The Ministry of Labour & Employment is one of the oldest and most important Ministries of the Government of India.https://ncib.in/pdf/ncib_pdf/Labour%20Act.pdf Labour Laws consolidatedThis is an India's federal ministry which is responsible for enforcement of labour laws in general and legislations related to a worker's social security.https://www.labour.gov.in/static/uploads/2025/06/671d6613c2e3bb2bd09b4700265e2c9b.pdfAnnual report 2024-25 The Ministry aims to create a healthy work environment for higher production and productivity and to develop and coordinate vocational skill training and employment. However, Skill Development responsibilities, such as Industrial Training and Apprenticeship responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship from 9 November 2014. The Ministry launched the National Career Service portal on 20 July 2015 to help bridge the gap between job providers and job seekers. Jagjivan Ram was the first Labour Minister of independent India, serving in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet from 1947 to 1952.
Role and Working
Functions The thrust areas of the ministry are: Labour Policy and legislation Safety, health and welfare of labour Social security of labour Policy relating to special target groups such as women and child labour Industrial relations and enforcement of labour laws in the Central sphere Adjudication of industrial disputes through Central Government Industrial Tribunals cum Labour Courts and National Industrial Tribunals Workers' Education Labour and Employment Statistics The results of recession on employment in the eight selected sectors textiles including apparels, leather, metals, automobiles, gems & jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom / powerloom were monitored starting from Oct–Dec 2008. The overall employment in the eight selected sectors covered in the quarterly surveys has increased by 10.66 lakh (0.16%). In IT/BPO sector the increase in the employment is maximum (6.9 lakh) during the year 2009–10. Emigration of Labour for employment abroad Employment services and vocational training Administration of Central Labour & Employment Services International co-operation in labour and employment matters The ministry of Labor and Employment Govt. Of India has Introduce E-Shram Card For UN- organize Sector Employees Social And Economical improvement During The COVID-19 Pandemic Session on 1 August 2021.
Divisions and Sections
Organisation and Method Section with RTI Work Administration Division Budget and Accounts Division CLS-II(CGIT-cum-LCs/NITs) Affairs Division Central Labour Service Section Central Labour Service (Vigilance) Section Chief Controller of Accounts Division Section dealing with Child, Bonded and Women Labour Coordination Division Directorate General Labour Welfare Economic and Statistical Analysis Section Finance Division Industrial Relations Section Industrial Safety and Health Section Section dealing with deputation for International Labour Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Labour Documents and Reference Centre Media Cell Parliament Unit RTI & Legal Cell Monitoring & Evaluation Unit Public Grievances Cell Result Framework Documents Cell Vigilance Cell Social Security Cell Wage Boards Management Section Wage Cell
Organisations
Attached offices Directorate General of Employment Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC)(Central) Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institute (DGFASLI) Labour Bureau
Subordinate offices Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) Labour Welfare Organisations (LWOs) Indian Labour Archives (ILA)
Statutory/Autonomous Organisations Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) V. V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI)
Autonomous bodies Central Government Industrial Tribunals and Labour Courts Central Labour Institute Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Academy of Social Security(PDNASS) Dattopant Thengadi National Board for Workers Education and Development(DTNBWED)
Cabinet Ministers
Note: I/C Independent Charge Key: Died in office
PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party MinistryPrime Minister From To Period Minister of Labour Jagjivan Ram 15 August 1947 13 May 1952 Indian National Congress Nehru I Jawaharlal Nehru V. V. Giri 13 May 1952 7 September 1954 Nehru II Khandubhai Kasanji Desai 10 September 1954 16 April 1957 Minister of Labour and Employment Gulzarilal Nanda 17 April 1957 10 April 1962 Indian National Congress Nehru III Jawaharlal Nehru Jaisukhlal Hathi(Minister of State) 16 April 1962 15 November 1962 Nehru IV Gulzarilal Nanda 1 September 1963 24 January 1964 Damodaram Sanjivayya 24 January 1964 27 May 1964 27 May 1964 9 June 1964 Nanda I Gulzarilal Nanda 9 June 1964 11 January 1966 Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri 11 January 1966 24 January 1966 Nanda II Gulzarilal Nanda Minister of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation Jagjivan Ram 24 January 1966 13 March 1967 Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi Jaisukhlal Hathi 13 March 1967 15 November 1969 Indira II Jagjivan Ram 15 November 1969 18 February 1970 Indian National Congress (R) Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation Damodaram Sanjivayya 18 February 1970 18 March 1971 Indian National Congress (R) Indira II Indira Gandhi Raghunath Keshav Khadilkar(Minister of State) 18 March 1971 5 February 1973 Indira III K. V. Raghunatha Reddy(Minister of State) 5 February 1973 9 November 1973 Minister of Labour K. V. Raghunatha Reddy(Minister of State) 9 November 1973 24 March 1977 Indian National Congress (R) Indira III Indira Gandhi Ravindra Varma 26 March 1977 28 July 1979 Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai Fazlur Rahman 30 July 1979 14 January 1980 Janata Party (Secular) Charan Charan Singh Janaki Ballabh Patnaik 16 January 1980 7 June 1980 Indian National Congress Indira IV