SMPL

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 6: The 66th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), hosted by the Symbiosis School of Economics (SSE), Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, concluded on January 21, 2026, after three days of deliberations that highlighted growing structural gaps between economic growth, technological change and employment outcomes in India.

Held from January 19 to 21, the conference brought together over 500 delegates, the highest participation in ISLE's history, and featured more than 33 technical sessions, 14 panel discussions and 5 workshops. Economists, policymakers and scholars from India and abroad engaged in discussions on labour markets, inequality, education, technology and rural transformation in India and the Global South.

The conference opened with high-level discussions on growth, employment and sustainability, with participation from leading economists including Prof. S. Mahendra Dev, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Government of India; Prof. Praveen Jha, President of the Conference; Prof. Alakh N. Sharma, President, ISLE; and Prof. Jyoti Chandiramani, Director, Symbiosis School of Economics and Organising Secretary of the Conference.

A key takeaway emerging across sessions was that headline growth and productivity gains have not translated into secure or dignified employment. Technical sessions demonstrated that labour continues to shift into low-productivity informal services, even as economies expand, resulting in persistent vulnerability, particularly for women and youth.

Discussions on technology and artificial intelligence highlighted that digitalisation and platform-based work often intensify informality and employment insecurity. Sessions examining automation, platform labour and algorithmic management showed that technological change frequently shifts risks onto workers in the absence of adequate labour regulation and social protection.

Education and skilling were widely discussed as necessary but insufficient responses to employment challenges. Evidence presented during the conference pointed to education-employment mismatches, declining job quality for educated youth and uneven returns to skills across gender and region, underlining the need for demand-side job creation and institutional reform.

Rural transformation and migration emerged as another central theme. Research presented during the conference showed that non-farm employment and migration often function as coping strategies rather than pathways to upward mobility, with women disproportionately concentrated in informal and unpaid work.

Memorial lectures delivered by Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Prof. Jayati Ghosh and Prof. Ravi S. Kanbur provided broader macroeconomic perspectives, questioning GDP-centric growth models, highlighting rising inequality and examining the sustainability of redistribution in an era of technological change.

The conference concluded with a plenary roundtable on 'Preparing Indian Workers for the Future Economy' and a valedictory address by Dr. Kaushik Basu, which reflected on youth unemployment, job queuing and the role of social norms in shaping labour market outcomes.

Organisers noted that the conference reaffirmed labour as a central concern in development policy and strengthened SSE Pune's position as a key platform for evidence-based engagement on employment, inequality and economic transformation.

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