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Microsoft signs MoU with Ministry of Labour & Employment to boost AI skilling, global job access
India’s Labour Ministry has signed a milestone MoU with Microsoft to strengthen AI-based skilling, expand global job access and modernise employment platforms. The tech giant will bring over 15,000 employers to the National Career Service portal while scaling digital training programmes through DigiSaksham. Satya Nadella praised India’s rapid expansion of social security coverage and expressed support for building an Employment Digital Public Infrastructure. The collaboration aims to create a globally competitive, future-ready workforce and boost international mobility for Indian talent.
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Microsoft to bring over 15,000 employers & partners from its global network onto the Ministry’s NCS platform. Source: x.com/mansukhmandviya
Written By: Ankit Kumar
Updated: Wed, Dec 10, 2025
03:50 PM IST
03:50 PM IST
New Delhi, ZeeBiz WebDesk
The Ministry of Labour & Employment signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft on Wednesday, December 10, giving India's efforts to develop a workforce that is both globally competitive and prepared for the future a significant boost. Signed in the presence of Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, the partnership aims to expand formal job opportunities, accelerate AI-led skilling, modernise employment platforms and strengthen India’s position as a global supplier of digital talent. Officials said the collaboration is designed to tap India’s demographic dividend at a decisive moment, as demand for AI skills rises worldwide and companies seek reliable, digitally skilled workers.
Had an engaging discussion with Mr. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. We welcome Microsoft’s commitment to partnering with India to strengthen digital architecture.
Glad to share that the Ministry of Labour & Employment has signed an MoU with Microsoft. This partnership will… pic.twitter.com/hjYflqAmiL
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— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) December 10, 2025
Bringing 15,000 global employers to NCS
A core element of the MoU is Microsoft’s commitment to bring more than 15,000 employers and partners from its global network onto the National Career Service (NCS) platform. This integration is expected to substantially widen access to formal jobs for Indian youth, deepen employer participation, and improve visibility of high-quality domestic and international openings. Officials said the partnership will help Indian professionals tap emerging opportunities across technology, manufacturing, services, mobility, health and digital infrastructure.
AI-driven skilling to be scaled up
The collaboration will also strengthen the Ministry’s AI skilling programme, DigiSaksham, with Microsoft deploying advanced training modules across cloud computing, cybersecurity, productivity tools and generative AI.
The ambition is to equip millions of young Indians with future-ready capabilities as global demand for AI talent continues to grow. Dr Mandaviya said India’s workforce must be prepared for “21st-century job markets shaped by automation, digital platforms and AI-enabled industries”, adding that Microsoft’s participation would accelerate this transition.
Microsoft praises India’s expanded social protection
Satya Nadella praised India’s rapid progress in expanding social protection coverage, noting that 64.3 per cent of the population - 940 million people - is now covered, a sharp rise from 19 per cent a decade ago. He highlighted the success of the e-Shram platform, which has brought unorganised sector workers under a structured social security framework, enabling evidence-based policy design. Nadella also expressed Microsoft’s willingness to support India in building a robust Employment Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the next phase - an ecosystem that could enable interoperable labour market solutions at scale and stimulate private-sector innovation.
Strengthening NCS, labour-market intelligence and analytics
Microsoft’s Azure and AI capabilities will be leveraged to enhance:
- The National Career Service platform
- e-Shram data analytics
- Labour-market intelligence tools
- Job-matching and employer-engagement systems
The company’s partner ecosystem is expected to play a major role in expanding industry adoption of government employment platforms. Officials said the upgrade will modernise India’s labour-exchange architecture and make job discovery more transparent and efficient.
A major push to international mobility
The Ministry said the MoU will help Indian youth access more global opportunities, as international employers integrate with NCS and look to hire formally certified, digitally skilled talent.
India’s rising reputation as a supplier of AI and cloud-ready workers is expected to draw more partnerships of this scale. Dr Mandaviya said the initiative would “strengthen India’s leadership in global labour mobility” and ensure that young professionals are ready for opportunities at home and abroad.
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Ankit Kumar
Ankit Kumar
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