Page 5 - Labour Ministry

Mandaviya, ILO DG Houngbo discuss collaboration to enhance labour welfare

Mandaviya expressed India's commitment to workforce resilience aligning with Viksit Bharat 2047 and G20 priorities

Labour minister assures swift action on EPS-95 pensioners' demands

Pensioners' body EPS-95 Agitation Committee on Saturday said that Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has assured swift action on its demands. Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has taken a positive stance on the long-pending demands of 78 lakh EPS- 95 pensioners across the country, a statement by the pensioners body said. According to the statement, these demands include an increase in the minimum pension, provision of free medical facilities for pensioners and their spouses, and rectification of errors in applications for higher pension benefits. The minister assured the delegation of a swift resolution to these issues, it said. Commander Ashok Raut, National President of the EPS-95 National Agitation Committee (NAC), which has been advocating for pensioners' rights for several years, revealed that recent discussions with both the Labour Minister and the Finance Minister provided assurances of an imminent increase in the minimum pension. However, the absence of any such ...

Committed to 70% female workforce participation goal by 2047: Labour secy

India is committed to achieving 70 per cent female workforce participation by 2047 as the government has extended maternity leave, creche facilities, and equal pay provisions for them, a top official said. Addressing the first G20 Employment Working Group Meeting 2025 under South African Presidency, Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra also stated that India's increasing participation of women in high-growth sectors like IT, R&D, and engineering was noted as a critical driver of economic growth. Dawra led the Indian delegation at the meeting being held from February 18-21 at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, an official statement said. The delegation included Thelma John David, Consul General of India in Durban, South Africa, and Piyush Kumar Pathak, Deputy Director from Ministry of Labour & Employment. She emphasized the success of the e-Shram portal, which has registered over 300 million unorganized workers, and the modernization of ESIC and EPFO schemes. The Employment Linked ...

Infosys denies forced layoffs in Mysuru, says cooperating with labour dept

IT services company Infosys on Wednesday said it did not use force or intimidation tactics when it laid off trainees at Mysuru campus over performance-related issues, and that it was explaining the circumstances to the labour department authorities. In an interview to PTI, Shaji Mathew, Chief Human Resources Officer at Infosys, however, conceded that assessment failure percentages this time around have been "slightly higher" than in the past but dismissed charges that the tests had been designed for failure. On whether the layoffs would severely dent Infosys' brand as the company goes out to campuses for FY26 hiring, he said that plans to hire 20,000 freshers for next fiscal are on track and they should have nothing to worry about as they will get one of the best corporate training. Responding to allegations that testing parameters, assessment criteria and syllabus were altered and intimidation tactics were resorted leading to the 300 plus terminations at Mysuru campus recently, ...

Labour ministry ropes in 'APNA', to list 1 mn jobs annually on NCS portal

The Ministry of Labour & Employment on Tuesday said it has inked an initial pact with recruitment platform APNA, a move that will bring 10 lakh jobs annually to the National Career Service (NCS) portal. The NCS portal serves as a vital bridge between jobseekers and employers, with over 40 lakh registered employers and 4.40 crore vacancies mobilised since its launch, a labour ministry statement said. At any given time, nearly 10 lakh vacancies are available, ensuring a steady flow of opportunities, it stated. According to the statement, the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE) has signed an MoU with APNA, one of India's leading job recruitment platforms. The partnership will bring over 10 lakh job opportunities annually to the NCS portal, strengthening domestic employment avenues, as per the statement. This collaboration marks a significant step in bridging the gap between talent and employment, fostering economic growth and workforce development in India, it added.

Infosys mass layoffs: Centre orders Karnataka to take 'urgent action'

IT workers' labour body NITES filed an official complaint with the labour ministry after Infosys laid off more than 350 trainees at its Mysuru campus

Labour ministry plans EPFO pension scheme for platform-based gig workers

In the scheme, gig workers will be allotted a single universal account number (UAN) under EPFO for all platforms, should they choose to work with multiple platforms

Labour ministry to soon seek Cabinet nod for pension scheme for gig workers

This assumes significance in view of the Budget announcement earlier this month by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman about rolling out of a social security scheme for one crore gig workers

Centre forms panels to design social security model for unorganised workers

The decision was taken as the two-day labour ministers' conference with all states and Union Territories (UTs) concluded in the national capital on Thursday

'States/UTs expected to pre-publish draft rules under labour codes by Mar'

The ministry is organising a two-day labour ministers' conference in the national capital on January 29-30, with participation from all the states and UTs

Mansukh Mandaviya tells EPFO to improve claim settlement, complaint system

Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday directed retirement fund body EPFO officials to further streamline claim settlement process, ensure timely grievance redressal, and adopt a public-friendly approach during a review meeting. Mandaviya conducted a virtual review meeting to evaluate the performance of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) Regional Offices, a labour ministry statement said. The meeting was attended by Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra, EPFO Central Provident Commissioner Ramesh Krishnamurthi, senior officers from the ministry and from 21 Zonal and 140 Regional Offices of the EPFO. The review focused on enhancing claim settlement efficiency, reducing claim rejections, activating Universal Account Numbers (UAN), and implementing the Pension on Higher Wages (PoHW) Scheme. Dawra briefed the minister about the recent initiatives undertaken by EPFO to improve service delivery viz. simplification of the joint declaration process, eliminating the ..

