Delhi govt releases draft rules for labour code on social security
The draft rules also propose the formation of a social security fund and the formalisation of compensation for workers in cases of accidents and maternity benefits.
The labour department of Delhi govt has invited objections and suggestions from all stakeholders and the general public, specifying the chapter and rule or sub-rule proposed to be modified, along with the reason for the same.
You Can Also Check:
Delhi AQI
|
Weather in Delhi
|
Bank Holidays in Delhi
|
Public Holidays in Delhi
With the publication of these draft rules, Delhi govt has taken a significant step towards implementing the four labour codes passed by Parliament over five years ago.
The four codes—consolidating 29 central labour laws—were passed between 2019 and 2020 to give impetus to economic reforms and ensure the welfare of unorganised sector workers. Apart from the Code on Social Security, the other three codes pertain to Wages, Industrial Relations, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions.
The draft rules on social security are the first to be framed by Delhi govt, and those for the remaining three are yet to be finalised.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around
Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List
Undo
As per the proposed framework, Delhi govt will either establish, run, and maintain career centres or modify and declare the existing employment exchange or portal for people to seek employment or employees and post vacancies.
The social security fund will consist of a lump sum contribution from the state govt, central govt grants, contributions from statutory bodies, and financial support from employers or their associations.
This fund will be used to implement welfare schemes targeting unorganised workers.
The proposed Delhi Unorganised Workers Social Security Board will include seven representatives each from organisations representing unorganised workers and their employers, two MLAs, five eminent civil society members, and 10 officials from relevant state departments.
However, the draft has drawn criticism from worker unions. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) argued that the rules would dilute existing social security mechanisms currently provided through the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, Employees' State Insurance , and the Construction Workers' Welfare Board. CITU general secretary Aniyan Varkey was concerned about the definition of "unorganised worker", which includes certain workers in the organised sector not covered under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fibre2Fashion
10 minutes ago
- Fibre2Fashion
US' Amazon posts $18.2 bn Q2 profit, expands fashion & AI capabilities
American e-commerce shopping platform has reported a revenue of $167.7 billion in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, with net sales rising 13 per cent year-over-year (YoY), or 12 per cent excluding a $1.5 billion favourable foreign exchange impact. The North American sales increased 11 per cent to $100.1 billion, while international sales rose 16 per cent to $36.8 billion (11 per cent excluding FX). Operating income climbed to $19.2 billion from $14.7 billion, driven by gains across all segments, Amazon said in a press release. Amazon has reported strong Q2 2025 results, with net sales up 13 per cent YoY to $167.7 billion and net income rising to $18.2 billion. AI-powered tools enhanced retail and logistics operations. The company launched a Nike storefront and expanded fashion offerings. For Q3 2025, Amazon projects 10â€'13 per cent sales growth and up to $20.5 billion in operating income. The net income stood at $18.2 billion, or $1.68 per diluted share, compared with $13.5 billion, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier. Operating cash flow rose 12 per cent to $121.1 billion for the trailing twelve months, although free cash flow declined to $18.2 billion from $53.0 billion. The company launched a dedicated Nike storefront on allowing US customers to shop a wide range of footwear, apparel, and accessories. It also expanded its product selection with fashion and beauty brands such as Away, Aveda, Marc Jacobs Fragrances, Milk Makeup, and Origins. In addition, Amazon introduced generative AI tools like 'Enhance My Listing' to help sellers keep product descriptions current and compelling—an asset for apparel merchants aiming to optimise visibility and conversion. Enhanced inventory management powered by AI-driven demand forecasting has improved regional accuracy by 20 per cent and streamlined the placement and delivery of millions of popular items. 'Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out as we've expanded Alexa+ to millions of customers, continue to see our shopping agent used by many millions of customers,' said Andy Jassy, president and CEO at Amazon. 'Our AI progress across the board continues to improve our customer experiences, speed of innovation, operational efficiency, and business growth, and I'm excited for what lies ahead.' For the third quarter of 2025, Amazon expects net sales to be between $174 billion and $179.5 billion, or to grow between 10 per cent and 13 per cent YoY. This guidance anticipates a favourable impact of approximately 130 basis points from foreign exchange rates. The operating income is expected to be between $15.5 billion and $20.5 billion, compared with $17.4 billion in third quarter 2024. This guidance assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, restructurings, or legal settlements are concluded, added the release. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Even before Trump's ‘penalty' threat, Indian refiners began cutting down on Russian oil imports
