How Shramev Jayate Should Trigger Labour Reforms in India

Shramev Jayate, also known as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate Karyakram, creates an environment conducive to economic development. It encourages industrial development, boosts business, and helps the government provide workers with skill training.

The government launched the scheme in October 2014 in a function organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment at Vigyan Bhawan.

The vision of Shramev Jayate is to contribute to the goal of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance,’ which focuses on transparency and efficiency of the government’s actions. Shramev Jayate aims to bring reforms in the labour sector.

The several labour laws in India impede the development process, creating differences among the labour force and even between the labour and the employer. Therefore, this program promotes industrial growth. It reduces the differences between the groups employed in the industry by providing them with better space for their growth.

The government also believes the Shramev Jayate scheme will encourage the Make in India campaign to be established on a large scale.

Why is there a need for labour reforms in India?

In the World Bank’s 2013 ‘Ease of Doing Business Rankings’  India ranked 140 which was very low in a total of 189 economies. It wasn’t  giving a good impression to the nation trying to establish itself as the outsourcing hub offering both manufacturing and services to other nations.

The major initiatives of Shramev Jayate Yojna

Let us look at the primary aspects of the scheme.

Shram Suvidha Portal

The web portal intends to combine information on Labour Inspection and its enforcement, leading to accountability and transparency. The observations would be reportable in a single systematised form, making it easy for those filing forms. The portal provides the user with the standard Labour Identification Number (LIN) by all implementing agencies.

We can summarise the main features of the portal as follows:

• It assigns a unique labour identification number (LIN) to units to ensure online registration.
• It allows industries to file a self-certified Single Online Return instead of filing 16 separate Returns.
• Labour Inspectors must upload their reports within three days to ensure timely grievance redressal.

Labour Inspection Scheme

The Yojana introduces the Labour Inspection Scheme for making labour inspection transparent.

The critical features of the scheme are as follows:

• It ensures that the mandatory inspection list covers important subjects, preventing the absence of any issues.
• It generates a computerised list of inspections based on predetermined objective standards.
• It examines the data and evidence to determine the validity of the complaints centrally.
• It provides an emergency inspection list for crucial and urgent cases.
• These inspections will help check the illogical compliances, providing transparency in the process.

Universal Account Number

This unique identification links the bank account and KYC details, especially Aadhar, for the financial inclusion of vulnerable sections of society. This aspect allows the organised sector labour to transfer their Social Security Benefits across jobs throughout India. 

It also allows the monthly updation of the EPF accounts, which contain information of more than four crore labourers.

Apprentice Protsahan Yojna

This initiative motivates and encourages the manufacturing units and labourers for on-the-job training. These labourers receive 50% of the stipend during the first two years of their training. 

The scheme has a huge potential to make the labour force employable and develop their skills, making it profitable for both industries and the labour force.

Rashtriya Swasthiya Bima Yojna

The unorganised sector labourers receive medical security under this initiative. The government equips them with a smart card with all the user’s details. The use of such smart cards helps the user with medical services and other social security schemes.

National Brand Ambassadors for Vocational Training

This initiative provides the ITI trainees with confidence and skills to meet the national development targets. This scheme calls for a ‘Skilled India”. The growth chances increase in the economy as the number of skilled and developed staff in the organised sector rises.

Conclusion

The Shramev Jayate Yojna is an umbrella scheme that ensures functional transparency in the organised and the unorganised sectors. It enables the government to proactively solve issues that the country’s labour force faces. 

The higher aim is to provide skills and training to the workforce in the unorganised sector in India. This human resource can make major economic contributions, given their large numbers. 

As health plays an important role, the scheme also provides many health and social benefits to the labour force.

Finally, the ultimate aim of the scheme is to boost the Make in India campaign that will ensure India becomes a quality manufacturing hub for the world.