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Decent Work and Economic Growth

JGU works to advance decent work and economic growth. For a university, that means empowering students, staff and the wider community through fair employment, economic resilience and sustainability. Economic progress must be inclusive, which includes dignified work, ethical recruitment, skill development and entrepreneurship.

Our policies guarantee living wages for every contract employee, non-discriminatory hiring and advancement, and strong protections for labour rights. Hands-on learning, industry engagement and global research collaborations prepare students for a changing job market, and our programmes emphasise employment equity, gender pay parity and the elimination of exploitative or unfair practices. By placing SDG 8 at the centre of teaching, operations and community outreach, JGU aims to create an environment where everyone can thrive, on campus and beyond.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Sustainable Development Goals: Progress Report | Reporting Year 2025–26

1. Introduction & Institutional Commitment

Sustainable Development Goal 8 promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Universities contribute through research and teaching, through the skills they build and through the way they treat the people who work on their campuses.

JGU’s contribution is strongest in research. Faculty work covers green human resource management, Industry 4.0 and 5.0, lean manufacturing and sustainable supply chains, and funded projects include a London School of Economics study on protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat and two Ministry of MSME LEAN Scheme projects. On campus, a multi-tiered sustainability training programme reaches academic, administrative and grassroots staff, the Health Centre offers free consultations and medicines to construction workers, and women hold 48% of vehicle-operator roles. Sixty-nine cross-listed electives, the most of any SDG, include a spotlight course on sustainable ecotourism development.

This report presents JGU’s progress, key initiatives and impact under SDG 8 across the following targets: 8.2 (productivity through innovation), 8.3 (entrepreneurship and small enterprises), 8.5 (decent work and equal pay), 8.7 (forced labour, modern slavery and child labour), 8.8 (labour rights and safe working environments) and 8.9 (sustainable tourism).

2. Key Figures at a Glance

3. Research Progress

SDG 8 is the area in which JGU’s research is strongest. Our scholarly output on the goal is the largest of those reported, at roughly 430 papers in 2025, and it has risen every year from 2021 to 2025. About 9.6% of JGU’s scholarly output contributes to SDG 8, roughly five times the world share of about 1.9%. Our research dashboard marks the trend over the last year as on track, and India’s national dashboard for SDG 8 shows moderate improvement. The work spans green human resource management, supply chains, MSME competitiveness, and the protection of outdoor workers from extreme heat.

4. Policy & Governance

JGU’s workplace commitments are set out in published policies that apply to all employees, including faculty, administrative staff and contracted and third-party workers. They are:

• Anti-Discriminatory Policy and the Non-Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy: equal opportunity and protection from discrimination and harassment in employment.

• Policy on Labour, Equivalent Rights of Third-Party Workers and Gender Pay Equity: equivalent rights for outsourced workers, pay equity and the elimination of gender pay gaps.

• Anti-Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy and the annual Modern Slavery Statement: zero tolerance for forced labour, modern slavery, trafficking and child labour.

• Living wage commitment: every person employed by the university earns at least the living wage, whether employed directly or through a third party.

• Appeal process: a written appeal to independent committees and, if needed, the Vice-Chancellor.

The Office of Sustainability coordinates SDG reporting, and Human Resources, the Anti-Discrimination Committee and the Compliance Office oversee implementation.

5. Progress Against Targets

Target 8.2: Higher productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation

Our researchers work at the frontier of industrial change. Their research covers Industry 4.0 and 5.0, the integration of cyber-physical systems, human-centric innovation, and the circular economy framework for sustainable development, which sits at the 99.98th percentile worldwide.

Target 8.3: Support for productive activities, entrepreneurship and small enterprises

Two projects under the MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme, part of the MSME Champions Scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, work with the HR 60 Cluster to strengthen small businesses. They are led by Patanjal Kumar at Jindal Global Business School, with project values of ₹9,66,420 and ₹10,53,000. Our research on lean manufacturing and sustainable supply chains supports the same goal.

Target 8.5: Full and productive employment and decent work, with equal pay for work of equal value

JGU guarantees living wages for every employee, whether employed directly or through a third party, and its pay equity policy commits it to eliminating gender pay gaps, with regular compensation audits across departments. Women hold 48% of vehicle-operator roles on campus, which shows inclusion in practice. Benefits include paid sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, medical cover and subsidised housing for eligible staff. A multi-tiered sustainability training programme reaches academic, administrative and grassroots staff, and research on women’s livelihood resilience, including a study at the India–Bangladesh border led by Prof. Sunetra Ghatak (₹3,47,390), adds to our work on inclusive livelihoods.

Target 8.7: Eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and end child labour

Our Anti-Slavery & Human Trafficking Policy takes a zero-tolerance approach to forced, bonded and indentured labour, recruitment fees, the retention of identity documents and child labour. It applies to employees, vendors, suppliers and contractors. We carry out supplier due diligence, publish a Modern Slavery Statement each year and run awareness training across the campus.

Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments

JGU protects the rights and safety of its workers in research and in practice. Our Policy on Labour, Equivalent Rights of Third-Party Workers gives outsourced workers rights equivalent to those of employees, safe workplaces and legal minimum wages, and it respects freedom of association. The Health Centre offers free consultations and essential medicines to construction workers on campus, and a free shuttle service supports employees. The “When the Earth is Too Hot to Handle” study, a project with the International Growth Centre at the London School of Economics led by Akansh at Jindal Global Business School (₹18,13,330.5), tests ways of protecting manual outdoor workers from extreme heat.

Target 8.9: Policies to promote sustainable tourism

JGU offers a spotlight course on Sustainable Ecotourism Development within 69 electives mapped to SDG 8, and our researchers publish on sustainable tourism.

6. Programmes, Research & Curriculum

• Electives: 69 cross-listed electives are mapped to SDG 8, the largest share of any SDG, including Sustainable Ecotourism Development.

• Research themes: green human resource management and AI in HR (Prof. Mohit Yadav); Industry 4.0 and 5.0, lean manufacturing and sustainable supply chains (Prof. Ashutosh Samadhiya, Prof. Saroj Koul and Prof. Ashish Dwivedi); and sustainable tourism.

• Staff training: a mandatory, multi-tiered sustainability training programme, led by the Office of Sustainability and the Learning & Development team, reaches academic, administrative and grassroots staff.

7. Community, Partnerships & Outreach

• Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India: funder of the LEAN Scheme projects.

• International Growth Centre, London School of Economics: partner in the heat-stress study for outdoor workers.

• Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia: funder of the study on women’s livelihood resilience at the India–Bangladesh border.

• Construction workers on campus: free consultations and essential medicines through the Health Centre.

8. Events & 91̽»¨ Timeline

9. Future Commitments & Roadmap

• Continue to support grassroots workers and to strengthen community-centred programmes as part of our civic engagement agenda.

• Continue to run institution-wide sustainability training for academic, administrative and grassroots staff.

• Keep the Modern Slavery Statement and pay equity audits up to date every year, and publish the results.