BRICS Makes Big Decisions in Hyderabad, India's Proposal Wins Unanimous Backing

India strengthened its leadership under the 2026 BRICS Chairship as the 12th BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting (LEMM) began in Hyderabad on Wednesday, bringing together labour ministers, senior officials and delegates from member nations to shape a common vision for the future of work.

Union Labour and Employment Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya , accompanied by Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje , chaired the two-day meeting being held on July 15-16 under India's chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability."

Delegations from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE , along with representatives of workers' and employers' organisations and international bodies, are participating in the discussions.

By the end of the first day, BRICS members adopted a joint declaration by consensus, reaffirming their commitment to building an inclusive, resilient and people-centric future of work . The meeting also endorsed BRICS CONNECT , an India-proposed platform aimed at promoting knowledge-sharing and cooperation among member countries.

The ministers focused on four key priorities , strengthening social security and labour-market formalisation, increasing women's participation in the workforce, improving employability through skills mapping, and expanding the use of digital technologies to support gig and platform workers. These priorities were finalised after discussions during the Third BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting held in Hyderabad on July 13-14 .

Mandaviya said India's BRICS chairship has been guided by a people-centric approach inspired by the principle of "Humanity First." Highlighting India's economic transformation, he noted that the country now hosts over 2,100 Global Capability Centres , employing around 2.35 million professionals and generating nearly USD 98 billion annually .

The ministerial meeting follows the 15th BRICS Trade Union Forum Summit , inaugurated by Mandaviya a day earlier. During the summit, he highlighted India's four labour codes, the rise in social protection coverage from 19 per cent in 2015 to over 64 per cent in 2025, nearly 170 million jobs created over the past decade, and the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, which aims to generate 35 million additional formal jobs.

The meeting concludes on Thursday with technical sessions, bilateral engagements and a cultural programme, reinforcing cooperation on social protection, employment generation and inclusive labour policies across the BRICS bloc, which represents nearly half of the world's population.