Parliament Question: Social security for gig and platform workers

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 76 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.01.2026 SOCIAL SECURITY FOR GIG AND PLATFORM WORKERS 76. SHRI RANDEEP SINGH SURJEWALA: Will the Minister of Labour and Employment be pleased to state: (a) the number of gig/platform workers registered on e-Shram as on 31 Mar 2025 and the number actually onboarded onto specific social security entitlements since Budget 2025 commitments; (b) evaluation of pilot aggregator onboarding and what percentage of registered workers received active benefits and what technical/legal barriers remain to aggregator compliance; (c) whether the Ministry has a roadmap to extend PMJAY/DBT benefits to one crore gig workers as announced in Budget 2025 and the interim safeguards to prevent exclusion; and (d) steps to ensure interoperability between e-Shram, PMJAY and State welfare registries so benefits reach gig workers irrespective of platform affiliation? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) to (d): The Ministry of Labour and Employment launched eShram portal (eshram.gov.in) on 26th August, 2021 for creation of a comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) including platform workers, migrant workers etc. The eShram portal registers the unorganised workers including gig and platform workers and provides them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self- declaration basis. The State/UT-wise details of platform workers registered on eShram portal as on 31 Mar 2025 is annexed. The Ministry launched an Aggregator module on eShram portal on 12th December, 2024 for registration of the aggregators and platform workers engaged by them. This new Module has been developed to streamline and enhance the onboarding process of platform aggregators and platform workers. Till date total 12 major Aggregators have been onboarded namely- Zomato, Blinkit, Uncle Delivery, Urban Company, Uber, Amazon, Ola, Swiggy, Ecom Express, Rapido, Zepto and Porter. Contd..2/-:: 2 :: For the first time, the definition of ‘gig workers’ and ‘platform workers’ and provisions related to the same have been provided in the Code on Social Security, 2020 which has come into force on 21.11.2025. The Code provides for framing of suitable social security measures for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc. The Code also provides for setting up of a Social Security Fund to finance these welfare schemes. As per an estimation by NITI Aayog vide its report titled “India`s Booming Gig and Platform Economy” published in June 2022, the number of gig workers and platform workers in the country was 7.7 million in 2020-21, which is expected to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30. Recognizing the contribution of gig workers of online platforms (platform workers), the Government in its Budget Announcement for financial year 2025-26 has announced several key measures for their welfare viz. registration on the eShram portal, issuance of identity cards, and extension of health care benefits under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB- PMJAY). The Government has taken requisite policy and technology interventions to ensure interoperability between eShram and PMJAY viz. data mapping, verification mechanism and information exchange. States/UTs are also sensitized to leverage eShram portal for registration of platform workers.To maximise registration of platform workers on eShram portal, three nationwide special registration drives were held during the months of April, May and August-September, 2025 in collaboration with States and Union Territories. Multiple rounds of deliberations have been conducted with Aggregators, Knowledge Partners and Platform Workers Unions/Associations and State Government/UTs for social security framework of gig and platform workers. * *****Annexure Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (d) of the Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 76 for 29.01.2026 regarding “Social security for gig and platform workers”. State/UT-wise number of platform workers registered on eShram portal as on 31st March, 2025. Sl. No. State/UTs Registration Count 1 Andaman And Nicobar Islands 33 2 Andhra Pradesh 5,860 3 Arunachal Pradesh 83 4 Assam 10,896 5 Bihar 6,632 6 Chandigarh 173 7 Chhattisgarh 868 8 Delhi 4,689 9 Goa 133 10 Gujarat 5,471 11 Haryana 2,706 12 Himachal Pradesh 291 13 Jammu And Kashmir 679 14 Jharkhand 2,830 15 Karnataka 5,668 16 Kerala 1,391 17 Ladakh 14 18 Lakshadweep 1 19 Madhya Pradesh 4,415 20 Maharashtra 16,747 21 Manipur 65 22 Meghalaya 118 23 Mizoram 37 24 Nagaland 77 25 Odisha 1,514 26 Puducherry 88 27 Punjab 1,670 28 Rajasthan 5,589 29 Sikkim 46 30 Tamil Nadu 5,305 31 Telangana 4,567 32 The Dadra And Nagar Haveli And Daman And Diu 30 33 Tripura 308 34 Uttar Pradesh 10,085 35 Uttarakhand 1,035 36 West Bengal 26,899 Total Registration 1,27,013 *****