Friday, February 25 2005 15:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Government will set up an appropriate institutional and regulatory mechanism to ensure welfare of the informal sector, which constitutes over 90 per cent of the country's labour force, President A P J Abdul Kalam said today (Feb 25, 2005).

"While striving for improved social protection, we must also not lose sight of the need to augment employment opportunities through a judicious mix of incentives and regulation," he said in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament.

Kalam said a National Commission has been appointed to examine problems of enterprises in the unorganised and informal sector and to make recommendations on providing technical, marketing and credit support to small and tiny enterprises and to self-employed persons in the sector.

Based on recommendations of the Commission, he said "we will design appropriate programmes to ensure that the informal sector blossoms, not only in economic performance but also as a provider of employment opportunities."

The President said a Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises has been set up to devolve full managerial and commercial autonomy to successful public sector companies while at the same time working out solutions to problems of loss-making firms.