The Ministry of Labour & Employment on Tuesday highlighted the initiatives undertaken in 2025, including the implementation of four Labour Codes, the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), digital transformations, and job fairs on the National Career Service (NCS) Portal, among others.
In a historic decision, the Government of India has implemented four Labour Codes — the Code on Wages, 2019; the Industrial Relations Code, 2020; the Code on Social Security, 2020; and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — with effect from 21 November 2025, rationalising 29 existing labour laws.
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By modernising labour regulations, enhancing workers’ welfare and aligning the labour ecosystem with the evolving world of work, the implementation of the Labour Codes lays the foundation for a future-ready workforce and stronger, resilient industries, thereby driving labour reforms for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Ministry of Labour & Employment said.
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Alongside labour reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) with an outlay of Rs 99,446 crore to generate over 3.5 crore jobs in two years.
The scheme offers wage incentives to first-time employees and financial support to employers for creating new jobs, with a special focus on manufacturing. Jobs created between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2027, will be eligible under the scheme.
India has also made significant gains in social security coverage, rising from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025, placing the country second globally after China.
The achievement earned India the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Award 2025 for outstanding performance in social protection.
Major digital reforms were undertaken by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), including auto-settlement of claims up to Rs 5 lakh, a centralised pension payment system enabling pension access from any bank, and face-authentication-based UAN activation.
Meanwhile, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) expanded its coverage to 713 districts, tripled hospital bed capacity, and operationalised new medical colleges across the country.
The government also reported progress in employment facilitation through the National Career Service (NCS) portal, which organised nearly 9,800 job fairs and enabled over 1.58 lakh job selections in 2025.
The e-Shram portal crossed 31.42 crore worker registrations, including the onboarding of gig and platform workers, further strengthening the social security net for unorganised labour.
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