Lok Sabha Question No. 3997 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-18
Subject: Social Security Schemes for Workers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Tharaniventhan M S

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3997

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.08.2025

## SOCIAL SECURITY SCHEMES FOR WORKERS

## 3997. SHRI THARANIVENTHAN M S:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)the details of the current status of social security coverage in the country,  especially  for  workers  in  the  unorganised  and  informal sectors;
- (b)the details of the steps taken by the Government to expand social security schemes  such  as Provident Fund, Employee  State Insurance, pension and health benefits to include more workers, particularly in Tamil Nadu and other southern States;
- (c)the  details  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Government  to increase awareness and ease of access for marginalized groups including women, migrant workers and daily wage earners;
- (d)the details of the progress and impact of digital initiatives such as the e-Shram portal in enhancing social security coverage; and
- (e)the details of the future plans and targets set by the Government to  achieve  universal  social  security  coverage  in  the  upcoming years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SUSHRI SHOBHA KARANDLAJE)

(a) to (e): The Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act (UWSS), 2008 provides for, inter-alia, formulating welfare schemes for unorganized sector on the matters relating to life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection etc. by the Central Government.

The  Pradhan  Mantri  Shram  Yogi  Maan-dhan  (PM-SYM) scheme was launched in February, 2019 in order to provide old age protection to the workers of unorganised sector. This is a voluntary and  contributory  pension  scheme.  Under  the  scheme,  a  monthly assured pension of Rs. 3000/- is provided to the unorganised workers after attaining the age of 60 years. The workers in the age group of 18 to 40 years whose monthly income is Rs. 15000/- or less and who are not a member of EPFO/ESIC/NPS (Govt. funded) are eligible to join the scheme. The monthly contribution amount ranges from Rs. 55/- to Rs. 200/-, depending on the entry age of the beneficiary. Under the scheme, 50% monthly contribution is payable by the beneficiary and an equal matching contribution is paid by the Central Government. Enrolment  in  the  Scheme  is  done  through  the  Common  Service Centres,  and  their  network  of  about  4  lakh  Centres  across  the country. Eligible unorganised workers can also self-enrol by visiting the portal www.maandhan.in.

Recently the ESIC has launched a scheme for registration of employers and employees (SPREE) to create awareness about the coverage  under  ESIC  and  to  provide  a  one-time  opportunity  to  all uncovered employers in all states including Tamil Nadu and Southern States to register their units under ESIC with the facility to not submit any  previous  records  or  to  register  new  employees  for  already covered units.

The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (ABPMJAY) provides an annual health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per eligible The the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), offering comprehensive health insurance to senior citizens aged 70

family for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Government  of  India recently approved  the expansion  of and above.

The Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana (PMSBY) and the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) are available to persons including agriculture labourers. PMSBY provides protection against death or disability due to an accident. PMJJBY provides insurance cover for death due to any cause. The benefits of Rs. 2 lakh in case of death of the insured in the age group of 18 to 50 years, due to any reason, at an annual premium of Rs. 436/- under PMJJBY  and  Rs.  2.00  lakh  in  case  of  accidental  death  or  total permanent disability and Rs. 1.00 lakh for partial permanent disability due to accident of the insured in the age group of 18 to 70 years at a premium of Rs. 20/- per annum under PMSBY are provided.

The measures taken by the Government to publicize the benefits of PM-SYM scheme are as under:

- (i) Holding periodic review meetings with States/ UTs.
- (ii) Common Services Centres (CSCs) are given an incentive on every eligible person enrolled in PM-SYM.
- (iii) Launch of new features such as Voluntary Exit, Revival Module, Claim Status and Account Statement.
- (iv) Extension of revival of dormant accounts from 1 year to 3 years.
- (v) Two-way integration of PM-SYM and eShram.
- (vi) SMS campaign to create awareness.
- (vii)  Addressing  Chief  Secretaries  of  States  regarding  enrolment under PM-SYM scheme.

The  Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment  launched  the eShram portal (eshram.gov.in) on 26th August 2021 for creation of a comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) seeded with Aadhaar. eShram portal is meant to register and support the  unorganised  workers  by  providing  them  a  Universal  Account

Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis.

As  on  29th  July  2025,  over  30.97  crore  unorganised workers have already registered on eShram portal.

In keeping with the vision of the Budget Announcement 2024-25 on developing eShram as a One-Stop-Solution for unorganized  workers  to  have  access  to  various  social  security schemes,  the  Ministry  of  Labour  and  Employment  launched  the eShram -'One -StopSolution'  on  21 st   October  2024.  The  eShram -'One -StopSolution'  entails  integration  of  different  social  security/ welfare  schemes  into  a  single  portal  i.e.  eShram.  This  enables unorganised workers registered on eShram to access social security schemes and see benefits availed by them so far, through eShram.

So far, fourteen (14) schemes of different Central Ministries/ Departments have already been integrated/ mapped with eShram including Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PMSVANidhi),  Pradhan  Mantri  Suraksha  Bima  Yojana  (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  scheme  (MGNREGS),  Pradhan  Mantri  Awas  Yojana -Gramin  (PMAY-G),  Ayushman  Bharat -Pradhan  Mantri  Jan  Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Urban (PMAY-U), Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Pradhan Mantri Kisan  Samman  Nidhi  (PM-KISAN),  One  Nation  One  Ration  Card (ONORC) and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandna Yojana (PMMVY).

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