Nadda to inaugurate Arogya Manthan 2026 at Vigyan Bhawan (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Civil remedy u/s 55 of Copyright Act can be pursued through arbitration as agreed alternative dispute resolution mechanism: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways approves Rs 166 Crore for construction of Road Over Bridge in Vadodara (See 'Corp Brief') ICAR-CMFRI advises Consumers Not to Avoid Tuna (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Scheduled Commercial Bank which is registered proprietor of well-known formative trademarks can maintain commercial suit for infringement and passing off against unauthorised third parties who use those marks on social media to hold themselves out as agents capable of procuring loan settlements: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Indo-Africa Roundtable on WASH held as part of India International WASH Conference (See 'Corp Brief') Naik holds meeting with European Parliament's Committee on Industry (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - If a company is employed as conduit for shielding assets from creditors, Court may look beyond corporate structure, for piercing veil: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves acquisition of Onesto Labs by L'Oréal India (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of equity share of IIFL Capital by FIH Mauritius (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - If party adopts mark that is deceptively similar to registered mark for identical goods, with full knowledge of prior statutory and common law rights, such adoption constitutes infringement: HC (See 'Legal Desk') National Rainfed Area Authority organizes High Level meeting for Watershed Development (See 'Corp Brief') Railways connects Remote Area of South Chhattisgarh (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Requiring plaintiff to sue at place of its subordinate office because cause of action has arisen there would amount to re-writing Sec 134 of Trade Marks Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Rs 46 Crore released for Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in Begging (See 'Corp Brief') FEMA - The fact that penalty falls within statutory maximum does not, by itself, validate quantum imposed: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Experts deliberate on WTO Fisheries Subsidies Pact & Implementation Challenges (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act - Admission of winding-up petition, appointment of provisional liquidator or liquidator, or possession of assets by liquidator does not, by itself, establish irreversibility thereof: HC (See 'Legal Desk') 7th High-Level meeting of OPEC-India Energy Dialogue held in Delhi (See 'Corp Brief') Competition - Formulation of technical specifications & procurement requirements falls primarily within domain of procuring entities, which are at liberty to set terms suited to their needs - no case of contravention of Sections 3 or 4 is made out: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') NHAI signs MoU with SSNNL to simplify Approval Framework for NH (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Provisional attachment order unsustainable when there is no apprehension or evidence that subject property is likely to be transferred, concealed or in some way disposed off so as to frustrate confiscation proceedings: SAFEMA Tribunal (See 'Legal Desk') Union Minister inaugurates WWF Global Conservation Conference at Jaipur (See 'Corp Brief') Ministry of MSME gears Up for Special Campaign 6.0 on Swachhata (See 'Corp Brief') SECI celebrates 15th Foundation Day with Stakeholders' Meet (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Agent cannot claim cross-contractual lien over principal's property for dues arising under separate agreements in absence of express contractual provision permitting such retention: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Coal India advances Technology-led Diversification Across Energy & Minerals (See 'Corp Brief') Digital India RISC-V Grand Challenge under C2S Programme awarded to 3 teams (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Arrangement of funds to enable corporate debtor to clear its liabilities, coupled with transfer of funds from cooperative bank loan account of applicant directly to bank, is not valid loan disbursement under IBC: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') Vaishnaw highlights ISM 2.0, indigenous design, manufacturing, talent and India's emergence (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - SEBI, acting as statutory market regulator, is duty-bound to issue a reasoned, speaking order when a decision carries serious civil consequences for acquirer, target company & investors: SAT (See 'Legal Desk') An unsuccessful 'success fee' litigation (See CORP EINSICHT)

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6.2 Crore net subscribers joined EPFO between Sept, 2017 - March, 2024

Published: Jul 09, 2024

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 09, 2024: ACCORDING to PLFS and RBI's KLEMS data, India has generated more than 8 crore (80 million) employment opportunities from 2017-18 to 2021-22. This translates to an average of over 2 crore (20 million) employment per year, despite of the fact that the world economy was hit by COVID-19 pandemic during 2020-21 which contradicts Citigroup's assertion of India's inability to generate sufficient employment. This significant employment creation demonstrates the effectiveness of various government initiatives aimed at boosting employment across sectors.

