-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday raised import duty on several textile products, including garments, scarves and carpets, as part of its plan to protect domestic manufacturers and support the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The tariff hike on 32 product categories comes after recent increases across several sectors, from mobile phone to TV sets and toys. A few weeks ago, the government had increased import duty on some...

  A document of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) dated 25th June, 2018 says that the number of members subscribing to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) scheme gives one an idea of the level of employment in the formal sector viz. mostly employment in establishments employing 20 or more persons (though EPF is applicable for certain organisations, which employ less than 20 persons, subject to certain conditions and...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: A year ago, when the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act came into force, it was considered a landmark reform that positioned India among the top progressive nations, enabling women to stay in the workforce after childbirth. The well-intentioned amendment entitles working women to a 26-week paid leave, up from the earlier 12 weeks, something that progressive companies were already offering. With India’s women workforce participation rate dwindling from...

-Hindustan Times Unless the deficit is addressed, plans to improve incomes in the farm sector are unlikely to succeed According to the 2011 census, 45% of India’s workforce is engaged in non-agricultural activities i.e. professions other than cultivation and agricultural labour. This number diminishes by slightly more than two percentage points if one excludes two other primary sector activities: mining and plantations, forestry and fishing. Who are these workers? Which industries and...

-The Indian Express GDP growth rates for pre-2011-12 years, making it impossible to compare the new growth data with the growth during the UPA years. New Delhi: From a new gross domestic product (GDP) series to a revised Index of Industrial Production and inflation indices, alongside fresh interventions including payroll reporting based on EPFO data, statistical measurement tools to gauge economic development underwent some change over the past four years. In the...