Empowering India’s workforce Digital pathways to job growth and worker welfare
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V Anantha Nageswaran (Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India)
Contd from previous issue
This interlinkage allows workers to register once on e-Shram and seamlessly access multiple scheme portals of central and state governments, and benefits, such as awareness of scheme entitlements, track benefits availed across schemes, explore job opportunities, pursue skills training, pensions, and insurance, all in one place. A multilingual facility featuring 22 languages has recently been added to e-Shram by leveraging MEITY’s Bhashini project to enhance accessibility further. State Microsites and Mobile apps have been launched for further operational ease.
These efforts have achieved success, garnered appreciation at home, and have also received recognition globally. According to the latest update in the International Labour Orga- nization’s (ILO) database, India’s social security coverage surged from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025. India ranks second in terms of beneficiary count, which went up to 94.13 crore. This is a result of the ongoing exercise of development of the World Social Protection Report (2026 edition) of ILO. The growth reported is a result of the Government’s efforts to include State Social Security Schemes along with the 32 Central sector schemes to compute social security coverage in the country. India became the first country to have reported this development in social security coverage under the ongoing exercise of data pooling for the WSPR 2026 edition.
Parallelly, EPFO, with over 34.6 crore members, has implemented several digital reforms to transform into EPFO 2.0. These reforms improve the acce- ssibility to its members and the ease of doing business for employers. Key initiatives, including introducing the Universal Account Number, creating a centralised database, the e- passbook, the UMANG app, the e-collection of contributions, and the provision of digital life certificates, have enhanced members’ access to benefits. The introduction of the Centralised Pension Payment System under EPFO is set to benefit 77 lakh pensioners with access to pensions from anywhere in the country. Additionally, the increase in the limit of auto-claim settlement to ¹ 1 lakh is expected to impact around 7.5 crore members with faster claim settlements positively. EPFO has also simplified the fund transfer process, benefiting over 1.25 crore members and facilitating the yearly transfer of around Rs 90,000 crore. Through these reforms, the modernisation and digiti-sation of EPFO are set to increase efficiency and reduce reliance on manual processes, making it easier for both members and employers to navigate the system.
Government policy interventions must be backed by active participation from the industry. A prime example of the industry’s vital role is the e-Shram initiative, where the successful implementation of social security for gig & platform workers relies heavily on the involvement of platform aggregators.
Employers must recognise that creating a safe, secure, and satisfactory workplace, as well as providing social security for workers, is essential for long-term productivity. Additionally, while addressing the social security needs of workers, it is crucial to offer targeted and ongoing support to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. This support promotes economic and social mobility and helps eliminate barriers that prevent participation in the workforce and the economy.
PIB
Contd from previous issue
This interlinkage allows workers to register once on e-Shram and seamlessly access multiple scheme portals of central and state governments, and benefits, such as awareness of scheme entitlements, track benefits availed across schemes, explore job opportunities, pursue skills training, pensions, and insurance, all in one place. A multilingual facility featuring 22 languages has recently been added to e-Shram by leveraging MEITY’s Bhashini project to enhance accessibility further. State Microsites and Mobile apps have been launched for further operational ease.
These efforts have achieved success, garnered appreciation at home, and have also received recognition globally. According to the latest update in the International Labour Orga- nization’s (ILO) database, India’s social security coverage surged from 19% in 2015 to 64.3% in 2025. India ranks second in terms of beneficiary count, which went up to 94.13 crore. This is a result of the ongoing exercise of development of the World Social Protection Report (2026 edition) of ILO. The growth reported is a result of the Government’s efforts to include State Social Security Schemes along with the 32 Central sector schemes to compute social security coverage in the country. India became the first country to have reported this development in social security coverage under the ongoing exercise of data pooling for the WSPR 2026 edition.
Parallelly, EPFO, with over 34.6 crore members, has implemented several digital reforms to transform into EPFO 2.0. These reforms improve the acce- ssibility to its members and the ease of doing business for employers. Key initiatives, including introducing the Universal Account Number, creating a centralised database, the e- passbook, the UMANG app, the e-collection of contributions, and the provision of digital life certificates, have enhanced members’ access to benefits. The introduction of the Centralised Pension Payment System under EPFO is set to benefit 77 lakh pensioners with access to pensions from anywhere in the country. Additionally, the increase in the limit of auto-claim settlement to ¹ 1 lakh is expected to impact around 7.5 crore members with faster claim settlements positively. EPFO has also simplified the fund transfer process, benefiting over 1.25 crore members and facilitating the yearly transfer of around Rs 90,000 crore. Through these reforms, the modernisation and digiti-sation of EPFO are set to increase efficiency and reduce reliance on manual processes, making it easier for both members and employers to navigate the system.
Government policy interventions must be backed by active participation from the industry. A prime example of the industry’s vital role is the e-Shram initiative, where the successful implementation of social security for gig & platform workers relies heavily on the involvement of platform aggregators.
Employers must recognise that creating a safe, secure, and satisfactory workplace, as well as providing social security for workers, is essential for long-term productivity. Additionally, while addressing the social security needs of workers, it is crucial to offer targeted and ongoing support to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. This support promotes economic and social mobility and helps eliminate barriers that prevent participation in the workforce and the economy.
PIB