India

For many multinational corporations, India is a fundamentally important country for their business. A very fertile ground for services and manufacturing, India challenges Chief Human Resources Officers and HR Executives to stay up to date on the latest HR and Labor developments happening in this important global economy.

Within the last few years, India has taken many steps to make itself more attractive to western investment by making it easier for Western companies to operate within the country.

In 2021 for example, the Indian government issued significant updates to the country’s labor code that had a direct impact on the country’s HR professionals.

Overall, the changes were welcomed by industry and completed over strident objections by India's trade unions. The labor code updates brought about several important outcomes, like expanding the definition of worker to make it more inclusive, enabling fixed term employment agreements, adding clarity and structure to multiple union scenarios and employee strikes and lockouts.

At the same time, individual states within India have taken steps which might make it more difficult for multinational corporations to practice within. For example, the state of Haryana passed a bill reserving 75% of new job opportunities paying below a certain amount to be reserved for local candidates.

The changes within India are happening fast and are worth tracking. HR Policy, as well as our HR Policy India program, which is part of our global package, provides expertise and resources on all these key matters in India for our members.