Draft labour policy unites social security schemes, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• The draft National Labour and Employment Policy (Shram Shakti Niti, 2025) was released for public consultation on Wednesday.
• The policy aims for universal and portable social security by integrating various schemes like EPFO, ESIC, PMJAY, e-SHRAM, and State welfare Boards.
• It targets a 35% female labor-force participation rate by 2030 and focuses on reducing informal jobs through digital compliance.
• Policy implementation is planned in three phases from 2025 to beyond 2030, focusing on institutional setup, nationwide rollout, and paperless governance.

Detailed Insights:

• The draft policy envisions a fair, inclusive, and future-ready world of work, aligning with the national aspiration of a developed India by 2047.
• It seeks to create a balanced framework that upholds workers’ welfare while enabling enterprises to grow and generate sustainable livelihoods.
• The policy proposes the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Code with risk-based inspections and gender-sensitive standards.
• Expected outcomes include near-zero workplace fatalities, increased female labor-force participation, and the creation of millions of green and decent jobs.
• The policy promotes green jobs, AI-enabled safety systems, just-transition pathways for workers, and a unified national labor data architecture.
• Implementation will be tracked through real-time dashboards, a Labour & Employment Policy Evaluation Index (LPEI), and an Annual National Labour Report to Parliament.
• The policy also proposes a single-window for digital compliance, with self-certification and simplified returns for MSMEs.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Social Security: Measures to ensure basic living standards and protection against life's contingencies.
• Labour Force Participation Rate: Proportion of a population that is either employed or actively seeking employment.
• MSMEs: Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, crucial for economic growth and employment generation.