Labour ministry to set up career counselling centres in major universities

The event was organised jointly by the industry body CII and union labour ministry, focussing on exploring the future of work and how it is going to transform the employment landscape in the country

Labour ministry urges states to ensure 100% social security for workers

The labour ministry has asked states to extend social security benefits to ensure 100 per cent coverage like health, insurance, accidental benefits for all workers, besides leveraging technology to enhance the functioning of welfare boards. The ministry view emerged at the 16th Building & Other Construction Workers(BoCW) 'Monitoring Committee Meeting', chaired by Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra, on January 13, 2025, in hybrid mode, as per the ministry statement. The meeting was attended by DG Labour Welfare, other senior officers of the ministry, additional chief secretary/ principal secretaries/ labour commissioners, of states/UTs, secretaries of BoCW welfare boards, central welfare commissioners, besides representatives from the National Health Authority, and Department of Financial Services. More than 100 participants attended the meeting. As per the statement, Dawra said the states/UTs take required steps for utilisation of cess fund for extending coverage of social ...

Bhashini-enabled e-Shram portal now available in all 22 scheduled languages

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday launched multilingual functionality on the e-Shram portal to provide seamless access to various government schemes for unorganised workers. In line with the vision of making eShram a 'One-Stop-Solution', this portal will now be available in all 22 Scheduled Languages, a labour ministry statement said. The event to launch multilingual functionality was attended by the Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment and several senior officials. It also marked the achievement of another milestone in the government's efforts to provide comprehensive social protection to unorganised workers in the country. Meity's Bhashini project has been leveraged to upgrade the eShram portal with 22 languages. The previous version was available only in English, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi. In his address, Minister of Labour & Employment Mandaviya highlighted the growing trust in the e-Shram platform, saying the portal records an average of over 30,000 ...

EPFO launches centralised pension system, benefitting 6.8 mn members

Retirement fund body EPFO has completed the Centralized Pension Payments System (CPPS) rollout in all its regional offices across the country that will benefit over 68 lakh pensioners, the labour ministry said on Friday. The CPPS is a paradigm shift from the existing pension disbursement system that is decentralised, with each zonal/regional office of EPFO maintaining separate agreements with only 3-4 banks, the ministry explained in a statement. Under CPPS, a beneficiary will be able to withdraw pension from any bank and there will be no need for to visit the bank for verification at the time of commencement of pension, and the amount will be immediately credited upon release, it stated. The CPPS system January 2025 onwards will also ensure disbursement of pension throughout India without any need for transfer of pension payment orders (PPO) from one office to another even when the pensioner moves from one location to another or changes his bank or branch, it said. This will be a

172 mn jobs created during 2014-24; 46 mn in FY24: Mansukh Mandaviya

He also highlighted that there has been tremendous growth in youth employment and a reduction in unemployment rates, as evidenced by the latest PLFS

Labour ministry seeks to lower budget allocation for ELI schemes for FY25

The three ELI schemes announced in the Budget are yet to get approval from the Union Cabinet and have faced considerable delays

Labour ministry plans scheme to extend benefits to gig and platform workers

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is working on a scheme to provide various benefits like social security to gig and platform workers in the country, a senior official said on Wednesday. Addressing the CII Global Economic Policy Forum, Union Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra said the labour code on social security has outlined social security benefits for them. "We are putting together the scheme for the gig and platform economy workers because there is no traditional employer-employee relationship defined for the gig and platform workers but we need to bring social security coverage for them so that they can be more productive and support the country's economy and the e-commerce and services sector more effectively," she said. In October, Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that a policy for providing social security benefits like pension and health services to gig and platform workers is under process. He had also said that Niti Aayog has estimated 65 lakh gig and ...

Over 304.3 mn informal workers registered on e-Shram portal: Govt

Nearly 30.4 crore unorganised workers have registered on e-Shram portal as on December 1, 2024, Parliament was informed on Thursday. Ministry of Labour and Employment launched the portal on August 26, 2021 for creation of a comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) seeded with Aadhaar. The portal is meant to register and support unorganised workers by providing them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis. As on December 1, 2024, over 30.43 crore unorganised workers have registered on e-Shram, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. The number of registrations from rural areas is 27.22 crore. So far, 12 schemes of different central ministries/ departments have been integrated or mapped with e-Shram. These schemes include Pradhan Mantri Surakhsa Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Ayushman Bharat, Prime Minister Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi .

EPFO board to meet on November 23 to approve central pension payment system

The board, which is chaired by the labour minister, is also expected to approve the EPFO's account statement and Annual Report 2023-24 during the meeting