THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS

DATE – 10 MARCH 2021

For Preliminary and Mains examination

As per new Pattern of APSC

(Also useful for UPSC and other State level government examinations)

Answers of MCQs of 9-03-2021

1. D

Explanation: and share a 4,096-kilometre-long (2,545 mi) international border, the fifth- longest land border in the world, including 262 km (163 mi) in Assam, 856 km (532 mi) in , 318 km (198 mi) in Mizoram, 443 km (275 mi) in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km (1,378 mi) in West Bengal.

2. C. West Bengal 3. C. Mizoram 4. A. Only 1 5. B. Exercise Pitch Black 2018, RAAF Base Darwin, Australia (24 Jul 18 – 18 Aug 18) Ex Pitch Black a biennial multi-national large force employment warfare exercise was hosted by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 24 Jul 18 to 18 Aug 18 in Darwin, Australia.

MCQs of 10-03-2021

Q1. Ease of Doing Business published by

A. IBRD B. WEF C. WTO D. ILO

Q2. Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report Published by

A. World Bank B. WEF C. ILO D. UNDP

Q3. Recently SAAW was in news. It is related to A. Education B. Defence C. Water Conservation D. Air and Water Pollution

Q4. ‘Nishant’ is -

A. Tank

B. Infantry fighting vehicle

C. Radars

D. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Q5. The headquarter of DRDO is in -

A. Bangalore B. Chennai C. Vishakhapattanam D. New Delhi

CONTENTS

1. Seamless Indo-Bangla transport link can boost national income of both countries: WB report ( GS 2 – International Relations ) 2. Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly demands provincial status from Pakistan govt ( GS 2 – India and its neighbours ) 3. ISRO develops radar for joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA ( GS 3 – Science and Technology ) 4. DRDO develops AIP system for submarines ( GS 3 – Science and Technology ) 5. Modi, Hasina dedicate Maitri Setu to people of NE ( GS 3 – Infrastructure & Development )

EDITORIALS

1. Arsenic in water: Are we licensed to kill? ( GS 3 – Environment ) 2. Border row ( GS 5 – Border Issues ) 3. Decoding the new Wage Code ( GS 5 – Employment )

NEWS ARTICLES

Seamless Indo-Bangla transport link can boost national income of both countries: WB report

 Seamless transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to increase national income by as much as 17 per cent in Bangladesh and 8 per cent in India, a new World Bank report said.  The World Bank report titled ‘Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia’, released today analyses the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA), compares it with international best practices and identifies its strengths as well as gaps for seamless regional connectivity. The report also discusses regional policy actions the countries can take to strengthen the MVA and proposes priorities for infrastructure investments that will help the countries maximise its benefits.  Today, bilateral trade accounts for only about 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s trade and a mere 1 per cent of India’s trade. Whereas, in East Asian and Sub-Saharan African economies, intraregional trade accounts for 50 per cent and 22 per cent of total trade, respectively. In fact, it is about 15-20 per cent less expensive for a company in India to trade with a company in Brazil or Germany than with a company in Bangladesh, the report points out. High tariffs, para-tariffs, and non-tariff barriers also serve as major trade barriers. Simple average tariffs in Bangladesh and India are more than twice the world average.  Previous analysis indicates that Bangladesh’s exports to India could increase by 182 per cent and India’s exports to Bangladesh by 126 per cent if the countries sign a free trade agreement. This analysis found that improving transport connectivity between the two countries could increase exports even further, yielding a 297 per cent increase in Bangladesh’s exports to India and a 172 per cent increase in India’s exports to Bangladesh.  Weak transport integration makes the border between Bangladesh and India thick. Crossing the India-Bangladesh border at Petrapole-Benapole, the most important border post between the two countries, takes several days. In contrast, the time to cross borders handling similar volumes of traffic in other regions of the world, including East Africa, is less than six hours, the report highlights.  At present, Indian trucks are not allowed to transit through Bangladesh. As a result, the North-east of India is particularly isolated with the rest of the country and is connected only through the 27-

