Shram Shakti Niti 2025

Introduction

• The Ministry of Labour and Employment has released the draft National Labour & Employment Policy – Shram Shakti Niti 2025 for public consultation.

• The policy aligns with India’s Viksit Bharat @2047 vision, aiming to create a modern, inclusive, and technology-driven labour ecosystem.

• It marks a shift from regulation to facilitation, redefining the ministry’s role as an “employment facilitator.”

• Focuses on collaboration among workers, employers, and training institutions using data-driven and integrated systems.

Legal Context

• Labour as a Concurrent Subject:

  • Listed in the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, meaning both Central and State governments can make rules and laws.

• Labour Law Reforms:

  • The government consolidated 29 central labour laws into four simplified labour codes to reduce complexity, improve worker protection, and foster formal employment:

    1. Code on Wages (2019) – Regulates wages, minimum wages, and timely payment.

    2. Industrial Relations Code (2020) – Deals with trade unions, industrial disputes, and strikes.

    3. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020) – Ensures worker safety, health, and welfare.

    4. Social Security Code (2020) – Provides social security coverage, including provident fund, insurance, and pensions.

Core Objectives

The draft policy emphasizes:

1. Resilient workforce – Able to adapt to changes in technology, industry, and global market conditions.

2. Skilled workforce – Equipped with relevant skills for current and future industries.

3. Inclusive workforce – Gender, regional, and socio-economic inclusion to provide equal opportunities.

4. Prepared for global challenges – Handles technological disruption, climate change, and evolving supply/value chains.

Key Initiatives

A. National Career Service (NCS)

• Purpose: A Digital Public Infrastructure connecting job seekers, employers, and training institutions.

• Features:

  1. AI-enabled job matching & career guidance – Matches candidates to suitable jobs using artificial intelligence.

  2. Credential verification & skill mapping – Ensures workers’ skills and qualifications are certified digitally.

  3. Cross-sectoral & regional employment linkages – Connects opportunities across industries and states.

• Impact: Streamlines employment facilitation, reduces job mismatch, and improves accessibility.

B. Unified Labour Stack

• Integration of major national databases: EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation), ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation), e-Shram, and NCS.

• Benefits:

  1. Interoperable data systems – Facilitates better policy coordination across ministries and states.

  2. Continuous skill development & lifelong learning – Tracks worker skills and enables upskilling.

  3. Universal social protection & income security – Ensures all registered workers have access to benefits.

  4. Real-time labour market insights – Provides data-driven governance and policy-making.

C. Guiding Principles

The policy is founded on four pillars:

1. Dignity of Labour – Recognizes work as valuable, promoting fair wages and humane working conditions.

2. Universal Inclusion – Ensures opportunities for women, youth, differently-abled, and marginalized groups.

3. Cooperative Federalism – Encourages coordination between Central and State governments.

4. Data-Driven Governance – Uses technology and analytics for transparency and evidence-based policy decisions.

D. Seven Strategic Priorities

1. Universal & portable social security – Social security benefits are accessible anywhere in India.

2. Occupational safety & health – Reduces workplace hazards and promotes worker safety.

3. Employment & future readiness – Enhances employability through skill development and career guidance.

4. Women & youth empowerment – Encourages participation of women and youth in the workforce.

5. Ease of compliance & formalization – Simplifies processes for businesses and encourages formal employment.

6. Technology & green transitions – Promotes tech-driven jobs and sustainable “green jobs.”

7. Convergence through good governance – Streamlines policies and processes across ministries and states.

E. Women and Youth Empowerment

• Goals:

  • Increase female labour participation to 35% by 2030.

  • Promote youth entrepreneurship and career guidance.

• Key Initiatives:

  • Single-window digital compliance for MSMEs with self-certification and simplified returns.

  • Expanded career services through NCS platform.

  • Promotion of green jobs and pathways for transitioning into emerging industries.

Technology-Driven Governance

• Unified national labour data architecture ensures coherence and transparency.

• Digital initiatives include:

  1. AI-enabled safety systems – Monitors workplace hazards in real-time.

  2. Predictive analytics for workforce planning – Forecasts skill and employment trends.

  3. Annual National Labour Report – Provides policy insights to Parliament.

  4. Labour & Employment Policy Evaluation Index (LPEI) – Benchmarks state-level performance.

Implementation and Accountability

• Phase I (2025–27): Institutional setup, integration of social security systems.

• Phase II (2027–30): Rollout of universal social-security accounts, skill-credit systems, district-level Employment Facilitation Cells.

• Phase III (Beyond 2030): Full paperless governance, predictive policy analytics, continuous policy renewal.

• Monitoring: Real-time dashboards, LPEI index, and third-party evaluations for transparency and accountability.Expected Outcomes

1. Universal worker registration.

2. Social security portability across states.

3. Near-zero workplace fatalities.

4. Female labour-force participation at 35% by 2030.

5. Reduction in informal employment via digital compliance.

6. AI-driven labour governance across all states.

7. Creation of millions of green and decent jobs.

8. Establishment of a “One Nation Integrated Workforce” ecosystem.

The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 is a forward-looking, technology-driven labour policy that integrates digital systems, ensures inclusion, strengthens social security, enhances employment readiness, and emphasizes sustainability and governance. Its phased implementation, strategic priorities, and clear outcomes aim to prepare India’s workforce for the challenges of 2047.