Retail sales of cars are back to January 2018 levels in August 2021. Two-wheeler retail sales are 22 per cent lower, nearly four years down the line.
Talking to PTI Amarjeet Kaur, General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), said, "The two-day nationwide strike by the joint forum of central trade unions has begun this morning". About the impact of the agitation, she said that the entire coal belt (mining area) is affected in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. She also said that there is a good response in industrial areas of Assam, Haryana, Delhi, West Bengal, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Rajasthan, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The AITUC official noted that the banks and insurance sectors are affected all over India, while steel and oil sectors are also seeing partial impact due to the strike. Kaur said that she has got preliminary reports that markets are closed in Odisha.
The government has approved 8.5 per cent rate of interest on employees' provident fund for the 2020-21 fiscal, a source said. Just ahead of Diwali, this is a good news for over five crore subscribers of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The 8.5 per cent rate of interest on provident fund deposits for the last financial year was decided by the EPFO's apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees (CBT) headed by Labour Minister in March this year.
The intensity of power crisis this season has hit a new high with average coal stock dipping to less than eight days. The first of a pan-Indian series, based on a ground report, shows how the Manesar industrial hub is coping with the challenge. As the scorching heat wave and the lengthy power cuts intensify in Haryana, the usually bustling labour chowk of the Industrial Model Township (IMT) of Manesar wears a deserted look.
Gandhi noted that lakhs of migrants continue to walk hundreds of kilometres to reach back their homes without food, water, medicines and cash. She also accused the central government and the Railways of completely ignoring the demands made by the Congress for ensuring the safe and free travel of migrant workers and labourers to their homes.
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge, a staunch Gandhi family loyalist from Karnataka, has become the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years.
Employment in nine selected sectors, including construction, manufacturing and IT/BPO, was at 3.08 crore in the April-June quarter of 2021-22, reflecting a growth of 29 per cent compared to 2.37 crore reported in the Economic Census of 2013-14, according to a survey. Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday released the report of Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) part (April to June 2021), of the All-India Quarterly Establishment-based Employment Survey (AQEES) prepared by the Labour Bureau. Announcing the results, Yadav said the estimated total employment in the nine selected sectors from the first round of QES is 3 crore and 8 lakh approximately against a total of 2 crore and 37 lakhs in these sectors taken collectively, as reported in the sixth Economic Census (EC 2013-14) reflecting a growth rate of 29 per cent.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 543 and the number of cases climbed to 17,265 in the country on Monday, according to the Union health ministry.
The strike notices were given by workers' unions of various sectors such as coal, steel, oil, telecom, postal, income tax, copper, banks and insurance.
Rationalisation of income tax slabs, infrastructure status for digital services and incentives to hydrogen storage as well as fuel cell development were some of the suggestions made by various stakeholders at the pre-Budget consultation meeting convened by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The customary pre-Budget consultation meetings were held with the finance minister virtually between December 15 and December 22, as per the finance ministry statement. More than 120 invitees representing seven stakeholder groups participated in eight meetings, scheduled during this period, it said.
The government has reduced the stipulated period for settlement of various claims like PF withdrawal, pension and insurance by the retirement fund body EPFO to 20 days from the existing 30 days.
Portfolios were on Tuesday allocated in the new Bihar cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who, predictably, retained the all-important home department which helps him keep direct control on the state police.
Given the rapid changes in the Indian labour market, there is an urgent need to have current, accurate and publicly available data through regular, dynamic and comprehensive surveys. Indeed, this was the intention behind constituting the NITI Aayog Task Force on Improving Employment Data. The attempts by the government to "improve" labour data has actually made it worse, say Rosa Abraham, Janaki Shibu & Rajendran Narayanan.
While looking to give a boost to the mutual fund sector with some contribution from about Rs 5.5 lakh crore (Rs 5.5 trillion) corpus being managed by Employee Provident Fund Organisation, Sebi feels that age restrictions would safeguard investors from 'unnecessary risks' during years closer to their retirement.
Govt has done away with the need to secure crucial permits.
The UN report stated that China has committed to "other predominantly Muslim communities" in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
The commission suggested that a comprehensive plan should be devised to handle the issue of missing files which has become a "stumbling block" in implementing the RTI act.
Developers grappling with labour shortage and getting construction material to sites could be among a list of problems.
The age of Indian maids looking for employment in Saudi Arabia has been set between 25 and 50 years under a new employment agreement finalised by the two countries to guarantee protection of domestic workers.
The meeting has been called as the Finance Minister P Chidambaram did not extend a March 31 deadline for the trusts to get regular tax exemption through the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation.
The fresh companies were moved into the valley as part of the strategy of 'enhancing security and visibility' of the forces on the ground following the killings, they said.
'Today when people are fighting to get their salary, you are telling them you will privatise airports!'
In his address after more than 75,000 people were given appointment letters for various government jobs in the first tranche, Modi acknowledged the challenges facing the economy the world over with many countries hit by a record inflation and unemployment and said India is making every effort to come out of the situation unscathed.
At present, the EPFO is mandated to invest 20-45 per cent of its incremental funds - of around Rs 1.5 trillion - in debt-related instruments.
Over 1.4 lakh jobs are estimated to be created between March 2019 and March 2021 in various central government departments, according to the Union Budget presented on Monday. The strength of government establishments was 32,71,113 as on March 1, 2019, which is estimated to increase to 34,14,226 by the first day of next month - an increase of 1,43,113, it said. The budget documents have given a break-up of the jobs estimated to be created in central government departments between 2019 and March 2021.
The outbreak and lockdown have thrown up a number of challenges, such as layoffs, pay cuts and a general slowdown. Many subscribers after their unsuccessful attempts to use the scheme have taken to social media to voice their complaints, as the EPFO website and grievance portal suffer outages and its customer helpline remains unreachable.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
He is known for his paperless style of working.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and other ministers took charge of their respective offices on Thursday, a day after taking oath at a ceremony held in the Darbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
On Monday, the ministry had put the recovery rate from COVID-19 at 22.17 per cent.
"As many as 1.12 million expats corrected their professions until July 6. We have also issued and renewed more than 1.6 million work permits during the period," Abdullah Abuthnain, Deputy Minister for Inspections and Developing Work Atmosphere, was quoted by the local media as saying.
Ahead of the Union Cabinet expansion on Wednesday, several Union Ministers, including Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar resigned from their posts.
The family members of the fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails say they would vote for those parties in the upcoming elections which assure to bring their relatives back from the neighbouring country.
The team also visited Tizit Police Station to meet the cross section of the society including civilians, police personnel and doctors who treated the injured for obtaining valuable information, he said.
States were directed to ensure there is no movement of people across cities or on highways. Only movement of goods should be allowed.
Releasing the survey report after taking into account the expert committee recommendations, Statistics Secretary Pravin Srivastava told reporter, "It is a new design and a new matrix. It would be unfair to compare it with the past. This 45- year high is your interpretation. I don't want to claim that it is 45-year low or high."
Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, whom Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier gave a berth in the Rajya Sabha, was the surprise entry even for senior ministers who were seen asking each other about the background of the man from Punjab.
Top on the government's agenda would be getting Parliament's approval to the budgetary proposals and presentation of the budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
As voting begins in Bihar in the first phase of assembly elections on Wednesday, the fate of political leaders depends on how the electorate perceives they can solve ground-level issues from reverse migration to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances