Draft policy recasts labour ministry role from regulator to job facilitator

The Centre's draft labour and employment policy reflects new economic realities. But, concerns remain over its enforcement in a labour landscape marked by a massive informal sector

Earlier this month, the Union labour ministry released the draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025, the first attempt at a national policy on labour and employment. It seeks to make a paradigm shift in the policies, laws, and institutions that regulate the relationship between employers and workers. 

The policy envisages a technology-driven, worker-centric framework — anchored in universal social security, artificial intelligence (AI)-based job matching, and digital compliance. 

It reimagines the role of the labour ministry as an “employment facilitator” instead of the regulatory role it has traditionally played, as India’s labour markets experience structural shifts driven by digitalisation, green transition