[Indian Year Book 2022-23]* Indian Year Book Notes | Chapter 12. Labour, Skill Development & Employment

 

Indian Year Book

(2022-23)

Chapter – 12.  Labour, Skill Development &

Employment

 

Labour

Ø  THE Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoL&E) is one of the most important and oldest ministries of the Government of India.

Ø  The main responsibility entrusted to the Ministry is to protect and safeguard the interests of workers in general and the poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of the society, in particular.

 

New Initiatives

§  Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-DhanYojana

·         Government of India introduced a pension scheme namely, Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) to ensure old age protection for unorganised workers. Enrollment under the Scheme began from 2019.

·         They should belong to the entry age group of 18-40 years; should not be covered under New Pension Scheme (NPS); Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme or Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO); and should not be an income tax payee.

·         PM-SYM is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme on a 50:50 basis, where prescribed agespecifi c contribution shall be made by the benefi ciary and the matching contribution by the central government as per its guidelines.

 

National Career Service

Ø  The major responsibility of MoL&E is to protect and safeguard the interests of workers in general and those who constitute the poor, deprived and disadvantaged sections of the society, in particular, with due regard to creating a healthy work environment for higher production and productivity and to develop and coordinate employment services.

 

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana

Ø  Pradhan Mantri Rojgar ProtsahanYojana (PMRPY) was launched in 2016 with the objective to incentivise employers for creation of new employment.

Ø  Under the scheme, Government of India is paying employer’s full contribution i.e., 12 per cent towards EPF and EPS both for a period of three years to the new employees through EPFO.

Ø  The scheme targeted employees earning upto Z 15,000 per month and also aims to cover a large number of informal workers to the formal workforce.

 

Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana

Ø  Aatmanirbhar Bharat RojgarYojana (ABRY) was announced as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 package to boost the economy, increase the employment generation in post Covid recovery phase and to incentivize creation of new employment along with social security benefi ts and restoration of loss of employment during the pandemic.

Ø  This scheme is being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the fi nancial burden of the employers of various sectors /industries and encourages them to hire more workers.

 

Labour Inspection Scheme

Ø  A computerised list of inspections is generated randomly based on risk based objective criteria. Serious matters are to be covered under the mandatory inspection list.

Ø  Mandatory uploading of inspection reports is to be done within 48 hours.

 

Shram Suvidha Portal

Ø  The Ministry has developed a unifi ed web portal ‘Shram Suvidha Portal’, to bring transparency and accountability in enforcement of labour laws and ease complexity of compliance.

 

 Single Unified Annual Return

Ø  The Ministry started Single Unifi ed Annual Return for eight Labour Acts. This facilitates fi ling of simplifi ed Single Online Return by the establishments instead of fi ling separate Returns.

 

Common Registration

Ø  The facility for Common Registration under fi ve Central Labour Acts has been developed on Shram Suvidha Portal.

 

Labour Codes

Ø  The Government has notifi ed four Labour Codes; namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalizing the relevant provisions of 29 Central Labour laws.

Ø  Codifi cation of the Labour Laws will inter alia reduce multiplicity of defi nitions and authorities, facilitate implementation and use of technology in enforcement of labour laws and bring transparency and accountability in enforcement which would promote setting up of more enterprises, thus catalysing the creation of employment opportunities in the country.

 

Social Security

§  Employees’ State Insurance Corporation

Ø  To provide medical care and cash benefi ts in case of sickness, maternity facilities and employment injuries, the Employees’ State Insurance Act was enacted in 1948.

 

e-initiatives of ESIC

Ø  e-biz Platform: ESIC was the fi rst organisation of central government to integrate its services for registration of employers through e-biz portal of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion [DIPP] to promote ease of business and curb transaction costs.

Ø  e- Pehchan: A process of establishing the identity of the insured person through Aadhaar number has been set up by seeding Aadhaar number to the insurance number. This has simplifi ed the identifi cation process of the insured person and his/her dependents at various points of contact during all types of benefi t disbursement.

 

§  Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

Ø  The Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 provides for Provident Fund, Pension Scheme and Insurance Fund in factories/establishments employing twenty or more employees in industries mentioned in Schedule-I to the Act.

 

§  Auto-settlement of EPF Advance Claims

Ø  EPFO launched auto-settlement of advance claims facility for the PF members having their UAN seeded with complete KYC. Though this initiative was introduced on pilot basis in 2019, with the onset of pandemic and consequent lockdown in 2020, the facility was launched earlier than planned. This ensured services to subscribers with minimal human intervention in the quickest time possible to provide much needed fi nancial assistance.

