would require the convergence of rural-centric policies like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, National Rural Livelihood Mission, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, etc.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #deedfc;">
<p><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span></p>
<p>Harnessing demographic dividend contributes to the country&rsquo;s growth would require rural-centric policies. Discuss.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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		'article_id' => (int) 4779,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'COVID-19 and Work from Home in India',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The rising wave of the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/covid-19-and-india-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>COVID-19 outbreak in India</strong></a> has forced the corporate world in the country<strong> to opt for &lsquo;work from home&rsquo; widely.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Currently, the work from home is the only viable option to <strong>continue and sustain economic activities</strong> in the country <strong>to contain the spread of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/coronavirus-disease-named-covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID-19</a>.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Legal Provisions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>India&rsquo;s labour laws and proposed Labour Codes <strong>do not recognise work from home as a viable work arrangement.</strong></li>
<li>An organisation is also<strong> required to maintain statutory records</strong> under various acts such as Shops and Establishment Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Payment of Bonus Act, Factories Act, and Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act.</li>
<li>These laws <strong>regulate</strong> hours of work, payment of wages, leaves, holidays, terms of service and other conditions of work of persons employed.</li>
<li>However, the above provisions<strong> assume that an employee has a fixed geography of work and does not account for an employee working from a remote location.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Current Scenario:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Most organisations in India <strong>do not have well documented policies and guidelines</strong> to support extended work from home arrangements.</li>
<li>Also most of the <strong>managerial staff</strong> is <strong>not trained and equipped</strong> to manage remote teams.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Applicability and Computation Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Labour - a Subject on the Concurrent List:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Under the Constitution of India, <strong>Labour is a subject in the Concurrent List</strong> where both the Central &amp; State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre.</li>
<li>There are <strong>416 Labour Laws and Rules between Centre, States and Union Territories</strong> leading to 278 different filings and approximately 1,000 different formats of Registers.</li>
<li>Thus, if an employee works remotely and is <strong>based in a different state,</strong> the applicable labour laws will change leading to different compliance obligations.</li>
<li>States have implemented<strong> labour laws with different applicability criteria, registration and documentation requirements.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Minimum Wages Act:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Minimum Wages Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament concerning Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled and unskilled labourers.</li>
<li><strong>The different states have different minimum wages based on schedule, skill level and zone.</strong> As an example, just the state of Karnataka has over 800 different minimum wages.</li>
<li>In the event of employees working remotely from different states, the complexity of wage computation will increase sharply.</li>
<li>Minimum wage requirements for different states will have to be satisfied to stay compliant.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Overtime Wage Calculations:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>An employer has to compute the wage of an employee <strong>based on the days and hours of work</strong> and maintain statutory registers as evidence.</li>
<li>Overtime work hours have <strong>different slabs and statutory payment requirements.</strong></li>
<li>In a remote work arrangement, organisations will need to manage these records such that they are admissible by the Labour Department.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Professional Tax:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Professional tax is a tax on all kinds of professions, trades, and employment and levied based on the income of such profession, trade and employment.</li>
<li>Professional Tax implementation <strong>varies between states</strong> in applicability, computation and filing requirements.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Labour Welfare Fund</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Labour Welfare Fund is a<strong> statutory contribution</strong> managed by <strong>individual state authorities.</strong></li>
<li>In case an employee telecommutes from a different state, there are implications leading to additional registration and filings leading to <strong>higher complexity and cost of managing compliance.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><b>Pros and Cons of Work from Home</b><b></b></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><b>Pros</b>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Development of </span><b>virtual collaboration </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">without political as well as geographical boundaries.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Easy </span><b>balance of Professional and Personal life.</b></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Helps to </span><b>avoid congestion problems</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> majorly in metro cities.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leads a way towards a </span><b>conservation of resources </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">like fossil fuels, water,electricity,etc.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul></ul>
</ul>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><b>Cons</b>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><b>Reduction </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">in productivity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lack of </span><b>creativity.</b></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Risk of </span><b>isolation.</b></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lack of </span><b>accountability.</b></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<ul></ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The world economies have become increasingly connected and interdependent. Greater flexibility, adaptability and resilience will be key to the next-generation workforce.</li>
<li><strong>The implementation of technology advancements</strong> in office productivity tools, collaboration tools, digital documents, flexible workflows, cheaper broadband connectivity will continue to make work from home easier.</li>
<li>The proposed labour codes in India are expected to acknowledge gig, informal and unorganised labour in addition to work from home <strong>as a legal option.</strong></li>
<li>The government is also expected to make a <strong>regulatory framework</strong> to enable teleworking, organisations should understand the implications of work from home during the ongoing crisis and ensure that they inadvertently do not miss critical compliances.</li>
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		'article_id' => (int) 4759,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'IUSSTF ',
		'description' => '<p>India-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) was established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in <strong>March 2000.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an <strong>autonomous bilateral organization</strong> jointly funded by both the Governments that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Innovation through substantive interaction among government, academia, and industry.</li>
