From recognition to action: Strengthening India’s care economy
On the International Day of Care and Support, we highlight ILO’s work to recognize unpaid care, strengthen skills and social protection, and promote the rights and representation of care workers in India.
28 October 2026
NEW DELHI (ILO News) – The International Day of Care and Support on 29 October provides an opportunity to recognize care as essential to the functioning of economies and societies, not simply as a private or family responsibility.
Across India, the International Labour Organization (ILO) works at the national and state level with governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations, research institutions and civil society to strengthen evidence, skills, social protection and worker representation of care workers.
Guided by the ILO’s 5R Framework - to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, and reward and represent care workers - the ILO Country Office for India is working to advance a more inclusive and rights-based care economy.
Recognizing and redistributing care
Policymakers, researchers, development practitioners and representatives of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), the Government of India's apex public policy think tank, discussed how unequal unpaid care responsibilities constrain women’s labour force participation and the need to recognise, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work.
The roundtable “Advancing Female Employment in Urban India”, organized by the ILO and NCAER’s Centre on Gender and Macroeconomy highlighted how sustained investment in care policies, services and infrastructure can enable more women to enter and remain in employment while generating decent and productive jobs in the care economy.
Strengthening protection for migrant care workers
Research mapping overseas migrant nurses, care workers and domestic workers alongside assessments of demand for their skills in destination countries, is helping build the evidence base for safer and fairer labour migration.
Consultations and training bringing together central and sector-specific trade unions have led to concurrence on the way forward via a Joint Statement on migrant care workers endorsed by 21 trade unions and the establishment of a trade union working committee on the sector.
Corridor specific and sector specialized pre-departure training to strengthen rights-based migration pathways will be launched in December 2026.
Building skills, representation and social protection
In Kerala, ILO-supported Skills Collectives are enabling domestic workers to gain certified care qualifications, while cooperative development initiatives are supporting women-led and community-based care enterprises.
In Bihar, ILO-supported research and advocacy contributed to the revision of minimum wages for domestic workers and the establishment of a grievance helpline for unorganized workers.
The ILO has also strengthened capacity of trade unions and national stakeholders to advance maternity protection and improve social protection for care workers. A Training of Trainers programme has strengthened policy dialogue, and advanced gender-responsive social protection for women workers, while the regional South-4-Care Learning Hub brought together over 80 stakeholders to exchange good practices on care policies, service and workforce development across South Asia.
Building on insights from a state-level rapid assessment, improving access to social protection for overseas migrant care workers is another priority being taken forward by the ILO Country Office for India.