Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment
Kumar said the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) framework provides provident fund, pension and insurance benefits, adding that such social protection brings greater stability in the working atmosphere.
New Delhi: The revision of the wage ceiling to Rs 25,000 is a “win-win situation” that will bring more people who are on the margin under social protection measures, Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, said on Monday.
“It’s going to be a very win-win situation for everybody because the wage limit has already gone up, minimum wage limit in most of the states and all those things. And more people who are on the margin are going to be covered in this particular social protection measure,” Kumar told ANI.
He said this during an exclusive interview with ANI on the sidelines of the National Conference on Industrial Relations and Labour & Awards 2026 with a theme of Reengineering Industrial Relations & Workforce Participation in the AI Age organised by CII.
He said the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) framework provides provident fund, pension and insurance benefits, adding that such social protection brings greater stability in the working atmosphere.
“And when you look at the whole design of EPF, you get provident fund, get pension, you get insurance. So this kind of social protection brings more stability in your working atmosphere,” he said.
Kumar said employment was a key aspect of the work towards Viksit Bharat 2047 and described the initiative as important for the country.
“Major takeaway is that this is a very good initiative and this is important for the whole country from that perspective, and all of us are working very hard for the Viksit Bharat 2047. Then employment becomes a very key figure there,” he said.
He said industry representatives had shared inputs on the new labour ecosystem and how it could be built upon, adding that there was a possibility of wider coverage.
“And we have very interesting input from our co-panellists on this issue also, who are mostly from the industry background and very established in this. And they could share how it can be built upon because in the new labour ecosystem, there is always a possibility for having a wider coverage,” Kumar said.
He said the new social protection design was not limited to the organised sector and would also cover gig and platform workers.
“When we are looking at the new social protection design for everybody, it is not only for the organised sector. For the modernised sector, gig workers, platform workers,” he said.
Kumar said the framework would bring more respectability to different areas of the workforce and provide greater certainty to workers regarding their present and future.
“So definitely this is going to bring more respectability to all the areas and our workforce is going to be more certain in their present and future goal,” he said.
He said the interaction with industry was part of an ongoing process and expressed hope for continued engagement. (ANI)