<li><strong>IUSSTF&rsquo;s vision</strong> is to ensure excellence in Science, Technology and Innovation space through collaborative initiatives between India and the United States of America.</li>
<li><strong>Its mission is to act as a catalyst</strong> to promote long-term scientific collaborations between India and the U.S. through partnerships amongst individual scientists, scientific institutions and the scientific community at large.</li>
<li>The <strong>Department of Science &amp; Technology (DST), Governments of India,</strong> and the<strong> U.S. Department of State</strong> are respective nodal departments for this program.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other India-US Engagement on Education</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Fulbright program-</strong> It offers international educational and cultural exchange programs.</li>
<li>The <strong>Higher Education Dialogue-&nbsp;</strong>It laid out the road map for promoting strategic institutional partnerships, deepening collaboration in research and development, fostering partnerships in vocational education and focusing on junior faculty development.</li>
<li><strong>Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN)-</strong> It is launched by India, under this upto 1000 American academics will be invited and hosted each year to teach in Indian universities at their convenience.</li>
<li>The two sides are also collaborating to <strong>establish a new Indian Institute of Technology in Ahmedabad.</strong></li>
<li>India is also learning from the U.S. experience in community colleges in order to meet our demands for skill-development and has agreed to collaborate with U.S. institutions in the area of Technology Enabled Learning and <strong>Massive Open On-line Courses (MOOCs)</strong> to extend the reach of education in India.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1607151" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4656,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'KIRAN Scheme',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) Scheme</strong> is one of the several pioneering initiatives started by the <strong>Department of Science and Technology (DST)</strong> for promoting women in science.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing &lsquo;Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN)&rsquo; Scheme to provide various career opportunities to women scientists and technologists.</li>
<li>It is primarily aimed to <strong>bring gender parity in the Science &amp; Technology sector</strong> by inducting more women talent in the research &amp; development domain through various programmes.</li>
<li>It also provides <strong>fellowship support ranging from Rs 25000 to 55000 to women ranging in the age group 27 to 57 years</strong> for continuing higher education in Science and Technology <strong>after a break in career</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605698" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'posturl' => 'kiran-scheme',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4654,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Conference on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2020',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>The <strong>Conference on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2020</strong> has been inaugurated on the occasion of the International Women&rsquo;s Day (8th March) in New Delhi.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The three-day conference has been <strong>organised by the Ministry of MSME</strong> in collaboration with various industry associations like FICCI-flo, CII and India SME Forum.</li>
<li>Also, a discussion on <strong>&lsquo;Creating a conducive business Eco System for Empowering Women Entrepreneurs&rsquo;</strong> has been arranged for more than 300 women entrepreneurs from all parts of the country.</li>
<li>The conference mentioned <strong>MSME Sambandh</strong> and <strong>Udyam Sakhi portal</strong> which has helped to generate a pool of successful women entrepreneurs in the country.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>MSME Sambandh</strong> aims to monitor the implementation of public procurement from MSMEs by Central Public Sector Enterprises.</li>
<li><strong>Udyam Sakhi portal</strong> intends to provide the right information for <strong>women entrepreneurs</strong> about self-employment on one single portal.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605652" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
		'posturl' => 'conference-on-empowering-women-entrepreneurs-2020',
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	(int) 9 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 4630,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Solar Charkha Mission',
		'description' => '<h3>Why In News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <strong>Minister for Micro, Small &amp; Medium Enterprises</strong> gave information about the <strong>Solar</strong> <strong>Charkha Mission </strong>in<strong>&nbsp;Lok Sabha.</strong></p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-2-august-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Solar Charkha Mission</strong></a> is an enterprise driven scheme and envisages setting up of <strong>&lsquo;Solar Charkha Clusters&rsquo;</strong> which will have <strong>200 to 2042 beneficiaries</strong> (Spinners, Weavers, Stitchers and other skilled artisans).</li>
<li>One cluster would involve a maximum <strong>subsidy of Rs. 9.60 crore</strong> provided in form of <strong>Capital subsidy for individual</strong> and <strong>Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), interest subvention for working capital</strong> and <strong>capacity building.</strong></li>
<li>These solar charkhas are to be operated <strong>using solar power which is a renewable energy source.</strong> It will help in the development of <strong>Green Economy</strong> as it is an <strong>environment friendly programme.</strong> It will also <strong>generate sustainable employment for the artisans.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Solar Charkha Mission is a<strong> Ministry of Micro Small &amp; Medium Enterprises (MSME) initiative launched during June 2018.</strong></li>
<li>A pilot project on Solar Charkha was implemented at <strong>Khanwa village, Nawada District of Bihar in 2016.</strong> Based on the success of the pilot project, the Government of India had accorded approval to set up 50 such clusters with a budget of <strong>Rs. 550 Crore for 2018-19 and 2019-20.</strong></li>
<li>The scheme is envisaged to generate direct employment nearly to <strong>one lakh persons in the approved clusters.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Scheme Objectives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To ensure inclusive <strong>growth by generation of employment, especially for women and youth,</strong> and<strong> sustainable development</strong> through solar charkha clusters in<strong> rural areas.</strong></li>
<li>To <strong>boost rural economy</strong> and help in arresting<strong> migration from rural to urban areas.</strong></li>
<li>To leverage <strong>low-cost,</strong> innovative <strong>technologies and processes for sustenance.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1605406" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4337,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Santusht Portal',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News?</h3>
<p>The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched &lsquo;Santusht portal&rsquo; to monitor the implementation of labour laws at the grassroots level.</p>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The objective of &lsquo;Santusht&rsquo; is to <strong>promote transparency, accountability, effective delivery of public services and implementation of policies, schemes</strong> of Ministry of Labour and Employment at the grassroots level through constant monitoring.</li>
<li>Entering 2020, the government aims to implement <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/rebooting-labour-reforms" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>all four codes on wages</strong></a>, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety, health and working conditions. These are expected to improve ease of doing business and safeguard the interest of workers.</li>
