The e-Shram portal registered over 30.68 crore unorganized workers, with women comprising a significant 53.68% of the total registrations.
The e-Shram portal, launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on August 26, 2021, has successfully registered over 30.68 crore unorganized workers, with women comprising a significant 53.68% of the total registrations. The initiative is a landmark step in formalizing India’s vast informal sector and ensuring that workers receive the benefits of social security schemes through a Universal Account Number (UAN).
One-Stop Solution for Social Security
To align with the vision outlined in the Union Budget, the Ministry launched the e-Shram One-Stop-Solution on October 21, 2024. This initiative integrates multiple social security and welfare schemes into a single digital framework, enabling unorganised workers to easily access benefits, track their entitlements, and ensure their inclusion in India’s economic development.
Integration of Central Government Schemes
Currently, 13 key schemes from different ministries and departments have been mapped onto the e-Shram platform, including:
- Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi)
- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY – Gramin and Urban)
- Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
- Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY)
This integration ensures seamless access to social welfare programs, reducing bureaucratic hurdles and enhancing financial security for unorganized workers.
Enhancing Accessibility Through Technology
To ensure inclusivity, several digital interventions have been introduced:
- Multilingual Support: The e-Shram portal now supports 22 Indian languages via the Bhashini platform, making it more accessible to workers across linguistic backgrounds.
- Mobile Application: Launched on February 24, 2025, the e-Shram mobile app provides real-time access to welfare schemes, improving accessibility and convenience.
- Integration with Digital Platforms: The platform is linked with National Career Service (NCS) and Skill India Digital Portal to offer employment and skilling opportunities.
- Pension Enrollment: Direct linkage with Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PMSYM) enables workers to enroll for pension benefits.
- Government Schemes Discovery: Integration with myScheme portal allows workers to explore additional government welfare programs.
Awareness and Outreach Initiatives
The Ministry of Labour & Employment has taken several measures to enhance awareness and encourage worker participation:
- Regular review meetings with States/UTs
- Engagement with Common Services Centres (CSCs) and State Seva Kendras (SSKs) to facilitate registrations
- SMS campaigns to educate workers about benefits
- Social media campaigns to promote registrations
- Integration with the UMANG app, providing a user-friendly mobile platform for updates and services
Policy Insights and Future Roadmap
The e-Shram portal is a transformative initiative aimed at providing a unified database of India’s vast unorganised workforce to ensure targeted delivery of welfare benefits, employment opportunities, and social security measures. While it has already enrolled millions of workers, its impact can be significantly enhanced through strategic policy interventions. Here’s an explanation of the proposed recommendations:
1. Expansion of Schemes
Currently, e-Shram integrates some central and state government welfare schemes. However, more state-specific and central schemes should be integrated to ensure comprehensive coverage for informal workers. This can include livelihood programs, affordable housing schemes, and welfare funds specific to certain industries (e.g., construction, handicrafts, or agriculture).
2. Financial Inclusion Measures
Many unorganised workers lack access to formal banking and credit facilities. By linking e-Shram with financial literacy programs, digital banking solutions, and micro-credit schemes, workers can save, invest, and access credit more efficiently, reducing dependency on informal lenders.
3. Skill Development and Employment Matching
To enhance employability, e-Shram should be integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) and skill development initiatives under schemes like PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana). This would help workers upskill and connect them with relevant job opportunities.
4. Strengthening Social Security Benefits
The current benefits under PM Suraksha Bima Yojana and PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana provide insurance cover, but more customized pension and insurance schemes should be introduced for different occupational groups. For instance, daily wage laborers, gig workers, and artisans may require sector-specific social security plans.
5. Real-time Data Utilization
With a comprehensive database, e-Shram can use data analytics and AI to assess trends in employment, migration patterns, and skill demands. This can help in better policy planning, ensuring targeted interventions in areas with high unemployment, seasonal migration, or skill shortages.
6. State-Level Engagement
Encouraging state governments to leverage e-Shram for their own welfare initiatives can enhance its effectiveness. States can develop region-specific policies, such as livelihood support programs for seasonal laborers or employment exchange programs for migrant workers.
7. Incentivizing Formalization
Many unorganised sector businesses hesitate to onboard workers formally due to compliance concerns. By providing tax incentives, reduced compliance costs, or social security subsidies, businesses can be encouraged to register informal workers, helping in workforce formalization.
8. Health and Safety Benefits
Informal workers often work in hazardous conditions without any occupational health coverage. Expanding medical insurance, workplace safety measures, and accident compensation programs can protect their well-being.
9. Periodic Data Updation
Since informal workers frequently change jobs, migrate, or face fluctuating incomes, their data should be regularly updated to ensure that benefits reach those who need them most. This can be done through automatic verification mechanisms and periodic re-registration.
10. Integration with the Gig Economy
With the rise of gig and platform-based work, it is crucial to recognize gig workers within the e-Shram framework and extend social security benefits like health insurance, retirement savings, and accident coverage to them. This would ensure better protection for workers in the rapidly evolving digital economy.
The e-Shram portal is a transformative initiative in India’s labour welfare landscape, serving as a vital bridge between unorganised workers and essential social security benefits. By integrating financial inclusion, skill development, healthcare, and data-driven policymaking, it holds the potential to empower millions of workers and enhance their socio-economic well-being. With continuous policy refinements and technology-driven enhancements, e-Shram can play a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive, secure, and economically resilient workforce, ultimately contributing to India’s vision of a developed and self-reliant economy.
