Central Labor Commissioner DPS Negi met with senior executives from Indian Oil, GAIL, SBI, among others, to publicize the e-SHRAM portal, the Labor Department said. The portal is an initiative taken by the central government to register informal workers and additionally a host of social service provision under various schemes.

According to Negi, the portal is expected to have more than 38 crore listings.

The central database of non-unionized workers is created in collaboration with state governments. It is aimed at all unorganized sector workers such as construction workers, migrant workers, concert and platform workers, street vendors, domestic workers, agricultural workers, dairy workers, fishermen, truck drivers, etc. With the help of a universal account number (UAN) and an e-SHRAM card, beneficiaries could benefit from the benefits of various social security schemes all over the country. It further provides accident insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh.

“States / UTs will own their data and State Governments / UTs will primarily mobilize and register workers in the unorganized sector of their respective States / UTs on the e-SHRAM portal and this data may be used by state governments. / UT for the delivery of various social security schemes to unorganized workers according to their eligibility, ”Negi told PTI.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected the informal segment of the economy, especially daily betting. According to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, overall unemployment in August 2021 stood at 8.32%, urban unemployment at 9.78% and rural unemployment at 7.64%. Based on its 30-day moving average, overall unemployment stood at 8.1% as of September 10, 2021.

In its August report, the CMIE underlined that the loss mainly concerned agricultural jobs. Even though off-farm jobs absorbed some of the lost labor, the off-farm jobs that were created were “… for the most part not the kind to be considered good quality jobs” , the report said. Much of the workforce made redundant from agriculture has gone to the service sector. Industries could not absorb this work. Recurring lockdowns meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 have kept factories in limbo. The reason is that they have failed to emerge as viable alternative employment opportunities.