<li>For public grievances, <strong>Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)</strong> portal is already functional.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an online web-enabled system developed by <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-february-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Informatics Centre</strong></a> <strong>(Ministry of Electronics &amp; IT [MeitY]),</strong> in association with Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances &amp; Pensions.</li>
<li>It aims to receive, redress and monitor the grievances of the public.</li>
<li>It provides the facility to lodge a grievance online from any location.</li>
<li>It enables the citizen to track online the grievance being followed up with Departments concerned and also enables DARPG to monitor the grievance.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1601761" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: PIB</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4303,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Misery Index',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, there has been a demand to measure Indian economy on &lsquo;Misery Index&rsquo;.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> first misery index was created by Arthur Okun</strong> in 1960&rsquo;s and was equal to the <strong>sum of inflation and unemployment rate figures</strong> to provide a snapshot of the US economy.</li>
<li>The <strong>higher the index,</strong> the <strong>more is the misery</strong> felt by average citizens.</li>
<li>It has broadened in recent times to include other economic indicators, such as<strong> bank lending rates.</strong></li>
<li>In recent times, variations of the original misery index have become popular as a means to gauge the overall health of the global economy.</li>
<li>A variation of the original misery index is the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-19th-april-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Bloomberg misery index</strong></a>, developed by the online publication.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/measure-misery-index-of-economy-congress/article30695342.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4268,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Fund Crunch in MGNREGA',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>According to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme&rsquo;s financial statement as on 26<sup>th</sup> January, 2020, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/mgnrega-trends" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>centre is on the verge of running out of funds for the scheme.</strong></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>More than 96% of the allocated money has already been spent or is needed to pay pending dues, with less than ₹2,500 crores left to sustain the scheme for the next two months.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1580113556_image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1580113556_image1.jpg" style="float: right;" width="350" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Budget Allocation:</strong> The budget allocation for 2019 for MGNREGA scheme was ₹60,000 crores which is<strong> lower than</strong> the amount spent in 2018.</li>
<li><strong>Current Status:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Many <strong>state governments have not paid the wages to workers as the Centre has not released funds.</strong> It is contrary to the spirit of the Act and violates the principle of rights-based implementation of the MGNREGA scheme.</li>
<li>The <strong>Central Employment Guarantee Council</strong> has not met in two years despite it being mandatory to hold a meeting every six months.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Central Employment Guarantee Council is a forum constituted under Section 10(3) (d) of the MGNREGA Act, 2005.</li>
<li>It is responsible for a central monitoring and evaluation system for the scheme, besides advising the government on its implementation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>State-wise Scenario:</strong> Rajasthan has the highest negative net balance of ₹620 crores, followed by ₹323 crores in Uttar Pradesh.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Some States still have funds remaining only because they are actively suppressing demand and turning workers away. State governments do not want to be liable to pay interest for delayed wages, so they suppress demand.</li>
<li>The actual situation may be worse as States do not always enter pending payments into the information system.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Urgency for Funds:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>January, February and March are months with little agricultural activity when rural workers need employment.</li>
<li>There is a high demand for work in 2019 as the rural economy is in distress and informal employment has also collapsed. A number of economists have recommended that putting money into the hands of rural consumers via MGNREGA is a key to kickstarting the economy.</li>
<li>The scheme is running out of money and will enter in 2020-21 with pending liabilities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members (at least 18 years of age) volunteer to do unskilled work.</li>
<li>The central government bears the full cost of unskilled labour, and 75% of the cost of material (the rest is borne by the states).</li>
<li>It is a demand-driven, social security and labour law that aims to enforce the<strong> &lsquo;right to work&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li>Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Government of India in association with state governments, monitors the implementation of the scheme.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fund-crunch-hits-mgnrega-scheme/article30660683.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4224,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'World Employment and Social Outlook -Trends 2020:ILO',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the <strong>International Labour Organisation (ILO)</strong> has released the <strong>World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020 (WESO)</strong> report.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The annual WESO Trends report analyses key labour market issues, including unemployment, labour underutilisation, working poverty, income inequality, labour income share and factors that exclude people from decent work.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Global Unemployment:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The number of people unemployed around the world stands at some 188 million.</li>
<li>Some 267 million young people aged 15-24 are not in employment, education or training, and many more endure substandard working condition.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Working Poverty:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Working poverty is defined as earning less than USD 3.20 per day in purchasing power parity terms.</li>
<li>It affects more than 630 million workers or one in five of the global working population.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Unpaid Work:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>165 million people do not have enough paid work, and 120 million have either given up actively searching for work or otherwise lack access to the labour market.</li>
<li>Almost half a billion people are working fewer paid hours than they would like or lack adequate access to paid work.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Future Status of Global Unemployment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is projected to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020. Though, global unemployment has been roughly stable for the last nine years.</li>
<li>Moderate or extreme working poverty is expected to increase in 2020-21 in developing countries, increasing the obstacles to achieving <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-indias-sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Sustainable Development Goal</strong></a> 1 on eradicating poverty everywhere by 2030.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Rising Unemployment</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inequalities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Persisting and substantial work-related inequalities (Gender, age and geographical location) and exclusion are preventing from finding decent work and better futures.</li>
