Parliament Question: Welfare Schemes for Gig Economy Workers

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 58 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.12.2025 WELFARE SCHEMES FOR GIG ECONOMY WORKERS 58. SHRI RAJESH VERMA: SHRI ATUL GARG: SMT. SHAMBHAVI: DR. LATA WANKHEDE: Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state: (a)whether the Government has assessed the current status of informal and gig economy workers in the country especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh including their access to social security, health benefits and welfare schemes; (b)the details of the steps taken by the Government during the last three years to implement and monitor schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund, Employees’ State Insurance and other welfare measures for unorganised sector workers in the country especially in the said States; (c)whether the Government has introduced or planed to introduce new skill development and reskilling programmes in the country especially in the said States to improve employability, particularly for women and youth and if so, the details thereof; (d)the details of the measures undertaken in the State to ensure timely grievance redressal, compliance with minimum wages and safe working conditions across sectors; and (e)the details of the long-term strategies planned to improve formal employment, social security coverage and overall labour welfare for workers in the country especially in the said States? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE) (a) & (b): The Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched the e- Shram (National Database of Unorganised Workers) portal on 26th August 2021 to register unorganised, Gig and Platform workers (seeded with Aadhaar) by providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis. As of November, 2025 over Contd..2/- :: 2 ::31.38 Crore unorganised workers and over 5.09 lakh Gig and Platform workers have already been registered on the e-Sharam portal. So far, fourteen schemes of different Central ministries/department have already been integrated/mapped with eSharam portal to provide access to social security, health benefits and welfare schemes. The details of the registered unorganised workers under eShram who have benefited from various welfare schemes as on 19.11.2025, are given below: Number of Scheme Registrations One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) 24,15,55,436 Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan 15,10,06,017 Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana 8,49,72,519 (PMSBY) Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme 6,16,93,566 (MGNREGS) Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM- 3,94,74,997 KISAN) Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana 2,25,52,084 (PMJJBY) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin 98,06,495 (PMAY-G) Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors 32,38,555 Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi) Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandna Yojana 31,58,528 (PMMVY) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 24,83,426 (PMAY-U) Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension 11,71,070 Scheme (IGNWPS) Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension 1,67,068 Scheme (IGNDPS) Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana 23,803 (PMMSY) Further, Government of India in its Budget Announcement for financial year 2025-26 has announced several key measures for the welfare of Gig workers of online platforms (platform workers) viz. their registration on the e-Shram portal, issuance of identity cards, Contd..3/-:: 3 :: and extension of health care benefits under Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). (c): Employment generation coupled with improving employability for youth and women is the priority of the Government. Accordingly, Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/ programmes in the country. Some of them are Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Stand-UP India Scheme, Startup India, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Women in Science and Engineering- KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN), etc. Government is implementing Skill India Mission (SIM) to deliver skill, re-skill and up-skill training through an extensive network of skill development centres/ schools/ colleges /institutes etc. under various schemes, viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsmen Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready, equipped with industry relevant skills. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated ‘Future Skills PRIME’ a programme for Re- skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence. Under this programme so far, 18.56 Lakh+ candidates have signed-up on the Future Skills PRIME Portal, out of which, 3.37 Lakhs+ candidates have completed their course. In addition, the Government is implementing Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme named as the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sector. The scheme with an outlay of Rs 99,446 Crore aims to incentivize the creation of more than 3.5 Crore jobs in the country, over a period of 2 years. Further, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India is running the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including information on jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, employability enhancement programmes etc. through a digital platform[www.ncs.gov.in]. Contd..4/-:: 4 :: (d): The measures for ensuring timely grievance redressal, compliance with minimum wages, and safe working conditions across sectors in the States have been provided in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Wages, 2019, and the Code on Social Security, 2020 respectively. Workers can lodge complaints related to claims for wage, gratuity, maternity benefits, illegal termination, industrial disputes and other issues on the Samadhan Portal for the resolution of their grievances. Additionally workers can also submit their complaints through CPGRAMS for timely disposal. (e): Four central Labour Codes have been made effective from 21.11.2025. Various provisions have been made in the Codes as a long-term strategy to improve formal employment, social security coverage, and overall labour welfare in the country. Some of them are given below: i) Ensuring payment of minimum wage universally for all employment ii)Timely payment of wages iii)Payment of wages through either cheque or electronic mode only iv)Formalisation of appointment by mandatory issue of appointment letter all workers/employees v)Mandatory free of cost annual health check up of workers vi) extending social security to all unorganised workers including gig and platform workers vii) Annual health check-up of all workers above 40 years of age. viii) Women workers/employees will be eligible for maternity benefit. ix)Creche facility in establishments having 50 or more workers/employees. *****