Over 90 per cent of India’s workers who are engaged in informal jobs, and large number of unemployed people, have thus lost the entire year, without social security coverage as it is available to workers in the formal jobs in the form of Provident Fund and Family Pension, though it is still meagre for formal employees in the private sector.

Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra has said that they have completed the stakeholder discussion, and with the suggestions of stakeholders, we have prepared the Scheme. After the approval of the same, we will pass the benefit of ELI to Employees. We would also give incentives to the employers who are giving jobs. On her word, the workers of India, may hope that the Scheme will be implemented in the financial year 2025-26.

One of the reasons, and the deciding factor, was that Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) was not ready with the online system through which the ELI Scheme was to be implemented. Work is still going on.

Under ELI three schemes – A, B, and C – were announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 having total worth of Rs10,000 crore. Even though the Union Government failed to launch the scheme so far, the Union Budged 2025-26 has doubled the allocation to Rs20,000 crore. The scheme was part of the Prime Minister’s Package worth Rs2 lakh crore aiming at facilitating employment and skilling.

Scheme A of ELI is for first-timers, Scheme B is to promote decent job creation in the manufacturing sector, and Scheme C is to incentivize employers across all sectors to create additional employment over and above the prescribed threshold. Subsidies were to be given to the employers and employees.

Informality has been on the increase is obvious since the year 2024-25 was lost without the launch of ELI scheme. Nevertheless, Modi government has been trying to convince the word that they have been giving social security coverage to the workers.

The government has just released a press note and said that India’s social protection coverage has doubled from 24.4% in 2021 to 48.8% in 2024, marking a significant expansion in welfare reach, according to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) World Social Protection Report (WSPR) 2024-26, which was released something back.

As per Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, nearly 920 million people, or 65% of the population, are now covered by at least one form of social protection, whether in cash or in-kind, through central government schemes.

If the labour minister is correct, then it is not a matter of pride, as the government is boasting on social security coverage, but it is a matter of shame. Simply because 800 million people are dependent on free food grain from the government. Government has simply failed in implementing fair wages to the workers, who can’t even purchase enough foodgrains for their house hold. It is the stark reality of working poverty in India.

It was estimated under the Food Security Act in 2013 that over 814 million people needed free or subsidised foodgrain to survive, since they are poor. The recent press release reiterated shamelessly that 24.8 crore people have escaped multi-dimensional poverty due to free food grain scheme that covers 807 million people. If 248 million escaped poverty, why PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has 807 million poor on record, which is closed to the intended 814 million estimated in 2013?

Actual position is that the free foodgrains does not eradicate poverty but make poverty only little tolerable amidst the worsening cost of living crisis.

The Centre has said that India’s social protection system has expanded significantly through various welfare programmes aimed at providing financial security, healthcare, and food assistance to millions. These initiatives have played a crucial role in improving livelihoods and reducing poverty across the country and the ILO’s assessment of 48.8 per cent social security coverage may not fully capture India’s social security landscape, as it does not account for in-kind benefits such as food security and housing support or state-administered welfare schemes. With the integration of these factors, India’s actual social protection coverage is expected to be considerably higher, reflecting ongoing reforms and data consolidation efforts.

India has been engaging in a high-level dialogue with the ILO to ensure that the social security coverage under 34 major central schemes be included in future assessments. Even during the recent bilateral discussion at the 353rd ILO Governing Body meeting at Geneva (March 10-20), India emphasised on this point, and the Government press release said that ILO acknowledged that.

In this way, Modi government’s entire effort seems to conceal the hardship of the working class, whose real wages are declining, and which is resulting in working poverty. Government seems to have little interest in protecting workers by ensuring justified wages, provident fund, family pension, and full healthcare under ESI or other health schemes. When we talk about social security coverage to workers, we precisely talk about these, which must come through decent jobs.

Increase in social security coverage through free foodgrains, limited healthcare, few days of guaranteed work to rural workers at below minimum wages, are far below the social security that workers want through decent jobs. Workers must not be compelled into beggarly existence, and Governments must not take pride in throwing handful of free foodgrains before them, as great social security coverage. Government had promised decent jobs, in words, in budgets, and therefore it must provide it to workers. (IPA Service)