Key Details
The report suggests that labour policy is evolving from a predominantly regulatory system toward a broader model combining compliance, social protection, employment services, dispute resolution, and digital governance.
Governance Transition | Key Evidence from the Report |
|---|---|
Labour Codes move into implementation | Four Labour Codes operationalised from 21 November 2025, replacing 29 central labour laws with a unified framework covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety. |
Social security coverage expands significantly | Coverage increased from 19% (2015) to 64.3% (2025), supported by 31.35 crore eShram registrations and expansion of EPFO, ESIC, pension, and insurance systems. |
EPFO and ESIC undergo service transformation | EPFO introduced auto-settlement up to ₹5 lakh, CPPS, Aadhaar-enabled services and EPFO 3.0 reforms, while ESIC expanded healthcare infrastructure, telemedicine, digital governance, and PM-JAY integration. |
Employment facilitation becomes a core ministry function | PMVBRY launched with an outlay of ₹99,446 crore and a target of facilitating 3.5 crore jobs; NCS recorded 6.14 crore jobseekers, 55.22 lakh employers, and over 9 lakh vacancies. |
Digital labour administration scales across the ecosystem | Platforms such as eShram, Shram Suvidha, NCS, SAMADHAN, PENCIL, EPFO, ESIC, and PMVBRY increasingly support registration, compliance, grievance redressal, employment matching, and benefit delivery. |
Industrial relations remain a major governance function | Labour authorities handled 16,815 disputes, disposed of 6,823 cases, averted 288 strikes, benefited 5.21 lakh workers, and secured approximately ₹756 crore in relief. |
Workplace safety shifts toward preventive governance | Expansion of digital inspections, occupational health surveillance, hazardous industry monitoring, computer-based certification systems, and modernisation initiatives under DGFASLI and DGMS. |
Greater focus on informal and vulnerable workers | Labour policy increasingly targets migrant workers, gig and platform workers, construction workers, domestic workers, women workers, SC/ST communities, and other vulnerable groups through eShram, PM-SYM, Labour Chowk, and portability-enabled welfare systems. |
Summary
Labour Governance Beyond Regulation
The Ministry of Labour & Employment’s Annual Report 2025–26 portrays a labour administration system undergoing significant institutional change. While labour regulation remains important, the report indicates a broader shift toward an integrated governance model that combines social protection, employment facilitation, workplace safety, industrial relations, and digital public administration.
The result is a labour governance architecture that increasingly focuses not only on regulating work but also on supporting workforce welfare, labour-market participation, and service delivery at scale.
Labour Codes Move into the Implementation Phase
The most significant policy development during the year was the operationalisation of the four Labour Codes from November 2025.
The Codes consolidate 29 central labour laws into four frameworks covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety and working conditions. The new framework introduces common legal definitions, technology-enabled compliance systems, simplified registrations, decriminalisation of selected offences, expanded social security provisions, and greater inclusion of women workers.
The report suggests that the next phase of labour reform will depend less on legislation and more on administrative implementation.
Social Security Becomes a Core Pillar of Labour Policy
A major theme throughout the report is the rapid expansion of social protection coverage.
According to the Ministry, coverage increased from 19 percent in 2015 to 64.3 percent in 2025, supported by the continued expansion of EPFO and ESIC services, welfare schemes, and the registration of more than 31.35 crore workers on eShram.
This reflects a broader shift in labour policy from regulating employment relationships alone toward extending social protection to a wider range of workers, including those outside traditional formal employment arrangements.
EPFO and ESIC Shift Toward Service-Oriented Delivery
The report documents extensive administrative reforms within India’s largest social security institutions.
EPFO introduced auto-settlement of claims up to ₹5 lakh, Aadhaar-enabled services, digital pension processing, the Centralised Pension Payment System, and EPFO 3.0 modernisation initiatives.