km-wide Siliguri corridor, also called the ‘Chicken’s Neck’. This leads to long and costly routes. Goods from Agartala, for example, travel 1,600 km through the Siliguri corridor to reach Kolkata Port instead of 450 km through Bangladesh. If the border were open to Indian trucks, goods from Agartala would have to travel just 200 km to the Chattogram Port in Bangladesh, and the transport costs to the port would be 80 per cent lower, the report estimates.  According to the report, all districts in Bangladesh would benefit from integration, with the eastern districts enjoying larger gains in real income. States bordering Bangladesh such as Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura in the North-east, and West Bengal on the west, and States further away from Bangladesh such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra would also gain huge economic benefits from seamless connectivity.  However, unleashing the full potential of integration in the region requires strengthening the agreement signed in 2015. Countries need to address a number of challenges such as infrastructure deficits, particularly in designated border posts, harmonisation of regulations and customs procedures, the report says.

Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly demands provincial status from Pakistan govt

 The Legislative Assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday unanimously adopted a joint resolution asking the federal Pakistan government to grant it provincial status and provide it with representation in Parliament and other constitutional bodies.  The resolution was moved in the Legislative Assembly by Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan, who represented the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.  He was joined in tabling the resolution by Opposition leader Amjad Hussain from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) representative Ghulam Muhammad, Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) member Muhammad Kazim and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader Rehmat Khaliq.  India has previously slammed Pakistan’s attempt to accord provincial status to the “so-called Gilgit-Baltistan”, saying it is intended to camouflage the “illegal” occupation of the region by Islamabad.  The leaders of Gilgit-Baltistan on Tuesday demanded that the government of Pakistan give the region provisional provincial status and provide it with representation in Parliament and other constitutional bodies.

 The resolution stated that a bill to amend the Constitution of Pakistan to declare Gilgit-Baltistan a province of Pakistan should be passed by Parliament without causing any damage to the country’s stance on the Kashmir issue.  “The demand for constitutional rights is a unanimous demand of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, not that of an individual/party. The unity we’ve shown on this issue needs to be repeated again at a federal level,” Chief Minister Khan said.  In December, Prime Minister Khan constituted a 12-member committee to make recommendations about changing the status of Gilgit-Baltistan.  On November 1 last year, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Anurag Srivastava said that India “firmly rejects” the attempt by Pakistan to bring material changes to a part of Indian territory which is under Islamabad's “illegal and forcible occupation” and asked it to immediately vacate such areas.  He made the remarks in response to a media query about Pakistani Prime Minister Khan’s comments about his government’s decision to accord “provisional provincial status” to the Gilgit- Baltistan region.  “I reiterate that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including the area of so- called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’, are an integral part of India by virtue of the legal, complete and irrevocable accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union of India in 1947,” the MEA spokesperson said.  He said the government of Pakistan has no locus standi on territories “illegally and forcibly” occupied by it and that the latest move will not be able to hide the “grave” human rights violations in these Pakistan-occupied territories. – PTI

ISRO develops radar for joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA

 ISRO has completed development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capable of producing extremely high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with the US space agency NASA.  NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation.

 “NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S- band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimetre across,” according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration).  NASA and Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) signed a partnership on September 30, 2014, to collaborate on and launch NISAR.  The mission is targeted to launch in early 2022 from ISRO’s Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100 km north of Chennai.  NASA is providing the mission’s L-band SAR, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem.  ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services for the mission, whose goal is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.  The S-band SAR payload of NISAR satellite mission was flagged off by the Secretary in the Department of Space and ISRO Chairman K Sivan on March 4 through virtual mode.  The payload has been shipped from ISRO’s -based Space Applications Centre (SAC) to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena in the US for integration with the latter’s L-band SAR payload, an ISRO statement said.  “NISAR would provide a means of disentangling highly spatial and temporally complex processes ranging from ecosystem disturbances to ice sheet collapses and natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides,” ISRO said.  NASA added that the mission will measure earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces and ice masses, providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise and groundwater, and will support a host of other applications.  “NISAR will observe earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling earth on average every six days for a baseline three- year mission,” NASA said on the mission’s website.  “This allows the mission to observe a wide range of earth processes, from the flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets to the dynamics of earthquakes and volcanoes.” – PTI

DRDO develops AIP system for submarines

 The govt-run DRDO has achieved an important milestone in the development of air independent propulsion (AIP) system for diesel submarines by proving the efficacy of its land-based prototype, a statement by the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

 The AIP’s prototype was operated in endurance mode and max power mode as per the user requirements on March 8, the statement said.  The AIP has a force multiplier effect on lethality of a diesel electric submarine as it enhances the submerged endurance of the boat several folds. Fuel cell-based AIP has merits in performance compared to other technologies, the ministry noted. The system is being developed by the NMRL.  The technology has been developed with the support of industry partners L&T and Thermax. It has now reached the stage of maturity for fitment into target vessels, it mentioned.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, the Indian Navy as well as the industry for this achievement. – PTI

Modi, Hasina dedicate Maitri Setu to people of NE

 Scripting a new era in cross-border connectivity, Prime Minister and his Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, today dedicated the Maitri Setu to the people of the North East through video conferencing.  With today’s development, Tripura is now directly connected with the Chittagong port in Bangladesh through Ramgarh.  Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the Maitri Setu in the Sabroom subdivision of South Tripura would further strengthen bilateral ties between North East India and Bangladesh.  With the Maitri Setu coming up, Sabroom will be developed into a logistics hub between the two sides as the foundation stone of an integrated check post (ICP) has already been laid, Modi said after dedicating the strategic bridge.  The Prime Minister added: “During the electioneering in 2018, I had promised to provide HIRA (highways/i-wayrRailway/airways). In the past three years, Tripura has witnessed massive development in connectivity due to the double governments in New Delhi and Agartala.”  North East India is now directly linked to the Chittagong port thorugh Ramgarh in Bangladesh, Modi said, adding that this would increase economic activities in both countries. Apart from Tripura, South Assam, Mizoram and Manipur will benefit from the bridge as far as supply of essential items is concerned.  Modi revealed that both India and Bangladesh are working on an alternative waterway to ensure supply to North East India during the monsoon. “During my visit to Bangladesh, I had a word with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about creating an alternative waterway for North East India. The people of the region will soon have supplementary waterway connectivity,” he added.

 In her video message, the Bangladesh Premier said that the opening of the Maitri Setu is a landmark day for bilateral business, trade and economy. “The bridge came up at a time when Bangladesh is celebrating the centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibor Rahman and the golden jubilee of its Independence,” she said.  Mentioning former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar who had put a proposal seeking support to build a bridge over River Feni, Hasina said: “We have responded positively. After 10 years, the Maitri Bridge has become a reality. It will be beneficial for North East India as Tripura is less than 100 km away from the sea port of Chittagong. At present, the North East’s nearest sea port is Haldia whose distance is about 1,600 km. We are working on improving cross-border connectivity for seamless trade and business with neighbouring countries,” she said.  Asserting that politics should not become a physical barrier for business and trade, Hasina said Bangladesh has done well in the textiles industries and become a business leader in South Asia.  Hasia added, “We do not forget Tripura’s contribution to our freedom struggle. You people opened the border, offered shelter and gave support during the liberation war. Bangladesh will never forget this.”  Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma and Revenue Minister NC Debbarma witnessed the dedication ceremony from the Vivekananda Stadium here.

EDITORIALS

Arsenic in water: Are we licensed to kill?

