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German footwear brand Von Wellx shifts production from China to India
Production will now happen at Agra in collaboration with Iatric Industries; German brand is sold in 80 countries and has over 100 mn customers worldwide.
By ANI, Last Updated at May 16, 2020 13:59 IST
Von Wellx is a pioneer of healthy footwear with benefits like relieving feet, knees and back pain, protection of joints and muscles against shocks, and correct posture.
Casa Everz Gmbh, owner of healthy footwear brand Von Wellx, has decided to shift its entire production from China to India, demonstrating a start to the government's recent plans to bring foreign companies into the country.
The production will now happen at Agra in Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with Iatric Industries Pvt Ltd.
Von Wellx is a pioneer of healthy footwear with benefits like relieving feet, knees and back pain, protection of joints and muscles against shocks, and correct posture.
The brand is sold in over 80 countries and has over 100 million customers across the globe. It was launched in India in 2019 and is available at over 500 top retail locations and online.
"We are very happy to see that investment from Casa Everz Gmbh, which will be giving employment to so many people, is coming to India from China and especially to Uttar Pradesh," said state Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Uday Bahan Singh.
Mr. Ashish Jain, Director and CEO of Iatric Industries, said the collaboration will help create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
www.business-standard.com
Production will now happen at Agra in collaboration with Iatric Industries; German brand is sold in 80 countries and has over 100 mn customers worldwide.
By ANI, Last Updated at May 16, 2020 13:59 IST
Von Wellx is a pioneer of healthy footwear with benefits like relieving feet, knees and back pain, protection of joints and muscles against shocks, and correct posture.
Casa Everz Gmbh, owner of healthy footwear brand Von Wellx, has decided to shift its entire production from China to India, demonstrating a start to the government's recent plans to bring foreign companies into the country.
The production will now happen at Agra in Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with Iatric Industries Pvt Ltd.
Von Wellx is a pioneer of healthy footwear with benefits like relieving feet, knees and back pain, protection of joints and muscles against shocks, and correct posture.
The brand is sold in over 80 countries and has over 100 million customers across the globe. It was launched in India in 2019 and is available at over 500 top retail locations and online.
"We are very happy to see that investment from Casa Everz Gmbh, which will be giving employment to so many people, is coming to India from China and especially to Uttar Pradesh," said state Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Uday Bahan Singh.
Mr. Ashish Jain, Director and CEO of Iatric Industries, said the collaboration will help create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
German footwear brand Von Wellx shifts production from China to India
Production will now happen at Agra in collaboration with Iatric Industries; German brand is sold in 80 countries and has over 100 mn customers worldwide
Good watch. @Nilgiri @Milspec @Gautam @Ashutosh @BlackOpsIndia
Public Debt-to-GDP ratio could cross 80% by year-end.
Jio bags 4th big investment in 4 weeks: General Atlantic to invest Rs 6,600 crore in RIL digital unit
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on May 17 said growth equity firm General Atlantic Partners will invest Rs 6,598.38 crore in Jio Platforms, the fourth major deal in a little less than four weeks from leading global tech investors that will infuse a total Rs 67,194.75 crore in the digital unit of India’s largest private enterprise.
General Atlantic is buying a 1.34 percent stake in Jio Platforms, the unit that houses Reliance’s telecom venture Jio Infocomm, Mumbai-headquartered Reliance said in a statement. The investment gives Jio Platforms Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore, the company said.
The deal comes after RIL secured an investment of Rs 43,574 crore from Facebook for a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms on April 22, and just days after it bagged Rs 5,655.75 crore from private equity firm Silver Lake.
Soon after, Vista Equity Partners, a US-based private equity firm that runs the world’s largest exclusively tech-focused fund, said it will pick up a 2.32 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.
The investment in Jio by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing in the technology, consumer, financial services and healthcare sectors, is its largest in Asia. “As an integrated team operating under a global investment platform across 14 locations, General Atlantic invests behind themes that are driven by innovation and entrepreneurship and supported by long-term secular growth,” RIL said in the statement.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said he was thrilled to welcome General Atlantic, a marquee global investor, as a valued partner. }I have known General Atlantic for several decades and greatly admired it for its belief in India’s huge growth potential. General Atlantic shares our vision of a Digital Society for India and strongly believes in the transformative power of digitization in enriching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. We are excited to leverage General Atlantic’s proven global expertise and strategic insights across 40 years of technology investing for the benefit of Jio.”
Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, “As long-term backers of global technology leaders and visionary entrepreneurs, we could not be more excited about investing in Jio. We share Mukesh’s conviction that digital connectivity has the potential to significantly accelerate the Indian economy and drive growth across the country. General Atlantic has a long track record working alongside founders to scale disruptive businesses, as Jio is doing at the forefront of the digital revolution in India.”
The fourth investment by a marquee investor is also an endorsement of Jio’s tech capabilities and the potential of the business model in this COVID-19 world and beyond. It reemphasises Jio’s continuing attraction among global investors for its deep understanding of the Indian markets, the rapid digitisation opportunity post-COVID and its capabilities to bring cutting-edge technologies and tools such as AI, blockchain, AR/VR, Big Data into play for all Indians.
www.moneycontrol.com
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on May 17 said growth equity firm General Atlantic Partners will invest Rs 6,598.38 crore in Jio Platforms, the fourth major deal in a little less than four weeks from leading global tech investors that will infuse a total Rs 67,194.75 crore in the digital unit of India’s largest private enterprise.
General Atlantic is buying a 1.34 percent stake in Jio Platforms, the unit that houses Reliance’s telecom venture Jio Infocomm, Mumbai-headquartered Reliance said in a statement. The investment gives Jio Platforms Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore, the company said.
The deal comes after RIL secured an investment of Rs 43,574 crore from Facebook for a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms on April 22, and just days after it bagged Rs 5,655.75 crore from private equity firm Silver Lake.
Soon after, Vista Equity Partners, a US-based private equity firm that runs the world’s largest exclusively tech-focused fund, said it will pick up a 2.32 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.
The investment in Jio by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing in the technology, consumer, financial services and healthcare sectors, is its largest in Asia. “As an integrated team operating under a global investment platform across 14 locations, General Atlantic invests behind themes that are driven by innovation and entrepreneurship and supported by long-term secular growth,” RIL said in the statement.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said he was thrilled to welcome General Atlantic, a marquee global investor, as a valued partner. }I have known General Atlantic for several decades and greatly admired it for its belief in India’s huge growth potential. General Atlantic shares our vision of a Digital Society for India and strongly believes in the transformative power of digitization in enriching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. We are excited to leverage General Atlantic’s proven global expertise and strategic insights across 40 years of technology investing for the benefit of Jio.”
Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, “As long-term backers of global technology leaders and visionary entrepreneurs, we could not be more excited about investing in Jio. We share Mukesh’s conviction that digital connectivity has the potential to significantly accelerate the Indian economy and drive growth across the country. General Atlantic has a long track record working alongside founders to scale disruptive businesses, as Jio is doing at the forefront of the digital revolution in India.”
The fourth investment by a marquee investor is also an endorsement of Jio’s tech capabilities and the potential of the business model in this COVID-19 world and beyond. It reemphasises Jio’s continuing attraction among global investors for its deep understanding of the Indian markets, the rapid digitisation opportunity post-COVID and its capabilities to bring cutting-edge technologies and tools such as AI, blockchain, AR/VR, Big Data into play for all Indians.
Jio bags 4th big investment in 4 weeks: General Atlantic to invest Rs 6,600 crore in RIL digital unit
Jio Platforms has raised Rs 67,194.75 crore from technology investor powerhouses such as Facebook, Silver Lake Partners, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic in less than four weeks.
The most important reform which got less media attention .
Contract Farming Is Modi’s Biggest Gift To Farmers; Here Are 6 Ways It Can Transform Indian Agriculture
The regulatory reform needle for Indian agriculture moved more yesterday (15 May) than it did during the last seven decades.
swarajyamag.com
Agriculture will never be the same | Part 1 - Dismantling a Monopsony
Selling agriculture produce is hard. You can’t sell this stuff to end consumers directly. Instead, you’re expected to sell the produce in your designated “market area”/mandi. The mandis, in turn, are regulated by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) comprising of local farmers, government representatives, and agri-commodity traders.
Once you make your way to the mandi, you get in touch with your agent, who helps you clean, sort, and organize your produce. He then takes the end product to the auctioneer who puts it on display. Interested buyers gather on the market platform and start bidding. The highest bidder will eventually take home your output and the agent will help you settle the transaction with the prospective buyer. You walk away with what you get, but not before you pay your agent his commission.
Ideally, this ought to be a fair transaction. At least considering we have a free and fair auction. But that’s not entirely true.
