Mandaviya highlights India’s digital model at Doha summit

Labour and Employment Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya has said that India has demonstrated that a country can empower millions of its citizens by adopting digital innovation along with financial inclusion. Dr Mandaviya said this while addressing the inaugural plenary session of the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday. He also highlighted the country’s progress towards universal pension coverage, saying that the country’s social protection coverage has surged tremendously. He said that the country’s digital infrastructure has ensured the seamless delivery of welfare benefits to citizens.

Highlighting the decisive steps taken by the Government of India across all three pillars of social development, the minister said over 170 million new jobs were created between 2016–17 and 2023–24, women’s workforce participation doubled, and the unemployment rate declined from 6 per cent to 3.2 per cent during the period. He noted that labour reforms had been advanced by consolidating multiple laws into four simplified labour codes, while India continued to progress toward universal pension coverage. “India’s digital infrastructure has ensured the seamless delivery of welfare benefits to more than 1.4 billion citizens,” Dr Mandaviya said, adding that the country’s social protection coverage has surged from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025.

Dr Mandaviya met the Mauritian Labour Minister and held wide-ranging discussions on expanding cooperation in the fields of skill development, labour mobility, digital labour platforms, and social protection.The minister is attending the summit’s inaugural plenary session in Doha, which has brought together over 180 global dignitaries.