Unemployment in India on the rise, rural women worst hit

June 21, 2013

Unemployment_in_India

New Delhi, Jun 21: Between 2009-10 and 2011-12, the proportion of people working slipped slightly in India, and the share of unemployed persons ticked up, a government report released on Thursday has revealed. In 2009-10, 36.5% of the population was gainfully employed for the better part of the year. By 2011-12, the proportion of such workers had dipped to 35.4%. Meanwhile the unemployment rate went up from 2.5% to 2.7%.

These findings form the crux of a survey on employment and unemployment carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO). The survey covered over one lakh households and was carried out between July 2011 and June 2012.

The pan-India figures hide a deepening chasm between job opportunities for men and women. While the share of employed men remained roughly constant between 2009 and 2012, women's employment dropped from 18% to 16%.

This may appear a small decline, but when translated into real numbers, the crisis in employment is stark. In rural areas, about 90 lakh women lost their jobs in the two-year period. This would have been catastrophic but for the fact that in urban areas about 35 lakh women were added to the workforce.

Men joined the workforce in both urban and rural areas, though they got many more opportunities in towns and cities than in rural areas. Men's participation in the workforce jumped from 99 million to 108 million in urban areas and from 228 million to 231 million in rural areas.

Kerala had the highest unemployment rate of close to 10% among larger states. West Bengal (4.5%) and Assam (4.3%) were other large states with relatively high unemployment rates. Among the smaller states, Nagaland had a staggering jobless rate of 27%, but this may be compromised data as surveys are difficult in strife-torn areas. Tripura, another north-eastern state, but relatively more peaceful, too had a high unemployment rate of over 15%.

The NSSO report also contains striking information on daily wage rates of casual labourers and regular or salaried employees. Wages given to casual labourers in the government's job guarantee program (MGNREGS) were lower than similar work elsewhere and more than a third lower than other types of casual work. In the job guarantee scheme, male workers were getting an average of Rs 112.46 per day, while in non-MGNREGS public works the rate was Rs 127.39. In non-public works wages stood at Rs 149.32. For women, the average was more similar at about Rs 102-110, though lower than men for the same work. This appears to go against a widely held belief that MGNREGS wage rates are setting the standard for all other wages in rural areas.

The wide difference in wage rates in urban and rural areas explains why people are migrating from their homes to live in cities to earn a living. A male casual laborer earned about Rs 150 per day in rural areas, but his urban counterpart got Rs 180 a day. Similarly, a salaried employee could earn about Rs 300 per day in rural areas but in urban areas the daily earning would shoot up to nearly Rs 450.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Lucknow, Mar 5: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said last night that the role of teachers would come under the scanner when "anti-India" slogans are raised at universities and institutions of higher education.

"When anti-India slogans are raised at institutions of higher education, we should be prepared to ask why this type of distortion occurrs among our students?" he said at a programme organised by the Basic Shiksha Parishad in Lucknow.

"We begin our work with pledge for the country's unity and integrity and today slogans are raised for the division of the nation. In such a situation, questions are raised over the role of teachers who are considered equal to god in society," he said.

"Who all are involved in this sin and chaos? Governments can provide resources, but the one who has given them basic education, who has given them secondary education and who has led them to that place, all of them should evaluate their actions today," the chief minister said.

Speaking about the condition of education in the state when his government came to power three years ago, he said there was an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy in the state and the condition of basic education was very bad.

"The worst problem was that of proxy teachers. Our government started the process of prohibiting proxy teachers in the first phase," he said.

Adityanath said that a teacher is not just a government servant, but the fate of the nation. He said teachers should learn from Chanakya.

Had Chanakya confined himself to Nalanda University, he would not have been able to make India a superpower of the world during that period. Teachers will have to prepare themselves according to the challenges and need of society, he added.

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Agencies
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: In a bid to provide relief to small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic, the GST Council on Friday decided to halve the interest rate on late filing of GSTR-3B returns for the period of February, March and April 2020.

The interest rate on late return filing will be 9% from the usual 18% till September 30, 2020. The benefit will be available for small taxpayers with aggregate turnover of up to Rs 5 crore.

For the three months, small taxpayers will not be charged any interest till the notified dates for relief and thereafter 9% interest will be charged till September 30, a Finance Ministry statement said.

"For small taxpayers (aggregate turnover upto Rs 5 crore), for the supplies effected in the month of February, March and April 2020, the rate of interest for late furnishing of return for the said months beyond specified dates (staggered upto 6th July 2020) is reduced from 18 per cent per annum to 9 per cent per annum till 30.09.2020," said the statement.

The Council has also extended relief to small taxpayers for subsequent period of 2020 through waiver of late fees and interest if the returns in Form GSTR-3B for the supplies effected in the months of May, June and July are furnished by September 2020.

It has also decided to reduce the late fee on the filing of GSTR-3B returns for the period between July 2017 and January 2020. The late fee has been capped at Rs 500, but interest will be charged at the existing rate on the due tax liability.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi after a GST Council meet through videoconference, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that those entities with no tax liability will not have to submit the late fee for the period.

For entities with tax liability but which have not filed returns or have filed returns late, the late fee has been capped at Rs 500 without interest. Interest will, however, be payable on the tax component at the applicable rate for delays.

To facilitate taxpayers who could not get their cancelled GST registrations restored in time, the Council has provided an opportunity for filing of application for revocation of cancellation of registration up to September 30, 2020, in all cases where registrations have been cancelled till June 12, 2020.

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News Network
July 22,2020

Warangal, Jul 22: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an outlet in Telangana's Warangal has started selling 'anti-corona' tea. The tea has become an instant hit with the locals as the beverage is laced with natural immunity-boosting ingredients.

"We sell tea named 'anti-corona'. It has natural immunity-boosting ingredients such as ginger, black pepper, cinnamon powder, among other things. A mixture of these ingredients boosts our immunity," Shiva, the owner of the tea shop said.

"Better immunity is needed to fight the coronavirus infection in the body. So we have started preparing this tea and selling it during the coronavirus pandemic," he added.

Prabhakar, a customer at the tea stall said, the tea was a "corona special tea," and it has Ayurvedic mixtures which help to boost the immunity of the human body.

"The tea is prepared after adding the Ayurveda mixtures to milk. This is good for your health. I, along with my family members and friends, come here every day. We drink this tea thrice a day," Prabhakar added.

According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 46,274 COVID-19 cases in Telangana. Meanwhile, India's coronavirus count stood at 11,92,915 on Wednesday morning.

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