Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, inaugurated the National Conference on Industrial Relations and Labour & Awards 2026, organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Employers’ Federation of India (EFI) in New Delhi. The conference theme was 'Reengineering Industrial Relations & Workplace Participation in the AI Age'. Dr. Mandaviya announced the launch of the 'Shram Samvad' awareness campaign on Labour Codes, which will cover industrial clusters across 316 districts in all 36 states and union territories over the next 90 days. He emphasized the need to equip youth with AI skills, referencing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day announcement to train one crore youth in AI over the next year. India's social security coverage has expanded from 19% of the population in 2015 to 68% as of now, covering 101 crore people, as recognized by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Dr. Mandaviya highlighted India's GDP growth of 7.8% and noted that every 1% growth in the economy translated into 1.11% employment growth during 2017–23, compared to just 0.008% earlier. He stressed the importance of dialogue among stakeholders for harmonious industrial relations and the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 with sustainable economic growth. A report titled 'Employer’s Guide Under New Labour Codes Framework: Fixed-Term Employment in India' was launched during the event. The conference was attended by Shri Puneet Kaura, Chairman of CII Northern Region, Shri Harshavardhan Chitale, Co-Chairman of CII National Committee on Industrial Relations & Labour, and Mr. Oktavianto Pasaribu from ILO, among others. It aimed to provide a platform for exchanging perspectives on the future of work and industrial relations in the context of technological transformation.