Reacting to the initiative, which is intended to formalise the gig economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said welfare measures for gig workers underscore the government’s commitment to the dignity of labour.
Considering that millions of workforce are now joining the platform economy, the Ministry of Labour and Employment last year rolled out the process of onboarding the platform aggregators and gig workers on the eShram portal—a ‘one stop solution’ launched in August 2021 to register and support the unorganised/migrant workers of the country by providing them with a Universal Account Number.
The Ministry had reached to platform aggregators in September, 2024, for portal registration which is a prelude to provide them access to various welfare schemes.
Demand growth
Gig workforce is set to triple to 2.35 crore by 2029-30, estimates NITI Aayog. The demand for the gig workers is growing, owing to adoption of quick commerce apps like Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto, besides increasing popularity of food aggregators Swiggy and Zomato.
Union Minister for Labour and Employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya thanked PM Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for “extending social security to gig workers of online platforms to ensure their well-being.”
The All India Gig Workers Union welcomed the announcement describing it a “positive step,” but they stated that the move does not address the core issue of declaring gig workers as “workers under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947.”
“They are insecure in their jobs as earning is low for gig workers. It’s immaterial unless they get worker status under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, which would help them to get all the rights for grievance addressal in case if they do not get minimum wages or are handed pink slips. As of now they are defined as “partners” by the platform aggregators,” All India Gig Workers Union General Secretary Saubhik Bhattacharya told businessline.
A white paper issued by the Forum for Progressive Gig Workers in November last year, projected the gig economy has the potential to add 1.25 per cent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, and generate 9 crore jobs in the long term.
The Budget has also taken steps to give fillip to employment opportunities, other than skilling workforce for the future.
Among them are; establishment of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, expansion of IIT infrastructure, and the ₹500 crore allocation for AI in education.
On top of that, ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds for startups, are intended to catalyse innovation and job creation.
The Budget identified tourism as a sector for employment-led growth. Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech referred to facilitating employment-led growth which will include organising intensive skill-development programmes for youth that would be in domain of hospitality management, offering MUDRA loans for homestays, improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations, introducing streamlined e-visa facilities and providing performance-linked incentives to states.
For the urban poor, the budget also sought to financially empower 68 lakh street vendors, offering UPI linked credit cards with ₹30,000 limit under PM PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) scheme which would be revamped with enhanced loans from banks affordable interest loans.
The PM SVANidhi scheme is a micro-credit facility that provides affordable loans to street vendors. It was launched in June 2020 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
