The Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, continued its nationwide “Shram Samvad” initiative with District-Level Capacity Building and Awareness Programmes held on October 1, 2026 at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, Naraina Industrial Area in New Delhi and Sonipat in Haryana. The programmes brought together government officials, industry associations, employers, HR and legal professionals and other stakeholders to enhance awareness of the four Labour Codes, employer compliance requirements and key employment and social-security initiatives of the Government.

The Shram Samvad campaign, launched nationwide on September 28, 2026, is a 90-day outreach initiative under which the Ministry is undertaking district-level engagement across 316 districts in all 36 States and Union Territories, with a focus on industrial clusters. The initiative seeks to provide employers and other stakeholders with greater clarity on the provisions, applicability and compliance requirements under the new Labour Codes and facilitate effective implementation at the ground level.

At Haridwar, the programme was organised in partnership with SCOPE at the BHEL Admin Building. Around 125 participants, including representatives of industry associations and business establishments, employers, industrialists, professionals and officials from EPFO, ESIC and the Central Labour Commissioner’s office, participated in the programme. Shri Govind Ram, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, provided an overview of the four Labour Codes and the basic employer compliance chain, including establishment and workforce parameters, applicability thresholds and principal compliance areas. Shri Venkanna Banothu, Director of Mines Safety, DGMS, and senior representatives of the Uttarakhand Labour Department also participated.

At Naraina Industrial Area, New Delhi, the programme was organised in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Naraina Industries Association and was attended by around 80 participants representing employers, industry, HR, legal and finance professionals and other stakeholders. Shri Ashok Kumar Singh, IAS, Director General, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), delivered the keynote address, highlighting the key features of the Labour Codes and the importance of stakeholder awareness, compliance readiness and effective implementation.

At Sonipat, the Ministry organised the Shram Samvad programme in collaboration with Laghu Udyog Bharati at Wyndham Garden. The programme witnessed participation of around 70 stakeholders, including employers, State authorities and representatives from the labour and employment ecosystem. Shri P.B. Verma, Additional Central Provident Fund Commissioner, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), delivered the inaugural address. The technical sessions included an overview of the new Labour Codes by Shri Minhaz Ahmed, Director, Ministry of Labour & Employment.

Across the three programmes, technical discussions covered the Code on Wages, 2019; Industrial Relations Code, 2020; Code on Social Security, 2020; and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Dedicated sessions on Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) and Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) were also conducted.

Senior officials and representatives of EPFO, ESIC and the Central Labour Commissioner’s Office actively participated in the programmes across all venues. A key component of the programmes was the interactive Question-and-Answer sessions, enabling participants to raise practical issues concerning applicability, statutory compliance, records and returns, employee benefits and implementation of the new framework. The sessions provided stakeholders with an opportunity to seek clarifications directly from officials of the Ministry and its attached and subordinate offices.

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Rini Choudhury

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