PLFS data

The Annual PLFS report depicts an improving trend in labour market indicators related to: (i) Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), (ii) Worker Population Ratio (WPR) and (iii) Unemployment Rate (UR) for persons of age 15 years and above during 2017-18 to 2022-23. For instance, the WPR i.e. employment has increased from 46.8% in 2017-18 to 56% in 2022-23. Similarly, the labour force participation has also increased in the country from 49.8% in 2017-18 to 57.9% in 2022-23. The Unemployment Rate has declined from 6.0 % in 2017-18 to a low of 3.2% in 2022-23.

The PLFS data shows that during the last 5 years, more employment opportunities have been generated compared to the number of people joining the labour force, resulting in a consistent reduction in the unemployment rate. This is a clear indicator of the positive impact of government policies on employment. Contrary to the report, which suggests a dire employment scenario, the official data reveals a more optimistic picture of the Indian job market.

EPFO Data

The formal sector employment figures are also being bolstered by government efforts to improve ease of doing business, enhance skill development, and provide incentives for job creation in both the public and private sectors. The EPFO data suggests that more and more workers are joining formal jobs. During 2023-24, more than 1.3 crore subscribers joined EPFO which is more than double compared to 61.12 lakh joined EPFO during 2018-19. Moreover, during last six and half years (since September, 2017 to March, 2024) more than 6.2 crore net subscribers have joined EPFO.

New subscribers to NPS

The data from National Pension System (NPS) indicates that more than 7.75 lakh new subscribers have joined the NPS during 2023-24 under the Central and State governments which is 30% more than 5.94 lakh new subscribers joining NPS under government sector during 2022-23. This substantial increase in new subscribers highlights the government's proactive measures to fill-up the vacancies in public sector in timely manner.

Flexi-staffing sector

In a recent interaction of Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) members with Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, ISF members informed that they are employing about 5.4 million formal contract workers. Nearly 30% demand in the sector remains unfulfilled at frontline across manufacturing, retail, banking due to talent shortages and labour mobility. 

Multiple new opportunities

The future prospects of the employment market in India are highly encouraging, as evidenced by data from various sources. The Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India have shown remarkable growth in recent years. The gig economy also promises significant increase in workforce in the country. Notably, the NITI Aayog report on gig economy projects a substantial increase in platform workers, which is expected to reach 2.35 crore (23.5 million) by 2029-30, underscoring the rapid expansion of the gig economy. The gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood in India by 2029-30. These developments collectively reflect India's robust economic trajectory and its potential to generate diverse employment opportunities.

Data Credibility

It is well known that the private data sources, which the report/media refers to as more reliable, has several shortcomings. These surveys use their own derived definition of employment - unemployment which is not aligned to either national or international standards. The sample distribution and methodology are often critiqued for not being as robust or representative as official data sources like PLFS. Therefore, reliance on such private data sources over official statistics can lead to misleading conclusions and thus, should be used with caution.

Further, some authors use data selectively which undermines the credibility of their analysis and does not present an accurate picture of the employment scenario in India. Such reports fail to consider the positive trends and comprehensive data from official sources.

Summary

The official data sources like PLFS, RBI, EPFO, etc. show consistent improvements in the key labour market indicators, including increased Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and a declining Unemployment Rate during last five years. EPFO and NPS data further support the positive employment trends. The trends in manufacturing, expanding service sector, infrastructure growth, apart from others, including emerging opportunities in multiple sectors such as gig and platform economy and GCCs indicate robust future prospects.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment emphasizes the credibility and comprehensiveness of official data, cautioning against the selective use of private data sources that can lead to misleading conclusions about India's employment scenario.

The Government remains committed to creating a robust and inclusive job market, and the evidence suggests substantial progress is being made in this direction.

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