The Central government has started discussions to set rules to regulate work from home (WFH) amid rising cases of the Omicron variant in the country.
If the country’s new labour codes are implemented, there is a likelihood that workers in India may be able to enjoy a four-day work week in FY2022-2023.
Data on informal workers is scarce and can currently only be collected from an online portal launched in August, called e-Shram.
An expert committee has been set up to form a national employment policy that will help sectors with potential to increase mass employment.
Trade unions in the capital city say higher wages are required to offset the impact of rising inflation in prices of essential commodities.
The government will form a committee to set up India's first National Employment Policy to significantly raise employment in the country.
Gig and platform workers may be reclassified as employees in a major government policy move amid a changing employment landscape.
The majority of businesses have had to resort to remote working as India went into a hard lockdown from March last year, shutting for three months.
It will allow for full-time, part-time, freelance and pro-bono work arrangements, and might include retaining and re-skilling options for older workers.
A government survey has shown a rise in total employment from 23 million reported in 2013-14 to 30.8 million in the second quarter this year.
An advisory council to the prime minister has recommended raising the retirement age in phases, and to focus on creating jobs for older workers.
Recently released government statistics showed that the employment rate of women dropped to 16.1% in the third quarter last year.
The unemployment rate in the country fell to 6.95% in July – the lowest in four months, an indication of possible recovery in the labour market.
There were 75,000 connections made between jobseekers and employers in June, with a total of 34,212 job seekers newly registered.
A US$500 million World Bank programme will invest in social protection schemes for urban informal workers, gig-workers, and migrants.
Earlier in June, India issued an advisory to encourage WFH for all nursing mothers for at least a year, in jobs where remote work is possible.
India has fallen 28 places to rank 140th among 156 countries in gender gap parity, according to a World Economic Forum report.
The country’s urban unemployment rate fell 5.0 percentage points to 9.7% month-on-month for the week which ended on June 13.
The programme targets improving the performances of 555,000 MSMEs and is expected to mobilise financing of US$15.5 billion.
The committee will provide technical inputs and recommendations to set minimum wages and a national floor for minimum wages.
The country is reporting almost 200,000 COVID-19 cases daily, causing many local governments to impose curbs to control the spread of the virus.
Some companies, both in the public and private sector, have already begun lining up its vaccination programme for their staff and family members.
Firms should review operations and minimise the use of in-person manpower, limiting it to critical operations or activities required by law.
Various departments have asked their employees to report at staggered timings, while those living in COVID-19 containment zones are told to stay home.
All non-essential services like malls, beauty salons and places of worship were ordered to shut operations from Monday.
The central government has postponed the implementation of four new labour codes originally scheduled to be rolled out on April 1.
The committee set up to study evidence on the matter comprise members from education and yoga institutions, as well as the corporate sector.
Official data also showed that the net payroll additions hit 1.11 million in January as employment continues to rise.
Employees, especially those with high allowances, are likely to see a major change in their salary structures if the new wage code kicks in from April 1.
The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said the country’s unemployment rate has fallen to 6.9% in February from 7.3% last July.
