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

(MENAFN- KNN India) 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 Microsoft's commitment to bring more than 15,000 employers and partners from its international network onto the Ministry's 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 India's workforce with global industry standards and emerging technological requirements.

Dr. Mandaviya said the partnership reflects a shared ambition to leverage India's demographic advantage and build a globally competitive, digitally skilled workforce.

He highlighted India's 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 government's goal of extending social protection to 100 crore citizens by March 2026.

Nadella commended India's 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 Microsoft's 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 Microsoft's Azure and AI capabilities with the Ministry's 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 Microsoft's global partner ecosystem to broaden employer outreach and support wider industry adoption of the NCS platform.

(KNN Bureau)

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