Overview
- Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the Modi government of trying to revive Manusmriti principles and linked the move to RSS ideology.
- The draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025 says the Manusmriti embeds the moral basis of labour governance and cites other ancient texts including Yajnavalkyasmriti, Naradasmriti, Sukraniti and the Arthashastra.
- Opposition parties argue the invocation of Manusmriti conflicts with constitutional morality given the text’s history of caste-based hierarchy.
- The policy was released earlier this month for feedback, and reporting notes a political row with no official retraction or amendment announced.
- The draft outlines measures such as a unified social-security account linking EPFO, ESIC, PMJAY, e-SHRAM and state welfare boards, risk-based OSH inspections with gender-responsive standards, consolidation of skill schemes, digital formalisation and a goal of a ‘One Nation, One Workforce’ ecosystem by 2047.