Key Points

Rooted in India's civilisational ethos of śrama dharma - the dignity and moral value of work, the policy envisions a labour ecosystem that ensures protection, productivity, and participation for every worker. It seeks to create a balanced framework that upholds workers' welfare while enabling enterprises to grow and generate sustainable livelihoods, according to an official statement released on Wednesday.

Shram Shakti Niti 2025 positions the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE) as a proactive Employment Facilitator, driving convergence among workers, employers, and training institutions through trusted, technology-led systems.

The National Career Service (NCS) platform will serve as India's Digital Public Infrastructure for Employment, enabling transparent and inclusive job matching, credential verification, and skill alignment.

Through open APIs, multilingual access, and AI-driven innovation, the NCS-DPI will connect opportunity with talent across Tier-II and Tier-III cities, rural districts, and MSME clusters, making employment facilitation a nationwide public good, the statement said.

The policy also places strong emphasis on universal social security, occupational safety and health, women and youth empowerment, and the creation of green and technology-enabled jobs.

It aims to build a resilient and continuously skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of emerging technologies, climate transitions, and global value chains. By integrating key national databases such as EPFO, ESIC, e-Shram, and NCS into a unified Labour Stack, the policy envisions an inclusive and interoperable digital ecosystem that supports lifelong learning, social protection, and income security.

The draft policy reflects extensive stakeholder consultations and emphasises cooperative federalism, evidence-based policymaking, and digital transparency. It provides a long-term framework for coordinated action among the Centre, states, industry, and social partners to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared widely and equitably, the statement said.

The draft National Labour & Employment Policy - Shram Shakti Niti 2025 is available on the websites of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, the Directorate General of Employment (DGE), and the National Career Service (NCS). Stakeholders, institutions, and members of the public are invited to submit their feedback, comments, and suggestions by 27th October 2025 at ddg-dget[at]nic[dot]in.

- IANS