Gig Workers: Register on e-Shram Portal for Benefits

New Delhi, Mar 8 (PTI) Ministry of Labour and Employment on Saturday said it has urged gig and platform workers to register on the e-Shram Portal for formal recognition and access to AB-PMJAY benefits.

The gig and platform economy is expanding, offering new jobs in sectors like ridesharing, delivery, logistics, and professional services, a labour minister statement said.

Niti Aayog has projected that the gig economy in India will employ over 1 crore workers in 2024-25, subsequently reaching 2.35 crore by 2029-30, it added.

Recognising the contribution of the gig and platform workers to the nation's economy, Union Budget 2025-26 has announced provisions for registration of online platform workers on the e-Shram portal, issuance of identity cards, and healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

The AB-PMJAY health scheme provides a cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation across over 31,000 public and private empanelled hospitals in India.

For early implementation of these Budget provisions, the Ministry of Labour and Employment will soon launch the scheme.

As a first step, the ministry has requested the platform workers to self-register themselves on the e-Shram portal, so that they may be considered for the benefits under the scheme at the earliest, the statement said.

The platform aggregators are also to disseminate this information among the platform workers engaged with them and facilitate them to register on the e-Shram portal.

Platform workers may visit the e-Shram portal and complete their registration on priority, the ministry said.