India

India’s government is proposing a series of labor reforms intended to cut back on worker riots and labor unrest, though some are questioning the effectiveness of these proposals. The proposals will give employers increased flexibility to hire and fire employees while also expanding the social security net for workers. Factory owners, however, say that they are already operating on razor thin margins and that any increase in costs would drive business away to lower cost countries like Bangladesh. (Reuters)
 
An official with the World Bank says that India could become a multi-trillion dollar economy with a
per-capita income of about US$40,000 by 2050 if it can maintain 7% annual economic growth. Speaking at the Indian consulate in New York City, the World Bank’s Executive Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka acknowledged that maintaining that level of growth for the next 35 years would be difficult and would warrant significant economic reforms, like transformations in agriculture and manufacturing. (Fibre2Fashion)
 
The Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) is pushing India’s Commerce and Industry Minister to expedite pending trade agreements with Europe, Canada, and Australia. In a recent press release, Dr. A. Sakthivel, the head of the TEA, said that exports could double over the next 2-3 years if all of these agreements are finalized, which in turn would lead to a boom in job creation, especially for women. The group also points out that India continues to face competition from Bangladesh, which enjoys least developed country benefits with many of their common trading partners. (Fibre2Fashion)