<li>These inequalities also limit both individual opportunity and economic growth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Global Economic Slowdown:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It is one of the major reason for not creating enough new jobs to absorb new entrants to the labour market.</li>
<li>In addition, many African countries are experiencing a drop in real incomes and a rise in poverty.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Rising Protectionism:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A rise in trade restrictions and protectionism restricts national as well as global employment generation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Decreasing Value of Human Capital:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Labour underutilisation and poor-quality jobs mean our economies and societies are missing out on the potential benefits of a huge pool of human talent.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It suggests countries to ensure that economic growth and development occurs in a way that leads to the reduction of poverty and better working conditions.</li>
<li>It also recommends for structural transformation, technological upgrading and diversification in global as well as national economies.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>International Labour Organisation</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>International Labour Organisation (ILO) was <strong>created</strong> in <strong>1919,</strong> as part of the <strong>Treaty of Versailles</strong> that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.It became a <strong>specialized agency of the United Nations </strong>in<strong> 1946.</strong></li>
<li>It is a <strong>tripartite organization,</strong> the only one of its kind bringing together representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.</li>
<li><strong>India</strong> is a<strong> founder member</strong> of the International Labour Organization.</li>
<li>It is Headquartered at <strong>Geneva in Switzerland.</strong></li>
<li>In <strong>1969,</strong> ILO received the <strong>Nobel Peace Prize</strong> for improving fraternity and peace among nations, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations.</li>
</ul>
<div></div>
</div>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/world/global-unemployment-projected-to-rise-by-around-2-5-million-in-2020-un-labour-report-6227927/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 14 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 4013,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'MGNREGA Trends',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>After July 2019, the number of jobs generated under the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sub-group-of-chief-ministers-on-coordination-between-mgnrega-and-agriculture" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)</strong></a> has gone down compared to 2018.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577525881_image8.jpg" style="float: right;" width="300" caption="false" height="595" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There has been a decrease in the number that were actually provided work out of the total number of households whose demand for work was registered by the gram panchayat authorities concerned. In 2018-19, demand was registered from 5.88 crore households, and 5.27 crore of them were provided work.</li>
<li>The year 2019 has witnessed a dip in the person-days of employment under MGNREGA, which is visible after July.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the period before July 2019, the work provided exceeded the corresponding levels for 2018.</li>
<li>The fall in MGNREGA employment after July has been<strong> largely due to the onset of the southwest monsoon.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The gap between the number of households demanding MGNREGA work and the number who were provided work has been the highest in 2019-20. This indicates that even if demand fell, the supply of work fell even more.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Lack of Funds</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The cost of providing a day&rsquo;s work to a single person has been taken at an average of ₹249.86 for 2019-20. For 270.21 crore people, the MGNREGA budget worked out to roughly ₹67,514.67 crore.</li>
<li>But the total budgetary allocation has been only ₹60,000 crore, which also includes provision towards material and administrative expenses.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Adding to the problem, ₹55,829.62 crore was already spent as on December 24, 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Apart from this, the Centre has revised upwards its original plan of providing 260 crore person-days of work for 2019-20 to 316.73 crore person-days.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This move came after a decision to augment the number of days of employment per household under MGNREGA from 100 to 150 in flood-affected districts of states such as Karnataka.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other Schemes Facing Similar Situations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/will-the-6000-farmer-payout-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the first instalment (December 2018 to March 2019), 8.05 crore farmers were covered, with each of them receiving ₹2,000. Those numbers fell to 7.43 crore in the second instalment (April-July 2019) and further to 5.91 crore in the third (August-November).</li>
<li>In all, the total amount disbursed under the scheme for 2019-20 is ₹32,320.86 crore, which is significantly short of the ₹75,000 crore budgeted for it.</li>
<li>Further, of the total ₹95,000 crore allocated for the scheme since its inception in 2018 ₹48,421.65 crore (roughly half of the total amount) has been spent up to December 2019.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-awas-yojana-grameen-behind-target" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>PM Awas Yojana-Gramin</strong></a><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The number of rural houses built under the scheme has seen a drop to 7.2 lakh in 2019-20 from 47.33 lakh in 2018-19.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mgnrega-trends-fewer-jobs-since-july-wider-demand-supply-gap-6188148/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: IE</strong></a></p>',
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	(int) 15 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 3720,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Code on wages',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-broken-promise-of-decent-and-fair-wages/article30070255.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> &ldquo;The broken promise of decent and fair wages&rdquo;</strong> </a>which was published in The Hindu on 25/11/2019. It talks about issues related to Code on Wages Act 2019.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, the government proposed the rules to the Code of Wages Act 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Informal workers accounts for 93% of the total working population and contribute to over 60% of India&rsquo;s GDP. Therefore, the new wage code has the potential to influence the lives of around 50 Crore workers in the country.</li>
<li>A well designed minimum wage system can reduce inequalities in incomes, bridge gender gaps in wages and alleviate poverty.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why new Code on Wages?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In India, labour market preys on excess availability of workers, therefore workers are not able to demand fair minimum wages and continue to live a precarious life.</li>
<li>In India, labour laws fall in the concurrent list and are extremely complicated, therefore there was a need to bring reform by addressing some of the issues like multiple definition of wages, low wages etc.</li>
<li>It will also lead to more formalization of the economy.</li>
<li>An effective minimum wage policy that targets the vulnerable bottom rung of wage earners can help in driving up aggregate demand and building and strengthening the middle class, and thus spur a phase of sustainable and inclusive growth.</li>
