Microsoft to work with govt to roll out AI-enabled chatbots on e-Shram, NCS

Going ahead, data from these portals can help the government curate a labour policy to match workers' skill sets to job opportunities both in India and abroad

Global software giant Microsoft will work with the Ministry of Labour and Employment to soon roll out artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled chatbots to guide workers through the process of registering themselves on the e-Shram portal and help them create resumes so that they can find better work on the National Career Service (NCS) portals, the company told Business Standard.

 

Going ahead, data from these portals can help the government curate a labour police to match workers’ skill sets to job opportunities both in India and abroad, said Anjali Rawat, deputy director general of employment at the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

 

Through the initiative, Microsoft aims to extend the benefits of AI to more than 310 million informal workers, the company said.

 

The e-Shram portal was launched in August 2021 to register the country’s estimated 400 million informal workers after several of them lost jobs due to the Covid-induced lockdowns. The portal, which runs on Microsoft’s Azure services, can process up to 172,000 transactions per second and has previously handled up to 8 million registrations a day, Microsoft said.

 

“Registering on e-Shram, via phone or computer, has been made easier with the integration of Bhashini, the government’s AI-powered language platform, which is also hosted on Microsoft Azure and provides real-time translation in 22 local languages,” the company said.

 

Earlier on Tuesday, Microsoft said it would invest $17.5 billion between 2026 and 2029 in India to advance India’s cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling, and ongoing operations. This will be in addition to the $3 billion that the company announced in January this year for India, the company said.

 

On Tuesday, Microsoft also announced that it was doubling its commitment to AI skills and training in India and would now provide the required training to 20 million people, up from the target of 10 million, which was set in January 2025.

 

“These programs aren’t just about learning — they are creating real economic impact, having enabled over 125,000 individuals with jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities,” Microsoft said in its blog on Tuesday.