Microsoft, India Min of Labor signed MoU to bring 15k employers, global partners onto Labor Ministry NCS platform
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Ministry of Labour & Employment on Wednesday signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft.
A central feature of the partnership is the American multinational technology conglomerate’s commitment to encourage more than 15,000 employers and partners from its extensive international network onto the Ministry’s National Career Service platform.
This will significantly broaden formal job access, support high-growth sectors, and enable India to develop a skilled workforce not only for domestic demand but also for the world, strengthening pathways for international mobility of Indian professionals and youth, Ministry of Labor stated.
Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were present during the signing of the MoU.
The collaboration represents a major step towards expansion of employment linkages, scaling AI-led skilling, and preparing India’s workforce for global opportunities.
The MoU will also expand AI-driven skilling initiatives through DigiSaksham, equipping millions of young people with future-ready capabilities in AI, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, and productivity tools.
These efforts will contribute to building a workforce aligned with global standards and emerging industry needs.
Dr Mandaviya noted that it reflects a shared ambition to leverage India’s favourable demographic dividend and create a globally competitive, digitally skilled, and future-ready workforce.
He emphasized that Microsoft’s participation will accelerate job access, deepen skilling, and enhance India’s leadership in global labour mobility.
“India has achieved a historic milestone in social protection, with coverage rising from 19 per cent in 2015 to an impressive 64.3 per cent in 2025, benefiting over 94 crore citizens. By embedding AI into platforms like e-Shram and the National Career Service, we are fortifying social security and moving closer to our goal of social protection to 100 crore citizens by March 2026,” he added.
Nadella appreciated India’s remarkable expansion of social protection coverage, noting that India has now reached 64.3 per cent coverage, benefiting 940 million people. He specifically praised the e-Shram initiative for bringing millions of unorganized workers into the social protection net and strengthening India’s ability to design worker-centric policies based on real-time data.
