Earlier this month, the Union Labour and Employment minister, Mansukh Mandaviya announced the government of India's plans to provide social security to gig and platform workers. He said the government is exploring avenues to ensure these workers are covered under social security. To be eligible for social security benefits, these gig and platform workers will have to register on the eShram portal. For platform workers, the aggregators can take the lead and register their partners/workers on the portal.
Who is an Unorganised Worker?
Any worker who is a home-based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker in the unorganised sector and also includes a worker in the organised sector who is not a member of the Employee Provident Fund Office (EPFO), Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and neither is a government employee.
Gig and Platform Workers in India
According to the National Institute for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog report titled “India's Booming Gig & Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work”, released in 2022, shows that India is the 2nd biggest market for gig work after the US. At the end of FY 2024-25, India is expected to have over 12.7 million gig workers, of which 5.72 million are associated with a platform/aggregator. By the end of the current decade, these numbers are expected to rise to 23.5 million gig workers and nearly 12 million platform workers. The Boston Consulting Group, in its 2018 study “Future of Work”, observed that nearly half of India’s gig workforce is in the “Low Skill and Others” categories, which includes roles like cleaning, ridesharing, delivery, etc. The 2023 study from Krea University and Karma Life, “Financial Matters & Motives: Insights into the Various Lives of Gig Workers”, observes that the average income of gig workers was lower than the average income of males in urban areas, who earned approximately Rs. 22,000 per month.
eShram Portal
The government of India, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, developed the eShram portal, a National Database for Unorganised Workers (NDUW), in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. The portal is a first-of-its-kind national database of unorganised workers such as migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers, etc. The objectives of the portal are to recognize the unorganised workers, improve the efficiency of the delivery of social security benefits across ministries and union/state governments, provide portability of benefits to migrant and construction workers along the lines of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and for tackling the adverse impact of future national crises like Covid-19.
Any unorganised worker in the age group of 15-59 and who is not a member of the EPFO/ESIC and National Pension Scheme (NPS) funded by the government is eligible to register on the portal.
Social Security Welfare Schemes on eShram Portal
The eShram portal lists down the following social security benefit schemes for unorganised workers. They are;
o Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan Yojana (Old Age Pension)
o National Pension Scheme for the Traders and Self-Employed Persons (NPS)
o Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana
o Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
o Atal Pension Yojana
o Public Distribution System (Foodgrain)
o Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin
o National Social Assistance Programme (Old Age Protection)
o Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
o Health Insurance Scheme for Weavers
o Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana
o National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation
o Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers
Of these 13 schemes, as the names suggest, some are very specific and targeted schemes, like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana, targeted at farmers, whereas some are generic and open to all. For example, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. The scope for both these can be expanded to include gig and platform workers. The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana entails an annual payment of Rs.20 to be eligible for a risk coverage of Rs.200,000 for accidental death and full disability and Rs.100,000 for partial disability. Similarly, the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana offers free health coverage of up to Rs.500,000 per person per year.
Past experiences
In the past, the governments announced plans and programs without providing adequate resources for the successful launch and implementation of the scheme. A case in point is the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The government expanded the list of beneficiaries under the scheme, however, the financing for the scheme has remained the same. In the present scenario too, the government has yet to divulge the process of registration, the social security benefits these gig workers will be entitled to and the conditions, if any. More importantly, the ministry has remained silent on how the government will manage its finances to meet this additional demand on the exchequer. While the intent of the government is in the right direction, and a large segment of the population will benefit from this move, the road ahead is uncertain and plagued with financing and implementation challenges.
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