Q1. ‘In spite of different interventions by the administration, orderly labour migration is still a utopia’. In light of the above statement, analyse the issues faced by migrant laborers. Elucidate the socio-economic impacts owing to these challenges. Enumerate some innovative measures to ameliorate the plight of migrant laborers. (15 marks, 250 words)
Topic- Welfare of Vulnerable sections:
Introduction:
According to the Census 2011, there are 4.14 crore migrant workmen in our country. Despite being an important part of the economy contributing in different capacities, they remain excluded from various welfare objectives while struggling to afford to two square meals. Notwithstanding different interventions by the Governments, they need a holistic policy covering their entire family to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Body :
- Different interventions for orderly labour migration
- Issues faced by migrant labourers
- Social and Economic Impacts
- Innovative measures to ameliorate the plight of migrant workers
Conclusion :
Migrant workers as discussed face numerous systemic challenges that threaten them a dignified life. $5 trillion economy will be an exercise in futility if it is not inclusive. Inclusive development demands that the concerns of the migrant workmen are resolved through regulatory, civil society and political efforts. SDG 8.8 strives to attain safe and secure working environment along with labor rights for migrant workers. Every intervention affecting laborers should also be designed to cater to the plight of migrant workmen for inclusive development.
UPSC Syllabus Directive Welfare of Vulnerable sections:
Why was this question asked?
Q. Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades. (UPSC CSE 2015)
Introduction
According to the Census 2011, there are 4.14 crore migrant workmen in our country. Despite being an important part of the economy contributing in different capacities, they remain excluded from various welfare objectives while struggling to afford to two square meals. Notwithstanding different interventions by the Governments, they need a holistic policy covering their entire family to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Body Status :
Different interventions for orderly labour migration:
- Inter State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979: It mandates the registration of workers with the Labour Department before movement.
- Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1976: It prohibits bonded labour throughout the country and entails punishment which may extend upto 3 years of imprisonment for the violation of its provisions.
- Art 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labour as a right against exploitation and is a fundamental right.
- Shram Suvidha Portal acts as a single points of contact between employers and enforcement agencies to facilitate the reporting of inspections regarding labour welfare and other such specifics.
- eShram portal aims to collect data of unorganized workers, including the migrant workers to implement the Social Security Schemes.
Issues faced by migrant labourers
- Bonded labour: Since 2000, around 5,000 bonded laborers have been released mainly from the Southern States under the Bonded Labour Abolition Act, 1976.
- Hunger deaths: NHRC took cognizance of the 50 starvation deaths that left 300 children orphaned in Odisha in 2010. Most of these were laborers who venture into South India for the want of local jobs.
- Wage regulation: Most of the migrant laborers are caught in the complex web of middlemen and earn below average wages for the hazardous work that they undertake.
- Occupational diseases: Asthma, pulmonary embolism, lung cancer, hyper tension etc are the order of the day for many migrant laborers who work in brick kilns, construction sector, mines etc.
Impacts owing to challenges
- Social impacts
- Half-literates: Due to vicious poverty, school children in attaining the age of 14, start working in brick kilns, farms, hotels etc. to support their families. This leaves a generation of half-literates with narrow skillsets and employability.
- Health: Occupational health hazards, poor nutrition and high incidence of Infant and Maternal Mortality Ratio among these workers further affect the overall economic health of their families. This poverty again affects long term health outcomes.
- Economic impacts
- India cannot reap fully its much-boasted demographic dividend if a large section of its population is not getting remunerative employment or livelihood opportunities.
- Many of the migrant laborers are led into crimes and illegal activities in desperation to support their day-to-day needs. Law and Order gets compromised in turn affecting investments in the region.
- The State machinery becomes over stretched in satisfying the increasing health burden of migrant workmen. Thus, investments in wealth generating capital assets becomes an orphan.
Innovative measures to ameliorate the plight of migrant workers
- MGNREGA: Reforms must be implemented in MGNREGA to construct assets in private land so that capital assets like cowsheds, processing units of Minor Forest Produce etc. are built in the plots of laborers ensuring long term welfare.
- Collectivization: Collectivization of their land through Farmer Producer Organizations can crowdsource efforts while improving their bargaining power thereby promoting year round cropping and multi season employment.
- Kerala model: The Changathi Project of the Kerala Government provides local language training to migrant workers to improve their literacy, social inclusion and employability in various sectors within the State.
- Skill development: Skill development under PM’s Employment Generation Programme to setup non-farm micro industries may reduce labour distress in the agricultural sector.
- Wage regulation: Wages in the unorganized units in which these migrant workmen are employed must be regulated to the mutual beneficence of employers and laborers.
Conclusion
Migrant workers as discussed face numerous systemic challenges that threaten them a dignified life. $5 trillion economy will be an exercise in futility if it is not inclusive. Inclusive development demands that the concerns of the migrant workmen are resolved through regulatory, civil society and political efforts. SDG 8.8 strives to attain safe and secure working environment along with labor rights for migrant workers. Every intervention affecting laborers should also be designed to cater to the plight of migrant workmen for inclusive development.
