The Labour Ministry has released the draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 for public consultation, outlining India’s vision for a fair, inclusive, and future-ready workforce through social security, digital employment systems, and a unified Labour Stack for Viksit Bharat @2047.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has unveiled the draft of the National Labour and Employment Policy—Shram Shakti Niti 2025, marking a significant step toward creating a fair, inclusive, and future-ready world of work. The draft policy, released on Wednesday, is now open for public consultation, allowing citizens and stakeholders to share their views and contribute to shaping India’s long-term employment vision aligned with Viksit Bharat @2047.
Rooted in India’s civilisational ethos of “śrama dharma”, which celebrates the dignity and moral value of labour, the draft policy seeks to build an employment ecosystem that balances workers’ welfare, enterprise growth, and sustainable livelihoods. It envisions a new world of work that is productive, protective, and participatory, reflecting the aspirations of a rapidly transforming economy.
A Renewed Vision for India’s Workforce
The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 positions the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) not just as a regulator but as a proactive Employment Facilitator, driving coordination between workers, employers, training institutions, and digital systems. The goal is to create a unified, technology-enabled framework that can help match skills with opportunities effectively across India’s diverse labour markets.
At the heart of this transformation is the National Career Service (NCS), which the policy identifies as India’s Digital Public Infrastructure for Employment. The NCS will use open APIs, multilingual interfaces, and AI-driven innovation to make job matching, credential verification, and skill alignment transparent and accessible to all. By linking Tier-II and Tier-III cities, rural districts, and MSME clusters, the NCS platform will function as a nationwide employment gateway, ensuring that opportunities reach every corner of the country.
Focus on Social Security and Safety
The policy draft gives strong emphasis to universal social security, occupational safety and health, women’s participation, and youth empowerment. Recognising that the future of work will be shaped by technology, climate transitions, and global supply chains, the policy highlights the need for a resilient, continuously skilled workforce capable of adapting to change.
One of the key innovations proposed is the creation of a unified Labour Stack—a digital framework integrating existing national databases such as the EPFO, ESIC, e-Shram, and NCS. This integration aims to ensure interoperability across social protection systems, enabling seamless delivery of welfare benefits, skill training, and employment support.
Empowering Through Digital and Green Transitions
The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 also acknowledges the global shift toward green and technology-enabled jobs. It encourages enterprises to embrace sustainable and ethical business practices while investing in future-oriented skills like digital literacy, robotics, and renewable energy technology. This approach aims to prepare India’s youth and women for emerging employment sectors, thus bridging skill gaps and boosting workforce participation rates.
The policy also outlines strategies to promote safe workplaces, enforce gender equality, and strengthen occupational health standards, ensuring that every worker enjoys dignity, safety, and protection.
Collaborative and Evidence-Based Policy Framework
According to the Ministry, the draft policy is the result of extensive stakeholder consultations, involving experts, state governments, trade unions, industry leaders, and civil society representatives. It embodies the principles of cooperative federalism and evidence-based policymaking, ensuring that both the Centre and States can collaborate effectively on labour reforms and implementation.
By promoting digital transparency, the Shram Shakti Niti 2025 aims to enhance trust among all stakeholders and make the employment ecosystem more responsive to changing social and economic realities.
Public Consultation and Access
The government has invited all citizens, organisations, and social partners to provide feedback on the draft policy. The draft National Labour & Employment Policy—Shram Shakti Niti 2025 is available on the official websites of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, the Directorate General of Employment (DGE), and the National Career Service (NCS).
| Also Read: Assam DSP Sandipan Garg And Zubeen Garg’s Cousin, Arrested |
Public inputs will play a crucial role in refining the final policy, which aims to create a labour framework that not only safeguards workers’ rights but also strengthens India’s capacity to become a global hub of skilled, empowered, and future-ready human capital.
