Hyderabad: Taking part in an interactive session at the Indian School of Business, Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian pitched for labour law reforms. He advised States to follow the Rajasthan model for better results.
Speaking to reporters, he said Rajasthan has done four-five labour reforms, and by doing so, the State was able to increase number of firms of above 100 employees. This increased the number of factories and workers and in turn the output.
According to a media report, Rajasthan was the first State in 2014 to introduce labour reforms in major Acts, and many other States followed thereafter. Amendments to the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, the Factories Act, 1948, the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 and the Apprentices Act, 1961, are the major reforms undertaken by Rajasthan.
The CEA also spoke on various issues on the sidelines of the event. When questioned about the impact of the slump in the automobile industry on the economy, he said the industry is just one part of the overall manufacturing sector which is doing well. Speaking about doubling farmers’ income by 2022, he said some steps to enable the small and marginal farmers to sell their products in the market place have been suggested by the concerned committee. Subramanian said the target of a USD 5 trillion economy in the next five years is achievable. “For the first trillion dollars that India created, it took 55 years, and from USD 1.7 trillion to USD 2.7 trillion happened between 2014 and 2019. So you can basically create that USD 5 trillion in (the next) five years,” he was quoted as saying in a PTI report.
There is an opinion that the small and medium enterprises sector presents a lot of employment opportunities, but that is not practically true, the CEA clarified.