India’s labour system needs a digital transformation to tackle Covid-induced issues

Mumbai: At a time when India’s labour force received biggest jolt from the Covid pandemic, digital transformation in the labour data and analysis is required to tackle the problem, a KPMG research said.

Analysing labour market data can help identify and understand issues in the labour market, take informed, objective decisions, and evaluate the costs versus benefits of policies, measures and programmes, the research by Vivek Agarwal, Partner, IGH, KPMG in India said.

There are certain key interventions that could help with the digitisation of the labour economy argue Agarwal. Some of the key interventions include data integration, integrated MIS and dashboard, labour lifecycle management, skills mapping and matchmaking.

As per the research paper considering most data is moving online, a comprehensive MIS with various interfaces (separate for each subject like women employment, child labour, employment and unemployment status, CPI etc.) is an efficient way to track data collated from multiple sources.

“Digitising the data collection process, deriving insights though analysis, forecasting trends, identifying skill gaps, delivering content and mapping skillsets with the right jobs can help address our work deficit. Given these shifts, the digital labour ecosystem is set to play a key role in India’s transformation towards self-reliance,” said Agarwal.