Budget 2024 & Gig Economy: Industry Suggests Safety Net, Skills For Workers

Skill sector firms have proposed that the government develop measures to offer a safety net for gig workers, create formal opportunities for construction laborers, and provide tax rebates for households contributing to social security deposits for their domestic workers.

During a pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman focused on employment and skilling, the industry presented these suggestions to boost employment and enhance skill development.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO of CBRE, said that the meeting was on skilling and the government sought suggestions on what can be done on that front.

Industry body Indian Staffing Federation ED Sucheta Dutta said that domestic workers, who are mainly women, do not have future security and financial literacy.

“So, we suggested that if the household provides a social security deposit on behalf of the domestic worker and in return, the household will get a rebate of 12 per cent in income tax,” Dutta said.

Career-tech platform Internshala CEO Sarvesh Agarwal said that broadly the discussions were on how to make India the skill capital of the world.

“There were also several suggestions on the safety net for the gig workers, creating global opportunities for the college students and how to create formal opportunities for the construction workers,” he said.

Gayathri Vasudevan, Chief Impact Officer, Sambhav Foundation, said that the whole discussion happened on what is important for employment and skills.

“How to use NEP (national education policy) better, how can you give standard deductions to middle-class families, so that they can invest in the skill set,” Vasudevan said.

Budget 2024 Date

The NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to present India’s full union budget in mid-July. An interim budget was presented on February 1.

This budget, marking Modi’s first major policy announcement in his third term, is anticipated to outline potential shifts in India’s economic priorities for the next five years.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is reportedly contemplating lowering personal tax rates for certain groups while maintaining the nation’s fiscal deficit target for the year.