 Arsenic is the most favourite murder weapon Agatha Christie used. Make no mistake, it was not a random selection, it was very deliberate. Arsenic has limited rivals in terms of its toxicity and how

it affects the human body. Arsenic is a potent poison! Then who gave us the right to poison almost the entire population of the Northeast by forcing them to drink arsenic-laced water?  Arsenic is a naturally occurring metalloid (i.e., it has properties intermediate between a metal and non-metal). Most of the arsenic present in groundwater is from geological sources while there may be anthropogenic sources like pesticides and industrial discharges. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have set a limit for total arsenic in drinking water as 10 micrograms per litre. To put things in perspective, if you take one teaspoon of sugar (4 g) and divide it into 4 lakh parts, then one part will be 10 micrograms. More than that of arsenic in one litre of water is toxic to humans.  Arsenic in drinking water causes skin lesions and cancer of the skin and internal organs (liver, kidney, lung and bladder). It may lead to cardiovascular disease, diabetics and impacts cognitive development in children.  About 220 million people in 50 countries are affected by groundwater arsenic contamination and the number is increasing rapidly. One-fifth of India’s population is vulnerable to arsenic poisoning. The journal Science (2020) predicts that more people will be affected as more groundwater is pumped out to support the growing population.  The same study puts Assam as one of the most vulnerable spots. At least 24 districts in Assam are already affected by arsenic in drinking water since we first reported a case in 2004. In the Northeast, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura are badly affected so far. People in Assam and the Northeast are suffering because of the presence of toxic arsenic in drinking water.  Assam’s aquifer is part of the geology where arsenic is present naturally. Researchers have suggested that low concentration arsenic present in river water has infused arsenic into the Brahmaputra Valley groundwater over thousands of years. The pumping of water from the aquifer changes the geobiochemistry of the arsenic deposits and it finds its way to our wells. The more water we pump, the more arsenic we get in our water. Deep-wells are not exceptions.  The complexity of arsenic treatment makes it difficult to propose ‘a solution’ that will solve the arsenic problem across the board. Simple filtration and boiling do not remove arsenic at all. Arsenic can neither be destroyed nor transformed into a benign form, it always retains its extreme toxicity. The only thing we can do to alleviate the arsenic problem is to manage it well.  Adsorption, ion-exchange, and reverse osmosis (RO) are considered the most effective processes to remove arsenic from water. The presence of iron in the Northeast water is an advantage. Iron is one of the natural adsorbents of arsenic. If the groundwater contains 20 times more iron than arsenic then we may be able to design affordable arsenic removal processes.  Any iron-based material works well for arsenic removal. The IIT Bombay promoted an arsenic removal unit in Titabor where they used commercial pure iron nails as the filter media to remove

arsenic. The RO system also works well provided there is proper maintenance. Specific technology to be adopted will depend upon the geochemistry of the water, geographic location and, most importantly, acceptance by the stakeholders.  While there are governmental schemes for drinking water, there has been an erosion in confidence in the government. There is a clear lack of leadership in the system. We, the powerful middle- class, have also failed the people who are suffering. Are they the children of a lesser God? We should have stepped up to fill the leadership void. We are better than this, we can do better.  With the lack of confidence in the government, community ownership is a way to go. The example of Kothora village in Nalbari can be emulated. The village groundwater is affected by arsenic. Local Gramya Vikash Mancha (GVM) has initiated an awareness programme and helped the community install an ion-exchange unit with support from the Tata Water Mission (Tata Trusts). The GVM volunteers sensitized and organized the water users to form a water management committee.  The committee now manages the treatment system and takes management decisions. The unit produces about 4,650 litres of arsenic-free drinking water every day. The land for the unit came from one of the villagers. The villagers pay Rs 210 per month to get 20 litres of water a day. Each household gets a ‘Water ATM’ card to ‘withdraw’ the 20 litres of water. Once you swipe your ATM card, 20 litres of water will come out from one of three designated outlets of your choice. With the money collected, the monthly salary for the operator is paid and a part of the money is saved for annual maintenance. There are a few economically challenged families in the village and they get free ATM cards with each loaded with Rs 210 worth of water. Kothora is a Jal tirtha.  We are seeing sufferings from arsenic contamination in the Northeast, but the triumphs of overcoming the demon in Kothara inspire us all. Kothora tells us that it is time to start working at the grassroots level and empower the small communities to have access to safe drinking water. While the enormous surface water resources (rivers) should be our primary sources of drinking water, it may take some time to have the facilities to treat surface water for drinking purposes, and till then we need to invest our resources to ensure that our current supply of drinking water (even if it is from groundwater) is free from contaminants like arsenic.