Q2. The Draft Digital Competition Bill is novel in many aspects going beyond the present system of anti-competitive arrangements.’ In light of the above statement, critically evaluate Draft Digital Competition Bill. Also give a brief overview of the role of the Competition Commission of India in containing market abuse by dominant market players. 15 marks (250 words)
Topic – Information Technology :
Introduction
India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally. Startups thrive under cutthroat competition not under unfair competition. With one of the largest human capital base in the information technology sector, India can exploit the potential of this capital only if there is fair competition and a strong entrepreneurial base. Notwithstanding criticisms, the Draft Digital Competition Bill is an initiative towards this end by reforming the present anti-trust regulatory regime.
Body
- Significance of the Draft Digital Competition Bill
- Criticisms against the Draft Digital Competition Bill
- Present system of eliminating anti-competitive practices
- Role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI)
Conclusion
Multi-stakeholder consensus must be arrived at for faster enactment of the Draft Digital Competition Bill and its streamlined implementation. The operation of digital firms demands innovative and agile policies which can meet new challenges. Even though Competition Commission of India is evolving new mechanisms to counter anti-competitive practices, but in digital space, more technology infusion is need of hour.
UPSC Syllabus Information Technology:
Why was this question asked?
Q. Discuss the role of the Competition Commission of India in containing the abuse of dominant position by the Multi-National Corporations in India. Refer to the recent decisions. (UPSC CSE 2023)
Introduction:
India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally. Startups thrive under cutthroat competition not under unfair competition. With one of the largest human capital base in the information technology sector, India can exploit the potential of this capital only if there is fair competition and a strong entrepreneurial base. Notwithstanding criticisms, the Draft Digital Competition Bill is an initiative towards this end by reforming the present anti-trust regulatory regime.
Body
Significance of the Draft Digital Competition Bill:
- Companies cannot give self-preference to their own services over the same services provided by competitors. For examples Apple would have to give users access to download apps from third party users than Apple’s own app store.
- Data gathered from one company cannot be used for the benefit of a group company. For example, data collected from google cannot be used in recommending YouTube ads thereby safeguarding user privacy.
- Moves away from ex post facto anti-trust framework to ex ante anti-trust framework thereby pre-emptively eliminating future instances of anti-competitive practices.
- Competition Commission of India (CCI) will designate certain entities as “Systematically Significant Digital Enterprise” (SSDE) based on market capitalization, number of users, global and domestic turnover etc. This will improve the oversight of possible violations by these entities thereby preventing unfair market competition.
- Considerable penalties in the form of fines ranging upto 10% of the global turnover promotes better compliance in the long run.
Criticisms against the Draft Digital Competition Bill:
- Increase in the compliance burden and compliance costs may drive up the cost of the services like advertisements and utility apps like pdf readers, file managers etc. provided by these tech giants in the long run.
- These rules may hamper innovation and research as tech giants have to forego revenue due to the increased competition, which further affects cutting edge developments in AI and robotics.
- Inclusion of qualitative parameters in classifying an entity as SSDE may increase the discretion of the CCI and can potentially impact the growth of startups due to increased compliance burden.
- User friendliness of the platforms may get jeopardized as similar regulations in the EU through the Digital Markets Act has led to an increase of 4000% in the time taken to find things via google search.
- Allowing users to download apps from a third party platforms may hamper the security of the Operating Systems like Android and IOS.
Present system of eliminating anti-competitive practices
- Post mortem method: Present system follow ex post facto procedure in curbing anti-competitive practices as seen in the Vodafone-Hutch merger where Vodafone evaded $2.5 billion in taxes through tax planning strategies thereby affecting market competition.
- Till the regulators take note of the issue, considerable damage would have been done to the plight of small players and new entrants in the market.
- CCI realized just 0.6% of the fines that it had imposed on companies for anti-trust practices due to lengthy judicial reviews and overturned orders. Thus, overall effectiveness under the present regulatory regime has turned futile.
- End customer had already borne the losses when the CCI imposed Rs. 6,300 crore fine on cement companies for alleged cartelization. Thus, the customer or the competitor or the government will always be under the present ex post facto regulatory regime.
Role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI):
- CCI imposed Rs. 936 crores fine against Google for mandating those hosting their apps on GooglePlay to mandatorily use Google’s in-app billing system.
- Since its inception, 95% of the cases have been decided within 30 days demonstrating the efficient working of the CCI.
- Through an amendment to the Competition Act in 2023, prior approval of the CCI has been mandated for mergers and acquisitions valuing over Rs. 2,000 crore thereby avoiding ex post facto actions.
- CCI has established a Digital Market Unit for navigating the regulatory challenges in the digital space and learn from their peers across the world with respect to anti-trust regulations.
Conclusion
Multi-stakeholder consensus must be arrived at for faster enactment of the Draft Digital Competition Bill and its streamlined implementation. The operation of digital firms demands innovative and agile policies which can meet new challenges. Even though Competition Commission of India is evolving new mechanisms to counter anti-competitive practices, but in digital space, more technology infusion is need of hour.