Morning Briefing: New Push For Labor Reforms, Delhi On High Alert, 1 Crore Houses For Rural Poor

Good Morning, Swarajya Readers.

Here’s what you need to know today.

The government is planning to introduce five new labour bills in the second half of the budget session which resumes on 25 April. The plan is to club around 40 existing laws into four or five acts. Two of them, namely, Wage Code Bill and Industrial Relations Code Bill, are especially important.

The wage code bill seeks to offer health insurance as an alternative to Employees State Insurance Corp’s health facilities for industrial workers.

The Industrial Relations Code will facilitate easier hiring and firing of workers in factories.

The Union Cabinet cleared a plan to build 1 Crore houses for rural poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. This is in addition to the 2 Crore houses that will be built in Urban areas. Beneficiaries of the rural houses would be chosen according to the data from Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011. Funds will be transferred electronically directly to the account of the beneficiary and the beneficiary can use the services of those working under the MGNREGS. This will be ensured through a server linkage between Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) and MGNREGS. The manufacturing of bricks using cement-stabilized earth or fly ash will be taken up under MGNREGS.

PM Modi sets a 60-day deadline for government departments to resolve public grievances. Speaking to secretaries of the central government and chief secretaries of States at a review meeting, he said that redressing such complaints is the “biggest aspect of democracy.” The PM also asked officials to integrate all land records, presently being digitised, with Aadhaar ‘at the earliest’ and stressed the importance of successful implementation of Crop Insurance scheme.

Other Notables

Intelligence agencies have alerted the Delhi, Punjab and Assam police about a former Pakistan army soldier, Mohammad Khurshid Alam alias Jahangir, entering India through Punjab with six terrorists last month, and a possible attempt by them to carry out a 26/11 type terror attack.

The Union government has increased the Dearness Allowance (DA) of its employees by 6% from current 119% to 125%. It will take effect from January 1 and will cost an additional ₹14,724 Crore to the exchequer. This hike will benefit 50 lakh employees and 58 lakh pensioners. DA is paid as a portion of basic pay to neutralise the impact of inflation.

India beat Bangladesh by one run in the ICC World Twenty20 contest in Bangalore on Wednesday. Except the last three balls that mattered the most, Bangladesh dominated India throughout the game. With barely 2 runs required off the last 3 balls, Bangla batsmen choked and lost three wickets in quick succession. Ashwin was awarded the man of the match, however, it was Dhoni’s lightning fast stumping and extraordinary last ball run-out that carried the day for India and kept the hopes of the team to reach the Semifinals alive. The final game of the group stage is with Australia on March 27 in Mohali.

Op-eds you shouldn’t miss

Why India Produces So Few Jihadis And Europe So Many: Answer Is In ‘H’ Word: Why, despite having a Muslim population of 172 million, does India produce so few jihadis? The answer must lie in the cultural differences of Abrahamic religions and Indic ones, especially Hinduism.

Towards A New Order In Internet Governance: After Edward Snowden’s revelations, a US-dominated system is unfeasible

Why Obama Has Left The War On ISIS To Europe: Obama realises that the chances of ISIS cadre planning and organising an attack on American soil are far less than the chances of them perpetrating violence in Europe.

Swarajya Special

The Government Should Ignore Jewellers’ Strike: Gold jewellery is not just a conduit for black money, but also helps generate black money. Given this, the 1% levy and the move to make PAN card mandatory for cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more, was necessary.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief.

Have a great day ahead!