New Delhi: The Central Government has notified the constitution of the National Social Security Board for unorganised workers and gig and platform workers, taking a significant step towards extending social security benefits to millions of people working outside traditional employment arrangements.
The Board, established under the Code on Social Security, will recommend welfare schemes, monitor their implementation and review expenditure on social security programmes for workers in the informal economy.
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According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Friday, the initiative seeks to bring gig and platform workers within India's formal social security framework.
Gig workers are individuals who earn their livelihood through work arrangements outside the conventional employer-employee relationship. Platform workers, meanwhile, undertake assignments through digital platforms, including app-based delivery and ride-hailing services.
The National Social Security Board will be chaired by the Union Minister for Labour and Employment and include representatives from the Central and state governments, aggregator companies, employers, civil society organisations, trade unions and associations representing gig and platform workers.
The inclusion of digital platform operators and worker representatives is expected to provide a forum for addressing social security concerns arising from changing employment patterns.
The Board will meet at least three times annually and follow procedures prescribed by the Central Government.
Apart from recommending suitable social security schemes for different categories of workers, the Board will advise the Centre on matters relating to the implementation of the Code on Social Security.
It will also monitor centrally administered welfare schemes, review record-keeping functions at the state level and examine expenditure from the relevant social security fund and account.
The government may assign additional responsibilities to the Board as required.
The constitution of the Board is an important institutional development at a time when app-based employment and other non-traditional work arrangements are expanding across India.
However, the notification does not, by itself, guarantee immediate social security benefits to gig and platform workers.
The effectiveness of the new framework will depend on the schemes eventually introduced, their funding arrangements, worker registration mechanisms and the extent to which benefits reach eligible workers.
Unlike employees in conventional jobs, many gig and platform workers lack access to employer-supported benefits such as provident fund contributions, health insurance and retirement security.
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The Board's recommendations could help address these gaps, but translating them into meaningful protection will require coordinated action by the Centre, states and digital platform companies.
The larger test will be whether the new institutional mechanism can move beyond policy recommendations to deliver measurable social security benefits to India's growing informal and platform-based workforce.
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