Union Minister for Labour & Employment Mansukh Mandaviya
| Photo Credit:
ANI
Union Minister for Labour & Employment Mansukh Mandaviya will represent India at the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD-2) in Doha, Qatar, from November 4 to 6, where he will share India’s transformative journey toward inclusive, digitally enabled, and equitable growth.
The Union Minister will deliver India’s National Statement during the Opening Plenary of the Summit and participate in the adoption of the Doha Political Declaration. He will also address a High-Level Round Table on “Strengthening the Three Pillars of Social Development: Poverty Eradication, Full and Productive Employment and Decent Work for All, and Social Inclusion.”
Showcasing India’s poverty reduction gains
At the global forum, India is expected to highlight its remarkable progress in poverty alleviation and social protection over the past decade. Between 2011 and 2023, nearly 248 million Indians were lifted out of multidimensional poverty, reducing the share living below the international poverty line to 2.3 per cent in 2022–23. Flagship programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, and the Jan Dhan Yojana have played a pivotal role in achieving these outcomes.
India’s social protection coverage has also expanded rapidly—from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025, benefiting more than 940 million citizens, according to data verified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile) has been instrumental in ensuring efficient, transparent, and direct benefit delivery to millions of households across the country.
NITI Aayog’s side event on empowerment
A key highlight of India’s participation will be a side event hosted by NITI Aayog on “Pathways Out of Poverty: India’s Experience in Empowering the Last Mile,” on November 5. The session will showcase India’s efforts in poverty reduction, women’s economic empowerment through Self-Help Groups and cooperatives, and the expansion of universal social security. The event will also feature interventions from international partners, including Brazil, the Maldives, and the ILO, reflecting India’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the principle of leaving no one behind.
Mandaviya will further participate in an ILO-sponsored Ministerial Event on the Global Coalition for Social Justice, where he will reaffirm India’s role as a champion of equitable growth and decent work. On the sidelines of the Summit, he will hold bilateral meetings with ministers from Qatar, Romania, Mauritius, and the European Union, as well as with senior officials from the ILO and the United Nations, to deepen cooperation on labour mobility, skilling, employment generation, and social protection.
The World Summit for Social Development, convened nearly three decades after the landmark 1995 Copenhagen Summit, aims to reaffirm global commitments to poverty eradication, decent work, and social inclusion. The Doha edition provides a renewed platform for countries to share experiences and strengthen cooperation for inclusive and sustainable social progress.
Published on November 3, 2025