India, Dec. 7 -- India's workforce is at a crossroads. With over 644 million employed individuals and 92% of them in the unorganised sector, the challenge of building a resilient, future-ready labour ecosystem is more urgent than ever. As someone who has spent over a decade building scalable ecosystems for skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship, I see this as a complex balancing act, navigating the intersecting demands of cost efficiency, workforce capability, and long-term continuity in blue and grey collar employment.

Cost is the first and foremost aspect of this complex dynamic. It is and has always been India's competitive edge. Hiring talent here is 60-70% more economical than in developed markets. But this advantage often comes...