The Ministry of Labour & Employment conducted district-level Capacity Building and Awareness Programmes under its "Shram Samvad" initiative across five industrial clusters on September 30, 2026. The programs were held in Bhiwadi and Bhilwara (Rajasthan), East Delhi, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra), targeting industrial clusters as part of a nationwide 90-day outreach campaign covering 316 districts across all 36 States and Union Territories.
The initiative aims to bridge the gap between legislative framework and ground implementation by providing clarity on provisions, applicability, and compliance requirements under the four Labour Codes. The Bhiwadi program, organized with FICCI and Bhiwadi Manufacturers Association, attracted over 100 participants and featured keynote address by Joint Secretary Ashutosh A.T. Pednekar. The East Delhi program at SCOPE Minar had over 100 attendees addressed by Joint Secretary Mahendra Kumar and Delhi Labour Commissioner Pandurang Pole.
Dehradun's program organized with PHDCCI had approximately 90 participants including industry representatives, with Deputy Secretary Govind Ram providing overview of Labour Codes. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar saw around 200 stakeholders including CII representatives, with Director Chaman Lal Guleria delivering keynote. Bhilwara's program organized with Rajasthan Labour Department had about 100 participants, featuring address by VVGNLI Director General Dr. Arvind and technical session by Deputy Secretary Sanjay Rawat.
Technical sessions across all locations covered the four Labour Codes: Code on Wages 2019, Industrial Relations Code 2020, Code on Social Security 2020, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020. Discussions focused on objectives, major provisions, applicability thresholds, and employer obligations including wages, appointment letters, working hours, overtime, social-security coverage, workplace safety, contract labour, and industrial relations mechanisms.
The programs included dedicated sessions on Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana (PMVBRY) and Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) social security schemes. Interactive Question-and-Answer sessions enabled participants to raise practical issues regarding applicability, statutory thresholds, records and returns, and employee benefits. Senior officials from EPFO, ESIC, and the Central Labour Commissioner's office participated across locations, allowing direct engagement with different arms of labour administration on implementation matters.