New Delhi: The Labour Ministry on Saturday urged the platform workers to self-register themselves on e-Shram portal, so that they may be considered for the benefits under the scheme at the earliest.
The gig and platform economy is expanding, offering new jobs in sectors like ridesharing, delivery, logistics, and professional services.
NITI Aayog has projected that the gig economy in India will employ over 1 crore workers in 2024-25, subsequently reaching 2.35 crore by 2029-30.
Recognizing the contribution of the gig and platform workers to the nation’s economy, Union Budget 2025-26 announcement has provisions for registration of online platform workers on e-Shram portal, issue of identity cards, and healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
The AB-PMJAY health scheme provides a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation across over 31,000 public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
For early implementation of these Budget provisions, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is soon launching the scheme, and has asked platform workers to register on e-Shram Portal for formal recognition and access to AB-PMJAY benefits.
“As a first step, Ministry requests the Platform Workers to self-register themselves on e-Shram portal, so that they may be considered for the benefits under the scheme at the earliest,” it added.
The platform aggregators are also requested to disseminate this information among the platform workers engaged with them and facilitate them to register on e-Shram portal.
Meanwhile, over 30.58 crore unorganised workers have been registered on the e-Shram Portal for receiving benefits under various social welfare schemes of the government.
The e-Shram portal has registered over 1.23 crore workers in 2024, averaging 33,700 enrolments per day.
The e-Shram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis.
The e-Shram portal has been integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) Portal. An unorganised worker can register on NCS using his or her Universal Account Number (UAN) and search for suitable job opportunities. A link has also been provided to the workers registered on the e-Shram portal to seamlessly register on the NCS.
(IANS)
