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This article undertakes a socio-legal analysis of India's changing labour laws and situates migrant workers within the broader context of the changing relations between state, capital, and labour amid the reforms that were introduced in 2019–2020. It illustrates the precarity of migrant workers and the possibility of their legal exclusion from the revised labour codes, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic-led lockdowns. The new codes reduced the number of establishments under regulation and diluted provisions that can hold contractors and employers accountable, which increases the scope for exploitation of workers and has serious implications for the rights of migrants. The labour law reforms, we argue, appear to have favoured capital in its relations with workers and have increased the degree of informality in a wide range of industries. Inter-state migrant workers may find themselves excluded from protective provisions that hold employers accountable for their treatment and this may make them more vulnerable in the informal sector. The article concludes that this push by the state to boost the 'ease of doing business' via precarious forms of employment and whittling away the protections of inter-state migrant workers may be far more detrimental than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the intertwining relationship between informality and education-occupation mismatch (EOM) and the consequent impact on the workers' wages. In particular, we discuss two issues — first, the relative importance of informality and EOM in determining wages; and second, the relevance of EOM for formal and informal workers. The analysis reveals that although both informality and EOM are significant determinants of wages, the former is more crucial for a developing country like India. Further, we find that EOM is one of the crucial determinants of wages for formal workers, but it is not critical for informal workers. The study highlights the need for considering the bifurcation of formal-informal workers to understand the complete dynamics of EOM especially for developing countries where informality is predominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most governments around the world are fostering innovation and entrepreneurial systems with a prominent role for venture capital (VC) support policies. However, the debate about the role and impact of VC support policies is still focused on the countries of the Global North. In this context, this paper seeks to describe and analyse the role that the state has played in the emergence and development of the VC industry in India and Brazil, two of the biggest economies of the Global South. We adopt a systemic and evolutionary perspective under the general context of a renewed role for the state in financing innovation. We offer interesting questions and implications to discuss the challenges, scale and impact that could be expected from VC industry support policies in the Global South countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The India–Bangladesh border is the world's fifth longest land border, a focus of political tension in an area with vibrant informal economies. Cross-border communities share culture and language and informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is well-established. This article explores ICBT on the Indian side of the border, examining its actors, power relations and spatial dimensions, and the vulnerabilities of those involved. Debates on the social and cultural roots of ICBT, and the vulnerability of small-scale entrepreneurs to a complicit state, and powerful middlemen in lucrative sectors of ICBT, inform the analysis. The trade is theorized through the lens of jugaad, the Indian term for 'making do' and 'instinctive creativity'. The research draws on case studies of three cross-border sectors, everyday trade in small household goods, the politically sensitive cattle trade, and cross-border medical/healthcare services. The mechanisms of jugaad are seen to some degree in all three case studies, but heavy state regulation gives advantage to controlling middlemen and state officials. Finally, we argue that ICBT is a critical component of the wider political economy in the border regions of West Bengal, and that the forgotten sector of ICBT could, if supported by light-touch regulation, have important poverty-reduction potential in enabling livelihoods for marginalized border communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 91% of India's workforce of 520 million is informal, lacking social insurance. However, this paper finds the Social Security Code 2020 wanting, but with potential for universalizing social insurance. The paper spells out the principles that should guide social insurance for informal workers; and presents the design and architecture for extending coverage. It shows how realistically, over the next 10–15 years, social insurance could cover the entire workforce, in accordance with ILO Conventions. It also estimates the fiscal cost of social insurance, for the first five years, and spells out the political economy, fiscal and administrative challenges to universalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]