The Indian government unveiled a comprehensive draft labour policy on Wednesday that sets ambitious targets for increasing women's participation in the workforce and establishes a universal social security framework for all workers.
Women Workforce and Youth Empowerment Initiatives
The policy aims to increase women's participation in the workforce to 35% by 2030, marking a significant push toward gender equality in employment. Alongside this primary goal, the government plans to expand entrepreneurship opportunities and career guidance programs specifically designed for youth.
This strategic focus comes at a crucial time when India seeks to maximize its demographic dividend by creating more inclusive employment opportunities across all sectors of the economy.
Universal Social Security and Digital Integration
One of the policy's cornerstone initiatives is the creation of a Universal Social Security Account that will integrate multiple existing platforms including EPFO, ESIC, PM-JAY, e-SHRAM, and various state welfare boards.
This integrated approach will allow workers to access all their benefits through a single platform instead of navigating multiple systems. The portable nature of these accounts means workers can carry their social security benefits across job changes and geographic locations.
Skill Development and Employment Facilitation
The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 aims to create a seamless skill-employment continuum by converging major government schemes including Skill India, National Apprentice Promotion Scheme, and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
This convergence will be supported by the National Career Service-Digital Public Infrastructure (NCS-DPI) and industry-run Education to Employment Career lounges. The NCS-DPI will utilize open APIs, multilingual access, and AI-driven innovation to connect opportunities with talent across smaller towns, cities, and MSME clusters.
The employment facilitation system is being designed as a nationwide public good, ensuring that job seekers from all regions have equal access to employment opportunities and career development resources.
Business Compliance Simplification
For businesses, particularly MSMEs, the policy proposes significant compliance simplification through a single-window digital system with self-certification and streamlined return filing processes.
This move is expected to reduce the regulatory burden on enterprises while maintaining necessary oversight through digital monitoring mechanisms. The simplified compliance framework aims to encourage business growth and formalization of the economy.
The draft labour policy represents a comprehensive overhaul of India's labour ecosystem, balancing worker protection with business-friendly reforms while leveraging digital infrastructure for efficient implementation.
