India Inc eyes business boost, braces for changes

NEW DELHI: India Inc will have to significantly alter the way it does business — from reworking salary and allowances of employees to comply with the new provisions to health check-ups for all staff members above 40 years and providing gratuity to all fixed term employees after one year of continuous service — but they are also cheering the changes, which they have been demanding for years.After all, it also provides them with flexibility on hiring women workers in night shifts, dealing with seasonal worker requirements and reworking factory or office timings.“The apparel sector will immensely benefit from the change brought by allowing women to work at night in all types of work and across all establishments… This change will immediately address the capacity augmentation challenges in the sector and help India emerge as a major global sourcing hub for clothing,” said Mithileshwar Thakur, secretary general at Apparel Export Promotion Council. For the garment industry, grappling with competition from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, permission to hire women in night shifts has been a long ask, he added.For IT workers, govt flagged that salaries have to be paid by the seventh of every month and equal pay for equal work. “Nasscom will work closely with all stakeholders to help industry navigate this change with confidence,” said the industry body.“The codes enhance industry competitiveness through single registration, reduced overlap, and streamlined processes, while ensuring minimum wages for all, improved OSH standards, annual health check-ups, maternity and social-security protections, and safer night-shift opportunities for women,” said Ficci director general Jyoti Vij.Industry bodies also recognised the flexibility it provides. “This long-awaited reform brings India in line with global standards, eases compliance, empowers enterprises, and strengthens the foundations for higher productivity, greater competitiveness and accelerated job creation,” said CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee.