This volume presents an analysis of India's development experience in the sphere of labour, employment and economic growth in the recent past. Labour and employment issues have been central to India's growth and development debate in the 1980s through the 2000s. The economic policy debate in this area has been rather narrow, often confined to issues of jobless growth in the formal manufacturing sector, constraint of specific labour laws, informalization of employment relationships and information technology services sector growth. Authors in this volume have extended the boundaries of this debate in a variety of ways by undertaking a fairly detailed analysis of selected issues. Each author has approached the selected topic differently but consistent with the broad theme of the volume. They have used reliable data sets over time to uncover many quantitative dimensions of employment growth, structural change, population ageing, worker status (job quality), intensity of labour-use, gender discrimination and impact of labour laws and regulation. Some authors have pursued qualitative analysis like re-examining the legal definition of industrial worker through the lens of economic theory; how judiciary (Supreme Court of India) has interpreted labour laws and workers' protection in the years of economic liberalization. Their separate contributions read together I believe make a positive contribution to the existing empirical literature on growth and employment in India. The issues investigated are highly contemporary, live and are expected to challenge the evolution of economic policy in the immediate future.

I sincerely hope this volume will appeal to those in the area of academic research and as well as non-academic community of readers interested in the deep issue of growth and employment. Selected papers from this volume can be used as supplementary readings in any graduate course in Indian economy, development economics and policy and labour markets in developing countries.

Papers in this volume were first presented at a seminar held at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai on 6–7 September 2013 on the occasion of Silver Jubilee Year of IGIDR.