Microsoft joins hands with labour ministry for AI-based employment linkages for informal sector workers  

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella today announced Microsoft’s efforts to integrate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into two key digital public platforms of the union ministry of labour and Employment - e-Shram and the National Career Service (NCS) to facilitate AI-based employment linkages for informal sector workers.    

“The initiative aims to extend the benefits of AI to more than 310 million informal workers. The announcement follows his ​meeting with. Mansukh Mandaviya, minister of labour & employment and youth affairs & sports,” Microsoft said in a release. Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry for expanding 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,” the ministry said in a release.

“Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya welcomed the partnership, noting 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 emphasised that Microsoft’s participation will accelerate job access, deepen skilling, and enhance India’s leadership in global labour mobility,” the ministry said.

“India has achieved a historic milestone in social protection, with coverage rising from 19% in 2015 to an impressive 64.3% 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,” Mandaviya added.

“During the discussion, Nadella appreciated India’s remarkable expansion of social protection coverage, noting that India has now reached 64.3% coverage, benefiting 940 million people. He specifically praised the e-Shram initiative for bringing millions of unorganised workers into the social protection net and strengthening India’s ability to design worker-centric policies based on real-time data,” the release added.

Nadella also expressed Microsoft’s interest in supporting India’s journey toward building an Employment Digital Public Infrastructure (Employment DPI) and expressed Microsoft’s willingness to support this journey in the next phase, acknowledging its potential to unlock private innovation and create interoperable solutions for labour markets at scale, the government said in the release.