Indira Gandhi Indira Gandhi(Prime Minister) 8 June 1980 19 October 1981 N. D. Tiwari 19 October 1980 15 January 1982 Bhagwat Jha Azad(Minister of State, I/C) 15 January 1982 2 September 1982 Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation Veerendra Patil 2 September 1982 31 October 1984 Indian National Congress Indira IV Indira Gandhi 4 November 1984 31 December 1984 Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Minister of Labour Tanguturi Anjaiah(Minister of State, I/C) 31 December 1984 20 January 1986 Indian National Congress (I) Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi P. A. Sangma(Minister of State, I/C) 20 September 1986 6 February 1988 Makhan Lal Fotedar 6 February 1988 14 February 1988 Jagdish Tytler(Minister of State, I/C) 14 February 1988 25 June 1988 Bindeshwari Dubey 25 June 1988 2 December 1989 Ram Vilas Paswan 6 December 1989 10 November 1990 Janata Dal Vishwanath Vishwanath Pratap Singh Chandra Shekhar(Prime Minister) 21 November 1990 21 June 1991 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar Vazhappady K. Ramamurthy(Minister of State, I/C) 21 June 1991 30 July 1991 Indian National Congress (I) Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao P. V. Narasimha Rao(Prime Minister) 30 July 1991 10 July 1992 P. A. Sangma(Minister of State, I/C until 10 Feb 1995) 10 July 1992 15 September 1995 G. Venkatswamy 15 September 1995 16 May 1996 Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 16 May 1996 1 June 1996 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee I Atal Bihari Vajpayee Balwant Singh Ramoowalia 1 June 1996 29 June 1996 Independent Deve Gowda H. D. Deve Gowda M. Arunachalam 29 June 1996 21 April 1997 Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) Inder Kumar Gujral(Prime Minister) 21 April 1997 1 May 1997 Janata Dal Gujral Inder Kumar Gujral M. Arunachalam 1 May 1997 9 June 1997 Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) M. P. Veerendra Kumar(Minister of State, I/C) 9 June 1997 19 March 1998 Janata Dal Satyanarayan Jatiya 19 March 1998 13 October 1999 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee II Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee(Prime Minister) 13 October 1999 22 November 1999 Vajpayee III Satyanarayan Jatiya 22 November 1999 1 September 2001 Sharad Yadav 1 September 2001 1 July 2002 Janata Dal (United) Sahib Singh Verma 1 July 2002 22 May 2004 Bharatiya Janata Party Minister of Labour and Employment Sis Ram Ola 23 May 2004 27 November 2004 Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh K. Chandrashekar Rao 27 November 2004 24 August 2006 Telangana Rashtra Samithi Manmohan Singh(Prime Minister) 24 August 2006 24 October 2006 Indian National Congress Oscar Fernandes(Minister of State, I/C) 24 October 2006 3 March 2009 G. K. Vasan(Minister of State, I/C) 3 March 2009 22 May 2009 Mallikarjun Kharge 28 May 2009 17 June 2013 Manmohan II Sis Ram Ola 17 June 2013 15 December 2013 Oscar Fernandes 15 December 2013 26 May 2014 Narendra Singh Tomar 27 May 2014 9 November 2014 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi Bandaru Dattatreya(Minister of State, I/C) 9 November 2014 3 September 2017 Santosh Kumar Gangwar(Minister of State, I/C) 3 September 2017 30 May 2019 31 May 2019 7 July 2021 Modi II Bhupender Yadav 7 July 2021 9 June 2024 Mansukh Mandaviya 10 June 2024 Incumbent Modi III
Ministers of State
PortraitMinisterTerm of officePolitical party MinistryPrime Minister From To Period Minister of State of Labour and Employment Jaisukhlal Hathi 4 September 1963 24 January 1964 Indian National Congress Nehru IV Jawaharlal Nehru Kotha Raghuramaiah 9 June 1964 13 June 1964 Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri Minister of State of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation Jagannath Rao 24 January 1966 14 February 1966 Indian National Congress Indira I Indira Gandhi Lalit Narayan Mishra 13 March 1967 14 November 1967 Indira II Bhagwat Jha Azad 14 February 1969 18 March 1971 Indian National Congress (R) Indira II Minister of State of Labour Larang Sai 14 August 1977 28 July 1979 Janata Party Desai Morarji Desai Ram Kripal Sinha T. Anjaiah 8 June 1980 11 October 1980 Indian National Congress Indira IV Indira Gandhi Ram Dulari Sinha 19 October 1980 15 January 1982 Minister of State of Labour and Rehabilitation Mohsina Kidwai 11 September 1982 29 January 1983 Indian National Congress Indira IV Indira Gandhi Dharmavir 29 January 1983 31 October 1984 4 November 1984 22 December 1984 Rajiv I Rajiv Gandhi Minister of State of Labour Radhakishan Malviya 4 July 1989 2 December 1989 Indian National Congress Rajiv II Rajiv Gandhi Ram Ji Lal Suman 21 November 1990 21 June 1991 Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar Muni Lall 13 October 1999 1 July 2002 Bharatiya Janata Party Vajpayee III Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ashok Kumar Pradhan 1 July 2002 29 January 2003 Vijay Goel 29 January 2003 24 May 2003 Santosh Kumar Gangwar 24 May 2003 8 September 2003 Minister of State of Labour and Employment Chandra Sekhar Sahu 29 January 2006 24 October 2006 Indian National Congress Manmohan I Manmohan Singh Harish Rawat 28 May 2009 19 January 2011 Manmohan II Kodikunnil Suresh 28 October 2012 26 May 2014 Vishnu Deo Sai 27 May 2014 9 November 2014 Bharatiya Janata Party Modi I Narendra Modi Rameswar Teli 7 July 2021 9 June 2024 Modi II Shobha Karandlaje 10 June 2024 Incumbent Modi III
See also Central Labour Service (CLS) Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020
References
External links
Official Website of the Ministry of Labour and Employment National Career Service Portal Official Ministry Press Releases Organisation Chart of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Ministry of Labour Annual Report for Year 2011–2012 International Labour Organisation, UN Child Labour in India and Women Labour in India Related Websites to Ministry of Labour Official Labour Statistics