<li>Minimum wages can promote social justice without any major negative implication for employment if wages are set at an adequate level.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1574687391_Image6.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1574687391_Image6.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="591" height="497" /></a></p>
<h3>Code on Wages Act 2019</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/the-code-on-wages-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>new wage code</strong> </a>removes the multiplicity of wage definitions, which can significantly reduce litigation as well as compliance cost for employers.</li>
<li>The new Act links minimum wage across the country to the<strong> skills of the employee and the place of employment.</strong></li>
<li>It seeks to universalizes the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It seeks to<strong> ensure "Right to Sustenance" for every worker</strong> and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A <strong>National Floor Level Minimum Wage</strong> will be set by the Centre and will be revised every<strong> five years,</strong> while states will fix minimum wages for their regions, which cannot be lower than the floor wage.</li>
<li>It subsumes the following four labour laws:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Payment of Wages Act, 1936</li>
<li>The Minimum Wages Act, 1948</li>
<li>The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965</li>
<li>The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Types of Wages</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Minimum Wage:<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/100th-anniversary-of-ilo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> International Labour Organisation</a></strong> defines it as &ldquo;the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract&rdquo;.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The minimum wage includes the bare needs of life like food, shelter, and clothing.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Living Wage:</strong> It is the wage needed to provide the minimum income necessary to pay for basic needs based on the cost of living in a specific community. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In addition to bare needs, a &lsquo;living wage&rsquo; includes education, health, insurance, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Fair Wage:</strong> A &lsquo;fair wage&rsquo; is a mean between &lsquo;living wage&rsquo; and &lsquo;minimum wage&rsquo;.</li>
<li><strong>Starvation Wage:</strong> It refers to the wages which are insufficient to provide the ordinary necessities of life.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Concerns with New Wage Code</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Starvation Wages:</strong> It has been alleged that the new wage code will <strong>push the starvation wages</strong> further by increasing the income capacity and<strong> purchasing power</strong> of the informal workers.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The increase in purchasing power of the workers will lead to the decrease in savings which inturn will reduce expenditure for productive purposes.</li>
<li>The introduction of concept of<strong> &ldquo;floor wages&rdquo;</strong> would mean that &ldquo;starvation wages&rdquo; which currently guarantees just<strong> ₹178 per day,</strong> will continue to exist and would promote forced labour.</li>
<li>This has been highlighted by Supreme Court in his judgement in<strong> U. Unichoyi and Others vs. The State of Kerala case,</strong> where it remarked that in an underdeveloped country which faces the problem of unemployment on a very large scale, it is likely that labour offers to work even on starvation wages.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Deduction of Wages Clause:</strong> The new law provides for the arbitrary deduction of wages (upto 50% of monthly wage) based on performance, damage or loss, advances etc.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The deduction clause will lead to reduced bargaining power and right of association of workers. The workers will not be able to demand even basic work rights in fear of wage deduction.</li>
<li>In India, the informal sector employers dominate the workers due to caste and higher social status, therefore the above provision may have the potential to become a handy tool for exploitation of these workers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>In Raptakos case</strong> (1991), the<strong> Supreme Court</strong> advocated the concept and the <strong>right of living wage.</strong></p>
<p><strong>&ldquo;Consumer Expenditure Survey&rdquo;</strong> result shows that the average family expenditure in<strong> rural areas to be ₹83 per day and in urban areas as ₹134 per day.</strong></p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inspection Framework:</strong> The rules do not clarify the governance and institutional structure for &ldquo;labour inspection system&rdquo;. The rules propose an ad-hoc unclear mechanism called &ldquo;inspection scheme&rdquo;.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The scheme provides for appointment of<strong> Inspector-cum-Facilator</strong> by notification by the appropriate government. This may lead to the revival of <strong>inspector-raj system</strong> in the labour market.</li>
<li>The <strong>International Labour Organisation&rsquo;s (ILO) Labour Inspection Convention of 1947 (Convention C081) &mdash;</strong> which has been ratified by India &mdash; provides for a <strong>well-resourced and independent inspectorate</strong> with provisions to allow thorough inspections and free access to workplaces. However, the provisions of <strong>ILO&rsquo;s convention</strong> has been overlooked while framing the new law.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government should focus on<strong> &ldquo;Need Based Minimum Wage&rdquo;</strong> covering nutrition, healthcare, education, housing and provisions of old-age. Therefore,<strong> guaranteed minimum wage</strong> should be treated as a <strong>fundamental constitutional right</strong> for every citizen of India.</li>
<li>According to the new law, the revision of minimum wages is to be done after every<strong> 5 year,</strong> which is quite a long period considering the volatility in the market. Therefore, minimum wages should be <strong>adjusted to inflation</strong> so as to align the wages to market volatility.</li>
<li>The <strong>National Commission for Labours</strong> should be formed to streamline the issues and challenges of labour market and fixing discrepancies in national level minimum wage computation.</li>
</ul>
<p>For the minimum wage system to play a meaningful role in aligning protection with the promotion of sustainable growth, it must be properly designed, its goals clarified, and its enforcement made effective.</p>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f9ffd9;"><span style="color: #000080;"><em><strong>Drishti Inputs</strong></em></span><br /><br />Briefly explain the various types of wages. Also explain the challenges related to new wage code.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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		'article_id' => (int) 3338,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Labour Rights & Tea Estates of Assam',
		'description' => '<p>A report titled <strong>&lsquo;Addressing the Human Cost of Assam Tea&rsquo;</strong> by Oxfam has flagged violation of labour rights in the tea estates of Assam.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Along with Oxfam, Tata Institute of Social Sciences was also involved in this research.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Extremely Low Wages:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Workers are <strong>paid in a &lsquo;blend&rsquo; of cash and in-kind benefits</strong> and services. Cash payments are supplemented by the provision of food rations and free housing, healthcare and primary education, as required by the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</li>
<li>Plantation owners describe wages in terms of the total value of both cash and in-kind benefits, claiming that this meets minimum wage levels. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>India&rsquo;s <strong>Minimum Wage Act of 1948</strong> stipulates that in-kind benefits may not form part of the minimum wage calculation.</li>
