12th BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers' Meeting held in Hyderabad under India's Chairship

📌 Summary:

• The 12th BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers' Meeting was held in Hyderabad under India's BRICS Chairship 2026, themed "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"; Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired
• BRICS nations adopted a landmark Declaration on Labour and Employment; India unveiled 'BRICS CONNECT' to strengthen technical cooperation, knowledge exchange and capacity building among members
• Focus areas: social protection, labour-market formalization, women's workforce participation, skills development, and use of digital technologies for inclusive labour markets
• India's reform showcase: 29 labour laws consolidated into 4 Labour Codes (November 2025); e-Shram portal covers 317 million+ unorganised workers; National Career Service portal for job-matching and skills mapping; technology shared with partners like Mauritius
• India said its social protection system now covers 100 crore people (recognised by ILO Director General); hosts 2,100+ Global Capability Centres employing 2.35 million professionals, generating ~USD 98 billion revenue
• Positioned as an opportunity for the Global South to shape practical, inclusive, people-centric solutions

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — International Relations (BRICS, plurilateral groupings, Global South); GS3 — Economy (labour reforms, social protection, future of work)

📝 Prelims Facts:

• India holds BRICS Chairship 2026; meeting held in Hyderabad
• 'BRICS CONNECT' launched for technical cooperation/capacity building
• India: 29 labour laws consolidated into 4 Labour Codes (Nov 2025); e-Shram covers 317 million+ workers
• 2,100+ Global Capability Centres in India, 2.35 million professionals

🔑 Key Term: e-Shram — national database/portal for unorganised workers enabling unique identification and access to welfare benefits.