New Delhi- The government is working towards enhancing the collaboration of the central government, states, and union territories (UTs) for implementing key labor and employment issues. This was stated by the Union Minister of Labour and Employment and Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, during his meeting with officials from various states and UTs in Rajkot, Gujarat, on September 15, 2024.

The meeting discussed the implementation of the Employment Generation and Measurement (ESIC/ESIS) Scheme, which provides quality employment opportunities to all workers. Under the scheme, ESIC/ESIS beneficiaries will have access to quality medical facilities in more than 30,000 hospitals empanelled with AB-PMJAY. The government also plans to upgrade the NCS portal with advanced technologies such as AI to facilitate beneficiaries' access to quality services.

Dr. Mandaviya highlighted the remarkable progress in the usage of the NCS portal, which provides a variety of public employment services like job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance etc. He informed that more than 16 lakh active vacancies are available on the portal, and more than 3 crore vacancies have been mobilized till date. The government is committed to providing comprehensive and easily accessible social protection coverage to all workers in both organized and unorganized sectors, he said.

The minister emphasized the need for data-driven planning for the development of employment opportunities by using advanced technologies. He also urged the representatives of the states and UTs to strengthen the mechanism of collecting feedback from beneficiaries of schemes. Dr. Mandaviya stated that since the States/UTs are implementation agencies for majority of welfare, social protection, and employment schemes/measures and thus, have their ears to the ground, they should strengthen the mechanism of collection of feedback from beneficiaries of schemes. There is need for establishing more frequent dialogue between the Centre and the States/UTs for sharing of such feedback, experiences, challenges and best practices for consistent improvement in the design and execution of such schemes/ measures, he mentioned.