Amid increasing pressure on India from the US and other Western powers over the past couple of months, Indian refiners — led by public sector players — began cutting down on Russian oil imports, much before US President Donald Trump's announcement earlier this week of an unspecified tariff 'penalty' on New Delhi for its defence and energy imports from Moscow. Latest vessel tracking data shows that July deliveries of Russian crude — which would have been contracted May or early June — to Indian refiners fell significantly. Industry and trade sources also indicated that Indian public sector refiners have, for the time being, halted future contracting of Russian oil, the mainstay of India's oil imports for the better part of the past three years. Trump has now said that he 'heard' that India will no longer be buying oil from Russia, calling it a 'good step', but also added that he is not sure if the information is 'right or not'. 'Well, I understand India no longer is going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard. I don't know if that's right or not, but that's a good step. We'll see what happens,' Trump told reporters in the US on Friday. Meanwhile, India — the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil with an import dependency level of over 85 per cent — continues to maintain that its oil purchases are commercial decisions. 'We take decisions based on the price at which oil is available in the international market and depending on the global situation at that time,' Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Friday in response to a question on whether Indian refiners have stopped buying Russian oil over the past few days. Industry insiders, experts, and trade sources indicate that renewed pressure and threats from the US and Europe over the past few weeks have cast a shadow on India's Russian oil imports, and could mark the beginning of Indian refiners pivoting away from Moscow's oil. So far, India had successfully managed to walk 'the fine line between energy security and geopolitical pressure', but its options now appeared limited, one expert said, adding that Indian refiners 'must now plan not just for commercial shifts, but for systemic geopolitical realignment'. Deliberations are on between the government and other stakeholders — primarily refiners — on managing the situation and assessing the choices on the table for India, sources said. With a pre-emptive reduction in Russian oil imports, some bit of signaling has already taken place. The next steps would most likely be decided on how the India-US dynamic evolves, and more importantly, whether or not Trump decides to further harden the American stance and rhetoric against Russia. Any breakthrough between the White House and Kremlin over the Russia-Ukraine war would most likely ease the pressure on buyers of Russian crude. This renewed pressure from the West — forcing Russia's top trade partners to cut down on imports from the country — are aimed at forcing the Kremlin's hand into ending the war in Ukraine. For Trump, who wants the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war to end within days, this is an opportune time to pressurise countries like India and China over their Russian imports, given the sensitive trade negotiations that these countries are holding with the US. India's Russian oil imports in July were at 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), down 24 per cent from June levels, and 23.5 per cent from volumes delivered in July of last year, according to latest tanker data from global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler. The share of Russian crude in India's oil import basket in July contracted notably to around 33.8 per cent from July's 44.5 per cent. While the drop in oil imports from Russia is evidently more pronounced among Indian state-owned refiners, likely reflecting heightened compliance sensitivity amid mounting risks, private sector refiners—who account for over half of Russian crude imports, have also reduced exposure to Moscow's oil. The reduction in import volumes from Russia in July was offset by higher crude deliveries from other suppliers — mainly Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the US, Nigeria, and Kuwait — all of which expanded their share in India's oil imports vis-à-vis June levels. With much of the West shunning Russian crude following the country's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia began offering discounts on its oil to willing buyers. Indian refiners were quick to avail the opportunity, leading to Russia — earlier a peripheral supplier of oil to India — emerging as India's biggest source of crude, displacing the traditional West Asian suppliers. While the discounts have varied over time, Russian oil flows to India largely remained robust despite Western pressure and limited sanctions on Russia's oil trading ecosystem. But the appears to be changing now, and fast. 'On one side, the EU's (European Union's) sanctions — effective from January 2026 — ban imports of refined products derived from Russian-origin crude, forcing Indian refiners to segment crude intake and product flows. On the other hand, the US tariff threat raises the possibility of secondary sanctions that would directly hit the shipping, insurance, and financing lifelines underpinning India's Russian oil trade. Together, these measures sharply curtail India's crude procurement flexibility, raise compliance risk, and introduce significant cost uncertainty…(it) represents a double whammy for Indian refiners,' said Sumit Ritloia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining & Modeling at Kpler. Before this week's tariff announcement by Trump mentioning a 'penalty' on India, India's significant Russian oil imports were being subjected to a more aggressive stance by Western powers for a few weeks. Trump himself had had threatened 'biting' secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on buyers of Russian exports, and the European Union last month announced a sanctions package, widely seen as the most comprehensive effort yet by the EU to restrict Russia's revenue stream, placing a ban on import of fuels into Europe if made from Russian oil in third countries like India, and also sanctioning Indian refiner Nayara Energy, in which Russian oil giant Rosneft holds 49.13 per cent stake. According to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the massive market share of Russian crude in India's oil imports doesn't mean that India is dependent on Russia for oil, and other suppliers can quickly come in to replace Russian volumes if there is any major disruption. 'I don't feel any pressure in my mind. India has diversified the sources of supply… I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it…there is sufficient supply available,' Puri had said at an event earlier in July. He added that India in recent years has expanded its crude sourcing slate from 27 countries to around 40 countries, and enough oil was available globally for India to buy and ensure energy security. If India indeed decides to shift away from Russian crude, industry insiders and experts expect New Delhi to negotiate a potential wind-down period for reducing supplies, as replacing the massive volumes of Russian oil supply overnight is impossible, according to industry insiders. It would take at least three-four months to substantially cut down on imports and shift to other suppliers — mainly in West Asia, but also in Africa, and even the US and Latin America. Loss of discounted Russian barrels would certainly push up the relative cost of imports by a few dollars a barrel, which in turn would inflate India's oil import bill by billions of dollars on an annualised basis. Additionally, if global oil prices rise in the eventuality of most of Russian oil going off the market, the hit for India would be amplified further. 