India Labor Czar Says Biggest Reform Since 1947 Will Boost Jobs

India’s move to distill its byzantine labor laws and get rid of obsolete rules will boost jobs and investment, according to the top bureaucrat handling the exercise, who pledged to complete the overhaul by early next year.
Labor regulations, some of which date back almost a century, have long been identified as a key stranglehold on Indian enterprise. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government crunched 29 laws into four codes, making it easier for employers to hire and fire workers and at the same time imposing minimum wages and social security benefits for employees. The changes will reduce the compliance burden for firms, said Vandana Gurnani, secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment.