SSI Ministry rejects plea for further reviews of Schedule M modification

The Ministry of Small Scale Industries (SSI) has rejected the proposal of the small-scale drug-manufacturing sector to constitute a review committee for further modification of Schedule M norms. The decision has come after the Health Ministry refused to further entertain any requests of relaxation of Schedule M.

The office of the development commissioner (SSI), in an official correspondence to SSI drug sector has conveyed that the government has already given a time period of three and half years after the original date of notification for compliance and the units have been advised to meet the June 2005 deadline without fail.

(Ref : "Chronicle Pharmabiz" dated April 14, 2005)

Doubling exports to create 1cr. jobs

The government today sought to play the employment generation card as part of the Foreign Trade Policy, claiming it was a highly labour intensive sector.

Commerce minister Kamal Nath said, the current level of $78 billion exports had generated 86 lakh of direct employment, and 14 lakh indirect employment, largely in logistics, transport and related sectors. The study commissioned by commerce ministry, has claimed that doubling the level of exports to $150 billion in the next four years, would generate another 1 crore jobs in the sector.

On a year to year basis, there has been an incremental ten lakh jobs in 2004-05 in the sector, over the previous year, the minister added.

Interestingly, the total employment in the country, for the entire organised sector is about 2.7 crore, as on March 31, 2003. The data generated by the ministry of labour includes all private sector non agricultural establishments employing more than 10 persons and of course all public sector units. In addition there are about 4 crore job seekers registered with the various employment exchanges in the country. Since 70%, of these people were educated till at least class X, they were unlikely to try their luck in the unorganised sector.

The commerce ministry claim would imply that more than a quarter of such employment are involved in the export business.

Data on the unorganised sector is however extremely inadequate. The latter account for over 90%, of the total employment in the country. 

Within this umbrella, over 60% of the total employment is concentrated in agriculture, sectors like handicrafts and handloom employ a large number of people. Given that a large percentage of the country's exports are accounted for by gems and jewelry, leather and handicrafts, the scope of additional employment generation in these sectors is substantial.

The commerce minister also reiterated the thrust. Mr Nath said apart from doubling India's percentage share of global merchandise trade in five years, the major objective of the foreign trade policy was generation of employment, in rural and semi urban areas.

(Ref : "Economic Times" dated April 9, 2005)