{"id":349778,"date":"2025-11-12T18:25:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T12:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?page_id=349778"},"modified":"2025-11-12T18:25:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T12:55:36","slug":"answered-examine-how-the-proposed-shram-shakti-niti-2025-exposes-gaps-in-indias-labour-landscape-critically-analyze-its-failure-to-address-the-plight-of-exploited-workers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-examine-how-the-proposed-shram-shakti-niti-2025-exposes-gaps-in-indias-labour-landscape-critically-analyze-its-failure-to-address-the-plight-of-exploited-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] Examine how the proposed Shram Shakti Niti 2025 exposes gaps in India’s labour landscape. Critically analyze its failure to address the plight of exploited workers."},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

India has 11 million people in modern slavery (Global Slavery Index 2023)<\/strong> and nearly 90% workforce informal (ILO 2024)<\/strong>. Amid rising exploitation, the proposed Shram Shakti Niti 2025<\/strong> promises reforms but reveals deep systemic gaps.<\/p>\n

Labour Landscape: Informalization, Precarity, and Structural Exploitation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Field studies and media investigations show widespread wage theft, absence of contracts, forced labour<\/strong> and denial of EPF\/ESI<\/strong> benefits. Example: <\/strong>Women in seafood export units were downgraded from registered workers to \u201cdaily wagers\u201d to deny provident fund benefits.<\/li>\n
  2. Despite constitutional guarantees under Articles 14, 21, 23 and 42<\/strong>, India’s labour market is characterised by:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Indicator<\/strong><\/td>\nStatus<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Informal workforce<\/td>\n~90% (ILO, 2024)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Gig\/platform workers<\/td>\n~12 million (NITI Aayog, 2022)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Forced labour victims<\/td>\n11 million (Global Slavery Index, 2023)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Female labour participation<\/td>\n33.7% (PLFS 2024)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Shram Shakti Niti 2025: What It Aims to Do<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The draft policy claims to be \u201crights-driven and future-ready\u201d<\/strong>. The policy invokes Directive Principles: Art. 41 (right to work), Art. 42 (humane work conditions), Art. 43 (living wage)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Promised Measures:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Universal Social Security Account<\/strong> integrating EPFO, ESIC, PM-JAY, e-SHRAM.<\/li>\n
    2. Use of AI-driven National Career Service (NCS)<\/strong> for job matching.<\/li>\n
    3. Targets 35% female labour force participation by 2030<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    4. Enforces safety under Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      How the Policy Exposes Gaps and Contradictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Social security without funding: <\/strong>No mandate for employer contributions. Risk of becoming another e-SHRAM: registered 28 crore workers<\/strong>, but benefit delivery remains negligible. Outcome will be digital registration without material protection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      2. Digital optimism \u2192 digital exclusion: <\/strong>38% households have functional digital literacy (NFHS-5). <\/strong>Women, older workers, and migrants are excluded. Constitutional implication such as it v<\/strong>iolates Article 15: non-discrimination<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      3. Weak enforcement = empty promises: <\/strong>Inspector vacancies and absence of penalties make the \u201cnear-zero fatality by 2047\u201d<\/strong> target aspirational. Example: <\/strong>In construction and mining belts, workers die without compensation due to lack of monitoring under the OSH Code, 2020<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      4. Gig and platform workers: flexibility masking exploitation:<\/strong> No recognition of minimum wages under the Code on Wages, 2019<\/strong>. Platform companies evade accountability\u2014”algorithmic management”<\/strong> replaces humane management. Case study: Rajasthan\u2019s Gig Workers Act (2023) provides welfare fund<\/strong>; Centre\u2019s policy lacks such provisions.<\/li>\n
      5. Workers Lose Dignity and Bargaining Power: Union weakening<\/strong>, absence of collective bargaining \u2192 loss of voice. Moves MoLE towards being an \u201cemployment facilitator\u201d, not rights protector. ILO Convention 29 on forced labour remains breached.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

        As Amartya Sen notes in Development as Freedom<\/strong>, growth without dignity is injustice. Shram Shakti Niti\u2019s success depends not on digital dashboards but on funding, enforcement and worker rights<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Introduction India has 11 million people in modern slavery (Global Slavery Index 2023) and nearly 90% workforce informal (ILO 2024). Amid rising exploitation, the proposed Shram Shakti Niti 2025 promises reforms but reveals deep systemic gaps. Labour Landscape: Informalization, Precarity, and Structural Exploitation Field studies and media investigations show widespread wage theft, absence of contracts,… Continue reading [Answered] Examine how the proposed Shram Shakti Niti 2025 exposes gaps in India’s labour landscape. Critically analyze its failure to address the plight of exploited workers.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-349778","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/349778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/349778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}