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Organising the Unorganised
Context:
On October 21, India’s Ministry of Labour took a significant step by integrating various social security schemes with the e-Shram portal. This initiative aims to provide seamless access to government welfare programs for over 300 million unorganised sector workers registered on the platform.
A Unified Database for Enhanced Welfare Delivery:
- The “One Stop Solution” initiative consolidates data from multiple central ministries and departments into a single repository, enabling streamlined access to welfare schemes.
- This move aligns with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget announcement to integrate the e-Shram portal with other platforms for better service delivery, particularly in employment and skilling.
- Currently, the portal hosts data from 12 central welfare schemes, including “One Nation One Ration Card,” “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,” “Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin,” and others.
About the e-Shram Portal:
- Launched in August 2021 following the challenges faced by migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown, the e-Shram portal is a pan-India database for unorganised workers.
- It records details such as name, occupation, address, educational qualifications, and skill type.
- Of the estimated 500 million unorganised workers in India, 303 million are already registered on the portal, spanning over 400 occupations across 30 sectors.
- Agriculture, domestic work, construction, and apparel are the top occupational categories.
- Uttar Pradesh leads with the highest registrations (83.7 million), followed by Bihar (29.5 million) and West Bengal (26.4 million).
A Comprehensive Social Security Platform:
- Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra emphasised that the portal is evolving into a unified platform for accessing social security schemes, including health, insurance, pensions, and housing.
- Aadhaar-based unique identification ensures minimal duplication, while efforts are underway to onboard state government schemes for broader coverage.
Benefits for Workers and Employers:
- Workers can access welfare schemes conveniently, while employers gain better insights into legal provisions applicable to their workforce and the benefits workers are eligible for.
- Sumit Kumar, Chief Strategy Officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, noted that the integration simplifies compliance for employers and provides a framework to address workforce needs efficiently.
Integration with State Systems and Private Sector Opportunities:
- In collaboration with state governments, the Centre is working to align state welfare schemes with the portal, enabling district-wise identification of potential beneficiaries.
- The ongoing onboarding process currently includes 12 central schemes, with more to follow.
- The initiative also presents opportunities for the private sector.
- Suchita Dutta, Executive Director of the Indian Staffing Federation, highlighted that the database could address the persistent challenge of workforce skill gaps, enabling firms to plan better.
Challenges:
- Labour economist K.R. Shyam Sundar pointed out that the lack of tangible incentives for workers to register remains a major hurdle.
- Without credible benefits, achieving full registration of the estimated 500 million unorganised workers seems difficult.
- Sundar also noted that integrating state government schemes poses political and financial challenges.
Saraswathi Kasturirangan, a partner at Deloitte India, echoed these concerns, citing issues such as data confidentiality, funding, and technological upgrades needed to extend social security benefits effectively to gig and platform workers.
