With the Economy of India badly affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic add the loss of jobs for lakhs of migrant workers during the lockdown, a scheme by the name of ‘Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan‘ or ‘Rural Job Scheme’ was launched by the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi in the district of Bihar on 2oth June 2020 to cope up with this problem. The scheme will support migrant workers and other rural workers by giving them jobs and livelihood support. The scheme was launched by the PM via video conferencing. The Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar was also present at the video conference when the scheme was launched.
After the scheme was launched, Nitish Kumar informed the PM that he interacted with the migrant workers who came back to their homes in Bihar during the lockdown. He said that the workers now want to work in Bihar only and do not want to leave as migrant workers to other states. He also said that the scheme will be greatly beneficial for these workers and that it is a gift from the Central Government to them. He also promised to include these workers in other schemes of the Bihar State Government.
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi interacted with some of these migrant workers and tried to understand the problems that they are currently facing. According to Prime Minister Modi, he got the idea from migrant workers that were quarantined in a school building in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. Instead of wasting their time, they utilized their skills and painted the whole school as an act of gratitude. The PM addressed all the migrant workers of Bihar and informed them that they will be getting jobs in their own state under the scheme, and urged them to use their talents and skills for taking their villages forward and for the overall development of Bihar.
PM Modi Launches Garib Kalyan Yojana
What Will the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan Provide?
The scheme will provide 125 days of employment under 25 sub-schemes to the migrant workers of 116 districts. These 116 districts are spread across 6 states including Bihar. The other states are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha. The scheme aims to provide guaranteed employment to about 6.7 million migrant workers.
The scheme will mainly focus on the development in rural areas. It will contain projects such as the building of roads, the building shelters for animals, drinking water supply, house constructions, the building of community toilets, and more in which the workers will be employed. The scheme has been launched with a budget of ₹50,000 Crores which is roughly half the budget for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), previously known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which aims to provide 100-day employment to almost 140 million workers of rural areas. Some of the state governments have requested to increase the employment period to 150 days to provide jobs to many workers who have returned to their native places all over the country amid the lockdown. In 2021-2022 the budget of th scheme increased and become ₹98,000. In 2022, total 3.62 billion person days of work were provided. The MGNREGA has seen a sharp rise in the number of people applying for jobs since May, the reason that many people have lost their jobs due to the lockdown. The new ‘Rural Jobs Scheme’ or the ‘Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan’ will help overcome the unemployment in rural areas to a large extent. This scheme will also give a boost to the Indian economy which is currently at a standstill. It will help many workers by giving them employment in their own states.
Benefits of Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan
Some of the benefits of Garib Kalyan Roazgar Abhiyan schme are:
It will create employment opportunities for migrants.
It will create good infrastructure and the rural area will experience developement.
There are number of different works that are given to the workers according to their skill and they will have employment for 125 days.
The rural livelihood will experience a development with the help of the scheme.
FAQs
When was Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan launched?
Garib Kalyan Rijgar Abhiyaan was launched in 20 June 2020.
Who launched Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana.
What is Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana?
Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana is a scheme that will provide migrants and rural workers with job or livelihood for 125 days.
There is a unique kick in Unboxing something new, a new gadget, a new parcel because it has a sense of surprise in it. India is a country of festivals and we absolutely love to shop but have you ever wondered how these goods are made ? How do they land in the package ready to be used ? How are we able to get dreamy-deals that save us money ? There is a lot of behind the scenes of making a product, packaging the value in a box.
In a world as fast as ours, we tend to forget the process and focus mainly on the outcome. This article talks about a product process and how a brand manages to save costs with countries with cheap labour. We will also discuss Pakistan as an emerging nation with cheap labour.
It is said that Labour is handicapped without capital, and our capital is handicapped without labour. The word labour has direct relations with inputs that we put in to get some final product.
Labour can have many dynamics like mental, physical or social efforts that are required to manufacture something. Essentially on the basis of skillset, labour are of two types – Skilled, Unskilled and in some cases even Semi-skilled.
As the name suggests they are categorised on the basis of skills and training required to make them work effectively. Unskilled labour is the cheapest form of labour and is required to do work that does not require any sort of training.
Global sourcing of Labour
The initial motive of global sourcing of labour is cost savings. With the progress of globalisation, product differentiation in contemporary markets is not that remarkable anymore, to some extent, which leads to a greater emphasis being placed on price competition.
This has especially been the case with consumer products. Besides cost savings, plenty of studies have also identified quality and availability as critical aspects for global sourcing
Cheap Labour and its History
In every society around the globe, employers try to follow the downward trend of cost of labour. Thus, saving themselves the most capital. They pinpoint some stratum of people who are the most vulnerable and employ them with low wages.
This topic can go further to the ‘apartheid’ faced by the South Africans in contrast to white population. Their wages were as low as one-fourteenth of white counterparts even when they comprised around 80 percent of the total population.
Government implementing racist policies, commended employers with greater power over this section of workers. Which in turn employed discrimination among the general public.
Another method employers follow is ‘De-Skilling’ which means to eliminate a skill that is required for a job. Making it easy for a worker to be replaced. This drives down labour cost.