<li>However, the Act is <strong>not compulsory</strong> and <strong>Assam (like West Bengal) has agreed an exception for tea companies.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The cash component of Assam tea workers&rsquo; wages is<strong> well below the minimum wage level of unskilled agricultural workers in the state i.e. Rs. 254.91.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Injustice for Women:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Women do the labour-intensive, low-paid task of plucking tea, while men get the better paid, more respected factory jobs.</li>
<li>They are <strong>excluded from decision making and from pay and working conditions negotiations,</strong> partly due to being under-represented in trade unions.</li>
<li>These add up to a working life deprived of dignity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lack of Basic Facilities:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Indian tea estates</strong> are legally obliged <strong>under the PLA, 1951 to provide decent housing, healthcare,</strong> education and working conditions &ndash; but are clearly <strong>failing to do so.</strong></li>
<li>Housing and toilets are dilapidated or non-existent.</li>
<li>Most workers <strong>do not have access to safe drinking water,</strong> so they have to drink the contaminated water, meaning diseases such as cholera, typhoid etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Main Reason: Inequality of Power</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Supermarkets and tea brands</strong> in India <strong>retain more than half (58.2%) of the final consumer price</strong> of black processed tea sold in the country, with just <strong>7.2% remaining for workers.</strong></li>
<li>The relentless squeeze by supermarkets and brands on the share of the end consumer price for tea makes poverty and hardship for workers in Assam more likely.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Suggestions:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Enabling Living Wages:</strong> Closing the gap between current wages and living wages for tea workers could be supported in one of <strong>two ways:</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Either by supermarkets <strong>increasing the end consumer price of tea,</strong> alongside making a commitment to pass this increase to workers rather than increasing their own margins.</li>
<li>Or alternatively, by maintaining current prices but <strong>redistributing some of the retailer and tea brand share</strong> of the end consumer price <strong>to workers.</strong></li>
<li>It is to be noted that <strong>the amount of additional money required to enable a living wage for workers is relatively small.</strong></li>
<li>Workers on tea estates in Assam currently receive just around Rs 3 per 100g of bagged black tea sold to consumers and would require only around Rs 7 to enable living wages to be paid.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>For ending hardships:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tea brands and supermarkets should work with trade unions, civil society, producers and the relevant government bodies to address the systemic challenges facing the industry and end the human suffering of the millions of workers who depend on tea for their livelihood.</li>
<li>There is a need to ensure that <strong>women workers have a voice</strong> in decision making and can work in decent conditions without discrimination.</li>
<li>It should be ensured that<strong> tea estates comply with their legal obligation under the Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>In the proposed labour law changes, it needs to be ensured that the PLA provisions in the <strong>Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code</strong> further the realization of workers&rsquo; rights and human rights</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The government of Assam <strong>should implement a minimum wage level of INR 351 per day, as committed by it.</strong> Also, there is a need to<strong> exclude in-kind benefits from minimum wage calculations</strong> on tea plantations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Plantations Labour Act (PLA), 1951.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The PLA of 1951 provides for the welfare of plantation labour and regulates the working conditions on plantations.</li>
<li>The Government of India is <strong>planning to subsume the PLA in the Labour Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This new Bill inter alia aims to provide fair wages to plantation workers by limiting the in-kind component of their pay and instead providing welfare facilities through the welfare schemes of the government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Related Constitutional Provisions</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the <strong>Concurrent List</strong> where both the Central &amp; State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre.</li>
<li><strong>Article 39</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing <strong>equal pay for equal work for both men and women.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Article 43</strong> of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, <strong>work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/assam-tea-estates-violating-labour-laws/article29649803.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 3271,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Consumption Conundrum of Indian Economy',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p><strong>This article is based on</strong> <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-link-between-jobs-farming-and-climate/article29559462.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;The link between jobs, farming and climate&rdquo;</strong></a> that was published in The Hindu on 01/10/2019. It talks about the nature of the economic slowdown in the Indian economy.</p>
</div>
<p>According to NITI Aayog, the current economic slowdown is the worst economic slowdown that India has faced since independence. Moreover, the slowdown has been witnessed in <strong>consumption</strong> in the Indian economy.</p>
<p>From many decades, <strong>consumption has been the major driver</strong> of growth in the Indian economy. <strong>Income stagnation</strong> has been the cause of consumption slowdown.</p>
<h3>Reasons for Income Stagnation</h3>
<p><strong>Unemployment Crisis</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to the government&rsquo;s Periodic <strong>Labour Force Survey</strong> carried out in 2017-18, unemployment in the country <strong>reached an all-time high rate of 6.1%.</strong></li>
<li>Unemployment among rural males, in 2017-18, is four times higher than the average for the 40 years up to 2011-12.</li>
<li>Unemployment among Urban Females is the highest in the 45 years since 1972-73.</li>
<li>Further, this crisis got aggravated after <strong>demonetization and poor implementation of GST.</strong></li>
<li>Apart from it, at the heart of the unemployment problem in India were young, unemployed men aged 15 to 29 years who comprised 21.1 million or <strong>68.3% of all the unemployed in the country.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Rising number of job seekers:</strong> The labour supply in India is getting a boost from the <strong>rapid expansion of the working-age population in the country.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Agriculture Crisis</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the nine years since 2008-2009, rural income has <strong>recorded zero or negative growth.</strong></li>
<li>Unstable agricultural production first lowers the demand for agricultural labour and, subsequently, its supply, showing up in greater unemployment.</li>
<li>Also, the increasingly erratic rainfall (due to climate change), affects crop production.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Asymmetrical Policy Response</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government has responded to the slowing of growth by announcing a range of measures, the most prominent of them being the reduction in the corporate tax rate.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, <strong>85% of the workforce is engaged in unorganized sector,</strong> therefore corporate tax reduction will not bring a big change.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to estimates, <strong>corporate tax reduction can increase GDP by 0.2 to 0.6%.</strong></li>
