In 2024, the government plans to introduce the upgraded version of the National Career Service (NCS) portal and encourage states to implement labor reforms, aiming to enhance the business environment and provide social security for unorganized labor, particularly gig and platform workers. Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav shared that the upcoming version, NCS 2.0, will leverage advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, to enhance job matching, search facilities for job seekers, and provide a recommendation engine for skilling.
Launched in July 2015, the NCS project offers a digital platform for various employment-related services such as career counseling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, and apprenticeships. As of November 30, the platform boasts over 3.64 crore registered jobseekers, 19.15 lakh employers, and a listing of more than 1.92 crore vacancies. It is integrated with state facilities and private portals like monster.com, Freshersworld, and HireMee, connecting with government initiatives like Skill India portal, Udyam Portal, e-Shram, EPFO, ESIC, and DigiLocker.
Minister Bhupender Yadav is optimistic about states rolling out labor reforms in 2024, aligning with the central government’s introduced Labor Codes. These codes, including the Code on Wages, Industrial Relations Code, Code on Social Security, and Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, aim to enhance worker protection and statutory benefits. To achieve uniform applicability, the central government and states are working on framing rules simultaneously under these codes. This year also witnessed developments in the EPFO’s online facility, enabling subscribers to contribute more based on their actual basic wages, leading to higher pensions in compliance with a Supreme Court order.
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