Without going into details, I associate myself with the question put forward by my colleagues Shri Gurudas Dasgupta and Shri Rupchand Pal and I hope that the Government will be alive to the situation and take the Central Trade Unions and the State Governments into confidence so that we could overcome the crisis. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank the hon. Members, Shri Gurudas Dasgupta, Shri Rupchand Pal and Shri Santasri Chatterjee for raising this very important issue. I would like to assure this House, through you, Sir, that the Government is very much concerned about this issue. Even today, as I am standing here, a two-day Labour Conference is going on in Delhi, in which this subject was discussed. The hon. Member had suggested that we should have a meeting of the Labour Ministers. There is a meeting of the Labour Ministers today, in which we are discussing this issue. I agree with the figures given of five lakhs, that this is only a sample survey. It is not the entire survey of the entire situation in the country; they have chosen only a few sectors and seen as to how much it has affected. So, this is not a question of total job losses in the country; and it is only a sample survey. We have taken several measures in the Government of India. Even before the discussion on the crisis began, the Prime Minister had taken advance action, both in the Cabinet and also in the Departments. That is how, the RBI came out with a package; that is how, the other Ministries and Departments which are involved or concerned with employment and production were put together to discuss this issue, the Government has taken action and it is not correct to say that the Government has not taken action. When the entire world is shaken by the meltdown, our economy.
