ISF elects new leadership as contract staffing expands across sectors

Indian Staffing Federation names new leadership for 2026-28 as contract staffing expands across sectors, supported by rising demand and policy engagement

The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) on Wednesday announced a new executive board for the 2026–2028 term, with Manmeet Singh, chief executive officer of FirstMeridian Business Services, elected as president and Farhan Azmi, founder and managing director of Futurz Staffing Solutions, as vice president.

 

The leadership transition comes at a time when India’s contract and temporary staffing sector has expanded rapidly, driven by demand from sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, retail, and technology. Staffing firms typically hire workers on their payroll and deploy them at client companies, creating what the industry calls a “triangular employment relationship” between the worker, the staffing firm, and the user enterprise.

   

The industry body represents the staffing industry in discussions with government ministries on labour regulations, GST on employment services, and formalisation of work.

 

The new board also includes industry executives such as K Pandiarajan of CIEL HR Services, Narayan Bhargava of Calibehr Business Support Services, Neeti Sharma of TeamLease Digital, Nitin Dave of Quess Corp, Pramod Pachisia of 2COMS Consulting, R P Yadav of Genius HRTech, Sanju Ballurkar of ManpowerGroup India, and Somnath Banerjee of Orion Corporate Alliance. MSME representatives on the board include Baldev Raj Sachdeva of LEXMARK Corporate Services, Jay Shah of Labbrio Compliance Hub, and Nirupama V G of Ad Astra Consultants.

 

According to ISF, the staffing industry currently supports more than 7.2 million workers through its member companies. ISF said its over 130 members have generated employment for more than 14.4 million workers over the past 13 years and currently deploy about 1.81 million flexi staff annually.

 

Over the past decade, the organisation has engaged with the government on issues such as labour codes, provident fund compliance, and portability of benefits for temporary employees. Industry groups have argued that formal staffing firms can help move workers from informal arrangements into payroll-based employment with statutory benefits.

 

“The Indian staffing industry is at the forefront of the nation’s economic transformation. We have achieved important milestones, from Union Budget recognition to sustained policy engagement. We now transition from ‘Advocacy in Action’ to a phase of sustained national growth. Our focus ahead is on enabling members through stronger supply chains and continued advocacy,” said Manmeet Singh.

 

Azmi said the sector’s priorities include addressing skill gaps and improving worker protections. “Flexi staffing remains an important catalyst for economic agility and global competitiveness,” he said.

 

Outgoing president Lohit Bhatia said the industry had evolved into a key channel for formal job creation during his tenure and emphasised the need to expand social security coverage for contract workers as the sector grows.