Labour & Employment

India has been experiencing a consistently high growth rate during the post-liberalisation period following the implementation of economic reforms in the early 1990s. It has achieved excellence in several key areas ranging from information technology and pharmaceuticals to automotive parts, and is now considered as one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

Despite these positive developments, India is still among the countries with some of the lowest indicators of human development. The rise in income inequalities and regional disparities is also a matter of concern. Employment has grown, but the jobs created are not of high quality. Above all, an overwhelming majority of the population is deprived of basic social protection.

Economic growth has also failed to have an impact on employment growth, resulting in the persistence of extreme poverty and associated ills like child labour. Moreover, dualism in employment has been growing over time, as shown by the declining share of formal employment in the total jobs and the widening gap in labour and income between formal and informal workers.

Increasing productivity, especially in the organised/manufacturing and non-farm sectors is a critical element of the generation of ‘good’ jobs. However, productivity growth needs to be labour-intensive rather than capital-augmented as the latter would lead to displacement of labour and aggravate the problem.

In the rural sectors, as more and more machines are being brought in, labourers have no choice but migrate to other places in the country to earn a livelihood. Such displacement is not good for either their families or even the region. It is important that such labourers are taught the use of machines so that new avenues of employment can open for them. JND Charitable Trust will make the efforts to educate such workforce so that their full potential is realised and they are able to earn better without leaving for foreign lands.

Labour reforms are needed to generate employment and to reduce the gap between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ jobs. Labour rigidity and labour laws also have an effect on the levels of corruption and the extent of transparency in the system. JND Charitable Trust intends to bring about a balance so that labour becomes more flexible and labour laws are promoted and publicized to root out any corruption from the system, thereby benefiting employees on the whole.