Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is poised to be one of the largest providers of skilled workers globally while calling for rapid universalization of social-security benefits for them.

Modi said skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling were the “mantras” for the future workforce. “In this era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology has become and will remain the key driver of employment,” he said in his inaugural virtual address to the 4th employment working group meeting of G20 labour and employment ministers in Indore.

A ministerial declaration will be finalised at the meeting along with outcome documents, which will be adopted by G20 members nations.

Drawing attention to the universal welfare of skilled workforce, Modi said member states must consider each country’s “unique economic capacities, strengths, and challenges”. “Adopting a one-size-fits-all approach is not suitable for sustainable financing of social protection,” he said.

He said globalising the referencing of occupations by skills and qualifications will enable greater mobility and enhance employment opportunities, especially for countries with a large skilled workforce. Modi added these steps would boost productivity in the global economy.

“This requires new models of international cooperation and coordination, and migration and mobility partnerships.” He also called for the sharing of statistics, information, and data regarding employers.

As many as 165 delegates including 24 ministers, heads of international organisations, and employers’ associations, the World Bank, etc are attending the G20 labour conference.

At the conference, India held a presentation of e-Shram, the largest portal and database of workers in the world. The portal is designed to integrate workers’ benefits, insurance, and all data on a single platfrom.

Modi said the gig and platform economy emerged as the pillar of resilience during the Covid pandemic and therefore needs special impetus. “The gig economy offers immense potential of generating gainful employment, especially for the youth while also becoming a transformative tool for socio economic empowerment of women.”