Gig Workers to Receive Social Security Benefits Under New Government Initiative

Government Moves to Roll Out Social Security Benefits for Gig and Platform Workers

The Indian government is taking steps to provide social security benefits to gig and platform workers, including accident insurance, health coverage, maternity support, and old-age protection. This move comes as the government pushes platform companies to integrate worker data with the e-Shram portal by the June 22 deadline.

According to a senior Labour Ministry official, the government is operationalising provisions under the Code on Social Security and setting up dedicated mechanisms for workers in the sector. The official, Ashutosh Pednekar, Joint Secretary and Director General (Labour Welfare), Ministry of Labour and Employment, stated that the government has received approval to operationalise the National Social Security Board for Gig and Platform Workers, which will focus on welfare measures for workers engaged in the sector.

With almost one crore workers currently employed in the gig economy, the sector is expected to grow significantly, reaching almost 2.5 crores by the end of this decade. Pednekar referred to the gig economy as a "strategically very important sector" for the country. The government is working on schemes to implement welfare measures, including accidental coverage, old-age protection, health benefits, maternity benefits, cash benefits, support for educational loans, and funeral expenses.

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To facilitate the delivery of these measures, the government is operationalising a Social Security Fund to finance welfare schemes for gig and platform workers. Policymakers are trying to balance workers' demand for social security with industry concerns over maintaining flexibility in a fast-growing and technology-driven sector.

A key part of the government's strategy is integrating aggregator databases with the e-Shram portal to enable seamless access to welfare benefits. This system will allow real-time tracking of benefits availed by workers and enable them to digitally access details of their entitlements and usage through an app-based system.

Pednekar urged platform companies to complete integration with the e-Shram portal by June 22, stating that the government is working under "very, very tight deadlines" to implement the system. The gig and platform economy has emerged as a major source of employment, especially for India's youth, and is expected to play a bigger role in the labour market in the coming years.

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