India, Dec. 1 -- Immediately after a thunderous victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, in a sharp and surprising move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced new Labour Codes with the announcement that "it is one of the most comprehensive and progressive labour-oriented reforms since independence," leading to the promotion of "Ease of Doing Business" in India. On the other hand, the trade unions and social policy analysts say that actual gains to workers remain unclear and doubtful.

The four labour code bills, first introduced in Parliament in 2019 and of which three were replaced in September 2020, consolidate 29 central labour laws. The four Codes introduced are - the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social ...