Border row

 Over the years successive Assam governments have failed not just to accord due protection to the State’s border areas but also cut a sorry figure in expediting the development process in these backward regions. This contrasts sharply with the infrastructure build-up in terms of road and bridges and educational institutions and offices by the neighbouring States in their borderland.  Things came to such a pass that Assam’s border inhabitants not far from State capital Dispur had recently gone to the extent of making a formal proposal for ceding to the neighbouring State of Meghalaya in view of the developmental works taking place on the other side of the border. This typifies the sheer exasperation of the border inhabitants who are made to endure an existence of drudgery without even the basic amenities.  If this be the state of affairs in areas situated close to the capital, the travails of those living in remote border areas can well be left to imagination. The laxity of the Assam Government has also emboldened miscreants in the neighbouring States to encroach on Assam’s land – including on disputed sections which warrant maintenance of status quo till resolving of the dispute – and erect permanent infrastructure to give legitimacy to their claim on land.  While successive Assam governments have made it a habit to bemoan the moribund development process in areas bordering States and nations, unfortunately, this concern has failed to translate into any tangible action on the ground that could have hastened the development process in these areas. As a result, inhabitants of the border areas have remained outside the purview of development even in terms of the basic amenities in most cases.  It is against this backdrop that one needs to view the recent decision of the Meghalaya Government to stop development works in disputed border areas. This is undoubtedly a welcome move given the need for both sides to respect status quo in the disputed segments but at the same time, the two State governments and the Centre need to resolve the border row at the earliest, failing which the inhabitants will perennially remain outside the fruits of development.  Indeed, roads and bridges, power, healthcare and education facilities, potable water, security arrangements, etc., are still a far cry for a vast segment of the border populace. A necessary corollary of this deplorable situation has manifested itself in crimes and antisocial activities, with some areas turning into hotbeds of militancy. The strategic location of the areas also acted to the advantage of the militants, as it is easy to cross over to another territory for dearth of security arrangements.  While the persistent border row with Nagaland has assumed sinister dimensions, with armed miscreants from Nagaland frequently indulging in mayhem in the border villages of Assam, there has been increasing reports of encroachment on the State’s border areas by Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and West Bengal.

Decoding the new Wage Code

 Assam is in election mode. From Dhubri to Dhemaji from addas to dhabas, self-appointed experts are preoccupied in analysing gatbandhans and outcomes. While we discuss seat shares and candidature, a determined Central Government has slowly but steadily progressed on rolling out the new Wage Code 2019. Concurrently, at home, the Assam Government on February 20 last, announced the much contentious minimum daily cash wages for ‘chah-shramiks’ (tea labourers) at Rs 217 per day for workers in the Brahmaputra Valley. The announcement made headlines in the morning papers.  One may argue that the fixation of minimum wage for a category of employees under the provision of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is a mere statutory process. Why then the headline status? In the hotpot of State politics, readers of this column well understand the vitality of the ‘chah-janajati’ (tea tribe) ingredient. Therefore, the screaming headlines!  No doubt the political masters are doing a tricky tightrope walk at Rs 217, by notifying a Rs 50 per day interim wage increase for the Brahmaputra Valley workers. Offending the chah-janajati and ignoring per day cash wage rates of Rs 351 as claimed by the leading trade unions and the Rs 365 promised by a rival political party may impact the ruling party at the polls.  On the contrary, any insensitivity to business reality of the industry would be disastrous. Industry leaders had expressed their inability to meet higher wage costs and cited ‘crisis in the industry’. One needs to appreciate that the tea industry besides impacting the political outcomes is also the largest employer in the State. One cannot kill the golden goose nor ignore the vote bank! Thus, the political tightrope walking.  Furthermore, is it politics that has determined the timing of the new daily wage rate announcement, as with foundation laying and dedication ceremonies from flyovers to petro- projects? More so, when the Central Government has expressed its intention to roll out the new Wage Code on April 1 next, which in effect may contradict the ‘interim’ tea wage announcement? To elaborate on the matter, the Wage Code 2019 has fundamentally altered the process of minimum wage rate fixation.  The new Code effectively lays down that the Central Government-appointed advisory board and committees would fix a ‘floor wage’. The State governments in effect would be bound to fix minimum wage rates at higher than or equal to the ‘floor wage’ thus determined. Consequently, if the ‘floor wage’ notified post April 2021 is higher than the currently announced interim minimum cash wage for Assam tea workers, the process would require reworking.  Moreover, the proposed Wage Code envisages that the value of house accommodation, medical amenities and such other facilities would not form part of wages. Currently, the norm has been to consider the referred items as ‘cash component of wages paid in kind’. This along with a proposed

