The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, has published the draft “National Labour & Employment Policy – Shram Shakti Niti 2025” for public consultation. The draft policy presents a renewed vision of a fair, inclusive and future-oriented world of work, consistent with the national ambitions of Viksit Bharat @2047.
The policy, which is rooted in India’s civilized ethos of Shram dharma – the dignity and moral value of work, is the aim of a labour ecosystem that ensures the protection, productivity and participation of all workers. It aims to create a balanced framework that respects the well-being of workers and enables enterprises to grow and generate sustainable means of life.
Shram Shakti Niti 2025 serves the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) as a proactive employment facilitator, encouraging convergence between workers, employers and training institutions through a trusting, technology-driven system. The National Career Service (NCS) platform will be India’s digital public employment infrastructure and will enable transparent and comprehensive job matching, credential verification and skill alignment. Through open APIs, multilingual access, and AI-driven innovation, NCS-DPI will connect opportunities with talent in Tier I and Tier III cities, rural areas, and small and medium-sized enterprises clusters, making employment facilitation a public good of the country.
The policy also emphasizes universal social security, workplace safety and health, the empowerment of women and young people, and the creation of jobs enabled by green and technological technologies. Its aim is to build a resilient and continuously qualified workforce capable of meeting the demands of emerging technologies, climate change and global value chains. The policy incorporates key national databases such as EPFO, ESIC, e-Shram and NCS into a unified Labour stack, establishing an inclusive and interoperable digital ecosystem that supports lifelong learning, social protection and income security.
The draft policy reflects extensive consultations with stakeholders and highlights co-financing federalism, evidence-based policy formulation and digital transparency. It provides a long-term framework for coordinated action between the Centre, the States, the Industry and the Social Partners to ensure that the benefits of growth are largely and equitably shared.
The draft national labour and employment policy – Shram Shakti Niti 2025 can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Directorate-General for Employment (DGE) and the National Career Service (NCS). Stakeholders, institutions and the public are invited to submit comments, comments and suggestions by October 27, 2025 at ddg-dget[at]nic[dot]in.
Details of the draft policy can be found on the Labour Ministry website. (Source: PIB)