Rajya Sabha Passes Constitutional Amendment Bill.

   The Government of India has always been concerned about the welfare of downtrodden especially Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. As a part of the affirmative action, reservation in promotion had been available to the SCs and STs since 1955. However, some decisions of the Supreme Court like in Indra Sawhney, Veer Pal Singh Chauhan and S. Vinod Kumar cases had caused certain effects on the scheme of reservation in promotion for SCs and STs. To overcome these effects, the Government had brought four Constitutional amendments, namely, 77th, 81st , 82nd and 85th amendments.

   The latest of such judgments was in M. Nagaraj case in which the Supreme Court has laid down some pre-requisite conditions for providing reservation in promotion. These conditions are, namely, assessing the quantum of representation of SCs, STs, there backwardness and effect on efficiency.

Rise in Part-Time Work.

   The World Bank in its World Development Report 2013 has pointed out that part time and temporary wage employment are now major features of industrialised and developing countries and that in India, the number of temporary workers that employment agencies recruit grew more than 10 percent in 2009 and 18 percent in 2010. Part time work is also on rise in India with the share of informal workers in total employment in organized firms grew from 32 per cent in 2000 to 52 per cent in 2005 to 68 per cent in 2010. The propensity of firms to hire contract workers has increased over time for all firms employing 10 or more workers.

   The World Development Report 2013 has also pointed out that when workers move from low-to-high-productivity jobs, output increases and the economy becomes more efficient. Stringent regulations that obstruct such labour reallocation do not sit on the efficiency plateau and affect economic efficiency. Government has taken several steps to provide decent opportunities of livelihood to all those who seek employment.

Nationalised Bank for EPF Deposit.

   Provident Fund contribution of private sector labourers covered under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 is deposited in the State Bank of India.

   As per the provision of Para 52(1) of the Employees` Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, all monies belonging to the Fund shall be deposited in the Reserve Bank of India or the State Bank of India or such other Scheduled Banks as may be approved by the Central Government from time to time. No other Scheduled Bank has been approved by the Central Government for this purpose.