provision to allow adding back a percentage of such excluded items to deem as wages, would obviously alter the computation of minimum wages. Therefore, the concern.  In further decoding the proposed Wage Code, the fundamental shift in the approach adopted by the law makers is significant. The paradigm shifts merit detailed examination by employers, employees and as such all stakeholders across industries. To elaborate by way of illustration, in addition to the significant shift by way of introduction of the concept of the ‘floor wage’, the new Code has done away with fixing minimum wages based on ‘schedule’ of employment categorized by trade.  The current process of differentiating minimum wage rates based on the trade/ schedule of employment as distinct for a bought leaf tea factory worker or an asbestos cement factory worker or a private hospital worker and so forth is being discontinued. Instead, the Wage Code envisages considerations such as geographical area, arduousness of work like temperature or humidity, hazardous occupations, etc., in addition to skills to categories rates of wages.  Furthermore, the Code of Wages 2019 and draft Rules 2020 have proposed criteria such as intake of 2,700 calories per adult and 66 metres of cloth per year be considered for standard working- class family of spouse and two children for arriving at the minimum rate of wages. With the vision towards inclusiveness and equity, the Code has extended the coverage to the unorganized sector accounting for more than 62% of the nation’s workforce. These are progressive concepts which support assurance of minimum living standards for employees across the country.  In its rationalization process, the new Code has proposed a single definition of wages. The pre- Code legislations had multiple definitions. The rationalized definition has been extended and universalized across all the new Codes. The outdated Acts often raised issues of interpretation. These led to confusion, IR disputes and sometimes time-consuming litigation.  However, from the employer’s point of view, the altered definition of wages to exclude certain items as elaborated above in the context of the tea industry, will come with its share of questions. Will the employer’s wage bill go up on account of the new Wage Code? Will it impact the liability on account of terminal benefits such as provident fund and gratuity? Will the ESIC contribution and annual bonus be impacted? No doubt employers are examining the implications and the HR heads are busy with rejigging the ‘components of remuneration’ to strike a balance between ‘cost- to-company’ and ‘legal compliance’.  While the employers, trade bodies, employees and unions continue to examine the pros and cons of the paradigm shift in approach to labour laws, we need to decode its benefits to the nation. India, a nation with an urgent need to meet the job aspirations of ever-growing unemployed and a vision for a five-trillion-dollar economy, has no option but to accelerate reforms.  In this 21st century work environment of fair trade, ethical practices, human rights and dignity, a nation, to compete and survive globally and to attract much-needed foreign investments, has to

update and simplify legislation. Progressive legislations that support ease of doing business, universal coverage and legal compliance are today a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.  The Wage Code 2019 is a step in the stated direction. The repeal and thereby merger of four archaic statutes, namely the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 under one single Code has simplified, rationalized, updated, universalized and consolidated laws relating to wages. Further, the proposed randomized web-based inspections, it is hoped, would be another facilitator in ethical legal compliances.  As the nation transits, hopefully from an era of ‘Inspector Raj’ to an era of progressive reforms, we would need to analyse the Rules as and when notified by the State governments to understand the overall implications.