**Summary:**
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs highlights several government initiatives aimed at supporting unorganized urban workers. These include employment generation schemes accessible via https://dge.gov.indgeschemesprogrammes. The National Career Service (NCS) portal (www.ncs.gov.in), managed by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, serves as a centralized platform offering job information from both private and government sectors, details on job fairs, career counseling, vocational guidance, and skill development resources. Furthermore, the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) scheme, launched in February 2019, provides a voluntary and contributory pension scheme, assuring a monthly pension of Rs. 3000 to unorganized workers post the age of 60. Eligible workers can self-enroll at www.maandhan.in.
In 2021, the Government of India, as informed by NITI Aayog, developed a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) framework to assess poverty, incorporating health, education, and living standards. Based on the Global MPI by UNDP and OPHI, it uses 12 indicators, including ten from the global model and two additional indicators: Maternal Health and Bank Accounts. The second edition of this index was released in 2023.
This information was provided by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Tokhan Sahu, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: The Indian government ministry responsible for housing and urban development.
National Career Service NCS: A portal developed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, India, to provide career-related services.
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan PMSYM: A voluntary and contributory pension scheme in India for workers in the unorganized sector.
NITI Aayog: A policy think tank of the Government of India.
Multidimensional Poverty Index MPI: A framework developed by the Government of India in 2021 to measure poverty.
United Nations Development Programme UNDP: An international organization that publishes the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index.
Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative OPHI: An international research center working to advance human development.
Rajya Sabha: The upper house of the Parliament of India.
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
WELFARE OF UNORGANIZED URBAN WORKERS
Posted On: 18 AUG 2025 5:37PM by PIB Delhi
The Government is implementing various employment generation schemes/programmes in the country. The
details of various employment generation schemes/programmes implemented by the Government of India is
available at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes. Further, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has
developed 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, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform www.ncs.gov.in.
In order to provide old age protection to the workers of unorganised sector, the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi
Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) scheme was launched in February, 2019. This is a voluntary and contributory pension
scheme. Under the scheme, a monthly assured pension of Rs. 3000/- is provided to the unorganised workers
after attaining the age of 60 years. Eligible unorganised workers can self-enroll through visiting the portal
www.maandhan.in.
As informed by NITI Aayog, in 2021 Government of India developed a Multidimensional Poverty Index
(MPI) framework to measure poverty. It is a comprehensive index that captures overlapping deprivations in
dimensions such as health, education and standard of living. It measures both the share of people in poverty,
and the degree to which they are deprived. The index is based on the internationally recognized measure of
poverty, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, published by United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). It comprises of 12 indicators, out of
which ten indicators are retained from the global MPI model and two additional indicators viz. Maternal
Health and Bank Accounts are added in line with national priorities. This is the only methodology that is used
presently to measure poverty. The second edition of the index was released in 2023.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Tokhan Sahu, in a
written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
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SK
(Release ID: 2157565)