You see, most auctions are rigged. Traders who are responsible for the buying collude. Instead of competing against one another, they work together and artificially deflate prices by bidding low. Now, the collusion works only until the select group of traders can keep co-operating. And to this end, APMCs that issue new licenses (to traders) do their best to keep the club exclusive. Meaning corruption is rife.
At the end of it all, traders walk away with the king’s ransom and farmers are routinely short-changed. It’s a terrible travesty. In fact, by some accounts, farmers only get paid 20–25% of the end consumer price.
But it doesn’t have to be so bad.
Think of it this way. Farmers have little choice of picking their mandis since its illegal for them (in most states) to sell their produce outside of these market areas. Once they get to the mandi they get “one quote” since the traders collude. In essence, the system only has one buyer. Economists call this a monopsonistic marketplace — where the price is determined by a single buyer. And there’s no way you can get a fair quote when you’re operating in such unfavourable conditions.
In fact, efficient price realisation can only happen when there’s unfettered competition. So if you allow farmers to simply choose who they could sell to and foster competition (on the buying side), maybe they can get a fair price.
And that’s precisely what the government wants to do. It wants to open up the market and give farmers more choices. It wants to limit intermediaries and boost farm income. It wants to fundamentally change the way Agri commodities are marketed in India and it wants to do it now.
Now obviously this poses some very interesting challenges. For starters, laws on this subject (on marketing and selling agriculture produce) are framed and enforced by state governments. So if the state governments don’t comply, APMCs might still have some influence.
But what if the central government does something to bypass states altogether? Is it possible? Maybe. But we'll have to wait and see how the government circumvents the political opposition.
What we do know for certain, however, is that when farm produce moves between state borders, central laws will automatically kick in. So farmers will likely be able to sell their produce outside their own states and have a plethora of choice, no matter what. And once this happens, state APMCs will have to buck up. They’ll have to play fair to compete with entities outside. Ergo, farmers will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
The final concern is about free-market forces — those greedy corporates who try to use their size, scale, and bargaining power to browbeat small-time farmers. And sure, this could be problematic. But the thing is, big corporates like ITC and Adani are unlikely to deal with farmers individually. As the agricultural economist Ashok Gulati notes — “They [big corporates] need scale and to create scale you create an aggregation point and that is through farmer producer organizations.”
Meaning if farmers come together and form these small entities taking full ownership of their produce, they'll be able to solve the "scale problem".
All we need now, is for the government to walk the talk. Implement this law in full, get states on board and unleash the animal spirits so that India can prosper.
Selling agriculture produce is hard. You can’t sell this stuff to end consumers directly. Instead, you’re expected to sell the produce in your designated “market area”/mandi. The mandis, in turn, are regulated by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) comprising of local farmers, government representatives, and agri-commodity traders.
Once you make your way to the mandi, you get in touch with your agent, who helps you clean, sort, and organize your produce. He then takes the end product to the auctioneer who puts it on display. Interested buyers gather on the market platform and start bidding. The highest bidder will eventually take home your output and the agent will help you settle the transaction with the prospective buyer. You walk away with what you get, but not before you pay your agent his commission.
Ideally, this ought to be a fair transaction. At least considering we have a free and fair auction. But that’s not entirely true.
You see, most auctions are rigged. Traders who are responsible for the buying collude. Instead of competing against one another, they work together and artificially deflate prices by bidding low. Now, the collusion works only until the select group of traders can keep co-operating. And to this end, APMCs that issue new licenses (to traders) do their best to keep the club exclusive. Meaning corruption is rife.
At the end of it all, traders walk away with the king’s ransom and farmers are routinely short-changed. It’s a terrible travesty. In fact, by some accounts, farmers only get paid 20–25% of the end consumer price.
But it doesn’t have to be so bad.
Think of it this way. Farmers have little choice of picking their mandis since its illegal for them (in most states) to sell their produce outside of these market areas. Once they get to the mandi they get “one quote” since the traders collude. In essence, the system only has one buyer. Economists call this a monopsonistic marketplace — where the price is determined by a single buyer. And there’s no way you can get a fair quote when you’re operating in such unfavourable conditions.
In fact, efficient price realisation can only happen when there’s unfettered competition. So if you allow farmers to simply choose who they could sell to and foster competition (on the buying side), maybe they can get a fair price.
And that’s precisely what the government wants to do. It wants to open up the market and give farmers more choices. It wants to limit intermediaries and boost farm income. It wants to fundamentally change the way Agri commodities are marketed in India and it wants to do it now.
