The panel delved into key issues impacting businesses and labor compliance in India, with a focus on simplifying processes and embracing technology.
Mumbai, 30th April 2025: The discussion opened with the topic of India’s fragmented labor compliance ecosystem and the need for a unified approach. Core Integra’s team highlighted the importance of consolidating India’s labor laws through frameworks like the Labour Codes and digital platforms such as Shram Suvidha, which integrates over 16 labor laws. By creating a single, streamlined compliance process, the panel emphasized how businesses, especially MSMEs could benefit from simplified, efficient operations. Further, the panel clarified the agenda of the Labor Codes, emphasizing the empowerment of state governments to frame rules, despite mismatches with the original objectives. The importance of compliance digitization was also highlighted, with a comparison of the current status in a few states.
Another key point discussed was the reduction of redundancies within the compliance process. The panel explained how uniform compliance systems can expedite audits, approvals, and processes, ultimately driving cost savings and operational efficiency for businesses across industries. More than 25 regulatory authorities are empowered over each business unit. In some states that still encourage manual compliance processes, over 19 inspectors are authorized to conduct inspections for an unlimited duration are to be sorted to simplify the compliances.
A central theme of the conversation was the role of RegTech in revolutionizing compliance. Core Integra’s leadership shared how regulatory technology is enabling real-time reporting, automating filings, and seamlessly integrating payroll systems. These advancements are helping businesses navigate compliance more effectively, with fewer errors and faster turnaround times. The panelists also discussed how these technologies are reducing compliance times by as much as 40%, enabling businesses to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and mitigate risks. AI-based research and tracking mechanisms have been deployed to monitor compliance notifications issued by various authorities across the nation. Core Integra’s advisory team supports clients by providing clarity on changes notified by the appropriate government bodies. Additionally, the team assists in interpreting compliance-related matters whenever ambiguities arise.
The panel also explored the growing role of India’s informal sector. India’s gig economy, which has seen a surge in digital registration through platforms like the e-Shram portal. This platform has already registered over 30.68 Crore unorganized workers, providing them with a digital identity and access to government benefits. The panellists noted that digitizing the informal sector could contribute up to 3% to India’s GDP in the coming years, as these workers become more formalized and integrated into the mainstream economy. The panel clarified the applicability of the Labour Codes to unorganized sector employees, including gig and platform workers. The extension of social security benefits and minimum wage provisions to these categories of employment is expected to contribute significantly to the regularization of jobs and improvement in working conditions.
Lastly, the discussion focused on the preparation for the Labour Code rollout, which is set to transform the compliance landscape in India. With over 60% of businesses already working towards the digitization of their compliance systems, the Labour Codes are expected to drive down compliance-related costs by an estimated 30%, particularly in industries such as manufacturing, IT, and retail. In addition, SEBI and RBI have mandated the top 500 listed companies to digitize their compliance monitoring and periodic reporting systems to ensure no compliance obligations are missed. SEBI emphasized the importance of digital compliance monitoring as a key enabler in strengthening corporate governance and supporting sustainable growth.
These structural reforms are expected to enhance India’s global competitiveness, which has already improved significantly, with the country leaping 79 places in the global Ease of Doing Business rankings from 2014 to 2020.