In its report on the demand for grants of the Ministry of Labour and Employment for 2026–27, the panel said that the proposed board could also monitor the implementation of central schemes that require action by states.
It noted that the performance of some states in implementing such schemes has been below expectations. India notified four labour codes for implementation in November 2025, consolidating 29 central labour laws.
These include the Code on Wages, the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. The government is expected to notify the labour codes by the end of the month, ahead of the start of the new financial year 2026-27.
The committee said rules required for implementing the codes should be framed on priority within a stipulated timeframe to ensure a smooth rollout. The panel also recommended bringing gig workers more firmly within the formal labour and social security framework.
It said aggregators should mandatorily register gig workers on the e-Shram Portal and link their engagement to this registration. The committee also flagged delays in approvals for schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana and projects under the Labour and Employment Statistical System, which led to surrender of funds in 2024–25.
It recommended time-bound approvals, realistic budget allocations and continuation of existing schemes until new ones are cleared.
In a separate report on the demand for grants of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for 2026–27, the panel also raised concerns over the large number of schemes being run in the skilling ecosystem and has asked the ministry to reduce the number of schemes and focus on a few flagship programmes, leaving the rest to the state governments.
The committee urged the ministry to work out a plan of action for this and inform the status as soon as possible.
The committee also urged the government to adopt more realistic budgeting for new skilling schemes and avoid overestimating fund requirements.
Citing delays in the rollout of the Pradhan Mantri – Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU), which was approved in May 2025 but launched only in October 2025, it said new or revised schemes should be introduced only after adequate planning and consultations with states and stakeholders.
It also recommended that existing schemes continue until replacement programmes are approved to ensure a seamless transition without gaps in implementation or funding. The panel further recommended setting up a National Level Skill Board with representation from states to strengthen coordination in implementing skilling schemes, noting that the ministry faces a shortage of technical and administrative personnel.
It also flagged a large gap between enrolment, training, assessment and certification under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0 and recommended an independent evaluation of the scheme to examine whether dropouts and assessment failures reflect poor training quality or systemic issues affecting employment outcomes.
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