Horn OK Policy

Horn OK Policy is a podcast hosted by Adarsh Kumar that explores profound economic and policy matters that affect India from the ground up. Politically agnostic but religiously logical, the podcast aims to cast aside sensationalism and biased viewpoints to take cold and factual deep dives into matters that affect Indians. Music by Zubin Kirpalani (aka Sonto) & Village Polka!

All Episodes

Horn OK Policy

Ep 1: Labour Crisis in India

July 22, 2020 • Adarsh Kumar • Season 1 • Episode 1

0:00 | 1:14:08

Prof. Santosh Mehrotra, head of the Center for Informal Sector and Labour Studies at JNU and a former Planning Commission member, joins us today to analyze the labour crises during and before COVID19 and how policymakers should resolve them.

More than 100 million Indians have lost their jobs since the national lockdown was enforced in March. However, even before the pandemic, there were fault lines in India's labour force: unemployment was at a 45-year high, youth were unable to find quality jobs, and the labour force continued to be stubbornly informal.

What's the near term outlook for jobs? How should the government address labour laws to boost investment and hiring? How can more formal and good quality jobs be introduced? Are an urban MGNREGA and minimum income guarantee potential solutions in mitigating the economic effects of the pandemic? These are just some of the far-reaching questions we address in our comprehensive review of India's labour situation.

Music by Sonto & Village Polka.