 

§  Multi-location Settlement of Claims

Ø  The lockdown due to Covid-19 impacted metropolitan cities more, resulting in huge infl ow of claims at these EPFO centres. To ease matters for the subscribers, EPFO launched a multi-location claim settlement facility allowing to settle online claims from any of its fi eld offi ces across the country. This ensured speedy claim settlements through optimum utilization of human resources in EPFO offi ces during lockdown.

 

§  Universal Account Number

Ø  The facility of Universal Account Number (UAN) for EPF subscribers was formally launched in 2014.

Ø  Portability is an inherent feature of the UAN programme. It provides automatic portability of Provident Fund account on change of employment if the employee has activated his UAN by seeding his Know Your Customer details (through the employer).

 

 Initiatives during Covid-19

Ø  During the Covid-19 pandemic the central government under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

Ø  It was aimed at preventing disruption in the employment of low wage-earning EPFO members in EPF covered establishments employing up to hundred employees. Ninety per cent of these were earning wages of less than Rs.15, 000/- per month.

 

Child Labour

Ø  Child Labour is an area of great concern and the Government of India is committed to address the issue. Considering the magnitude and nature of the problem, it is following a robust multi-generation schemes.

Ø  It comprises statutory and legislative measures, rescue and rehabilitation, universal elementary education along with social protection and poverty alleviation and employment generation schemes. 

Ø  The objective is to create an environment where families are not compelled to send their children to work. Government has adopted an approach to withdraw and rehabilitate working children from all occupations and processes.

Ø  The National Policy on Child Labour, announced in August 1987, addresses this complex issue in a comprehensive, holistic and integrated manner. The Action Plan under the policy is multi-pronged and mainly consists of: a legislative action plan; project-based action in areas of high concentration of child labour; and focus on general development programmes for the benefi t of the families of such labour.

 

Schemes and Initiatives

§  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

Ø  PMKVY is the fl agship outcome-based skill training scheme of this Ministry. The objective of this skill certifi cation and reward scheme is to enable and mobilise a large number of youth to take up outcome-based skill training to become employable and earn their livelihood.

Ø  The scheme was launched in 2015. The PMKVY is being implemented by the Centre along with the states.

§  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKK)

Ø  This Ministry, through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), implements Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) Scheme for setting up of model skill centre in every district of the country while ensuring coverage of all the parliamentary constituencies.

Ø  The PMKK envisages to: create benchmark institutions that demonstrate aspirational value for competency-based skill development training at district level to ensure wider reach of programme; focus on elements of quality, sustainability and connect with stakeholders in skills delivery process; and transform from a mandate-driven footloose model to a sustainable institutional model.

Ø  The main objectives of NSDC include: (i) to catalyse the creation of market-based, scalable business by providing funding through a combination of debt, equity and grants; (ii) implementing skills voucher programme; and (iii) promoting centres of excellence for training of trainers in coordination with states and SSCs, etc.

§  PM-YUVA Yojana 2.0

Ø  With the objective to provide entrepreneurship as one of the options for livelihood to the trainees coming from skill ecosystem, it was decided to revise the PM-YUVA scheme.

§  National Skill Development Corporation

Ø  National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a public private partnership fi rm set up by the Ministry of Finance, under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 (corresponding to Section 8 of The Companies Act, 2013). It aims to promote skill development by catalysing creation of large, quality, vocational institutions.

Ø  NSDC is now under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (M5DE).

Ø  The main objectives of NSDC include: 

·         catalyse the creation of market-based, scalable business by providing funding through a combination of debt, equity and grants; 

·         implementing skills voucher programme; 

·         promote centres of excellence for training of trainers in coordination with states and

Ø  To give impetus to the employment initiatives in the country, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of MSDE has been organising Rozgar Melas across the nation for providing suitable job opportunities in private sector to the youth. With initiatives like Rozgar Melas, the government is ensuring a parallel growth in the private / industrial sector.

§  Udaan

Ø  The Special Industry Initiative (SII) for Jammu and Kashmir is funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by National Skill Development Corporation. The programme is a part of the overall initiative for addressing economic issues in the UT and is focused on providing skills and job opportunities to the youth. Simultaneously, the aim is also to provide exposure to corporate India towards the rich talent pool available there.

§  Entrepreneurship Development

Ø  For entrepreneurship promotion and mentoring of micro and small businesses, a scheme covering six major religious and holy townships, [i.e., (i) Puri (Odisha); (ii) Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh); (iii) Haridwar (Uttarakhand); (iv) Kollur (Karnataka); (v) Pandharpur (Maharashtra); and (vi) Bodh Gaya (Bihar)l, was launched by the Ministry in November 2019. The objective of the project is to catalyse the entrepreneurial activities in the holy cities through resumption of existing livelihood activities by supporting the existing enterprises to scale up and to tap the potential entrepreneurs for mentoring and handholding support for setting-up enterprises by them.

 

 

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