New technologies are also a way to increase competition among workers resulting in less wages. This makes the labour cheap and employers end up with more surplus. These are the usual cases in the world of manufacturing but there are some more natural ways on how labour can be cheap.
Factors like economic development, growth of a nation and per capita income of citizens of the country matters in determining the cost of labour. China has been a global player.
China: The world’s factory
China is considered as a factory for the whole world, the reason being the huge population and cheap availability of labour. This trend was followed for a long time and now it is up for a spin. The world demographics are changing and we are witnessing a downward trend in the employability of labour, the prime reason is rising labour costs.
Due to rising demands of people and rising cost of goods, China is not prized as the ‘cheapest’ country to produce goods anymore. Moreover this phenomenon has led some foreign countries to exit the country and find their nest somewhere else. There are several reports on how the trend is moving.
According to one Report, it is observed that hourly rates in Mexico are lower than that of China. This might not be good news for monopolist China but it is surely good for developing countries where labour is relatively low.
Cheapest Countries in Asia
When the world’s factories are becoming a little expensive, the biggest players in the manufacturing sector are looking for a shift. The new home should obviously be cost effective. To answer this question satisfactorily, we will have to look through a lens of cost. The cheapest countries in the largest continent of the world i.e. Asia are listed below –
India
Pakistan
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Included a Forbes article. This essentially shows where the manufacturing giants could move their base to. The list coincides with the trends that we see every other day, like Tesla coming to India, Apple pondering over ideas to start a manufacturing unit in India, Pakistan becoming the next hub for cheap labour in the world and much more. These are the hotspots where new industries are eyeing for better sustainability.
The land of Pakistan
Pakistan is the fifth most populous country in the world with a population of over 200 million. These statistics make it an important player in the world. Several studies have concluded that the country entails a good number of workers and manpower. With these numbers we can safely say that the country is rich in workforce.
Is Pakistan the new heir?
A populous country as Pakistan with abundance of labour seems a good choice for industries all over the world. The abundance can be a signal of cheap labour that can be used to produce goods and services with ease and with better efficiency.
Salman Shah of ‘Taskforce on Textile’ during the TEXPO-2019 seminar mentioned that a recent survey concluded that the labour unit in their work in this domain is much cheaper than that of the dominant China. The textile expo (TEXPO) also witnessed clothing brands‘ total presence and active participation during the event.
Moreover, rather than dismissing it as an impediment, we can use this unique aspect as a benefit for our nation. He also mentioned that this trait can become very useful when we talk about China-Pakistan economic corridor projects. Cheap labour in Pakistan can help build a soft spot for the country in the world where it already faces other economic and relational issues.
What is digital labour? How is it different from online labour ? these questions might be popping in your head. The funny thing is that it is easier to understand. There is a famous quote that goes like this – “Software is eating the world”
Almost all people on this planet are witnessing this (Except fewest of third world places) phenomena. We live in a digital era and we work digitally. You are reading this blog on a mobile or other device digitally. So you can easily see the blanket of technology that the world is wearing right now. It’s beautiful and gives us a sense of abundance.
Examples of digital labor might include on-demand platforms, micro level of working and data generated by users of digital platforms like our favourite, social media. Digital labor generally describes work that entails a variety of online tasks. If a country has the structure to maintain this kind of digital economy, then this form of labour can incubate income for citizens without the limits of physical obstacles.
Christian Fuchs cites that of the world’s 2,000 largest transnational corporations 11.6% fell under the umbrella of communications and digital media. Tech companies like Google, Amazon, etc. are shaping the economy in exciting ways.
Pakistan and Digital Labour
Online Labour Supply
A report by the International labour organisation concluded that Pakistan already is the third largest provider of labour for digital or online platforms globally. The report also mentioned that India is the biggest labour supplier. Digital labour can be categorised in two types, location based and online web based.
The web-based platforms are defined in which tasks are performed online or remotely by workers without being physically present. “These tasks may include translation, legal work, financial and patent services, designing and software and freelancing.
Location-based platforms on the other hand are those done in person in specified physical locations by employees. These can include taxi driving, delivery services and home improvement (plumber or electrician), domestic labour and caretakers.
Conclusion
We are witnessing a decline in the Chinese empire of cheap labour. This is true for sure. While companies search for alternatives for meeting their manufacturing demands, Pakistan is going to be seen.
On the other hand, India is a big player and it will shine in the search of manufacturers to find a better place. However, the filter of cheap labour is sharp enough to cut India from the picture and put Pakistan in the spotlight. Who will rule this industry is hard to say because there are a lot of variables involved.
Variables like globe conditions, Pakistan’s relations with the world and need shifts of brands. We live in a beautiful world of change and numerous probabilities. We can study numbers to tell a story but the reality may unfold in its own fashion.
FAQ
Is China still the Low Labour cost country?
No, due to the rising demands of people and the increase in the cost of goods, China is no longer regarded as the ‘cheapest’ country to manufacture goods anymore.
Is Indian Labour cheaper than China?
The hourly wages in India are five times less than in China.
Can Pakistan become the next cheap labour country for the world?
Yes, Cheap labour force in Pakistan can help attract foreign industrialists.
