India is reported to have at least 11 million people in modern slavery, highest in the world, according to Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index 2023. Bonded labour is a form of modern slavery where a person is forced to work, often for little or no pay, to repay a loan or advance. India banned it in 1976 under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act.
Maternal health remains an important indicator of a country’s healthcare accessibility, quality of medical services, and broader socioeconomic development
The Amma Two Wheeler Scheme was introduced to support working women who faced difficulties travelling to their workplaces or conducting livelihood-related activities. The original scheme guidelines envisaged assistance for one lakh working women annually, covering both rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu (Government of Tamil Nadu, 2018). The initiative recognised that women’s economic participation depends not only on the availability of employment but also on their ability to reach workplaces safely, conveniently and affordably.
West Bengal introduced the Karma Sathi Prakalpa in September 2020 to address the problem of youth unemployment and limited access to finance for starting small businesses. Although the state had existing self employment schemes, many young people continued to face difficulties in obtaining affordable bank loans and turning their skills and ideas into sustainable livelihoods. Recognising this gap, the government introduced the scheme to support unemployed youth in both rural and urban areas. It aimed to provide soft loans and subsidies of up to ₹2 lakh for new business ventures in manufacturing, services and trading. The main objective was to encourage entrepreneurship, promote self reliance and create further employment opportunities
India–Japan relations have progressively diversified across several areas, including trade, investment, strategic engagement, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges. The India–Japan Vision Statement, adopted on 29 October 2018, underscored the potential to leverage India's demographic strengths alongside Japan's capital, technological capabilities and industrial expertise, while identifying human resource development and exchanges as key pillars of bilateral cooperation. The complementary demographic and economic profiles of the two countries offer considerable opportunities for strengthening educational collaboration and workforce mobility. Building on this shared vision, both countries have pursued initiatives such as Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIMs), Japanese Endowed Courses (JECs), and expanded Japanese-language education to develop an industry-oriented talent pool and facilitate greater human resource exchanges.
India’s merchandise exports reached a record US451 billion FY23,up from US 315 billion in FY14, an average annual growth of 5.2 percent over the period (ODOP-DEH Study 2023).
The Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) is a digital registration platform launched by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) on January 11, 2023, in association with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). Its purpose is to bring Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) into the formal ambit and make them eligible for Priority Sector Lending (PSL) benefits (PIB, 2023b; SIDBI, n.d.). IMEs are enterprises that cannot register on the main Udyam Registration Portal because they lack mandatory documents such as a Permanent Account Number (PAN) or a GST Identification Number (GSTIN) (Business Standard, 2023)