Question 1

The policy formally classifies gig workers (like food delivery partners) as regular 'employees' of the tech aggregators.

Accepted Answer

The policy extends portable social security benefits to gig workers through the USSA but explicitly avoids redefining the legal employer-employee relationship, keeping them outside the purview of formal employment contracts.

Question 2

Shram Shakti Niti 2025 replaces the four Labour Codes passed in 2019-2020.

Accepted Answer

The policy does not replace any legislation. Instead, it serves as the executive roadmap and digital architecture (like the National Labour Stack) required to actually implement the provisions of the stalled Labour Codes.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the Draft National Labour and Employment Policy (Shram Shakti Niti 2025):
1. It proposes to upgrade the National Career Service (NCS) into a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for Employment.
2. It guarantees legal 'employee' status and collective bargaining rights to all registered platform and gig workers.
3. It introduces the Labour & Employment Policy Evaluation Index (LPEI) to benchmark the performance of States in labour governance.
How many of the above statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

(b) Only two — Statements 1 and 3 are correct. The policy upgrades NCS to a DPI and introduces the LPEI for cooperative federalism. Statement 2 is incorrect; while the policy creates a Universal Social Security Account (USSA) for gig workers, it deliberately does not alter their legal classification to 'employees', thereby denying them traditional collective bargaining rights.

Question 4

Match the institutional concepts proposed under Shram Shakti Niti 2025 (List I) with their respective functions (List II):

List I:
A. Universal Social Security Account (USSA)
B. District Labour Resource Centres (DLRCs)
C. National Career Service (NCS)
D. LPEI

List II:
1. Digital Public Infrastructure for AI-driven job matching
2. Integration of EPFO, ESIC, PM-JAY, and e-SHRAM
3. Benchmarking tool to foster cooperative federalism among States
4. Grassroots one-stop hubs for registration and grievance redressal

Accepted Answer

(a) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 — USSA (A) integrates multiple welfare schemes (2). DLRCs (B) are district-level hubs for grassroots implementation (4). NCS (C) is being transformed into a DPI for employment matching (1). The LPEI (D) is an index to benchmark State performance (3).

Question 5

Assertion (A): The Shram Shakti Niti 2025 redefines the primary role of the Ministry of Labour and Employment from regulatory enforcement to acting as a 'National Employment Facilitator'.
Reason (R): The policy seeks to entirely deregulate occupational safety standards for MSMEs by exempting them from the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code 2020.

Accepted Answer

(c) A is true but R is false. — Assertion (A) is correct; the policy explicitly shifts the Ministry's role to facilitation and empowerment. Reason (R) is false; the policy does not exempt MSMEs from safety standards. Instead, it enforces the OSH Code 2020 using AI-based risk inspections and self-certification, aiming for 'near-zero' workplace fatalities while ensuring ease of compliance.

Draft National Labour and Employment Policy Released

SC Rules Maintenance Rights Supersede IBC and SARFAESI Creditors