Siliguri, November 29, 2025

 

New Labour Law is welfare- oriented and  beneficial for the all workers accross the nation, said Raju Bista, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Darjeeling, today, while addressing a one-day media workshop Vartalap organised by PIB, Kolkata at Siliguri. 

In order to simplify and strengthen the framework, the  governing workers’ rights, the Government consolidated 29 labour laws into four comprehensive Labour Codes- namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, stated Shri Bista today. This historic reform ensures that workers gain easier access to security, dignity, health and welfare measures, reinforcing India’s commitment to a fair and future-ready labour ecosystem as well as ensuring security to the both organised and unorganised workers of the country.

The new law has provision such as mandatory appointment letters , gratuity benefits and free annual health check up for all as well as inclusion in the ESI scheme.This will tremendously benefit tea garden workers, MSME, unorganised workers of Darjeeling hills and dooars besides the nation. There will be parity in benefits and pay for the same work. Prior to this new labour law, the tea garden was run as per 1951 plantation labour act, a British era law where the wages for the workers would be decided by the labour unions and the 'Bora Babu'. British left the country, however, their enacted labour still remained which now been  subsumed into the new labour laws added Shri Bista.

Shri Bista appreciated PIB Kolkata’s efforts in consistently engaging with media professionals and creating knowledge-sharing platforms like Vartalap. He underlined the importance of transparent communication in a democracy and reiterated that informed citizens form the backbone of a progressive nation.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), Kolkata  organised a day-long Vartalap programme in Siliguri today with the initiative aimed at fostering stronger engagement between Government agencies and the media fraternity, ensuring effective dissemination of information on key government policies and public welfare schemes.

The programme was formally inaugurated by Shri Raju Bista, Member of Parliament, Darjeeling Lok Sabha, in presence of senior officials from PIB/CBC and media representatives from Siliguri and neighbouring districts.

In her welcome address, Miss Jane Namchu, Additional Director General, PIB/CBC Kolkata, extended greetings to the dignitaries and the attending media professionals. She emphasised the vital role of the media in bridging the gap between the Government and the public, urging journalists to use PIB website  as a meaningful source of authentic information. She highlighted that credible communication plays a critical role in ensuring that the benefits of various developmental programmes reach the grassroots level.

Before that, the Assistant Director of PIB, Kolkata, gave a brief of the activities of PIB, Kolkata and stated how such a media workshop helps in bridging the gap between PIB, and the rural  and district-level journalists and help in acquiring the Union Government news especially the news centering developmental activities going across the nation.

Prior to the formal inaugural, a symbolic tree plantation was carried out under the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign. The plantation was led by Shri Raju Bista, Member of Parliament, Darjeeling Lok Sabha and  Shri T. V. K. Reddy, Director General, PIB/CBC Eastern Region, reflecting the government’s continued emphasis on environmental sustainability and public participation in greening initiatives.

The technical sessions that followed brought together experts from various sectors to brief the media on priority government themes.

In the session on Financial Inclusion, Shri Rajesh Kumar, Lead Bank Manager, Central Bank of India, delivered a detailed presentation on the achievements, progress, and salient features of key financial inclusion schemes. He highlighted how initiatives like PMJDY, digital banking outreach, and credit access programmes are transforming the financial landscape and bringing unbanked populations into the formal banking system.

In another insightful presentation, Dr. Jeetesh Nagori, Commissioner, CGST Siliguri spoke on the features of GST 2.0, the newly reformed and streamlined version of the Goods and Services Tax. He explained how GST 2.0 aims to simplify processes, enhance transparency and improve purchasing capacity by reducing compliance burdens for taxpayers.

The programme concluded with an engaging interactive session, where media representatives posed questions and shared field-level observations with the resource persons. The exchange of ideas and clarifications added significant value to the overall discourse, reinforcing the collaborative spirit of Vartalap.

The event successfully reaffirmed PIB's commitment to strengthening constructive dialogue with the media and promoting accurate, timely and people-oriented information dissemination across the region.

The programme was concluded with Vote of Thanks by Md Sikander Ansari, Media & Communication Officer, PIB, Kolkata.

 

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