<li>Also, a large part of corporate sales is driven by rural demand, but rural demand has slowed down, reflected in the <strong>lay-offs by biscuit manufacturers, automobiles and other ancillary industries.</strong></li>
<li>Policy focus is disproportionately on the tax rate, the ease of doing business in the non-agricultural sector and a fussy adherence to a dubious fiscal-balance target.</li>
<li>Workforce leaving low-productivity agriculture, due to inadequate skills and industries, they are <strong>not getting absorbed</strong> into the organised non-agricultural sector.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Untapped Rural Consumption</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Unstable agricultural production first lowers the demand for agricultural labour and, subsequently, its supply, showing up in greater unemployment.</li>
<li>This affects the investment rate as when non-agricultural firms observe slow agricultural growth, they are likely to hold their investment plans.</li>
<li>Also, low agricultural export growth, the dismal banking credit, suggest that poor agricultural performance is a significant explanation of slack domestic demand.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government intervention should <strong>comprise steps to spur demand</strong> in the economy, by <strong>raising the purchasing power of the masses,</strong> especially in rural India.</li>
<li>To tackle the unemployment crisis, action will be needed on multiple fronts including <strong>investments in human capital, the revival of the productive sectors, and programmes to stimulate small entrepreneurship.</strong></li>
<li>The government must realize that the rural picture matters not only because the largest numbers that are located there but also because of their low incomes.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This means that the future growth of demand for much of industrial production is likely to come from there.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Steps must be taken to resolve agricultural factors, which have raised the cost of cultivation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For example land degradation involving loss of soil moisture and nutrients, and the drop in the water table, over-exploitation of fertilizer etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Globally, industrial growth driven by mindless consumption is the cause of climate change, <strong>therefore economic cost must not be at the expense of the environment.</strong></li>
<li>Finally, any long-term solution to the problem of unemployment to which the slowing growth of the economy is related must start with agricultural production.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Intelligent governance, resource deployment and change in farmer behaviour, should be envisaged combinedly.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-style: dotted; border-color: #ff0000; background-color: #f3ffeb;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />The Indian economy has been witnessing an economic slowdown in the consumption sector, which has been the major driver of the growth in the Indian economy. Analyze the nature and factors contributing to the current economic slowdown.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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		'article_id' => (int) 3105,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Focus on Small Towns to Generate Rural Jobs',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>The article is based on <a href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/focus-on-small-towns-to-generate-rural-jobs-55246/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Focus on small towns to generate rural jobs</strong> </a>that was published in ORF on 9<sup>th</sup> september. It talks about the role of small towns in boosting rural economy.</p>
</div>
<h3>Context</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/highlights-of-budget-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Union Budget 2019-20</a></strong> included <strong>several initiatives to diversify India&rsquo;s stagnating rural economy,</strong> such as: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Setting up of 100 new <strong>rural artisanal clusters</strong></li>
<li><strong>80 livelihood incubators and 20 technology business incubators</strong> to train 75,0000 entrepreneurs in agribusiness skills</li>
<li>Formation of 10,000 new <strong>farmer producer organisations</strong></li>
<li>Thrust to improve connectivity by upgrading 1,25,000 km new roads, under the <strong>Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) scheme.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Declining Role of Agriculture Sector to Sustain Rural Livelihood</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Shrinking land-man ratio:</strong> It is a prime factor impacting the ability of the agriculture sector to generate more jobs for the burgeoning rural population of India. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to the <strong>Agriculture Census 2010-11,</strong> the average land holding size is only 1.15 hectares.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Cultivation alone can no longer provide livelihood sustenance for 70% of those farm households, who possess less than one-hectare land holding. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As per the <strong>National Sample Survey (70<sup>th</sup> Round)</strong> estimates, the average monthly consumption expenditure of such marginal farmers is higher than their income through cultivation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Rising rural population:</strong> According to the <strong>United Nations World Urbanisation Prospects</strong> (2018), India&rsquo;s rural population is projected to climb up from 856 million in 2011 to reach the peak of 909 million by 2027, before declining gradually.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This would further fragment land and decrease the rural income.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Boosting Rural Livelihood Opportunities</h3>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 35px;">
<td style="width: 22.6159%; height: 35px; background-color: #553bff; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Mandi Towns</strong></span></td>
<td style="width: 39.3405%; height: 35px; background-color: #553bff; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Agriculture-led, bottom-up urbanisation</strong></span></td>
<td style="width: 38.0435%; height: 35px; background-color: #553bff; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Integrated Planning</strong></span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 199px;">
<td style="width: 22.6159%; height: 156px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Can be established at the centre of agri-led rural economy.</td>
<td style="width: 39.3405%; height: 156px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">The spatial targeting of public investments in a strategic manner could start an <strong>agriculture-led agglomeration process around the mandi towns</strong> and galvanise their rural peripheries.</td>
<td style="width: 38.0435%; height: 156px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p><strong>Integrated spatio-economic framework should be adopted</strong> for agricultural towns and their rural peripheries.</p>
<p>Eg: A model can be drawn from <strong>South Africa&rsquo;s National Development Plan Vision 2030.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It articulated the vision of boosting small town economies to address rural poverty.</li>
<li>It aimed to develop one agro-park cluster in each of the country's 44 districts.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 168px;">
<td style="width: 22.6159%; height: 157px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">The farmer producer organisations, agribusiness entrepreneurs and artisanal clusters need to be strategically located near transportation interchanges in<strong> small urban settlements&mdash;</strong>especially<strong> mandi towns.</strong></td>
<td style="width: 39.3405%; height: 157px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p>The clustering of artisanal crafts and small-scale agro-processing units <strong>offer opportunities for:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>peer-learning and firm to firm knowledge spill-over</li>
<li>facilitating the sharing of orders, contracts, and expensive machineries</li>
