Formal Sector News

The net new enrolments with the EPFO hover around 7 lakh every month on an averageThe EPFO said the payroll data is provisional as updation of employees' records is a continuous process and gets updated in subsequent months

Now that it's been more than a year now since GST was announced and most teething troubles are out of the way, has the much-talked about formalization happened?

What ultimately matters is whether we are creating decent and productive jobs not only for those joining the labour market but also for those leaving disguised unemployment in agriculture

The assumption that this is a problem largely confined to the informal sector and traditional jobs is erroneous

Experts say that while the new data for the first time organizes the payroll system, it does not necessarily give a clean picture of the jobs scenario

India's problem is not jobs, but formal jobs. And formal jobs need the productivity that comes with lower regulatory cholesterol, and infrastructure, human capital and fiscal discipline

Income tax collection as a per cent of GDP tend to rise sharply once average incomes cross the $2,000 thresholdfrom 1% of GDP to around 5% of GDP. India is on the cusp of that threshold

The lack of good jobs has already fuelled disaffection and social unrest among a section of young people

To take their rightful place in the workforce, women need more formal sector employment opportunities

With increased compliance, a shift of business from the unorganized to organized sectors would translate into increased market share for the latter