Now obviously this poses some very interesting challenges. For starters, laws on this subject (on marketing and selling agriculture produce) are framed and enforced by state governments. So if the state governments don’t comply, APMCs might still have some influence.
But what if the central government does something to bypass states altogether? Is it possible? Maybe. But we'll have to wait and see how the government circumvents the political opposition.
What we do know for certain, however, is that when farm produce moves between state borders, central laws will automatically kick in. So farmers will likely be able to sell their produce outside their own states and have a plethora of choice, no matter what. And once this happens, state APMCs will have to buck up. They’ll have to play fair to compete with entities outside. Ergo, farmers will be the ultimate beneficiaries.
The final concern is about free-market forces — those greedy corporates who try to use their size, scale, and bargaining power to browbeat small-time farmers. And sure, this could be problematic. But the thing is, big corporates like ITC and Adani are unlikely to deal with farmers individually. As the agricultural economist Ashok Gulati notes — “They [big corporates] need scale and to create scale you create an aggregation point and that is through farmer producer organizations.”
Meaning if farmers come together and form these small entities taking full ownership of their produce, they'll be able to solve the "scale problem".
All we need now, is for the government to walk the talk. Implement this law in full, get states on board and unleash the animal spirits so that India can prosper.
Recession: Goldman Sachs sees worst India recession with 45% second quarter slump - The Economic Times
Goldman sees India's GDP contract by an annualized 45% in the second quarter from last three months.
Government charts plan to map 10 million migrant workers
By Yogima Sharma
Last Updated: May 19, 2020, 09.06 AM IST
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
The government has begun drawing up a plan to register over 10 million migrant workers as per their skills in states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The mapping plan will attempt to classify them as per their skill sets and a skilling plan would be drawn accordingly.
A government official told ET that the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship is in talks with the rural development ministry to assist them in carrying out the mammoth exercise.
The exercise will be carried out with the help of local administration, the official said.
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
This will help workers earn a livelihood and may immediately provide industries the much needed workforce to kick-start full production.
While discussions have been held with all stakeholders at the top level, a formal notification may happen after the plan is approved by the skills ministry.
Most labour in the country comes from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. It is estimated that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar account for the origin of 25% and 14% of the total inter-state migrants, respectively, followed by Rajasthan at 6% and Madhya Pradesh at 5%.
Once mapping and filtration is done, the skill development ministry will provide recognition of prior learning (RPL) certificates to each of the skilled workers, the official said, adding that these would be recognised as work proof and help them get placed.
Government, has in the Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019 proposed the setting up of a re-skilling fund for workers affected by retrenchment or closure of units.
It is expected that the skills ministry in collaboration with the labour ministry will use this fund for re-skilling the retrenched workers.
The nationwide lockdown, which began on March 25 and has been extended four times till May 31, has led to a reverse migration with workers leaving cities to go back to their home states after industries shut down.
Migrant workers form part of the unorganised sector, which constitutes about 90% of the country’s total workforce of nearly 500 million.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
By Yogima Sharma
Last Updated: May 19, 2020, 09.06 AM IST
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
The government has begun drawing up a plan to register over 10 million migrant workers as per their skills in states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The mapping plan will attempt to classify them as per their skill sets and a skilling plan would be drawn accordingly.
A government official told ET that the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship is in talks with the rural development ministry to assist them in carrying out the mammoth exercise.
The exercise will be carried out with the help of local administration, the official said.
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
This will help workers earn a livelihood and may immediately provide industries the much needed workforce to kick-start full production.
While discussions have been held with all stakeholders at the top level, a formal notification may happen after the plan is approved by the skills ministry.
Most labour in the country comes from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. It is estimated that Uttar Pradesh and Bihar account for the origin of 25% and 14% of the total inter-state migrants, respectively, followed by Rajasthan at 6% and Madhya Pradesh at 5%.
Once mapping and filtration is done, the skill development ministry will provide recognition of prior learning (RPL) certificates to each of the skilled workers, the official said, adding that these would be recognised as work proof and help them get placed.
Government, has in the Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019 proposed the setting up of a re-skilling fund for workers affected by retrenchment or closure of units.
It is expected that the skills ministry in collaboration with the labour ministry will use this fund for re-skilling the retrenched workers.
The nationwide lockdown, which began on March 25 and has been extended four times till May 31, has led to a reverse migration with workers leaving cities to go back to their home states after industries shut down.
Migrant workers form part of the unorganised sector, which constitutes about 90% of the country’s total workforce of nearly 500 million.