'Replacing Russian crude isn't plug-and-play…it is no easy feat—logistically daunting, economically painful, and geopolitically fraught. Supply substitution may be feasible on paper, but it remains fraught in practice. Gulf barrels come with pricing rigidity, African grades add freight volatility, and Latin American flows face availability constraints,' said Ritolia. India's traditional crude suppliers in West Asia — chiefly Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — would be the logical fall-back, but Indian refiners will have to grapple with significant constraints as they reduce Russian oil imports. A lot of the crude from West Asia comes through term contracts, unlike spot purchases of Russian crude, which may force Indian refiners to commit to higher annual offtake of West Asian oil, which is more rigidly priced compared to discounted Russian crude. Also, a number of Indian refineries that had gotten attuned to processing Russian crude in large volumes may see an impact on their product yield and refinery configurations due to crude quality mismatch. India is also expected to sustain its ongoing efforts to diversify its sources of crude oil. Geopolitical shifts, freight economics, and refinery economics are expected to continue shaping India's crude sourcing decisions and diversification strategy. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
News18
18 minutes ago
- News18
No duty concessions to US on agri, dairy, GM foods: An explainer
Last Updated: New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) India has toughened its stance on extending duty concessions on agri products, dairy and GM foods in the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US. With the US not able to finalise a deal with India so far, US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced imposition of an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering American markets from August 7. Earlier, this duty was to be imposed from August 1. The President has also not specified the penalty which he has announced on India for buying crude oil and military equipment from Russia. Here is a list of Q&A (questions and answers) to explain reasons behind India's stand and impact of US tariffs on labour-intensive sectors: * What is the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA)? – India and the US entered into negotiations for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial BTA in March 2025 with a target to complete the first tranche/phase of the pact by fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of talks have been completed. For the next round, the US team, headed by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, is visiting India from August 25. * What is the aim of the BTA? – Normally in a trade agreement, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and increase two-way investments. The India-US BTA is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the present USD 191 billion. *What are the major demands of the two countries from each other in the BTA? – The US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically-modified crops. India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (25 per cent now) and cut in tariffs on steel and aluminium (50 per cent), auto sector (25 per cent), labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. *How much tariff is imposed by the US on Indian goods at present? – India's average import duty is about 17 per cent, while the US' is 3.3 per cent. On April 2, the US announced to impose 26 per cent duty (16 per cent reciprocal tariff and 10 per cent baseline tariff). At present, only the baseline tariff is in force. It is over and above the existing import duty on Indian goods. For example, before April 2, the Indian textiles were attracting a 6-9 per cent tariff in America. With the baseline tariff, it rose to 16-19 per cent. But from August 7, the sector will attract a 31-34 per cent duty. The baseline tariff will be replaced by 25 per cent duty notified on July 31 by the White House. However, certain products are exempted from these tariffs such as pharmaceutical, electronics and energy products. * From when the 25 per cent duty will come into force? – The duty, announced this week, will come into force from August 7 (9.30 am IST). The executive order has also clarified that goods in transit until October 5, 12:01 am eastern daylight time (EDT), or 09:30 am IST, will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff, provided that such goods have entered into transit before August 7 12:01 am EDT. *Why India is not ready to provide duty concessions on dairy, agri and GM foods? – Agri: Farm livelihoods are at stake. This is a politically and economically sensitive area as over 700 million people in India's rural economy are dependent on the sector. If India removes tariffs, cheap, subsidised US grains could flood Indian markets during global price crashes. Unlike the US, where agriculture is corporatised, Indian farming is a livelihood issue. Tariffs are essential to protect small farmers, manage price volatility, and ensure food security. Dairy: India wants to safeguard its small farmers. GTRI stated that the US argues that India's GM-free feed certification and facility registration protocols effectively bar American dairy imports. 'Indian rules prohibit imports from animals fed with animal-derived feed'�for example, butter from a cow fed meat'�due to religious sensitivities. India considers this policy non-negotiable," GTRI has said. GM Food: These are created by inserting specific genes, often from bacteria, viruses, other plants, or occasionally animals, into a plant's DNA to introduce new traits, such as pest resistance or herbicide tolerance. Allowing the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed would affect India's agricultural exports to the EU, a key destination for Indian exporters. PTI RR ANU ANU view comments First Published: August 02, 2025, 13:15 IST News agency-feeds No duty concessions to US on agri, dairy, GM foods: An explainer Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
