India Signs MoU With Microsoft To Expand AI-Led Skilling & Employment Opportunities

ENA Sectors 2025-12-11 15:56:50 New Delhi, Dec 11 (KNN) The Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in New Delhi. The agreement marks a significant step toward expanding employment linkages, accelerating AI-led skilling initiatives, and enhancing workforce readiness for global opportunities. A key element of the collaboration is Microsofts commitment to bring more than 15,000 employers and partners from its international network onto the Ministrys National Career Service (NCS) platform. This integration is expected to widen access to formal job opportunities, particularly in high-growth sectors, and strengthen pathways for international mobility for Indian professionals and youth. The partnership will further expand AI-driven skilling programmes through DigiSaksham, equipping millions of young people with capabilities in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and modern productivity tools. These efforts are aimed at aligning Indias workforce with global industry standards and emerging technological requirements. Dr. Mandaviya said the partnership reflects a shared ambition to leverage Indias demographic advantage and build a globally competitive, digitally skilled workforce. He highlighted Indias progress in expanding social protection, noting that coverage has grown from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025, benefiting more than 94 crore citizens. He added that the integration of AI into e-Shram and NCS platforms will support the governments goal of extending social protection to 100 crore citizens by March 2026. Nadella commended Indias achievements in social security expansion and praised the e-Shram initiative for bringing millions of unorganised workers into the formal social protection framework. He expressed Microsofts willingness to support India in developing an Employment Digital Public Infrastructure in the next phase, recognising its potential to foster innovation and enable scalable, interoperable labour market solutions. The MoU aligns Microsofts Azure and AI capabilities with the Ministrys initiatives to strengthen NCS, enhance e-Shram analytics and labour market intelligence, and modernise employment services and job-matching systems. The collaboration is expected to leverage Microsofts global partner ecosystem to broaden employer outreach and support wider industry adoption of the NCS platform. (KNN Bureau) 44379 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/india-signs-mou-with-microsoft-to-expand-ai-led-skilling-employment-opportunities 2025-12-11 15:56:50 knnindia.co.in India Signs MoU With Microsoft To Expand AI-Led Skilling & Employment Opportunities