Rollout of labor codes: step to increase India’s export readiness; predictable costs and gender-equal standards to help exporters – The Times of India

India’s recently implemented labor laws will give the country’s export industries a stronger and more predictable operating environment, a commerce ministry official said. According to the official, quoted by news agency PTI, the reforms bring flexibility and simplification to businesses while ensuring fair wages, safety, equality and social security for workers.The Center on Friday enforced the four labor laws, ending a slowdown since 2020. The new framework introduces timely minimum wages for all workers, universal social security covering gig and platform workers, longer permitted working hours, broader use of fixed-term employment contracts and more flexible restructuring and retrenchment rules.The commerce ministry official said each provision plays a direct role in strengthening India’s export ecosystem. A single definition of ‘wages’ across all codes will remove the confusion created by multiple previous definitions, the official noted, adding that exporters operating in different states will find wage and compliance processes simpler and more uniform for contributions such as gratuity, bonus and social security.The official was quoted by PTI as saying that rationalization of the national floor wage and minimum wages will help export companies plan labor costs more predictably. The official added that banning gender-based discrimination in hiring and wages will bring Indian manufacturing in line with international labor standards often demanded by global retailers and sourcing partners.Allowing women to work night shifts – with permission and proper safety measures – will support export sectors such as apparel, electronics and IT-enabled services that run 24-hour production to meet foreign orders, the official said. Increasing the threshold for government approval for cuts, layoffs or closures from 100 to 300 employees also gives exporters more flexibility to respond to changing global demand.The Commerce Department further said that digital documentation under the codes improves traceability and credibility for exporters who are regularly audited by foreign buyers. According to PTI, the rights of plantation workers have also been consolidated and made transferable.The four codes replace 29 previous labor laws and extend protection to fixed-term, contract, gig and platform workers, while making appointment letters, equal pay for women and portability of benefits mandatory. Additional reforms include a national minimum wage, faster dispute resolution and single-window licensing.India has nearly two lakh exporting units employing over 50 million people. The country’s goods and services exports reached a record $825 billion in 2024-2025.