Ministry of Labour & Employment
Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Lauds
Historic Budgetary Allocation for Labour Welfare;
Says Social Security for Gig Workers a
Transformative Step
Posted On: 02 FEB 2025 2:44PM by PIB Delhi
The Union Budget 2025 marks a landmark initiative in India's labour welfare landscape with a comprehensive
framework to extend formal recognition and social security benefits to gig workers. Lauding the decision,
Union Minister for Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, hailed the
Government’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of over 1 crore gig workers across the country.
Gig Workers to Get Social Security Benefits
Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for
this announcement, Dr. Mandaviya said “The gig workforce is a vital pillar of India’s new-age economy,
driving innovation and efficiency across digital platforms. Recognizing their contribution, the Government’s
decision to provide them with identity cards, e-Shram registration, and healthcare security under PM Jan
Arogya Yojana is a transformative step towards their social security and well-being. This initiative will
empower nearly 1 crore gig workers. Beyond this, the Government remains committed to extending social
security benefits to workers in other unorganised sectors as well, ensuring dignity, security, and prosperity for
every worker in the country,” said Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.
The rise of digital platforms has revolutionized employment, creating new opportunities for flexible work
arrangements. India’s gig and platform economy has witnessed rapid expansion, with NITI Aayog’s report
‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’ projecting that the workforce in this sector will cross 1 Crore
in 2024-25 and grow to 2.35 crore by 2029-30.
Recognizing this transformation, the Code on Social Security, 2020 (CoSS, 2020) for the first time, defined
‘aggregator’, ‘gig worker’ and ‘platform worker and introduced legal provisions for gig and platform workers
for the first time, ensuring their inclusion in social security measures. This framework laid the groundwork for
structured welfare initiatives tailored to the needs of this dynamic workforce.
The Union Budget 2025-26 marks a significant milestone in this journey, with a comprehensive initiative to
extend formal recognition and social security benefits to platform-based gig workers. The Hon’ble Finance
Minister has announced measures to facilitate their identification through unique identity cards, streamline
their registration on the e-Shram portal, and ensure access to healthcare under PM Jan Arogya Yojana. These
steps will further strengthen the safety net for over 1 crore gig workers across sectors.
A pilot initiative has already been undertaken by the Ministry of Labour & Employment to register platform
workers and aggregators on the e-Shram portal. An Aggregator Module has also been piloted enabling digital
platforms to onboard themselves and their workforce onto India’s national database for unorganised workers.
As part of this pilot, four leading aggregators—Urban Company, Zomato, Blinkit, and Uncle Delivery—have
already registered.
The Budget 2025 announcement marks a significant expansion of this initiative, enabling a massive scale-up
and institutionalizing these efforts. With enhanced resources, the initiative will ensure that every gig and
platform worker has access to essential social security benefits through eShram portal, reinforcing the
Government’s commitment to safeguarding the interests of this workforce.
The Ministry remains focused on the seamless execution of these initiatives, addressing any operational
challenges, and strengthening collaboration with digital platforms. By combining early groundwork with
large-scale policy support, the Government aims to create a robust safety net for gig workers, ensuring their
security and well-being in India’s evolving employment landscape.
Record Budget Allocation for Labour Welfare & Employment Generation
Continuing the Government’s focus on labour welfare and employment generation, the Union Budget has
allocated a record ₹32,646 crore for the Ministry of Labour & Employment in FY 25-26—the highest ever
and almost 80% higher than last year’s revised estimates. Dr. Mandaviya highlighted the significance of this
historic allocation, stating:
“I thank Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for this historic budget which is the highest ever and
almost 80% higher than last year's revised estimates. Our focus is firmly on the newly announced
Employment Generation Scheme (ELI), for which the budgetary allocation has been doubled from ₹10,000
crore to ₹20,000 crore. The allocation under the Employees’ Pension Scheme has been increased by ₹300
crores and under the PM Shram Yogi Maandhan Yojana by 37% compared to last year.”
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Himanshu Pathak
(Release ID: 2098901)
