New Delhi- On October 4, Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, will chair a regional meeting in Guwahati with representatives from the North-Eastern states, including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Sikkim.

This meeting, organized by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, aims to facilitate focused discussions on critical topics such as labour reforms, the eShram-National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW), the Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW), and initiatives for employment generation.

Attendees will include Sumita Dawra, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, along with senior officials from both the Central Government and participating states.

The Guwahati meeting marks the conclusion of a series of six regional consultations organized by the Ministry, which began with the first regional meeting in Bengaluru on August 30, 2024, involving southern states. Subsequent meetings have taken place across various regions, including northern, western, eastern, and central states, culminating in this final gathering.

Key issues to be discussed will include harmonization of draft rules under the Labour Codes, strategies for employment data collection and sharing, and insights into the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme introduced in the Union Budget for 2024-25. The agenda will also address the establishment of the e-Shram portal as a comprehensive solution for unorganized workers, expansion of coverage for Central welfare schemes for Building and Other Construction workers, and enhancement of employment exchange services.