Similarly, ESIC expanded healthcare infrastructure, strengthened digital governance under Project Panchdeep, integrated services with Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, and expanded telemedicine and medical education capacity.
Together, these initiatives indicate a transition from scheme administration toward citizen-centric service delivery.
Digital Labour Governance Continues to Expand
Digitisation is one of the most consistent themes across the report.
The Ministry now operates an extensive ecosystem of digital platforms covering worker registration, inspections, compliance, employment matching, dispute resolution, social security delivery, and child labour monitoring. Platforms such as eShram, Shram Suvidha, NCS, SAMADHAN, PENCIL, and the PMVBRY portal increasingly function as core governance infrastructure rather than supplementary administrative tools.
The report suggests that digital systems are becoming the primary mechanism through which labour administration is delivered.
Employment Facilitation Emerges as a Major Function
The report also highlights a growing role for the Ministry in employment generation and labour-market intermediation.
The launch of the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY), with a budgetary allocation of ₹99,446 crore and a target of facilitating 3.5 crore jobs, reflects a significant expansion of the Ministry’s mandate.
This shift is reinforced by the National Career Service platform, which as of December 2025 had registered 6.14 crore jobseekers, 55.22 lakh employers, and more than 9 lakh vacancies.
Industrial Relations and Workplace Safety Remain Central
Despite growing emphasis on digital governance and social protection, traditional labour administration functions continue to play a critical role.
During 2025–26, labour authorities handled 16,815 industrial disputes, disposed of 6,823 cases, averted 288 strikes, benefited over 5.21 lakh workers, secured approximately ₹756 crore in relief, and facilitated the reinstatement or regularisation of 2,895 workers.
The report also highlights modernisation efforts in occupational safety and health through digital inspections, online approvals, occupational health surveillance, hazardous-industry monitoring, computer-based certification systems, and expanded safety training programmes.
Inclusion of Informal and Vulnerable Workers Gains Importance
The report reflects growing attention to workers who have historically remained outside formal labour protection systems.
These include unorganised workers, migrant workers, gig and platform workers, domestic workers, construction workers, women workers, persons with disabilities, and SC/ST communities.
Initiatives such as eShram registration, PM-SYM, Labour Chowk digital services, welfare schemes, and portability-enabled benefit delivery suggest that expanding inclusion is becoming a central objective of labour policy.Industrial Relations Continue to Matter
Despite the emphasis on digital governance and social protection, the report underscores the continuing importance of traditional industrial relations institutions.
During the year, labour authorities handled 16,815 industrial disputes, helped avert 288 strikes, and facilitated outcomes benefiting more than 5.2 lakh workers. These figures indicate that mediation, conciliation, and dispute resolution remain central components of labour governance even as administrative systems modernise.
Policy Relevance
Signals a New Phase of Labour Governance: The report indicates that labour administration is increasingly being organised around an integrated governance model that combines regulation, welfare delivery, employment facilitation, and digital service delivery rather than treating them as separate policy domains.
Shifts Attention from Coverage to Outcomes: The rapid expansion of social security registration raises an important policy question: whether enrolment is translating into effective access to healthcare, pensions, insurance, and income protection. Future policy debates are likely to focus more on outcomes than on coverage alone.
Highlights the Need for Digital Interoperability: As multiple labour platforms mature simultaneously, future efficiency gains may depend less on creating new portals and more on integrating existing systems across worker registration, social security, employment services, and grievance redressal.
Repositions Employment as a Core Labour Ministry Function: The scale of PMVBRY suggests that labour policy is increasingly linked to employment creation and workforce participation. This may expand the Ministry’s role from labour regulation toward broader labour-market management.
Emphasises Administrative Capacity as the Next Reform Frontier: With the Labour Codes now notified, the success of labour reform will depend increasingly on implementation capacity, state-level preparedness, employer compliance systems, and worker awareness rather than further legislative change.
Follow the Full Report Here: ANNUAL REPORT 2025-26 Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India