Government charts plan to map 10 million migrant workers
Local administration will be asked to help deploy unskilled labour locally while the skilled workforce will be re-skilled and connected to relevant industries over the next few months after certification.
Tractors a symbol of an upbeat agriculture sector
Demand for tractors is rising as fertiliser sales and foodgrain production hit record highs, reservoirs hold more water than 10-year average and a normal monsoon is forecast.
By Ketan Thakkar & Ashutosh R Shyam, ET Bureau | Updated: May 19, 2020, 08.44 AM IST
MUMBAI: Demand for tractors is rising as fertiliser sales and foodgrain production hit record highs, reservoirs hold more water than 10-year average and a normal monsoon is forecast.
Demand for tractors has outstripped supply, as output has fallen with factories operating at a quarter of their capacity. Segment leader Mahindra & Mahindra has started planning for a second shift to meet demand, while rivals Escorts and Sonalika tractors have indicated that the market would return to normal levels within a quarter. Insiders expect the segment to continue growing and post the best performance in the automotive industry.
Demand is getting better by the week and it is adding to the confidence, said Hemant Sikka, chief executive, farm equipment business, M&M. “Enquiry levels are going up, with 65% of our markets opened, this will go up to 80% within a week. The cash flow is strong in the rural area on the back of a very good harvest. The government has been proactive in getting the mandi system moving. If the infection curve does not worsen, we can return to normalcy within a quarter,” he said.
More than 80% of wholesale agriculture markets are fully functional now compared with 40% soon after lockdown started in late March. The recovery from demand shock due to the lockdown, therefore, is expected to be faster in rural areas than in urban centres, thanks to better cash flow prospects from crops.
Escorts said sales should start growing in the second quarter.
m.economictimes.com
Demand for tractors is rising as fertiliser sales and foodgrain production hit record highs, reservoirs hold more water than 10-year average and a normal monsoon is forecast.
By Ketan Thakkar & Ashutosh R Shyam, ET Bureau | Updated: May 19, 2020, 08.44 AM IST
MUMBAI: Demand for tractors is rising as fertiliser sales and foodgrain production hit record highs, reservoirs hold more water than 10-year average and a normal monsoon is forecast.
Demand for tractors has outstripped supply, as output has fallen with factories operating at a quarter of their capacity. Segment leader Mahindra & Mahindra has started planning for a second shift to meet demand, while rivals Escorts and Sonalika tractors have indicated that the market would return to normal levels within a quarter. Insiders expect the segment to continue growing and post the best performance in the automotive industry.
Demand is getting better by the week and it is adding to the confidence, said Hemant Sikka, chief executive, farm equipment business, M&M. “Enquiry levels are going up, with 65% of our markets opened, this will go up to 80% within a week. The cash flow is strong in the rural area on the back of a very good harvest. The government has been proactive in getting the mandi system moving. If the infection curve does not worsen, we can return to normalcy within a quarter,” he said.
More than 80% of wholesale agriculture markets are fully functional now compared with 40% soon after lockdown started in late March. The recovery from demand shock due to the lockdown, therefore, is expected to be faster in rural areas than in urban centres, thanks to better cash flow prospects from crops.
Escorts said sales should start growing in the second quarter.
Tractors a symbol of an upbeat agriculture sector - The Economic Times
MUMBAI: Demand for tractors is rising as fertiliser sales and foodgrain production hit record highs, reservoirs hold more water than 10-year average and a norma
India Inc’s getting vocal for local labour
By NEHAL CHALIAWALA
ET Bureau | Updated: May 19, 2020, 08.38 AM IST
Staffing firm TeamLease said that the requests for unskilled and semi-skilled workers have gone up by 30% in the past week and could go up further going forward.
Mumbai: Anticipating higher production in coming weeks, industries have started looking for local labour to fill in for their migrant workers who have either returned home or are waiting to go back and reluctant to work in industry now.
Staffing firm TeamLease said that the requests for unskilled and semi-skilled workers have gone up by 30% in the past week and could go up further going forward.
Manufacturers need people for skilled roles like operating machines and working on production lines, as well as for jobs not requiring any skills training like packing, logistics and sanitation.
TeamLease said on the week starting May 4, there was industry demand for around 10,000 workers in non-containment areas. This rose to around 13,000 in the next week and is expected to grow by about 40% this week.
Companies are going to train more people to cope with skilled labour shortage. “We have to start training workers and we will immediately put them on the job,” said Rishi Bagla, director of automotive components maker OMR Bagla Ltd.
