New Delhi, March 12 As many as 31 crore unorganized workers have enrolled in different sectors and have been brought under various social security schemes, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Responding to supplementary queries during Question Hour, Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya said the International Labour Organisation has said that social security cover in India is 64 per cent.
"31 crore workers in the unorganized sector have enrolled themselves in different sectors. They are also being added to various social security schemes," the minister said.
"Last year, the ILO, after analyzing Indian government data, said that social security coverage has increased to 64 per cent in the last decade. This means that the Modi government has been successful in providing social security cover to 94 crore people. This is the commitment of the Modi government towards providing social security," Mandaviya said during Question Hour.
He said, in contrast to this, the ILO in 2019 had said that social security was 19 per cent of the population.
In response to another question, the minister said that India is the only country which has recognized gig workers after defining them.
In his written reply to a question on unorganized workers, Mandaviya said, "According to the economic survey 2021-22, the total workforce estimated in the informal sector is about 43.99 crore."
"In order to extend social security benefits to the workers in the unorganized sector, the central government launched the eShram portal on 26.08.2021 for the creation of a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) seeded with Aadhaar. As on date, more than 31 crore unorganized workers have registered on a self-declaration basis in the eShram portal, which facilitates access to various social security and welfare schemes," he said.
