New Delhi:

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, the founder of pharmaceutical giant Biocon, on Wednesday opposed the proposal to reserve private jobs for local hires in Karnataka, which houses the country’s information technology hub Bengaluru.

Taking to her official X account, Ms Shaw said highly skilled recruitment must be exempted from the Karnataka government’s decision mandating reservation for Kannadigas in private firms.

She also said the job reservation for locals must not affect the state’s leading position in the technology sector.

“As a tech hub, we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy, said wrote on X.

As a tech hub we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy. @siddaramaiah@DKShivakumar@PriyankKhargehttps://t.co/itYWdHcMWw

— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) July 17, 2024

Her post drew a response from Karnataka’s Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology Priyank Kharge, who said “no detrimental rules or laws will be enforced without due consultations with stakeholders”.

“Karnataka has always led the nation in economic growth and we continue to do so,” he said.

Citing that Karnataka is the fourth largest technology cluster in the world, number 1 in the India Innovation Index, and first in IT service exports, he said the state has achieved “these milestones and many more because our Government consistently engages with all stakeholders to draft policies and schemes that boost investments and create more employment opportunities.”

“As always, we will consult with industries, industry bodies, and thought leaders to ensure we foster a favorable environment for investments and job creation for locals while addressing the needs of the global workforce,” the Congress leader said.

Karnataka is the 4th largest technology cluster in the world and are leaders in the country in many verticals.

We are No. 1 in India Innovation Index

1st in IT service exports

Top 3 in FDI inflows

We have 40% share in Electronics Design in India

In Machine Tools… https://t.co/Sh2fJkE5rG

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) July 17, 2024

Many other leading figures from the industry also spoke out against the Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, which was approved by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led cabinet on Monday.

The bill requires firms in India’s IT capital to prioritise local hires for 70 per cent of non-management roles and 50 per cent of management-level jobs. The state government, however, paused the bill after backlash.

Row Over Karnataka’s Job Quota Bill

Former Infosys chief financial officer Mohandas Pai said the bill was “discriminatory” and “regressive”.

“This bill should be junked. It is discriminatory, regressive, and against the Constitution. This is a fascist bill as in Animal Farm,” he said on X.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) also expressed disappointment and concern over Karnataka’s new bill mandating reservation for locals in private sector jobs.

In a statement, it said, “Nasscom and its members are disappointed and express deep concern regarding the passage of the Karnataka State Employment of Local Industries Factories Establishment Act Bill, 2024.”

“Restrictions could force companies to relocate as local skilled talent becomes scarce,” it said.

Nasscom has warned that the local employment laws “could force companies to relocate as local skilled talent becomes scarce.”  File
| Photo Credit: AP

The tech industry’s apex lobby group, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) on July 17 said it was “disappointed” and “deeply concerned” about the possible passage of the Karnataka State Employment of Local Industries Factories Establishment Act Bill, 2024 — a law, when enacted, would mandate private firms with operations in the State to hire locally for Group C and D category workers.

“It’s deeply disturbing to see this kind of bill which will not only hamper the growth of the industry, impact jobs and the global brand for the state. Nasscom members are seriously concerned about the provisions of this bill and urge the State government to withdraw the bill. The bill’s provisions threaten to reverse this progress, drive away companies, and stifle start-ups,” said Nasscom.

Also Read: Karnataka to unveil country’s maiden GCC policy soon

The tech sector contributes 25% of the State’s GDP, houses a quarter of the country’s digital talent, with more than 11,000 start-ups and 30% of the total Global Capability Centres (GCCs), Nasscom said, warning local employment laws “could force companies to relocate as local skilled talent becomes scarce.”

Nasscom said knowledge-led businesses would locate where talent is, as attracting skilled workers is crucial for their success. Globally, there was a huge shortage of skilled talent and Karnataka, despite the large pool, was no exception, it added.

Nasscom advocated “a dual strategy” to foster the tech sector – frame policies to attract top global talent and invest in building a local talent pool through formal and vocational education.

Nasscom said it is seeking an “urgent meeting for industry representatives with State authorities to discuss the concerns and prevent the State’s progress from being derailed.”

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh listed some of the features of the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill such as establishing the gig workers’ social security and welfare fund and gig workers welfare board to advocate for gig workers. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Citing legislations by its State Governments to ensure justice for gig workers, the Congress on July 11 said India needs a national legal and social security architecture for such workers and hoped that the forthcoming Union Budget will take a step in that direction.

Congress general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh said the Karnataka Platform-based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, is a landmark rights-based legislation that brings formal rights and social security to platform-based gig workers in the State.

Editorial | ​Even the odd jobs: On the Karnataka gig workers bill

The Karnataka Government last month released a draft of the proposed Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, which aimed to protect their rights in the State with the creation of a board, welfare fund and grievance cell among other mechanisms.