Some are trying to attract skilled employees from smaller firms that haven’t resumed production yet. Companies are also asking their employees to refer skilled people who are unemployed now, said Sudeep Sen, business head for industrial, manufacturing and engineering segments at TeamLease.
Gurugram-based Matrix Clothing said it will soon start a worker referral programme and the incentive for a successful referral could be cash payment of ₹500- 1,000.
The demand for local workers varies across regions. Many industrial belts where majority of the workers came from nearby areas or from within the state may not face a severe workforce crunch, like Oragadam near Chennai or the Haridwar industrial area, Sen said.
Challenge for Industrial Areas
However, workforce shortage has become a big challenge in industrial areas like Pune and Noida, which rely extensively on workers coming in from other states.
There could be severe competition for workers in the short term, in which larger manufacturers could have an upper hand by paying more wages, said Milon Nag, managing director of Pune-based KK Nag Ltd. If sufficient workforce isn’t available, production volumes will take a hit even when demand returns.
In these circumstances, companies are trying to convince outstation workers who have not left yet to stay back with the assurance that work has now resumed, ensuring regular pay. Superior healthcare facilities in urban areas are also being used as an incentive to convince people to stay back, several people said.
But the situation is expected to worsen before it gets better. “The real impact of reduced workforce will be visible in next 15-45 days,” said Lohit Bhatia, president for workforce management at Quess Corp, a staffing firm. “Our understanding is that most workers will not return till after monsoon or when there is a considerable reduction of Covid-19 cases in cities.”
m.economictimes.com
Avoiding rush hour traffic ?
By NEHAL CHALIAWALA
ET Bureau | Updated: May 19, 2020, 08.38 AM IST
Staffing firm TeamLease said that the requests for unskilled and semi-skilled workers have gone up by 30% in the past week and could go up further going forward.
Mumbai: Anticipating higher production in coming weeks, industries have started looking for local labour to fill in for their migrant workers who have either returned home or are waiting to go back and reluctant to work in industry now.
Staffing firm TeamLease said that the requests for unskilled and semi-skilled workers have gone up by 30% in the past week and could go up further going forward.
Manufacturers need people for skilled roles like operating machines and working on production lines, as well as for jobs not requiring any skills training like packing, logistics and sanitation.
TeamLease said on the week starting May 4, there was industry demand for around 10,000 workers in non-containment areas. This rose to around 13,000 in the next week and is expected to grow by about 40% this week.
Companies are going to train more people to cope with skilled labour shortage. “We have to start training workers and we will immediately put them on the job,” said Rishi Bagla, director of automotive components maker OMR Bagla Ltd.
Some are trying to attract skilled employees from smaller firms that haven’t resumed production yet. Companies are also asking their employees to refer skilled people who are unemployed now, said Sudeep Sen, business head for industrial, manufacturing and engineering segments at TeamLease.
Gurugram-based Matrix Clothing said it will soon start a worker referral programme and the incentive for a successful referral could be cash payment of ₹500- 1,000.
The demand for local workers varies across regions. Many industrial belts where majority of the workers came from nearby areas or from within the state may not face a severe workforce crunch, like Oragadam near Chennai or the Haridwar industrial area, Sen said.
Challenge for Industrial Areas
However, workforce shortage has become a big challenge in industrial areas like Pune and Noida, which rely extensively on workers coming in from other states.
There could be severe competition for workers in the short term, in which larger manufacturers could have an upper hand by paying more wages, said Milon Nag, managing director of Pune-based KK Nag Ltd. If sufficient workforce isn’t available, production volumes will take a hit even when demand returns.
In these circumstances, companies are trying to convince outstation workers who have not left yet to stay back with the assurance that work has now resumed, ensuring regular pay. Superior healthcare facilities in urban areas are also being used as an incentive to convince people to stay back, several people said.
But the situation is expected to worsen before it gets better. “The real impact of reduced workforce will be visible in next 15-45 days,” said Lohit Bhatia, president for workforce management at Quess Corp, a staffing firm. “Our understanding is that most workers will not return till after monsoon or when there is a considerable reduction of Covid-19 cases in cities.”
India Inc’s getting vocal for local labour
TeamLease said on the week starting May 4, there was industry demand for around 10,000 workers in non-containment areas. This rose to around 13,000 in the next week and is expected to grow by about 40% this week.
Avoiding rush hour traffic ?
