The views of the trade unions who met the finance minister on Wednesday, run contrary to the demands of India Inc, which called for disinvestment of public sector enterprises to fund the widening fiscal deficit. They also suggested increasing corporate tax rate so that more money can be transferred from the rich to the poor.
The unemployment rate stood at 9.7 per cent in March.
'This confrontation could have been avoided by a less arrogant administration that initially listened, used whatever negotiating skills they had and tried to be more credible,' observes Ramesh Menon.
In the age of robots and automation, skills such as people management, coordination and negotiations will be relevant, says Babita Shekhar.
'In India, a large proportion of the labour force does not have a regular job.' 'People are mostly employed as daily wage workers, agricultural labourers, small farmers and self-employed traders.' 'These move in and out of "jobs" fairly rapidly.' 'It is the high proportion of these workers in India that makes unemployment volatile,' explains Mahesh Vyas.
Experts said a dip in consumption expenditure indicated an increasing prevalence of poverty in the country.
Why India is an FDI magnet. The country satisfies several reconditions to attract FDI.
A report stated that despite initial setbacks from demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax, "all in all" the Indian economy has done well.
According to official statistics, half of India's GDP comes from as many as 420 million workers in the unorganised sector including street vendors, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, rag pickers, agricultural workers, among others. This massive workforce remains outside the purview of the formal banking and insurance industries.
It is necessary that at least three million additional jobs (if not more) are created every year to ensure that there isn't an increase in the stock of unemployed, says Mahesh Vyas.
He was suffering from lung cancer for last several months, West Bengal CPI secretary Swapan Banerjee said.
The biggest challenge is not the airline's debt, but downsizing its 16,800 employees, says Surajeet Dasgupta.
13 eminent economists, including former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and current International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath, in a report have asked the political establishment not to resort to populist tricks.
'A growth of above 7 per cent when the fundamentals of the economy are becoming stronger still makes India the fastest growing large economy.'
India on Saturday favoured greater mobility of skilled labour
'Wasn't it the PM's duty to reach out to the daily wagers of whom he claims to have been a part?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
The World Bank report said India has done well in terms of mobility in adulthood, as greater levels of urbanisation have provided more employment opportunities.
Korean car maker Hyundai Motors India Ltd said it will have to lay off 2,000 temporary workers, about one-fourth of its labour force, to tide over a decline in car sales. The company employs over 8,400 workers, of which around 3,300 are temporary.
Riding on its high quality of life, transporatation infrastructure and overall labour force contributing to its economic growth, Delhi has emerged on top among 48 Indian cities, including Mumbai, as the best place to reside. Send us your views.
Over 2 million foreign workers are now working in UK, which is a 75%increase in foreign labour in the last 6 years.
Over 394.9 million workers constituting 86 per cent of the country's labour force are in the unorganised sector and work under 'utterly deplorable conditions' with 'extremely few livelihood options', a report said.
Massive crowds thronged liquor stores, more vehicles plied on roads and cab-hailing platforms resumed services as India entered the third phase of the lockdown on Monday with further easing of curbs except in containment zones in the shadow of the highest rate of recovery yet from coronavirus.
The report, which took into consideration 57 parameters before arriving at the conclusion, said between Delhi and Greater Mumbai, the national capital takes the lead on city prosperity index due to its lower population and higher per capita income.
The government has to cover a lot of ground if it wants to achieve the target of generating 10 million new jobs in the sector over the next three years, says Shyamal Majumdar.
Fresh guidelines were issued by the government on Wednesday for enforcing the second phase of the coronavirus lockdown, with the Union home ministry barring all kinds of public transport and prohibiting opening of public places during this period.
'Fear psychosis has gripped the entire world.' 'Nobody is going to enter shops freely in the next 5, 6 months.' 'Secondly, the priority has changed.' 'Now that they have seen the bottom of the economy, people will prefer to save for tomorrow.'
While India's GDP growth slowed to five-year low of 5.8% in Q4, China grew at 6.4%.
'While all would agree on the need to be ready to launch cross-border strikes on terror camps, there is sharp disagreement on how best to do it.' 'Through IAF fighters, or surface-to-surface missiles?' 'Or should army Special Forces be created to do the job?' 'If air strikes are the agreed priority, additional funding must be made available for the purchase of fighters and missiles.' 'If it is to be Special Forces, the army must be facilitated in raising a Special Forces Command,' notes Ajai Shukla.
Of late, price hike has hit labourers hard with many of them going on strike in recent months to demand salary hike and better living conditions. The increase will benefit thousands of Indian workers in the country. Labourers at Jebel Ali and Sonapur labour accommodation said the news had brought them a lot of cheer.
'Is a rapidly growing working-age population a prerequisite for growth or a social tinderbox?'
IMF MD Christine Lagarde hailed the government's latest Budget.
How soon can India reach a point when there is no hidden underemployment and all who want work can find it at a fair wage and decent work conditions, asks Nitin Desai.
The trio, 'twin shocks' of demonetisation and GST, 'twin balance sheet' problem that has been weakening India's banking system and the 'twin deficit' problem will continue to challenge economic management and performance in the year ahead, says Shankar Acharya.
India will soon make a comprehensive amendment to emigration laws to protect its labour force abroad, especially in the Gulf region, from being exploited by unscrupulous recruiting agents.
Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Viral Acharya is the eighth economist to quit since the Modi government took office.
Kerala, the land of latex, is reeling under a threat of avian kind. The viral fever attack, spread by mosquitoes, in the state has left the rubber industry in a very bad shape.
Technology and operations management expert Elliott N Weiss discusses manufacturing, the trouble with too much automation, and the need to strike a balance between people and artificial intelligence with Ritwik Sharma.
India is experiencing a strange dichotomy of not having sufficient jobs on the one hand and not enough skilled workers on the other - making labour force the biggest challenge for the country
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