Mr. Ramesh listed some of the features of the Bill such as establishing the gig workers’ social security and welfare fund and gig workers welfare board to advocate for gig workers.

The Bill also calls for mandatory registration of all gig workers with the government and States that aggregators can no longer terminate a worker without giving 14 days prior notice and a valid reason.

According to the Bill, aggregators must make payments to gig workers every week.

“Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has been a leading voice for India’s gig workers since the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Mr. Ramesh said in his post on X.

He said the Congress Governments in Telangana and Karnataka, and the previous Congress Government in Rajasthan, have brought powerful legislation to bring gig workers justice.

Social security for gig workers was also a key guarantee given by the Indian National Congress’s Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he pointed out.

“As much as State Governments can do, India needs a national legal and social security architecture for gig workers. Their numbers are only projected to rise, from 77 lakh in 2022 to about 2.4 crore in 2030. The ball is in the court of the Union Government. Hopefully the forthcoming Budget will take a step in this direction,” Mr. Ramesh said.

According to Karnataka’s Labour department, the objectives of the proposed Bill are “to protect the rights of platform-based gig workers, to place obligations on aggregators in relation to social security, occupational health and safety, transparency in automated monitoring and decision-making systems and to provide dispute resolution mechanisms,” among others.

New Delhi:

A majority of the world’s leading economists believe the global economy will either strengthen or remain stable in 2024, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). The latest edition of the Chief Economists Outlook presents a cautiously optimistic view of the global economy but also highlights significant geopolitical risks.

The report is based on policy development research and surveys with leading economists from both the public and private sectors. It aims to summarise the current economic environment and identify priorities for policymakers and business leaders. The latest survey was conducted in April 2024.

According to the report, over 80 per cent of chief economists surveyed expect the global economy to either strengthen or remain stable this year, a notable increase from the previous survey in January. This positive shift is attributed to advancements in technology, artificial intelligence, and the green energy transition.

However, 97 per cent of respondents foresee geopolitical tensions contributing to global economic volatility, and 83 per cent believe domestic political issues will also be a major source of instability in 2024, a year marked by significant global elections.

The survey indicates varying economic outlooks across different regions:

United States: Nearly all chief economists (97 per cent) predict moderate to strong growth, up significantly from 59 per cent in January.

Asia: Economies in South Asia and East Asia are expected to maintain at least moderate growth. In China, 75 per cent of respondents foresee moderate growth, with only 4 per cent anticipating strong growth.

Europe: The outlook remains pessimistic, with nearly 70 per cent of economists predicting weak growth for the remainder of the year.

Other regions: Moderate growth is generally expected, with some improvement noted since the last survey.

Geopolitical risks

According to the survey, 97 per cent of respondents anticipate that geopolitical tensions will contribute to global economic volatility in 2024. This concern is echoed by 83 per cent of economists who identify domestic political issues as another major source of instability, especially in a year marked by significant global elections.

Geopolitical risks are basically problems that come up because of how countries interact with each other. These problems can include things like wars between countries, arguments over land, trade disagreements, tense relationships between governments, and instability in politics. Geopolitical risks are significant because they can lead to economic disruptions, affect international trade and investment, and create uncertainty in financial markets.

Challenges for decision-makers

The report highlights the growing challenges businesses and policymakers face due to the complex relationship between political and economic issues.

According to 86 per cent of respondents, this interplay is becoming more difficult to manage. Important factors influencing business decisions include the overall health of the global economy, monetary policies, financial market conditions, labour market conditions and political factors.

Long-term prospects

Looking ahead, almost 70 per cent of chief economists are optimistic about achieving a return to 4 per cent global growth within the next five years, driven primarily by technological advancements and green initiatives in high-income countries. However, there is less consensus on the impact of these factors in low-income economies. Geopolitics, domestic politics, debt levels, climate change, and social polarisation are expected to be significant drags on growth.

Policy priorities

To promote growth, the report highlights the importance of innovation, infrastructure development, monetary policy, and education and skills. Low-income economies, in particular, could benefit from improvements in institutions, social services, and access to finance.

Updated – May 20, 2024 11:01 am IST

Published – May 20, 2024 10:54 am IST

Congress completes one year in office in Karnataka on May 20, 2024. The party is not organising any celebration due to the Model Code of Conduct, but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will interact with mediapersons in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

 The BSE benchmark jumped 494.28 points or 0.67% to settle at a new closing peak of 74,742.50 on April 8, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Benchmark equity indices continued their record-breaking rally on April 9, with the BSE Sensex breaching the historic 75,000-mark for the first time ever in early trade and the Nifty climbing to its fresh new record peak. Buying in IT stocks contributed the most to the markets rally in early trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 381.78 points to reach its all-time peak of 75,124.28. The NSE Nifty advanced 99 points to hit its record peak of 22,765.30.

From the Sensex basket, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tata Motors, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Nestle were the major gainers.

JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards. In Asian markets, Tokyo and Hong Kong were trading in the positive territory while Seoul and Shanghai quoted lower. Wall Street ended on a mixed note on Monday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹684.68 crore on April 8, according to exchange data. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.19% to $90.55 a barrel.

“The new records set by the market yesterday confirm the bullish market undertone. A healthy and desirable trend in the market movement yesterday was the outperformance of the largecaps. This trend is likely to continue,” said V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

The BSE benchmark jumped 494.28 points or 0.67% to settle at a new closing peak of 74,742.50 on April 8. The NSE Nifty climbed 152.60 points or 0.68% to 22,666.30.

The female Labour Force Participation Rate had been steadily declining since 2000 and touched 24.5 in 2019, before inching up, particularly in rural areas.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The story so far: The authors of the India Employment Report, 2024, released recently by the Institute for Human Development and the International Labour Organization, point out that key labour market indicators have improved in recent years. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), the Workforce Participation Rate (WPR) and the Unemployment Rate (UR) showed long-term deterioration between 2000 and 2019 but improved thereafter, the authors note, saying that the improvement coincides with periods of economic distress, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of two peak pandemic quarters.

What about women’s participation?

The female LFPR is very low compared to the male counterparts; in 2023, the male LFPR was pegged at 78.5; and the women LFPR was 37. The world women LFPR rate is 49, according to the World Bank figures. The female LFPR had been steadily declining since 2000 and touched 24.5 in 2019, before inching up, particularly in rural areas. But the writers point out that notwithstanding the modest improvements, employment conditions remain poor.

Editorial | Jobs outlook bleak: On the ‘The India Employment Report 2024’

Amit Basole, who teaches Economics at Azim Premji University, and heads the Centre for Sustainable Employment, explains that the increase in labour force participation has come mostly in rural areas and mostly in self-employment, which means largely unpaid work. “This suggests that it is distress resulting from the economic slowdown prior to COVID and then the pandemic itself that has contributed to women entering the labour force,” he says.

Prof. Basole adds that there are some other hypotheses out there, such as improvements in measuring women’s work in the Periodic Labour Force Survey and increased non-farm employment for men that has led to women substituting for men in agriculture. “But this is less likely. However, definitive evidence on the cause(s) is lacking,” he notes.

Where are women employed?

The India Employment Report shows that it is women who largely account for the increase in self-employment and unpaid family work. Nearly two-thirds of the incremental employment after 2019 comprised self-employed workers, among whom unpaid (women) family workers predominate. The share of regular work, which steadily increased after 2000, started declining after 2018.

The rate of youth not in employment, education or training globally has been consistently the highest in South Asia, at an average of 29.2% between 2010 and 2019 (ILO 2022a). India also has a large share of youth not in employment, education or training, and the rate is higher among young women than men.

What are some of the reasons for low women’s participation in the labour force?

Economists and women’s rights experts point at various barriers women face in terms of a careers or a job. They list factors from a lack of jobs, women being made responsible for all care-giving duties at home plus cooking and cleaning to low wages, patriarchal mindsets and safety issues. In her 2022 book, The Making of a Catastrophe: The Disastrous Economic Fallout of the COVID-19 Pandemic in India, Jayati Ghosh, observing the sharp decline in women’s labour participation between 2004 and 2018, writes that only some part of the phenomenon of women moving out of the labour market could be explained by greater involvement in education, especially for the age cohort 15 to 19. But with participation rates falling for women across all ages, “clearly, there was a process in operation, which has also been noted globally, of women being squeezed out of employment because of overall scarcity of paid work.”

Prof. Basole feels there are both supply and demand side reasons for the decline in women’s LFPR. On the labour demand side, in general, India’s growth pattern has not been job intensive. This combined with social norms that restrict women’s mobility and make them primary caregivers at home, means that women are not free to take up available opportunities. In addition, concerns over public safety and lack of transport also confine women to looking for work close to home, further limiting their options, a point Prof. Ghosh too makes.

The 2023 Economics Nobel Laureate Claudia Goldin’s research showed that several factors have influenced the supply of and demand for female labour. “These include women’s opportunities for combining paid work and a family, decisions relating to education and childrearing, technical innovations, laws and norms, and the structural transformation of the economy.” In a paper about her research, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, pointed out that at the heart of Golden’s analysis is the fact that women’s choices have often been, and remain, limited by marriage and responsibility for the home and family. Her research may have been conducted in the U.S., going back 200 years, but her insights hold true in many other countries, including India as well.

What needs to change?

Economists say interventions are needed on both the demand and supply side of the labour market. On the demand side, says Prof. Basole, policies that promote labour intensive sectors (in both manufacturing and relatively higher productivity services) are needed. Public investment in safety and transport is also critical as is public investment in affordable child and elderly care. “All of these types of support can enable women to work outside the home and take advantage of relatively better paying opportunities,” he adds.