Industrial Safety in India: A Crisis of Negligence and Indifference
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Governance (Labour Laws, Key Institutions like DGFASLI), Current Events of National Importance.
Mains:
GS Paper 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population (especially unorganized and migrant workers).
GS Paper 3: Indian Economy (Industrial Policy & Growth), Disaster and Disaster Management (Man-made disasters).
GS Paper 4 (Ethics): Corporate Governance; Probity in Governance; Attitude and Foundational Values (Compassion towards weaker sections); Corporate Social Responsibility.
Key Highlights from the News
A National Crisis: The article argues that industrial accidents in India are not random incidents, but a national crisis resulting from systemic failures and negligence.
Shocking Figures: In the last five years, at least 6,500 workers have died in factories, construction sites, and mines. A major accident occurs every two days in registered factories.
Root Causes:
Lack of Fire No-Objection Certificate (NOC).
Absence of fire fighting systems.
Lack of permit-to-work system for high-risk jobs.
Lack of training for workers, especially migrant workers.
No accountability and slow legal action.
Deeper Problems:
Safety is not seen as a core value in India, but merely a legal formality.
A class bias exists. Since most of those who die are migrant and contract workers, society does not take the issue seriously enough.
A familiar vicious cycle of Tragedy -> Outrage -> Compensation -> Committee -> Silence repeats.
Proposed Solutions:
India should discuss introducing corporate manslaughter laws like in South Korea and Singapore, which hold senior company officials criminally responsible for serious safety lapses.
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