-IANS There is an urgent need for recognising people engaged in Domestic Work within an employment relationship as workers and to bring them under labour legislation, said Tine Staermose, Director India, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Wednesday. "There is a urgent need for the recognition of the people engaged in Domestic Work within an employment relationship as workers and to bring them under the labour legislation so they can access services and benefits...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The draft national policy on Domestic Workers, awaiting the Union Cabinet's nod, must be approved at the earliest. Activists and NGOs echoed this view at a panel discussion on Wednesday. "A national policy is the first step towards ensuring rights for Domestic Workers. It is also the first step before legislation is enacted. But despite our persistent efforts, progress is so slow," said Varghese Theckanath, convenor,...

-The Hindu Under India's labour laws, women engaged in "informal" work - such as Domestic Work - have few workplace rights. This makes it harder for women to have sustainable jobs, let alone a career. Nearly 400 million people live in cities in India and during the next 40 years that number will more than double. Not only is the proportion of India's total female population that is economically active is among...

-Live Mint Rural livelihoods have improved because of MGNREGA. It is wrong to say the scheme has not worked If some recent news articles are to be believed, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a scheme that costs less than 0.35% of India's gross domestic product (GDP), has crashed the country's economy. The latest to join this bandwagon of criticism is an editorial in Mint. ("MGNREGA: A tale...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The US Chamber of Commerce has advised its government to ratchet up pressure on India over intellectual property rights and prevent it from producing cheap generic versions of medicines under patent protection. In a recommendation to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the chamber requested it to label India as a Priority Foreign Country, a tag which is given to the worst offenders of patent rights. The only...