<li>reducing transportation costs in sourcing and delivery processes</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="width: 38.0435%; height: 157px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p><strong>District Administrations:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Entrusted as nodal agencies for planning and implementation.</li>
<li>Required to <strong>frame comprehensive business plans</strong> and marketing strategies</li>
<li>Should <strong>develop land use master plans,</strong></li>
<li>Should <strong>assess infrastructure shortfalls</strong></li>
<li>Should <strong>figure out training and skill gaps</strong> for the local population</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 145px;">
<td style="width: 22.6159%; height: 105px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Can help attain an economy of scale, generate multiplier effects and better supply-chain logistics.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="width: 39.3405%; height: 105px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p><strong>Co-location of agro-economy activities</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>could <strong>trigger multiplier effect </strong></li>
<li><strong>can encourage further investments</strong> from packaging industries, transportation &amp; logistics firms, agro-machinery dealers and maintenance workshops,</li>
<li>It can also gain off-course support infrastructure in the form of education, healthcare, residential and retail functions.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="width: 38.0435%; height: 105px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p><strong>District Planning Committees:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Established under <strong>Article 243ZD of the Constitution</strong></li>
<li>Should be fully operationalised.</li>
<li>Need to be empowered, funded and staffed adequately.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 132px;">
<td style="width: 22.6159%; height: 117px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Mandi towns play a vital intermediary role in agro-economy value chains.</strong></li>
<li>Can link rural fields to urban markets as nodes of articulation for capital, labour, produce, raw material and information flows.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="width: 39.3405%; height: 117px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<p><strong>Agro-driven urbanisation process:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>can <strong>stimulate the construction activities in these small towns</strong></li>
<li><strong>can generate jobs for the surplus farm-labour</strong> from neighbouring villages</li>
<li>casual jobs in the construction industry <strong>have low entry barriers and are vital for the livelihood strategies of the rural poor.</strong></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td style="width: 38.0435%; height: 117px; background-color: #e8f4fa; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Integrated Planning can maximise the growth potential</strong> of census towns</li>
<li><strong>can contain the adverse ecological fallout</strong> of uncontrolled conversion of fertile agricultural land into urban real estate</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drishti Input: Various Urban Settlements in India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Metropolitan area:</strong> Defined in the Constitution as an area<strong> having a population of over one million,</strong> consisting of two or more municipalities or panchayats or other contiguous areas that may span over multiple districts.</li>
<li><strong>Urban settlement according to Central Govt.:</strong> The Central government considers a settlement as urban if it has <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>an urban local government </strong></li>
<li><strong>a minimum population of 5,000 </strong></li>
<li><strong>over 75% of its (male) population working in non-agricultural activities </strong></li>
<li><strong>population density of at least 400 per sq. km</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Urban settlement according to State govts:</strong> Governor notifies an area as urban.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This notification leads to the creation of an urban local government or municipality, classifying the area as a &ldquo;statutory town&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The Constitution provides <strong>considerable discretion to state governments</strong> in determining the administrative boundaries of metropolitan areas.</li>
<li>However, many States consider such &ldquo;census towns&rdquo; as rural and establish governance through a rural local government or panchayat.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India has 3894 census towns,</strong> the majority of which reflect in-situ processes of urbanisation, financed by local agricultural capital and <strong>generate non-farm livelihood opportunities for local labour.</strong></li>
<li><strong>A roadmap for agriculture-led urbanisation pivoting around small towns</strong> is essential to industrialise rural India and generate rural jobs.</li>
<li>Small mandi town economies need to be galvanised through strategic targeting of clusters and connecting transportation grids to value chains.</li>
<li>The centre needs to play a proactive, catalytic role and nudge the state governments to put in place a robust institutional platform for integrated planning.</li>
<li><strong>Cluster development schemes</strong> to boost rural growth launched earlier, such as 300 clusters, under the <strong>Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Rurban Mission or 42 Mega Food Parks,</strong> should be strengthened and implemented in letter and spirit.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; background-color: #f7f7df; border-color: #ff0000; border-style: dotted;"><span style="color: #ff0000;"><em><strong>Drishti Input</strong></em></span><br /><br />&ldquo;The share of agriculture sector in providing income to rural people is declining. Comment. Discuss how small towns can play a vital role in boosting rural economy. Also suggest measures to improve the condition of these small towns.&rdquo;</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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		'title' => 'Kaushalacharya Awards',
		'description' => '<p>Recently, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has launched <strong>Kaushalacharya Awards</strong> at Kaushalacharya Samadar 2019.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Kaushalacharya Awards are launched in a bid to recognize the contribution <strong>made by skill trainers and to motivate more trainers</strong> to join the Skill India Mission.</li>
<li>According to MSDE, it is estimated that India will need about <strong>2.5 lakh trainers by 2022,</strong> across the skilling ecosystem.</li>
<li>The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has introduced several schemes like <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sankalp-scheme" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Scheme (SANKALP)</strong></a>, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pradhan-mantri-kaushal-vikas-yojana-pmkvy" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)</strong></a>, <strong>Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana (PM-YUVA)</strong> etc. to impart skills in India&rsquo;s youth.</li>
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<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>PMKVY</strong> is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development &amp; Entrepreneurship(MSDE). Its objective is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up <strong>industry-relevant skill training</strong> that will help them in securing a better livelihood.</li>
<li>Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana (PM-YUVA), aims to <strong>educate and equip</strong> potential and <strong>early-stage entrepreneurs</strong> and catalyse a cultural shift to support aspiring entrepreneurs.</li>
<li><strong>SANKALP</strong> Scheme to focus on district-level skilling ecosystem through convergence and coordination.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong><a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1584203" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source: PIB</a></strong></p>',
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