Why in news?

The Ministry of Labour and Employment has released the draft National Labour & Employment Policy — Shram Shakti Niti 2025 for public consultation, aligning with India’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision.

Marking a shift from regulation to facilitation, the policy redefines the ministry’s role as an “employment facilitator” focused on creating a fair, inclusive, and technology-driven labour ecosystem. It seeks to promote collaboration among workers, employers, and training institutions through data-driven and integrated systems.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Shram Shakti Niti 2025: Blueprint for a Fair, Inclusive, and Future-Ready Workforce

Shram Shakti Niti 2025: Blueprint for a Fair, Inclusive, and Future-Ready Workforce

• Labour” as a subject is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India.
  • Hence, both the Central Government as well as State Governments can make rules/laws on this subject.
• As a result, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has released the draft National Labour and Employment Policy — Shram Shakti Niti 2025 for public consultation.
• Rooted in India’s civilisational ethos of “śrama dharma” — the dignity and moral value of work — the policy seeks to create a balanced framework that ensures protection, productivity, and participation for every worker while enabling enterprises to grow sustainably.
• National Career Service (NCS): Digital Public Infrastructure for Employment
  • At the heart of the policy is the NCS, envisioned as India’s Digital Public Infrastructure for Employment.
  • The platform will offer:
    • AI-enabled job matching and career guidance
    • Credential verification and skill mapping
    • Cross-sectoral and regional employment linkages
  • The NCS will serve as a unified interface to connect employers, job seekers, and training providers through trusted digital systems.
• Focus Areas and Core Objectives
  • The draft policy emphasizes creating a resilient, skilled, and inclusive workforce ready for emerging global challenges such as technological disruption, climate change, and evolving value chains.
  • Key focus areas include:
    • Universal social security and income protection
    • Occupational safety and health (OSH)
    • Women and youth empowerment
    • Green and technology-enabled jobs
    • Continuous skill development and lifelong learning
• Unified Labour Stack: Integrated Digital Ecosystem
  • The policy proposes integrating major national databases — EPFO, ESIC, e-Shram, and NCS — into a unified labour stack.
  • This integration will enable:
    • Interoperable data systems for better policy coordination
    • Lifelong learning opportunities
    • Universal social protection and income security
    • Real-time labour market insights for evidence-based governance
• Complementing Labour Law Reforms
• The new policy complements the government’s recent consolidation of 29 central labour laws into four simplified labour codes, namely:
  • Code on Wages (2019)
  • Industrial Relations Code (2020)
  • Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020)
  • Social Security Code (2020)
• Together, these reforms aim to simplify compliance, improve worker protection, and foster formal employment.
• Guiding Principles and Pillars
  • The policy is guided by four foundational pillars:
    • Dignity of labour
    • Universal inclusion
    • Cooperative federalism
    • Data-driven governance
  • It envisions a resilient institutional framework based on convergence across digital systems, ensuring policy coherence and long-term impact.
• Seven Strategic Priorities
  • The draft policy identifies seven strategic priorities for achieving its goals:
    • Universal and portable social security
    • Occupational safety and health
    • Employment and future readiness
    • Women and youth empowerment
    • Ease of compliance and formalisation
    • Technology and green transitions
    • Convergence through good governance
• Women and Youth Empowerment
  • The draft aims to increase women’s labour participation to 35% by 2030 and promote youth entrepreneurship and career guidance.
  • Key initiatives include:
    • Single-window digital compliance for MSMEs with self-certification and simplified returns
    • Expanded career services through the National Career Service (NCS) platform
    • Green jobs and just-transition pathways for workers adapting to new industries and technologies
• Technology-Driven Governance and Data Integration
  • The policy envisions a unified national labour data architecture to ensure inter-ministerial coherence and transparent monitoring.
  • Key digital initiatives include:
    • AI-enabled safety systems
    • Predictive analytics for workforce planning
    • Real-time digital dashboards to track progress
    • Annual National Labour Report presented to Parliament
    • Labour & Employment Policy Evaluation Index (LPEI) to benchmark State performance
• Implementation and Accountability Plan
• Policy execution will proceed in three phases:
  • Phase I (2025–27): Institutional setup and integration of social-security systems.
  • Phase II (2027–30): Nationwide rollout of universal social-security accounts, skill-credit systems, and district-level Employment Facilitation Cells.
  • Phase III (Beyond 2030): Full paperless governance, predictive policy analytics, and continuous renewal mechanisms.
• Progress will be monitored through real-time dashboards, the LPEI index, and third-party evaluations to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Expected Outcomes
  • According to Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the policy envisions a resilient and inclusive labour ecosystem focused on both worker welfare and enterprise growth.
  • Expected outcomes include:
    • Universal worker registration
    • Social security portability
    • Near-zero workplace fatalities
    • Female labour-force participation at 35% by 2030
    • Reduction in informal employment through digital compliance
    • AI-driven labour governance in all states
    • Creation of millions of green and decent jobs
    • A unified “One Nation Integrated Workforce” ecosystem