India could achieve the targeted goals faster by making use of women power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday even as he called for thoughts on what more could be done for the women workforce, particularly in the emerging sectors, in line with the Vision 2047 being prepared by the Union Ministry of Labour.
Delivering his inaugural address via a video link to the two-day national conference of labour ministers and secretaries of states and Union Territories here, the Prime Minister noted that women power could be put to good use by adopting flexible work hours, which was the future need. “Flexible workplaces, work-from-home ecosystem and flexible work hours are the future need. We can necessarily use systems like flexible workplaces for creating opportunities for the women workforce,” the PM said, recalling the points he made in his Independence Day address.
Modi stressed on the need for taking quick decisions, and also implementing them at a brisk pace, so as to take advantage of the ongoing fourth Industrial Revolution.
“India lagged behind in deriving benefits of the first three Industrial Revolutions but we need to change in tune with the changes in the nature of jobs,” he observed.
Referring to the growth of online markets and services, the Prime Minister said right policies and efforts would make India a global leader in the domain. The Prime Minister said India’s success in the 21st Century depended on making good use of its demographic dividend. “We can take advantage of global opportunities by creating a high-quality skilled workforce,” he added.
Modi said India was signing migration and mobility partnership agreements with many countries of the world and asked all the states to take advantage of these opportunities. “We have to increase our efforts, learn from each other,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the e-Shram portal was one of the key initiatives aimed at bringing the workforce, particularly the unorganised sector, into the ambit of social security. In just one year since its launch, about 28 crore workers from 400 fields have been registered on the portal. This has especially benefited construction workers, migrant labourers, and domestic workers.
He asked all the states to integrate their respective portals with e-Shram. Modi said various schemes by the Centre like Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana have provided a security cover to the workers. He pointed out that in the last eight years his government has taken the initiative to abolish various laws dating back to the colonial era, which also reflected the ‘slaver mentality’.
As many as 29 laws of that era have been converted into four simple labour codes, he noted, adding they would empower the workforce in securing minimum wages, job, social and health security. The Prime Minister said the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for small and medium industries helped save 1.5 crore jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The Employees Provident Fund Organisation also came to the aid of the workers by advancing hundreds crores of rupees during the pandemic. “The entire country stood by our workforce during the pandemic,” he noted.
Union Minister for Labour, Environment and Forests Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of State for Labour, Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli and others attended. The conference will discuss issues like integration of e-Shram portal, Swasthya se Samriddhi, framing of rules under the four Labour Codes and Vision Shramev Jayate @2047.