A wider social security net on cards for workers in the unorganized sector
The government is working on a strategy to empower millions of workers in the informal sector and help them enjoy the benefits of various social services such as housing, healthcare, insurance, pensions and foodgrain support.
The Ministry of Labor and Employment is working to build a comprehensive database of workers from the unorganized sector by merging the details of beneficiaries of existing government social security schemes with the e-Shram portal, a senior government official told Business Standard .
This could be one of the priorities of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government if it returns to power. This move could benefit nearly 300 million e-Shram registered workers. Launched by the Ministry of Labor in 2021, the portal is the national database of unorganized workers, including agricultural, domestic, construction, gig and platform workers, etc.
This database will be prepared through a convergence mechanism, where relevant government departments will have to take ownership of the e-Shram portal in terms of onboarding their databases on the portal. As a result, welfare and social security schemes and employee data will be brought together on one platform.
“All ministries will need to focus on bringing on board their databases of the employees they are in charge of, and ministries responsible for key government welfare programs will also need to post and merge their data with the e-Shram -portal. For example, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will have data on street vendors and the Ministry of Finance will have data on Atal Pension Yojana. They will bring this data together on the portal,” the official quoted above told Business Standard.
Meetings have already begun with relevant ministries and government departments on the same, the official added. Once all the data has been merged, the employee must fill out an application form and request facilities such as ration cards, healthcare, housing or insurance, which the employee has not yet availed.
Since the e-Shram database has been developed by Aadhaar, it will help the authorities control duplicity and redundancy and better target beneficiaries. In addition, the universal account number assigned to employees will also be used.
Earlier, e-Shram card holders got an accident insurance benefit of Rs 2 lakh in case of death, and Rs 1 lakh in case of permanent disability. The portal captures details such as name, occupation, address, educational qualification and skill type of the employees. As of March 2024, nearly 295 million workers had registered on the portal.
On Sunday, the BJP had promised in its manifesto that the e-Shram portal database would be used to provide benefits of various government schemes to employees. “We have registered unorganized workers on the e-Shram platform. We will reach out to the e-Shram registered ‘shramik bandhu’ and help them avail the benefits of various government schemes for which they are eligible,” the party’s manifesto said.
First print: April 17, 2024 | 9:17 pm IST